Reddit Stories - Revelations Family Secrets Unveiled Through Reddit Renovations ( Over 3 Hour Compilation ) - Episode 10

Episode Date: February 10, 2026

#redditstories #askreddit #aita #familysecrets #renovations #compilation #stories #revealed  Summary: In Episode 10 of "Revelations: Family Secrets Unveiled Through Reddit Renovations," viewers explore a three-hour compilation of intriguing stories. The episode uncovers hidden family dynamics and surprising revelations that emerge during home renovations, showcasing how these experiences can lead to unexpected discoveries and emotional confrontations.  Tags: redditstories, askreddit, reddit, aita, betrayal, familydynamics, homeimprovement, emotionalstories, secretsrevealed, renovationjourney, storytelling, lifechanging, unexpectedtwists, familydrama, personalgrowth, community, truth, relationships, revelations, podcastBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/reddit-stories--6816713/support.This episode includes AI-generated content.

Relax and enjoy the following compilation of stories. I hope you enjoy this story. My boyfriend's close female friend mentioned she wouldn't join us on our trip if I tagged along. Therefore, he decided to go with her and altered our destination without informing me. As a result, I left his belongings behind. His house while he was gone. My boyfriend wanted to go on a vacation this summer to his mom's friend's house in Hawaii with me and his two best friends, 25m and 29F. We had been planning on this all spring, and at some point, 25M dropped out of the trip,

leaving just the three of us. For context, my boyfriend and I have been going out since November, and it's been serious. We had, and still have, been talking about moving in together and he has said, and I agree that this is a long-term situation and that we are in it for good. In early June, once 25M unexpectedly dropped out of the trip, 29F called my boyfriend and told him that now that it was just the three of us, she didn't feel comfortable with me going on the trip, since she didn't know me that well and she didn't want to be a third wheel. She said that if I were to go, she wouldn't go on the trip.

Without telling me that this was happening, they changed the plans and made it a trip just the two of them and they changed the location to a beach in Costa Rica. I was trying to figure out when to ask for time off this summer and hadn't heard news about the plans, so I asked my boyfriend which week in August I should be setting aside for the Hawaii trip. He let me know that, actually, he had talked to his friend and that she didn't want to go if I were going, so he was going to go alone with her to Costa Rica. He said that we could go another week later maybe to Mexico City or something.

I was upset and tried to talk with him about how the situation made me feel, especially since this wasn't a case of a separate trip being set up ahead of time, this was a case of me being invited and then uninvited from a week-long tropical vacation with a girlfriend of his who I had never met before. We eventually decided to do a trip together to Copenhagen, which we have both wanted to visit, as some sort of compensation. I also asked to meet her so that I could feel more comfortable with the trip. We spent the 4th of July going to see her and her boyfriend in the city where they and although it was nice to put a face to a name, it was ultimately a very cold trip and she was not at all welcoming to me. My boyfriend remarked on how unfriendly she was, to both of us, he thought, and said that he was surprised that she didn't act warmly to me. I went out of my way to try get to know her and her boyfriend. I'm very outgoing and friendly and usually this would be easy, but it didn't really click, even after several days. They were somewhat cold to each other as well, they bickered a little bit about their future three-week trip without her that was scheduled for the same time as their trip.

This had been scheduled before ours had. This had been my effort to feel better about the trip, so I told my boyfriend that I still didn't feel comfortable with things, and that I was feeling insulted by the way that it was handled. I had tried to make things smooth between all of us, and I asked him to please come up with something that could help me feel better about the trip. On a visit to his family, they asked about the trip and they were all shocked that he would have arranged it this way, and let me know that they would have been furious if they were in my position, which triggered a fight in which I asked him to please help come up with a strategy to make me feel better and more secure about them going together without me. He said that he would never do this kind of thing again, which feels like not much to offer, since this is kind of a once-in-a-lifetime trip to begin with. He kind of offered to not go on the trip, but he had already paid for the tickets and made arrangements and I didn't want to stop their trip and be resented by both him and his best friend. He asked me to give him ideas of how to make me feel better and wanted me to just tell him what to do installed and stalled until it was finally the day of the trip. He bought me a bag of peanut butter cups and I drove the two of them to the airport.

I feel so disregarded and disrespected in this situation. I want to break up with him, but I don't want to burn up something that has otherwise been really good. Update, I was really upset the day I dropped him off and he was texting me but I wasn't responding. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do, but I didn't want to do anything at all in the state I was in. I waited until the next day, and then I sent him a thought-out text letting him know that I didn't feel safe or loved in the way the trip was handled and that I would be dropping his things off at his place and leaving his keys with the time. the neighbor. He called but didn't leave any messages and then he messaged me that he didn't understand. The rest of the week, he called and messaged me, but I couldn't bring myself to pick up or text back. On Thursday, I think that he realized that I was serious, and he asked me

some questions about logistical things, I told him which neighbor his key was with, etc. When he got back and saw all his things at his place, he got pretty frantic and called and left me a long message. I was working all day, but also I still didn't want to respond. He asked me to explain because he didn't understand what was going on. The next day, I sent another text making it clear that it was over, and he got upset and sent me a bunch of texts in a row about how he didn't understand why I was throwing away everything that we built. He left me a voicemail that was really angry that said he had no idea why I was upset and that he did not accept the breakup because he had no say in it and that he wanted me to tell him the evil

story that I had made up about him to his face. I wasn't going to respond to him and I wanted to remain calm, but this upset me. So I sat down to write him this letter. It's long, so skip over if you want. I tried to call him, but I started crying and told him I'd just send him an email instead. This is what it said. The time that we have had a part has given me some good space and time to think. I have had a chance to think about the things that are important for me in a relationship and I see that we should not be together. I am sorry that I have been asking for you to change things about your life that you shouldn't have to change at my or anyone's behest. From the very start, this trip was made in an insanely disrespectful way in which it started out

from you being given an ultimatum by your female best friend who I had never met that either she goes or I go on this trip, and you picked her. You didn't offer to you. You didn't offer to you. to have her meet me. Theoretically, I was your long-term partner, so this would have made a lot of sense. You didn't encourage her to find someone else to come, and you didn't consult me at all. That's enough for most people to have a deal-breaker, right there. However, I stayed. This is a person who you have a history with that is not entirely clear to me.

Here is what I understand. Some bad rumors got started about the two of you in which you spent an entire night. out with her on an asset trip while you were dating someone else. Nothing happened. The other thing I understand is that you were interested in her romantically at some, theoretically other, point in that she started dating her boyfriend and that closed the door on things for you. According to what I also understand, it took a long time for 29 F's boyfriend to feel

comfortable with you being around, but you apparently worked to ultimately make him feel comfortable with you after I'm not sure how long. This is the completely unknown person who shut me out of a trip that I was originally going to go on. Unilateral decision You did not tell me this was happening until I asked and the trip to Hawaii would be. You purchase tickets in another very disrespectful situation in which I have cooked dinner and have guests present, and you choose to go into my room for well over an hour to select tickets with her. And in which I repeatedly ask you to please come to dinner because you say it will just be a few more

minutes each time. There is absolutely no reason for doing it at that time and in that situation, seeing is how she is in the same time zone as us and has a nine to five job. This makes me feel sick to my stomach. So, to make myself feel better about this whole arrangement, I tell you that I want to meet this person. On my request, we arrange a trip to go meet her and her boyfriend, a brief trip in which they are, and you explicitly agree, inexplicably cold. The first conversation that we have is one in which 29F and her boyfriend argue about how she'd int him while he was already in a relationship and got him to date her instead. You tell me about conversations that 29F has had with you recently in which it seems implied

that there is some real instability in their long-term relationship, stuff about kids and dogs. I have a discussion in which I let you know that I see that and that it works. me. Meanwhile, I am still wanting all of this to work out for you and for me and for her. I, at this point, am planning on being with you for the long term and see no benefit in telling you to not go on a trip with your best friend. I want it to work out. But each and every interaction surrounding this trip chips and chips away at my ability to handle it. The conversations that seem to go nowhere, etc. Your dad, your mom, and your grandparents are all very surprised when we tell them about this trip.

It is becoming very obvious that this is a dangerous trip to make with the fragility of our relationship. 29M, we had only been together for nine months. How long did it take before 29 F's boyfriend was comfortable with you hanging around? Much less going on a one-on-one international tropical vacation in which he was uninvited because of your request. We go over it with, friend, at the rock climbing gym. We go over it in the car. We go over it while we're booking our Airbnb for Copenhagen. We go over it when I tell you that I still feel uncomfortable and I do not feel good about the trip.

Talk about repeatedly saying something. Although I ask for you to help me, you actually ask me instead to come up with what would make me feel better. Surprisingly, I have no ideas either. Ultimately, it appears that the original plan to meet at my place and hang out and do a game night before you two go on the trip has been cancelled, and 29F will be staying at my place, but not hanging out with us at all beforehand. You attribute it to you not bringing it up with her early enough. This is apparently not something that was discussed even two nights before the trip. This upsets me. You do not know what to do.

I don't blame you, at this point, it was well out of hand. I don't know what to do either. There is no good solution that I can think of besides waiting for the trip to be over. I tell you that either I have to get over it, or I have to break up with you, and that I don't want to break up with you. But my ability to get over it is rather worn down. She arrives at my place very late, and we wake up the next morning for me to take the two of you to the airport.

After all of this lead up, I know that you can tell how unhappy I am. I fully absolutely know you can tell how unhappy I am. You leave, and when I don't respond to your text messages, you text me to tell me that you hope I'm okay and you're going to bed. No call. The rest of the week was rough. My text to you was met with, essentially, I'm sorry you feel this way. You tell me that I'm being unfair. There is no acknowledgement, and there still has been none, that this trip to a fucking honeymoon destination, as we have discussed before, could be a crazy and horrible thing to go through

with, even with my quasi-blessing. This is not something that people in relationships have to deal with. This is not something that people in relationships do, besides 29F, I guess. In the end, all of this is to say that I have felt serious emotional needs go seriously unmet in a way that is a deal-breaker for me. There have been some wonderful, very positive times, but there has been an unnecessary amount of heartache and suffering for me over things that come down to what I can only assume are personal differences. I cannot handle your relationship with 29F. And I suppose I could ask you to pick between her and me, but that's not what I want to do.

I want you to have your best friend, and I want to leave. I did love you, but I am not about to this fight and hear you tell me that I'm crazy for not seeing how totally platonic everything is for the rest of my life. It seems like trying to convince someone to like different food, or to have a different favorite color. I am not happy in this, and I do not want to feel these feelings any longer. There is no need for this to be mutual. I do not need your permission to break up with you. He wrote me back an apologetic email in which he accepted responsibility for most things without any argument. Except he denied anything that had to do with his relationship with her making me feel

uncomfortable and he denied that I would not be able to handle their relationship. He said that the only thing that made their trip bad for me was my own perspective. I wrote him back that trust has to be built and that he put too much strain too early on a relationship in which we had not developed that trust. He agreed and apologized. For me, it ended on a pretty amicable note. note. But this style of relationship really doesn't work for me and I don't feel like his responses to me really healed or changed anything significantly. I stand by my decision at this

point. Next story, fiancé refused to tell her male best friend about our engagement. When I confronted her, she texted him I was engaged but not anymore right in front of me. My now ex-f F-F and me, M-27, got engaged three weeks ago. We've been dating for five years and I finally got the money to give her the wedding she wanted. Well, three days ago we were discussing our guest list, and I asked if she wanted to invite her best friend, let's call him James, M-30. James lives in another state, but since they were friends for 10 years, I thought I could even pay for his travel expenses since it would be great to have her best friend at the wedding. She denied, saying that it would take a lot of work to bring him,

and she wanted to be a family event. Countless times she mentioned that James was like family to her, so I insisted, she got annoyed and said I didn't even told him we were engaged. That took me by surprise, I tried to ask why, but she started stonewalling me, and I left her alone. After a couple of hours, I tried to ask her again why she haven't told him we were engaged, and she still refused to tell me, and I admit, my insecurity got the better of me. In the past, James had confessed he had feelings for her, which she turned down and basically

friends owned him. But by the way she told me, it always sounded like she had him as a backup, something not only me, but her exes realized. She married him online, they always made they while characters look like a couple, like wearing the same transmog and shit like that, when she had a fight with her exes, he was always there for her and etc. I told her that made me uncomfortable and if she was not planning to tell him, she might as well consider herself single, because I would not marry someone who couldn't be honest. Yes, I was pretty immature, but she did something even more immature, she texted him while showing me her phone something like, hey, just so you know, I was engaged, but not anymore, and send it to him.

I told her to pack her things and leave my house. Ever since she left, she has been calling me, but I refused to answer. My mom called me, because she apparently called my mom, and said that I was an asshole for ending things for such a ridiculous thing. So, Ida. Update 1. Hey guys, I just got home after talking to my, still ex-fiancee, and I. and since a lot of people asked for an update, here it is.

But, I want to clarify a few things. As commented on my original post, I pay for the house since I bought it before dating her and I asked her to move in, since it was close to her job. I work from home since I'm in tech, but she had to go to work, that's why I paid for her car,

to help her commute, and honestly her salary is shit. I was her partner, so I didn't see any problem with that. I thought she was the one, despite everything. She is smart, funny, we had chemistry, but I felt betrayed. To the update. We met at a coffee shop on the premise we would discuss how to save our relationship,

at least, that's what she thought. As soon as we sat down, I asked to see their messages. She got defensive immediately and told me she had deleted everything. I asked to see her phone anyway. She started to cry, ugly cry, asking me to stop. At that point I had already decided I was not going to be part of the relationship anymore, but damn, I was curious. It took a good 20 minutes for her to hand me her phone. A lot of crying, even a waitress asking her if she was okay.

So I read the messages. There wasn't any cheating like nudes being exchanged, them professing their love for each other, but what I read still stumped. There was a lot of shit talking about me. A lot. Texts and texts of them saying how terrible of a person I was, criticizing my hobbies, I like video games and pro wrestling, saying I wasn't a real man because of them and stuff like that.

But there were two topics that caught my eye. One where she had told him I was having trouble getting hard and that was frustrating for her. And one where she was complaining about how she didn't want to be stuck in our relationship. Yes, I was having problems in bed. Because I was sad because my father had passed away six months ago, and the stuck thing, I remember telling her that when we got married, if she wanted she could leave her job, and I would provide for both of us.

I don't know if she took this the wrong way, but I guess it was related to that. I honestly don't know. By the time I gave her the phone back, she was already giving excuses on why she was saying those things to him, how he was like a therapist for her, and then she asked me don't you complain about me to your friends. And I simply replied, no, I don't. She started crying again. I took a pretty deep breath and just said, just give me the ring back. I didn't have the ring with me, like some suggested. She hesitated a bit, but gave it to me anyway. I stood up and asked her to delete my number and to not bother me anymore. I called her mom and asked her to pick up her daughter's stuff at my place.

Her mom is a good person, I'm just realizing I'm going to miss her as I write this. She understood why I decided to end it, but she didn't ask much, and to be honest, I'm glad she didn't. As for my mom, I didn't call her, I just blocked her for things unrelated to this post, I just realized she never had my back in anything. I was always trying to save an already failed moms and relationship. Before I leave, I just want to clarify. I was never against her having male friends, or any type of friends. People are going to cheat, friends are no friends.

I remember my dad saying something to me when I was a teenager, he always said opportunity makes the thief, but I do not agree with that. Anyway, since I have the next two weeks off work, I'm going to figure what to do with the wedding money, drink some booze, play games, and watch Monday Night Raw later. Peace. Edit, a couple of people are asking about the car. Is a 2015 Nissan Versa which she crashed two times, both times she rear-ended someone. Never liked the car, weak engine, the interior feels cheap and overall bad, so for all I care she can keep that piece of shit. I would have more luck throwing it off a cliff than the

selling it. Edit 2. Little Update. Her mom called me a few hours ago to check on me and to ask when she could come and pick up X's stuff. We spoke about the car and she basically forbid me to let her daughter keep the car because, one, I paid for it. Two, X wouldn't be able to maintain it. So I'm going to keep the car until I'm able to sell it. God help me. Also, some people called the story fake, because they said I wasn't a real man. for playing games, and yet they played wow. To be honest, that's on me, because I wasn't very clear. The real man thing was more about the pro wrestling hobby than the gaming hobby, but in some messages they clearly mocked me for playing some games, Life is Strange series,

in one I remember James saying something like how could a grown-ass man play such a girly game and cry? Yes, I cried playing life is strange. I also cried to RDR2, the I'm afraid cut scene still makes me emotional. I'm a crybaby, I guess. Also, I want to thank everyone who messaged me to talk about wrestling in games, it really helped me take my mind out of everything. I haven't replied to everyone, but I intend to. If anything happens, I'll let you guys know. Be good people. Update 2. Hey guys. It's been a couple of days since I used this account to tell my story, and something's happened, but this is a positive update. First, I want to say thank you to everyone who reached out in my DMs and commented saying

nice things. It felt really good and I appreciate y'all. Some of you actually made me tear up with your kind messages. Second, I want to express my gratitude for everyone who gave me advice, told their own story or just told me I was a cool guy, reading your messages before writing this felt amazing. I also want to say I thought about my engagement a lot. I also want to say I thought about my engagement a lot, and I have no regrets whatsoever. Yeah, things ended badly and she was not a good person to me at the end, but I just don't hate her, nor do I wish for her to fail. We had good moments, I felt happy with her and again I really thought she was the one. Felling hatred was going to harm me more than her. To the update. Her mom came to pick up her stuff and we talked for hours,

it felt like therapy. I cried on her shoulders, we laughed, she said, She expressed how much I meant to her family, and that I would be always welcome in her home. It felt so good to hear her say those things to me. Before she left, she asked me if I wanted to ask about my ex, I got curious and asked how she was doing. Her words were she's trying to act stoic, but I know my daughter, she's not taking this well. I left it at that. She gave me a hug and left. I bought the car, I'm going to donate it and get a tax right off.

But to the thing I'm excited about is that I'm going to Royal Rumble, I never even watched Raw or Smackdown Live, but now that I have the extra cash, I'm going to treat myself. Again, thank you all for reaching out, sorry to the people who love drama that this update doesn't have an unwanted pregnancy, a fight, chaos, or a plot twist, the truth is that my live is just really, really boring. Be kind people. I hope you enjoy this story. took in my pal's child and brought her up. Later, she requested her biological father to escort her at her wedding, and I discovered that my spouse was cheating with someone else. Him and my daughter knew about it. Hi, guys. So recently, I found out that my wife had been cheating on me and my adoptive daughter had known about it for the past couple of years and both of

them had betrayed me. My soon-to-be ex-wife Taylor, 57F, and I, 58M, have been together for almost 30 years and married for 25, after having met in our college days. We also adopted a daughter together a few years after our marriage, Emily, 22F. Taylor and I had been trying to get pregnant for quite some time, but we're struggling with fertility issues. So when one of our common friends approached us to ask if we would be willing to adopt his kid, we agreed. This friend, Jackson, 58M, was someone we had met when we were in college, and back then, he was your typical trust fund frat boy. After graduation, we didn't exactly stay in touch, but would occasionally meet on the birthdays of our other friends. And then,

one year, he reached out to us out of the blue and told us that he had heard from a couple of people that we had been struggling with infertility and it was none of his business, but he thought he had the perfect solution to both our problems. He told me that he had accidentally gotten one of his girlfriends pregnant and neither of them wanted to keep the baby. So naturally, they had thought about putting the baby up for adoption, but after he heard about my wife and are wanting to have a baby of our own, he decided to reach out to us because that way, he wouldn't have to go through the trouble of contacting any agency in waiting and stuff at all. By then, it had been slightly over a year that Taylor and I had been trying to get pregnant and hadn't

had any luck and also, after discussing it with her, we decided to go ahead with the adoption because it was the best option for all of us. Even before Emily was born, we had all the legal paperwork done with and after she was born, her biological parents would only remain in touch with us for a couple of months before starting to fade out of her life. It was an open adoption and we had to reassure them that they were free to visit or have contact with Emily if they wanted to, but they only bothered to visit her for a couple of months after she was born and then they broke up, so they stopped coming over and we were fine with it. Emily's biological mother moved away and never reached out to us again and we went back to

having minimal contact with Jackson until Emily turned three years old and after that, even Jackson had no contact with us anymore. To be fair, after that, he didn't have any contact with anybody and it was like he totally disappeared. From what I had heard, his father had suffered some serious losses in business and had to sell their company and a lot more, so even they had to relocate because they couldn't start a fresh year. For almost 13 years, we did not hear from Jackson, but he reached out to us a couple of weeks before Emily's 16th birthday. That was six years back and I remembered he had sent us an email, telling us that he was finally back in town and was starting a new restaurant of his own and that he wanted to meet us

and Emily. I was a bit skeptical about it because honestly, this guy had not been in with us for the past 13 years and now, all of a sudden, he wanted to reconnect with us and our daughter, it was a bit too sudden. He hadn't even told us what he had been up to in the past decade. Just that he was back and he wanted to meet us. So I was unsure of whether we should give him a chance or not, but after speaking to Taylor, we decided to meet him without Emily first. When we met for the first time after all those years, he finally told us what he had been up to, and it was actually quite sad. Before his dad's company started failing,

he had been a total brat and I suppose most of you guys are aware of how stereotypical rich trust fund kids usually behave. While the rest of us had started working after graduating from college, he was still not really serious about life and was living in easy mode, partying every weekend and hooking up with every other girl. He did have a position in his dad's company, but it was only a nominal one and it was not like he actually had to do any work for it, so things were pretty simple for him. However, after they moved away, he had to

start afresh and actually start taking things seriously, so he had to start applying for jobs unfortunately, since neither his grades were any good, nor did he have any experience in the real world. It was very difficult for him to find anything that he wanted to do. His parents were also struggling to cope with the loss of everything that they had known and would constantly be fighting with each other at home. It was with great difficulty that his family had managed to get one of their relatives to help them out and let them stay with them and his father had started working under his uncle. Continuing the legacy of their family business, which he had left earlier. His dad didn't like it one bit since he didn't like taking orders

from anyone, which is why he hadn't joined the family business in the first place, but he had to be thankful to his brother for allowing him a place in their home and business. So all the bitterness and frustration inside him, he would take it out on his wife and his son. Within a year, year, it became absolutely impossible for him to continue living with his family and he decided to take a low-paying clerical job, so he would have some money of his own and would be able to move out. Unfortunately, moving out was not the upgrade that he thought it was because, with the money that he had, he could only afford to live in a tiny little apartment with a bunch of roommates. He just kept thinking about his life and how humiliating it was for him to be living like this

right now and that pushed him into depression. He tried to keep in touch with his family, but he was so bitter about everything that eventually, he decided to go no contact with them. Things just kept getting worse for him mentally, and after a few years, he started developing alcoholism, and eventually, that led to drugs. During that time,

he kept getting fired and jumped from one job to another, but made sure that he had enough money to pay for his addictions. At one point, he decided to skip paying rent and was evicted, so he ended up homeless, but he still made sure that he had enough money for his other priority. Thankfully, he was found by one of his uncle's neighbors, and they brought him back to his family, who helped him clean up his act. They had him sent to rehab and stuff and he had been clean for two years by the time he finally came back here. His uncle had put him in touch with a few

investors and he had some savings of his own as well, so he came back here with an intention to be better this time around. He wanted to start by setting things right with us because he thought that he had kind of abandoned us. Even though he had put Emily up for adoption, he had promised that he would try to be part of her life and now, he wanted to at least be able to give him himself a chance to live up to that promise that he'd made. That's why he wanted us to let Emily meet him and then, that was another discussion altogether because I remember that Taylor was all for it, but I was still not on board with it because it would be too much of a shock for Emily. She knew that she was adopted, but I didn't want to push her into a weird situation by introducing her biological

father into her life after she hadn't known him even in the slightest for all those years that he had been missing. So my wife and I decided that we were going to ask her and only then would we go ahead with reintroducing Jackson into her life again. When we spoke to Emily, I tried to keep things neutral, but Taylor decided to take a different approach and made it sound like Jackson had been through a lot of stuff, and now, only having Emily in his life would make it better. I thought it was a bit manipulative, but Taylor told me that she was only being honest with Emily and that she deserved to know everything about why her biological father had not been in his life for the past 13 years, so she could make an informed decision. Anyway, eventually,

Emily decided to meet him, and I still regret allowing that to happen because they did get along well and for a couple of years initially, things were going great. But then, unfortunately, the pandemic happened, and he had to shut his restaurant down. It was incredibly sad because that restaurant was supposed to be his dad's way to get back on top since they had been throwing around the idea of running the restaurant together as partners, and with his father's business expertise, they would be able to get back to their former life once again, and wouldn't have to rely on his uncle anymore. Even after the pandemic, he wasn't exactly able to get things back on track with his restaurant and that's when he started hitting the bottles,

around three years ago. Personally, I feel like he just stopped, putting an effort because he had been quite depressed during the pandemic and had been struggling with money, but refused to take any help from us. And after the restrictions were lifted, it was like he had lost the will to do anything at all and just kept drinking all day. Whatever little money he made from the restaurant, it was enough to just keep him going and pay for his living expenses but that was about it. We tried to help him through it, but I don't think he was interested in getting any help. He just wanted to keep drinking and I started to think of him as a very deadbeat kind of person because even though he had friends willing to help him in the support of his family.

It was like he had given up on himself and you can't do anything with people like that. On top of that, it was even more annoying for me that Taylor and Emily constantly kept pitying him, as if he was not about who had given up. Anyway, I couldn't exactly say anything about it because Jackson was already going through so much, I didn't want to be cruel. Taylor and Emily kept in touch with him and occasionally, Taylor would even help him out with money since in recent years, it had become very apparent that he was struggling as he had to move to a really small apartment as well. Emily also took care of him and we visited him occasionally since he was never in a condition

to come visit us. I thought we could do without these visits as well since it was all quite depressing, but they thought that it would be quite heartless of us to do so. So it was obvious that we had wildly differing opinions on the entire situation. This was how it had been for the past couple of years. And then recently, earlier this year, Emily got engaged to her high school sweetheart, and it brought all of us together. We were all equally excited for it, but things kind of went sour for me when, at the engagement party, Emily decided to publicly asked my wife and her biological father to walk her down the aisle. Obviously Taylor and Jackson were overjoyed, but most people just noticed me being completely thrown off by this decision since I had

been totally blindsided. I knew that she had a soft spot for Jackson because he had been through a lot in his life, but ultimately, I was her father. I was the person who had actually raised her and I had assumed that I would be the one to walk her down the aisle. It had always been a dream of mine. So when she did not ask me, I was quite shocked, and later on, she explained to me that the only reason she had asked Jackson and not me was because she felt like it would do a lot of good for him and probably keep him off the drinks around that time. I was not happy with this decision at all, but it was her wedding and her choice, so I had to accept it without a fuss and she had also told me that no matter who she asked to walk her down the aisle, my real

father is always going to be me, so it didn't matter. But the thing is, it did matter. It did and it kept eating away at me for the past couple of months because I just kept trying to figure out what I had done wrong. And then, I coincidentally found out about a couple of days ago, when I had come back home early from a business trip to surprise Taylor. I was supposed to be gone for three days, but I came back home on the evening of the second day and made sure that I was as silent as possible with the house keys and stuff and tiptoed to Taylor's room to surprise her. But then, I heard Emily's voice in the room and they were talking about me, so I couldn't help but eavesdrop on them. And I'm very glad that I did because otherwise, I don't think

I would have ever been able to figure out what exactly had been going on and by the time that I did, it would have been too late. They were talking about the wedding, obviously, and Taylor was telling Emily that she was glad that she had made the right choice by choosing her real family to walk her down the aisle and was congratulating her. I was very confused as to what that comment meant. but then, I figured it out soon enough, since the rest of the conversation was just Emily telling her mother that she wasn't happy about lying to me for the past three years. But they had put her in a very difficult position and that's why she had to do this. I eavesdropped on their conversation for about ten minutes and I was able to figure out

that Taylor had been cheating on me with Jackson for the past four years and for the past three years. Emily had known about it after she had caught them together at some point. But the two of them had teamed up and in order to prevent Emily from telling me, they had been bribing her with the promise of funding her business, no questions asked. I had always promised Emily that I would pay for her college education and her wedding, but after that, she was on her own, since her mother and I also needed to save for our retirement. We would definitely invest at some point, but she had to get her business started on her own, that was the deal.

Taylor knew about it and was on board with it, so the plan was that Emily, would work for other companies and get experience, and once she had enough capital and a business model, she would start approaching investors and get started with her business. She had always wanted to do something related to fashion, so that was the way she was going, and in the past couple of months, she had mentioned several times that she planned on starting her business after her honeymoon. I was kind of worried about where she was going to get that kind of money from because she had only been working for one year and I didn't think that was long enough to have either experience or money but after overhearing that conversation, I figured that it was

probably Taylor who was going to help her out in the future. From what I know, after the honeymoon, Taylor is going to invest in the business that Emily is starting off on and that's what they had been discussing for the most part. I still have no idea what part Jackson has to play in all of this because from what I know, he's a deadbeat guy and does not have any money of his own. I guess the fact that he is like that is pathetic enough for Emily to keep their secret. But after I overheard that conversation, I was devastated and I just tiptoed back out of the house and into my car so I could drive away. I was a mess after that because I had no idea how to deal with this or even process any of this and I just kept driving for a while until I got to a hotel. Once I was there, I did

something very impulsive, and I started calling up all the wedding vendors whom I was supposed to pay. The wedding is three months away and I had to start securing the deposits for the decor, florists, and a couple of other vendors. The groom's family and I were splitting the cost of the venue and catering, and according to the contract, we couldn't get that money back but before I made any other payments, I decided to cancel their deals altogether because I was pulling out all the finances from the wedding. Since it was quite obvious that Taylor had been promising to fund Emily's dreams, she could fund this one as well. After speaking to the vendors and telling them that they need not contact me

for the money, because I was out, I decided to put up a post because I felt like this was something that everybody needed to know. I typed out a really long post, with the details of everything that I had just found out, and spoke about how betrayed I had been feeling, not just by my wife and my daughter, but also by Jackson, who I had thought of as a friend. All three of them had broken my heart, especially Taylor and most of all, Emily. And now, I didn't want anything to do with them anymore because it was very obvious to me that this was never my family. The real family was Taylor, Jackson, and Emily. It didn't matter that I had raised her, her loyalties were elsewhere. I ended up breaking down while posting it, and because I knew that the post would create quite a stir

on social media, I decided to immediately put my phone on silent and try and just go to sleep so I wouldn't have to think about any of this. Unfortunately, when I woke up in the middle of the night, it wasn't like waking up from a nightmare because it was all still very much real and was actually happening to me. When I checked my phone after I woke up, almost three hours after I posted, I saw that several people from the family had commented on the post and told me to be strong and I really appreciated that. I also noticed that Taylor and Emily had been calling me nonstop after the post,

messaging me to call them back, and that they were really sorry that I had to find out this way. They wanted me to just come back to them and speak to them so they would be able to explain themselves because they felt like they owed it to me and they did, but I was in no mood to speak to them or interact with them in any way whatsoever.

So they could keep blowing up my phone, I wasn't going to respond. After I had checked my phone, I realized that I hadn't received any word from Jackson, probably because he had nothing to say, and that was fair enough because we were just friends. He didn't owe me anything as much as my family did. But then, things got worse the next day when I woke up around noon and noticed that Taylor had stopped calling me, but Emily was still trying to get in touch with me and she wasn't apologizing and telling me to come back home and her messages anymore. She was telling me that

I had ruined everything for her. I didn't understand what that meant until she sent me. me a message, saying that her fiancé had decided to call off the wedding after confronting her her about the post, since he had read it and realized that Emily had been covering up for her mother's affair for the past three years, just so she could fund her business in the future. He thought that it was greedy and unethical, and he was disgusted by her, which I don't really blame him for. On top of that, it had been made worse by the fact that she had even chosen Jackson and her mother to walk her down the aisle on the day of her wedding and now, he finally understood why. Since she wanted her mother and couldn't care less about me, even though Jackson

hadn't been the one to raise her, I had. I had mentioned it earlier, her fiancé was her high school sweetheart and had known our family for a really long time. So he had also known me for a really long time and he was perhaps one of the only people who genuinely knew how hurt I was when Emily picked Jackson to walk her down the aisle instead of me and had actually even comforted me. It wasn't surprising that he had taken such a strong stand for my sake and called off the wedding altogether, and I was actually quite grateful for it. I thought that it was karma and she could keep blowing up my phone, but it was not going to change what had happened. So I decided to ignore it and since that day, my phone has been flooded with messages from everyone that I know. Most people have sent supportive

messages. And some of them have told me that there was no need for me to talk about all of this on a public platform because it's still my wife and daughter that I'm talking about and they're going to be at the receiving end of all the heat and these people were mostly from my in-laws family. I had made that post almost three days ago and Emily stopped texting me and trying to reach out to me on the second day. I had been feeling quite good about what I had done until a couple of hours ago when I received a message from Emily, saying that she was really sorry about everything but most of all, she was sorry about the fact that she had a screwed up family like this because we had ruined everything for her. Her fiancé had apparently left home after confronting her about the

post and blocked her everywhere. So now, there was no wedding happening, and she was completely on her own. I felt kind of bad for her because I knew that she really loved her fiancé, they had been together for a very long time and now, it was all gone. I guess she understood what I was feeling right now and I know it can't be good. So Ida for posting about how my wife had been having an affair and my daughter had been covering it up. Update 1. Hey, thank you so much for the support. Yes, I have spoken to a lawyer and he is in the process of filing for divorce on my behalf right now. It has been a really tough six days since I discovered what had been happening in my family

and I'm still trying to process all of it. I'm staying in the hotel. I haven't even gone back to get any extra clothes. It's just not worth it. My parents are also now aware of what had been happening in the family behind my back and they have also completely cut off Taylor and Emily, even though it was particularly hard for them to cut Emily off since she's their granddaughter. But it had to be done, and it's done now.

Also, a lot of you have been asking why exactly I had refused to fund Emily's business in the future, but Taylor agreed, and well, I had refused because I thought that Emily needed to learn to be independent. And also, I believe that Taylor and I needed to keep money aside for our retirement as well. But I guess she was desperate to keep the secret of her affair, which is why she had offered to fund the business and she probably knew that she would be taken care of after she retired, either by me, since we had a similar kind of income, and I was pretty good at saving money, or by whatever her parents left her. Worst case scenario, she would just spend the rest of her life with Jackson.

Either way, whatever her reasons were, it was enough for Emily to betray me for some money and that's what really matters. After she sent that message, I haven't replied to her, and I don't plan on responding to any of them either. They haven't earned it and I think it's for the best if I stay away from them right now, for them and for me as well. Soon enough, Taylor will be served with the divorce papers and hopefully, we will be able to put an end to this because all I really want to do right now is just move on from this nightmare. Update 2, I finally heard back from Taylor after almost 10 days since I discovered the affair and made that post, and a couple of days ago, she was served with the divorce papers and today, she reached out to me. I had blocked my entire family, so she had to create a new

email account and send me an email apologizing for everything. She told me that after hearing about how much Jackson had been through, she had developed a bit of a soft spot for him and before she even knew it, she had started to catch feelings for him. Apparently, she had wanted to tell me about it, but she didn't know how to go about it. And then Emily found out, so she had to bribe her to keep quiet and things just kept getting messy-a. She told me that she was really sorry that she had created such a mess and so was Jackson. The only thing that she could do for me at this point was make sure that the divorce was a smooth process, so whatever my terms were, she was not going to contest it and would just accept whatever I decided. I guess that's

good enough for me because fighting with her is not going to fix our marriage. I'm still really angry about all of this, but I can't do anything anymore except just accept whatever is happening and try to make the best of the situation. I haven't heard back from Emily yet, but from what I know, she and her fiancé have officially broken up because they put out an official statement on social media, saying that the wedding had been called off and they had decided to separate. They didn't state any reasons, but anyone with two brain cells will be able to put it together. It's really sad, but it cannot be helped. Now, all that's left to do is finalize my divorce and I'll be done with this family for good.

Update 3, hi, so it's been six months since I filed for a divorce and three weeks ago, it came through. I got to keep the house and both our cars and honestly, those were my only two demands. No alimony and no settlement for Taylor, the only money she received was whatever she had been contributing to our joint savings and that was it. We shut down that account and ended our marriage. There has been very minimal interaction ever since we filed for a divorce and mostly through our lawyers and now even that has come to an end. I'm actually relieved since now I can finally try and move on in a real way. I've heard from a couple of people that she has moved in with Jackson

and they have sold the restaurant, so I guess they're planning on going back to Jackson's family. Good for them, I think it'll be for the best if they leave. Emily and I have also not been in touch for the past couple of months ever since her wedding got cancelled. She did reach out to send me an apology through email two months ago telling me that she was going to try and be better and surprisingly, Taylor actually had lived up to the promise that she had made that she would finance Emily's business. So now that she had money, she was going to start working on a business model and told me that I did not have to forgive her, but nevertheless she was still going to try and be a better person.

And I wish her all the best, I really do. I hope you enjoy this story. Smith contrasted my flawed gestation with Val's flawless one for nine moons. Following Val's delivery, both my spouse and I severed ties with Smith. Been married for well over two years and have been together for seven. He's amazing, quite literally the man of my dreams, and I have an amazing life with him now. My parents and the rest of my family love him. I'm Mexican and have a really big family.

Fortunately, I haven't heard a single member of my family say they didn't like him as he is a gentleman to everyone which is what made me fall in love with him in the first place. We are the perfect partners and we rarely have arguments except when it comes to his mother. Mill is a nightmare, to say the least. My husband's family is smaller compared to mine. Other than his parents, he has a sister who got married last year. His parents are the stereotypical conservative small-town Christians and his mother is extremely protective about them to the point of being overbearing. She likes to be in control and insists on spending time as a family during the holidays.

If we don't listen to her demands then she starts making a scene. When I met his family for the first time, his dad and I had no problems bonding as he was really chill and quiet. His sister, who was in her college in a different state and moved back only two years ago, has a great relationship with me. She treats me like her own sister. But when it came to his mother, it was quite difficult since she would say the most ridiculously sexist thing to me. For example, when they asked me what I did for work, I told them that I was a marine biologist, specializing in conservation efforts for marine life. Phil said that was awesome and looked really happy about it, but Mill just kind of frowned without speaking a word to me.

I brushed it off not thinking much about it, but later my Phil called my husband to say how my Mill wanted him to break off the relationship with me. According to my Phil, she has said I'm not the kind of woman that is good enough for her son. Her reasoning is because I don't act like a woman should since I have a job. I love my job and I love being a scientist. My husband has never expressed that he wants me to be a housewife or take up a stereotypically feminine job. If he did, we wouldn't be together. But apparently, that's what his mother thought he needed. She complained that with the well-paying job I have, might not become a housewife after marriage and that he should have found a better woman than me. My husband firmly told Phil to convey to his

mother that who he chooses to marry is none of her business. I was glad my husband stood up for me. This was a green flag for me and also why I didn't walk away from our relationship right then and thereafter hearing what his mother thought about me. Unfortunately, as we kept getting serious, Mill just got worse and worse towards me despite how much my husband tried to protect me. It started out with snide comments here and there whenever we were left alone. She would manage to sneak into conversations about the fact that she thinks a good wife should be a homemaker taking care of the house and waiting for her husband to come back home. She also made it clear to me on several occasions that I didn't look like the kind of woman my husband should have brought home as I am not feminine enough to carry children. At first, I didn't take it seriously as I figured she might be joking but when she kept repeating it,

I realized she was serious about it and I was shocked by the way her mind worked. One day when we were over for dinner after Mill had insisted on us coming over, she went off on this rant about how she missed living in a world where women took care of their own family and men went out to earn for their family. My husband quipped saying that the world didn't work like that anymore and that he was lucky to have a partner like me since we both earned quite well and took care of the house together. Mill shook her head hearing this and started saying how women should act like women and men should act like men. I knew she was knowingly talking about this, but I tried to keep a cool head. Phil told her to calm down and that this wasn't the

time for that kind of discussion we needed to have, but she got mad seeing that he was not supporting her. She continued to say how she was just speaking the truth and that she wanted the best for her son. She then looked towards me pointedly. I had heard enough from her so I quietly got up from the table and asked my husband to drive me home which he readily agreed to do. He looked at his mother with disappointment and we walked out. Later when Phil called to men things, I firmly told him that it wasn't up to mill to decide who her son gets married to and that she should stop trying to taunt me unnecessarily about having a job. Phil agreed and tried to apologize on behalf of her, but I wasn't having it. My husband agreed and told his dad that if she didn't apologize,

then he would not be going back to see her ever. Perhaps his threats scared her into apologizing to me and I asked her to never bring it up again and she agreed so I managed to let that situation roll off my shoulders. Unfortunately, snakes don't shed their skins easily and just a few months later, when my husband and I first started living together, this was before we got married, and I had to go on a research expedition for a few weeks, she found out and called me to ask who was going to take care of the house and her son. I was confused hearing her questions and put her on speaker so my husband who was driving next to me could hear her as well. I asked her what she meant by that and she started to say how now that I was living with her son,

I needed to stop being so immature. She continued to say how I should not go out for these expeditions and commit more to being a good partner to her son. My husband angrily told her. her that he didn't need anyone to take care of him and that we were equal partners who shared responsibilities. She got upset and started to say how we could not get married since I didn't know how to be a proper wife. My husband asked her to mind her own business and cut her call. When my husband proposed to me, my mill was extremely unhappy, but she was even more unhappy when she found out that we wanted a small wedding. I had a huge family and it would be expensive for us to invite all of them since we were also looking to move into our own place so I finally

chalked it down to all my close family members and I had already made up my mind to have a celebration with the other family members later and treat them. But Mill started arguing with my husband saying how she wanted to invite all her friends who she had not met for a very long time and our wedding would be the perfect occasion for it. When my husband asked her if she would be paying for their plates if we did agree to invite them, she got offended saying how as his parent, he should feel ashamed to even ask this since we both earned so well. We scoffed hearing her response and made it clear that we had already made up our minds about having a small wedding and if there was any uninvited guests that she had invited, then she would be responsible for their meals.

Mill didn't like this, but she could not do anything about it. During the wedding, she was loudly complaining about everything and made it very apparent that she hated my wedding gown. I didn't pay any heed to her comments and acted like she didn't exist because, for one day, I didn't want to be hurt by her mean comments. Sill, trying to protect me, tried her best to keep Mill away from me for the rest of the evening. Last year during mid-April, we found out that I was pregnant which was such good news for us since we had been trying for some time. We waited until I was around nine weeks pregnant to tell our close family and friends about it. My Mill was quite upset that she was not the first one to know.

She called me to say how as my husband's mother, she had every right to know first and that she was disappointed in me. I told her how we wanted to wait before saying such important news and that if she wanted to complain, she could feel free to call up my husband since I was in the mood to listen to her lectures about what a good woman should do. Just a month after I had announced my pregnancy, as luck would have it, Sil told us that she had just found out that she was pregnant also. We were shocked yet pleased to hear about this. This just meant that there would be one new addition to our family.

Sill wasn't yet married but had a serious longtime boyfriend who we had all met. I knew that Mill would make a big deal about this pregnancy before marriage thing, which she did as expected but my husband supported his sister as much as she could and finally, Mill accepted. Sill was extremely emotional and was happy that he would have two grandchildren at a time. Sil and I started spending more and more time together since we were simultaneously pregnant and going through this journey together. We leaned on each other for advice, and companionship during a period that was both magical and challenging. We shocked for our babies together and decided on our nurseries.

During this time, Mill started to constantly compare my pregnancy with Sill's pregnancy journey out of nowhere as if it was some sort of a competition. She would say things like how Sill was clearly better equipped to be a mother than me since she had always been a homemaker unlike me who had a job. There would be snide remarks here and they're like if I vomited more and she found out. She would say how Sil never vomited this much so it clearly means that her womb was better for the baby. As much as I tried to let her comments go, it would bother me and Sil hated it as much as I did. When it came time for my gender reveal party, I asked Sil to find out the gender of our baby from our doctor so she could prepare the envelope.

She did the same when it came time for her gender reveal party. Mill was furious when she found out about this and had a major meltdown. She turned up at our doorstep screaming at us that I was trying to take away her grandchild from her by not allowing her to organize this gender reveal and that my husband should put his foot down when it came to me so she could be more involved in my pregnancy. My husband didn't like the way she was speaking to me as it was starting to give me a headache so he told her to get out or she would be cut off permanently from our grandchild's life. As usual, she made a scene crying and insisting that she only wanted the best for her

grandchild but made her exit eventually. Later, we received calls from Phil and Sil as they were concerned with how she was acting, and we had to tell them everything that had happened. Sil was shocked to hear how her mother was behaving and urged me to rest as much as I could because clearly, I was distressed after all my mill screaming. During Christmas, my husband told his mother that we weren't coming to Christmas since I couldn't travel long distances. She was pissed to hear that, arguing how he was trying to stray away from his family and when

refused to listen to her, she hung up in the middle of the conversation. We thought she understood and would not bother us again. To our surprise, a week later, she texted him saying we should be at her place sharp at 4 p.m. My husband texted back to her reminding her about their conversation earlier about us not coming. She decided to call him and started screaming at him that he had no right to avoid family by acting like this and started asking questions if I was trying to deter him from coming. My husband told her that it was both our decision to not go and she started screaming again about how he needed to control his woman. Understandably, I started realizing how controlling and toxic mill was becoming day by day and would share my concerns with my husband and Sill.

Both of them would agree that she was clearly crossing the lines and would stand up for me but their mother was exhausting. When it came time to give birth, we didn't have time to inform anyone as I went into preterm labor at 33 weeks and our baby boy was born at 34 weeks via duct emergency C-section after all efforts of natural birth failed. After my husband checked that both I and the baby were okay, he announced our son's birth on the family group chat and also informed my family. Everyone was so happy and busy congratulating me but Mill had yet another meltdown about not being told I was in labor and that the baby had been born. She sent us a barrage of texts personally saying how she should have been there in the delivery

with me watching her grandchild coming into this world. This was absolutely ridiculous since I would have never allowed her in, but I didn't reply to correct her delusions as I was busy with my baby. When we announced his name, she called my husband crying about how it sounded too Mexican and that he should keep a different name. When my husband said he liked our son's name, she said how it could be our son's middle name but we needed to keep a different name. We obviously didn't listen and she kept fussing about it. When it came time for her to meet our son's, our son, she insisted on calling him a completely different name which took us by surprise. She tried to justify saying how this could be her special little name for him, but my husband

firmly asked her to cut it out. She also hates the fact that I breastfeed my son because then I would have to take him away from her and she says that I should start feeding him formula so then she can spend more time with him. My mother who was also present with me informed her how a newborn baby needs to have breast milk, but Mill kept arguing that it was not fair. As you can imagine, her taunts and controlling nature were becoming more and more unbearable and clear to everyone. The final straw came when she invited me out for lunch saying that she had something important to talk about. I kept trying to cancel the lunch several times, but she begged me saying that it was imperative that we had to meet. When I turned up, she greeted me warmly and we sat down to order

our food. I then asked her why she wanted to ask me out for lunch and it was then that Mill asked if I had thought about who our son's godfather would be. I pursed my lips hearing this since I knew she would not like the answer. I carefully explained to her how Sill and I had discussed this and we were each other's children's godparents. Mill burst out crying in the middle of the restaurant hearing this and started yelling about how I could do this to her. She said Sill had her family and I should make her my son's godmother since she had every right to take care of my son as his grandparent. I reminded her how she thought Sill was better equipped than me so naturally, she should be happy that my son would be taken care of well by her, but Mill argued back that only she could be trusted and I should make her my son's godparent.

Her ridiculous demands were starting to get on my nerves and I told her firmly that we were done discussing this and that if she wanted she could discuss this with my husband later, I did tell Sil regarding my lunch and she didn't like how Mill didn't want her to be our son's godparent. My husband also didn't understand why my Mill was behaving this way and kept ignoring her calls. Last week, Sil gave birth to her daughter and she had asked me to be in the delivery room for support since I'd been through this. I happily obliged and was there with her throughout the night while my husband and my mother took care of our son at home. In the morning, after Sil had given birth and I made sure her boyfriend was there to take over the duties, I left to come back home and rest. Throughout the day, I received calls from Mill but I was too tired to talk with her and was busy spending time with my son.

In the evening, my husband who had gone to check on his sister came back home amused. I thought he was happy to meet his nephew, but he told me that he was even happier for another news. This is when he revealed that apparently, Sill, tired of Mill's toxic behavior, took a stand and decided to implement a no-contact rule between Mill and her daughter. He told me how when Mill showed up at the hospital unannounced, Sill asked the nurses to refuse to let her in. Only Phil was allowed inside to meet the baby since Sil didn't want her mother's judgments about her daughter. This was shocking and quite unexpected as I had never imagined that

Sil would stand up to Mill this way. This also made me realize why Mill had been calling me the whole day. She was perhaps trying to either blame me or persuade me to convince Sil to see her granddaughter. When I talked with Sil later, I found out that this decision came after witnessing the extent of Mill's actions towards me all these years. The decision to go no contact was a necessary boundary to protect her daughter from Mill's toxic influence. It was a moment of reckoning for Mill as the consequences of her actions finally came crashing down. The fallout has been severe, and Mill is completely cut off from her daughter's life, unable to witness the precious moments of her grandchild's early days. Since then, I have started to think if it would be the right decision for us as

well to cut off Mill permanently? Would it be too cruel? Update 1, Hello everyone. First off, I just want to thank you all for your kind words and advice. It means a lot to me. I didn't think this would get as much attention as quickly as it did. My husband and I have not had any contact with Mill since we found out that Sill has cut her off. She continues to call us, but we ignore them. I discussed with my husband what I was thinking and we agreed that for our mental peace, it would be better for us to cut her out permanently since there is no guarantee that she won't behave the way she behaves with me with our son. To everyone asking why we waited for so long, you have to understand that my husband is the oldest who grew up in this toxic upbringing so he

never really saw how wrong this all was until his mother started misbehaving with me. My husband has always supported me and protected me yet his mother is just too much to handle. Hence, we set up a group video call with his sister and Phil where we discussed our decision and they are on our side. Now we just need to inform Mill about our decision. Update 2, if your eyeballs are itching for an update then you better sit down, it's a bit long. My husband decided to go to call his mother

and tell her about our decision yesterday evening. When she first picked up the call, she started screaming at him about how long it had been since he had talked with her and that she wanted to meet our son immediately. My husband remained quiet until she was done with her demands and then gently let her know about how she was right and that he needed to step up and be more of a man. Mill immediately agreed saying how this is what she had wanted from him all along, but my husband

interrupted her saying that as a man of our family, he had decided to cut her off from us permanently to protect us from her toxic ideology and drama. My Mill was dumbfounded at first hearing this, perhaps trying to process what he had just spoken, and then when she understood the severity of our decision, she started saying how she was coming over to meet us and that nothing could stop us from meeting with her grandkids. grandson. My husband immediately warned her that we wouldn't let her in and we would call the police on her for trespassing on our property. She then started screaming that this was probably my decision and that I was tearing the family apart. My husband told her to think whatever she wanted

but he was done with her, but she continued to scream how this is why he should have never married a woman like me and that she knew I was bad news all along. My husband got pissed, naturally. He reminded her that we were not the only ones cutting off contact and that Sill has done the same thing so the issue is clearly her and she needs to start accepting that. Mill, as usual, kept arguing back that I had polluted the minds of everyone and that I had successfully taken her children away from her. My husband exasperatedly told her that if she wanted to blame someone then she should blame herself for not only being a bitter person but also a racist. He said that everyone was just done with her and she needed to come to terms with her own

evil actions. This shut my Mill up and he blocked her after their conversation. I have done the same. I have also informed my family about the situation and to not pick up Mills calls for now. I feel bad for my husband and Syl for not having a supportive mother but I am also glad that I won't ever have to go through such shitty situations ever again. Update 3. It's been two months since my last update and I am happy to update that our son is doing well. Sill and I continue to remain close and we regularly meet up so our babies can have playdates. It is adorable to see how they are bonding and I hope that they continue to be each other's best friends as they grow up. Also, another happy update is that Sill is finally getting married to her baby daddy as we all knew that she would.

Now coming on to the main update, we continue to be no contact with Mill. To everyone who was concerned about our safety, don't worry we have cameras installed everywhere and we did change our lock so there is no way that Mill can ever disturb us. I doubt that she will ever confront us publicly since by now a lot of people know exactly why we cut her off so she must be definitely embarrassed. After we cut off all contact with her, she did try to persuade Phil to talk with us, but he refused and let her know that he was getting sick of her too. I guess when her own husband told her this, it might have finally made her think because a few weeks later, she asked Phil to tell us how sorry she was for everything that she had done to me. I doubt that she genuinely

feels apologetic which is why we continue to not talk with her until today. Phil and my family continue to visit us and bond with our grandchild which is how it is going to be in the near future. I hope you enjoy this story. My guardians left me at 14 at my grandmother's residence because of my unusual medical conditions. Currently, they are pleading with me for my share of the family fortune to assist my sibling. Out of his mess. So for context, when I was younger, I had been diagnosed with epilepsy pretty young. It was quite unfortunate because my parents were not really well equipped to deal with that sort of thing, emotionally, or mentally, and they started treating me like some sort of diseased child whom they could not deal with. I think I must have been

around six years old when I first noticed how differently they treated my brother and me. My brother was three years older than me and my parents treated him far better than they treated me presumably because he was much easier to deal with, as compared to me. And as epilepsy was not enough on its own, the cherry on top was when I was diagnosed with dyslexia and severe ADHD at the age of eight. Needless to say, my parents kind of had their hands full with me. Now it would be one thing if they were nice and kind people who were grateful to have a child and were up for the challenge because I know that it cannot be easy being a parent to a special

needs child. But they were the ones who had decided to have a baby, they should have been prepared for what comes with it. I guess they had just assumed that since my brother had turned out perfectly healthy and fine, I would be absolutely healthy as well and did not see this coming. And now, since I had been born already, they had no choice but to deal with me. They made sure that I felt that way as well like they were tolerating me, and it was not nice. I did not have a very fine and normal childhood like most people, not just because of my illnesses,

but also because of my parents. In fact, I would like to say that most of my childhood misery was caused to me by my parents, not my illnesses. That was a very small part of it. But the way they responded to it and treated me, that's what really made me upset. They always treated me like a pariah in my own family and I never felt included and they made sure to make me feel like an unwanted burden on the family. They would walk on eggshells around me and it was like every time I would walk into a room, they would stop talking instantly,

and all their life would be sucked out of that room just because I had arrived. And this is how they would treat me when I was literally under 10 years of age. So it only got worse with time and my mental health was pretty fragile. I just could not take it. So I started misbehaving in my teenage years, and I guess the adolescent hormones, combined with the misery of growing up in a home where I always felt like I was not wanted, it just broke my heart, and I started acting out. I stopped putting any effort into studying and started flunking out of all my classes on purpose, just because I was so angry with my parents and how they were treating me. I was defiant, disobedient, and downright rude to everybody that I knew.

I was pushing everybody away, even my friends, and I knew that it was not the right thing to do, but I was just so miserable that I did not know how else to get my parents to pay attention to me. Even then, they did not seem to care much. Every time they would be summoned by the school, just because I had broken a rule or misbehaved in some way, they would just sigh in disappointment, but not even bother to reprimand me. It was incredibly frustrating and I hated being with them. I would even throw temper tantrums in the house and try to get their attention that way,

but then, they would just ignore me altogether and talk among themselves. not even bothering to lower their voices so that I wouldn't be able to hear them. They would say things like I was having a fit again and would keep rolling their eyes at me and telling me to be normal. That was the most that I could get out of them and it was just really heartbreaking for me. But then, when I was 14, I broke a major rule in school, and I decided to go crazy and brought a pack of cigarettes to school and started smoking one right in the middle of class. And then, when my teacher demanded that I stop and told me to get out of class, I flipped him off. That was pretty much the last straw for me because I had already been quite a

troublemaker at school before that, but I had always been off the hook because my parents would tell everyone that I was not a normal kid and that I was not exactly right in the head, so they had to excuse my behavior. But after that, there was no going back. I got expelled, and that was the one time that my parents were actually furious with me. They really tore into me that day and said a lot of things that I don't think I will ever be able to forget or forgive. It was not things that I did not know already, but it just hurt to hear them actually say it out loud. They told me that they regretted ever having me and had they known that I would turn out to be such a psychotic little kid, they never would have gone on with the pregnancy and would have terminated it as soon as they found out.

They called me a burden on the family and said that they were better off when they had just one son, so now they were going to make sure that I left the family and never came back again. I was grounded for one week and for that one week. they literally locked me in my room. They did not allow me to come out for anything, apart from bathroom breaks, and even my meals were sent up to me in my room. I was not allowed to go anywhere or speak to anybody and I was absolutely miserable. I kind of felt like a prisoner in solitary confinement, except that this was much worse because

it was my own parents that were doing it to me and I don't think I had committed a crime, as such. I had just been acting out and I think that was kind of on them because they had never given the kind of attention that I wanted. Or rather, needed, because I was a child and they should have been good parents to me. They were the ones who screwed up and I am ready to admit that I was not the easiest to deal with, with all my illnesses, but they should have been considered that. They should have thought things through before they decided to have a baby. Anyway, after one week of being treated like that, I finally found out what they had meant when

they said that I would never be allowed back into the family again. out of the blue one day, my parents told me to get into the car with all my stuff. My brother and my mom packed my things for me while I waited in the car and about an hour later, I was all packed and we were driving. It was a familiar route and in a few minutes, I realized that we were heading to my grandmother's place, my dad's mom. So in my head, I thought that maybe they were going to let me live there for a couple of weeks to get my head on straight.

Because I knew that my grandma was a strict disciplinarian, but I also knew that. knew that she had a soft spot for me and treated me much better than my parents. I did not think it was going to be a punishment for me as such, but once I got there, I realized that this was not going to be a temporary arrangement. They were, in fact, dumping me at my grandmother's house so that she could raise me. Because they were giving up on me and they did not want me around anymore. That's what they had taken that one week for, to convince my grandmother to raise me. When we reached my grandmother's house, my parents brought out all my things, left them at the door, and told me to carry them all in. They told me that this was going to be my new home now and said

that they did not want any contact with me ever again, especially not after what I had done. According to them, I had been trying my best to ruin their reputation, but now, I had crossed a line and I could not take it back. While we were at the door, I tried to beg them not to do this because in spite of everything, I still wanted to have a relationship with my parents. I don't know why, I was 14 and I was desperate to have some sense of belongingness in my family so it was quite difficult for me to leave with the fact that they were dumping me at my grandma's place. I was also slightly concerned about the fact that my grandma probably would not be able to take care of me, which is why it had taken her one week to accept me, since she was

getting old and was already in her 60s. I knew that my grandmother loved me, but I didn't know if she actually wanted to take me in, so I felt like I was just going to go from being a burden to my parents to being a burden to my grandmother. I did not want to disappoint her because even in the past, whenever I would visit her and she would learn about the things that I had been pulling off at home and at school, she would be quite disappointed, but then she would always encourage me and tell me that she knew I was made of stronger stuff. Tried to convince me that my parents would come around if I behaved better and had faith in me. That was another reason why I did not want to move in with my grandmother because I felt like she would start resenting me as well, just like my parents had,

and I could not afford to lose her too. It was kind of complicated. So I tried to beg them to let me stay with them, but they told me that they had made up their mind. Right in front of me, they told my grandmother that they were done with me and did not even want to hear about me. And then, they said that they did not want to freak like me living with them anymore, and wanted to focus on my very normal brother, which is what really got to me. Because that's the kind of language that that bullies at school used for me to make fun of me, and it really hurt me to hear my parents using the same kind of words for me.

Because it was one thing for the mean kids at school to say it to me, it did not affect me as much because I was used to it. But when I heard my parents call me a freak, I realized that they were the biggest bullies of my life and actually, they were doing me a huge favor by letting me live with my grandma because they never loved me no matter what I did

and I bet that even if I had behaved better, they probably wouldn't have cared because to them. My brother was the only child they had. So after that point, I stopped begging and I accepted the fact that I was now going to live with my grandma, and I decided, in my head, that I was going to be better. Because I deserved better and so did my grandma, and I was not going to throw away my life, just because my parents did not love me. Once my parents had left, my grandmother and I sat down and had a conversation that was

much needed. She told me, very transparently, that even though she loved me, she had not. not exactly been ready to take me in. And she had a number of concerns about me because she had heard about the way that I had been behaving from my father and had said that at her age, it was not going to be possible for her to handle a troubled kid like me. She said that she understood that I needed help, but she was not sure if she would be able to provide the right kind of space for me to grow up in. And that's why she had been holding out about whether she should take me in or not. That was why it had taken her one week to come to that decision. But after my father,

told her that he had grounded me and had just kept me locked in my room for the one week that she had been thinking about what to do, she decided that her son was not the right kind of parent to raise me and apologized to me for not intervening before, since she also had herself to worry about. She was a widow and did not have much of her own, so she was not sure if taking me in and adopting me would be the right thing to do. But now that she had learned how badly I was being treated, she could understand why I was acting out the way that I was. And told me that that she wanted a fresh start with me, and wanted to do right by me, unlike my parents. She said that I should look at this as an opportunity, and that's what I did.

I apologized to her for everything that I had done in the past, and I told her that I forgive her for not intervening before and not adopting me earlier, in spite of knowing how badly I was being treated by my parents. So we decided to put everything in the past and work together so that I could have a better future. And I always am, always will be, thankful to my grandmother, for everything that she has done for me because I truly do not think that I would have become the person that I am today if she had not been a part of my life and had not decided to take me in. I pretty much turned my life around after that day, with the help of my grandmother, and that's why I am where I am today. After I moved in with my grandma, I made a conscious effort

to be better at everything that I did, and even she tried to do right by me, help me, and provide me with the kind of space that I needed to excel in what I did. She got the right tutors for me to help me with my academics and even enrolled me in private school and made sure that everybody knew that I had needs to be catered to, so they would not treat me like every other student. But unlike my parents, she did not use it as an excuse but used it as a reason to provide me with the help that I obviously needed. And it did help me, which is probably why I was able to graduate with a good score and go to college. Like any other kid, I was able to do everything that I wanted to, and for that, I only have my grandmother to thank. My parents continued to

visit my grandmother occasionally, but they would never see me and I could stay out of their way. Every time that my parents would visit, I would leave the house and only come back after I knew for a fact that they had left. They did not seem to care about this and neither did I that went on for a couple of years. But then, my grandmother had a big fight with them about this and told them that they were horrible parents for not even attempting to talk to me, especially when I was doing better and they had a reason to talk to me and apologize for what they had done. They refused to even acknowledged that they had made a mistake while raising me and pretended like they were perfect parents, I was just a bad kid. They had called me a rotten apple and a freak, yet again,

and my grandma lost it. So she told them never to come back and they stuck to it. They were so egoistic that they just couldn't accept the fact that they were not good parents to me, and that's why I had turned out the way that I did when I was 14, but because of my grandma's guidance, I had improved. And yet, they did not seem to be able to comprehend that. So after that, there was no talking to them anymore. For almost ten years, my grandma and I did not talk to them and pretended like these people never existed for us. I achieved so much and hit so many milestones, but I never spoke to my parents and neither did

they ever reach out to me, even though I had social media and I had never blocked them. They could have reached out to me, they just chose not to, and only now, have they reached out to me. And that's because my grandma passed away a couple of months ago. It was very upsetting for me since she was the only person that I had who genuinely had my back, no matter what. Even though we had not been living together for the past couple of years, since I moved out for college and then graduated, and got a place of my own. She was still my rock and my support system, so life has been very different without her, and I was still trying to cope with her loss when I heard from my parents. Not even six months have passed since she passed away,

but they are already at my door, demanding that I share my inheritance with them because apparently, my very normal and healthy brother is not doing better than I am, as they had expected. And now, they need my help to clean up the mess that he had made. They visited me a few days ago, and my brother was not with them, which was surprising because before that, every time they would visit, my brother would always come along. I decided to interact with. I decided to interact with interact with them and talk to them because I had actually thought that they were here to apologize. But after a bit of small talk and condolences, they came straight to the point. They told me that while he was in college, my brother had developed a bit of a drug habit and now,

it had started affecting his ability to work. I don't know why they were trying to downplay it because from what I gathered, he was in serious trouble and needed help. So now, they wanted me to share my inheritance with them, whenever I would come into the money, so they would be able to pay for rehab. I asked them why he could not just attend one of the low-cost programs, which they could afford, and they told me that they had tried, but it was not good enough for him, and he needed a residential program, which apparently cost a lot.

Now, I personally don't know anybody who has been to rehab, and I don't know how much it costs, and I'm not going to do enough work to actually find out the cost. All I know is that I have my own money now since I have a good job. I'm comfortable and I know that my grandmother was also pretty well off since my grandfather had left her a lot of money and she had invested it pretty carefully, which is really good for me, but bad for my parents, because in spite of knowing that, they were too proud to keep in touch with her. Or even apologize to her towards the very end, knowing that they would probably need the money. Anyway, I did not care about any of that. I just told my parents that I was ready to help them out with whatever amount they needed, but there was just one condition that I had. And that was that they would have to publicly acknowledge everything that they had done in the past, the terrible way that they had treated me, the things that they had said to me, and also the way that they had treated my grandmother.

And then, I wanted them to also acknowledge that now, they needed my help, and why they needed the money from me so that everybody would be able to know what was going on with us. Because for years, we had kept things private, because my grandma did not want any drama. But now that they had come to me and had the audacity to ask me for help, to share my grandmother's money with them, in spite of the way that they had been treating us for the past ten years, I thought that this was necessary. I did not feel bad in the slightest while asking this of them since I wanted them to publicly say everything that they had done wrong. And when I said this to them, their faces literally fell.

They tried to negotiate with me and told me that I was being unreasonable and kind of selfish. but I told them that this was my condition, and they could take it or leave it. I had no issues with providing them with the money that they needed, I had nothing against my brother anymore, and neither did they have anything against them. But they definitely would have to acknowledge what they did in order for me to completely move on from what had happened. Because they had treated me badly, there was no way around it. And they had also not been nice to my grandmother, and this was the money that we were talking

about. So if they wanted her money, they had to acknowledge what they had done. It was as simple as that, I don't know why they are being so weird about it. But when I told them this, they started calling me, heartless, emotionless, and said that they had never expected something like this from me. I told them they shouldn't have expected anything from me at all, given the fact that we hadn't even been speaking for the past ten years. And now, if they wanted my help, they would have to acknowledge and accept their mistake.

and apologize for them. That is it, I do not want to hear anything more about it. They left after that, after a lot of crying and accusations, but I did not budge. And now, they are trying to change my mind and telling me that my brother is in a really bad condition and that he needs my help, but I don't understand why they expect me to just do things for them when I never expected them to do anything for me. My grandmother and I only had each other, they never bothered to help us or even check up on how we were doing. Even when my grandmother passed away, they probably would not have been able to find out unless I hadn't told my relatives, and that's how they even came to know about the funeral and stuff. So why should I help people who have had nothing to do

with us for the past 10 years? Even then, I just want to make sure, Ida, for telling my parents that I won't help them financially if they don't accept and acknowledge their mistakes update one. Thank you for all the comments on my original post. I am doing just fine. Thank you so much. for asking. It has been really difficult for me to deal with the loss of my grandmother, but she was really old and I'm glad that she's in a better place now. She lived her life to the fullest, and I know that she did not pass away with any regrets. So thank you for the concern and the condolences. Anyway, coming to my parents are still trying to bother me online, but I have told them that if they don't do as I said, they can give up any hope of inheriting

any money. I know that my grandmother left everything to me in her will. and I am sure that my parents know about it as well since the lawyer had sent out an email. And now, all they can do is sit and wall in the retreat. I'm not going to go back on my word. It has been one week since I last spoke to them, and since none of their police had been working with me, they have resorted to sending me photos of my brother and he looks bad. He is in a pathetic condition and they keep sending me pictures of him,

telling me that this is the guy who needs my help, and that I should really step up and do something for him. to that, I only have one thing to say, where were they when I needed that kind of help? They abandoned me, and I was just lucky that my grandmother had my back, but otherwise, I don't know where I would have ended up. They did not care about me and as much as I feel bad for my brother, I can't help them if they don't apologize for what they did. And it has to be public because I want everyone to know what kind of people they really are. If they can keep their egos aside, just for this one thing, I guess I'll help them out. Because honestly, for me, it's about

shattering their pride. It was their pride that made them do everything in now, if they really want to help the child that they claim to love, they have to keep it aside. So now I just want to see what comes first for them, my brother or their pride. Update 2. 10 days have passed since I last spoke to my parents, and after a while, I had just stopped responding to their messages. So now, they showed up at my place again. A couple of hours ago, they visited me again, but this time, they brought my brother along with them, and it was bad. At the door itself, I told them that they could not do this,

and if anything, their behavior was only damaging their chances of getting anything out of me. Because I was not comfortable with them doing this, not even to my brother, since I could only imagine how dehumanizing it was to be used as a puppet. I told them to get out and for a while, they refused to move and told me that if I wanted them to leave, I would have to promise them that I would help them as soon as I could. I told them that I would not be making any promises of the sort and if they tried to mess with me, I would call the police on them, and that would not be too good for them, given the condition of my brother.

That scared them, and they left, but my dad told me that both my grandmother and I were the most selfish people on the planet. And that's coming from them, considering how they dumped me a little. on her doorstep, just because they could not deal with a special needs kid. Actually, they did not want to deal with me, because I was not the perfect little boy that they had expected me to be. If my grandmother and I are selfish, the words that they are have not even been invented yet. Update 3, hi, so I kind of forgot to post here because I got really busy with work. Anyway, almost two months have passed since my last update and a lot of things have changed.

For instance, my parents are blocked now and they have no way to contact me anymore because I have moved into a better apartment in a new neighborhood. So, they don't have the address to that and this time, I have made it known to all my relatives that they are not supposed to give out my address to anybody, especially my parents. Because the last time, somebody had decided that my parents deserved to know where I lived since their son was suffering and had given them my address. Which is how they had to come to contact me, but this time, I'm not. made sure that that was not going to happen. Anyway, after the last time that we spoke when my

dad called me selfish, I decided to block them after that. Because honestly, I did not want this drama anymore. They had shown me that for them, their pride was always going to come first. It came above every single thing in their life, even the son that they claimed to actually love. I can accept that they never loved me and never wanted me because of my dyslexia and ADHD and the plethora of problems that I had. But my brother was somebody who they had always claimed they loved and was perfect to them, so how they could not make one little sacrifice for him was beyond me. All they had to do was acknowledge that they had made a mistake,

it would have been pretty easy to do as well because, even though we had tried our best to keep things private, most of our family was already aware of the bad blood between us. So it was not like they were going to acknowledge something that nobody had known. Even then, they did not want to apologize for the mistakes because in their heads, they had never done anything wrong and they were perfect. Well, they can keep their beliefs to themselves. And I'm going to keep my inheritance for myself, fair enough. I hope you enjoy this story.

Envious spouse requested a non-exclusive relationship, engaged in infidelity with a former partner, monitored my activities upon discovering my new relationship, deceived our child, and is now proposed. to return to a monogamous marriage. I, a 39-year-old male, and my wife, 37F. My wife and I have been married for 15 years. We have two children, a 14-year-old girl and a 12-year-old boy. About a year and a half ago, my wife came to me asking for an open marriage. She said she was bored with just us and wanted to experience more. I was very against this, as I am a strong believer that marriage is between two people. At the same time, when we got married I had five sexual partners and my wife had only been with me. She made it clear that either we

opened things up or she was prepared to file for divorce. Neither of us wanted that, so I agreed under certain conditions. Nobody brought back to the house. We don't talk about partners, the kids don't know, family doesn't know, all partners are tested ahead of time, nobody that we both know, I had a strong suspicion that my wife had someone in mind, and this was confirmed when 24 hours after we agreed. She went out and didn't return until 4 a.m. It was difficult for me to accept, and I was really not okay with it, but I wanted to save my marriage. Last May I met Amber. Our daughters are in marching band together. Amber is divorced and has no interest in getting married again. Like everyone else in the world she does have needs. So five months after opening

up the marriage, I began sleeping with Amber. At first it felt like cheating, but honestly it's nice to have something no strings where neither of us wants it to proceed forward. Over time I became comfortable with the idea that my wife and I would be able to get our needs met both inside and outside of our marriage. It actually made our sex life a lot more passionate, and we were much happier. My wife and her side guy, who I never met, stopped seeing each other in April amid coronavirus. From what I gather, while he's in an open marriage, his wife is not aware, and it was too hard to get away. In May we helped organize a Zoom concert for the band kids, which turned out great, though my wife met Amber for the first time. Well, I guess Amber has been

open with a few of the moms because it got back to my wife that Amber was my outside partner. My wife informed me that as we both know Amber, I needed to end things with her. I refused, citing the fact that neither of us knew her ahead of time, and the meeting did not violate the rules we established. Throughout the past month she's numerous times told me that she's uncomfortable with me continuing to sleep with Amber and I need to conclude the arrangement. Note that she was fine for a year where she was with her partner. This weekend she came to me and stated that she'd like to close our marriage again. I told her I was open to that as long as we agreed that it would remain closed moving forward. She agreed that's what she wants as well, that she doesn't need to have any more partners,

that she's happy with just me. I told her that we could agree to close the marriage on two conditions. The first I laid out above. The second, I wanted her to sign a document waiving spousal support in the event of divorce. She flipped out. She categorically refused to even consider. that. My wife is a psalm and has not worked since we got married. She said that I could keep seeing Amber and leave her with nothing if she signed that. I told her that I'd be willing to include

a list of mutually agreed upon situations including infidelity on my part where the agreement would be void. She says it's not open for discussion, that she's not going to continue to be cheated on and left with nothing when I decide to leave her for Amber. I pointed out that this whole thing was her idea and that I only went along with it to preserve our marriage. She says that if we don't close the marriage up, then it might as well be over. I told her that I'm not going to tolerate being threatened with divorce every time she doesn't get her way. She says I'm being dramatic and I need to focus on us. Should I agree without stipulations? I know there's no future with Amber as we've both agreed it's purely physical and even though I know I'm standing my ground, I feel like I'm blowing up my

marriage over a dead end. At the same time, I don't believe it's about Amber at all. Update 1, so based on what some of you have said here, this morning I called Amber up, reminded her that we were supposed to keep things discreet, and asked who she shared the details of our liaison with. She denied telling anyone, and I didn't get the feeling she was lying. I pulled up my wife's Google timeline history and discovered that she tracked me to Amber's house in April. She followed me and then deliberately introduced herself to Amber to create a conflict. Here I was thinking she actually wanted to get involved in banned parents, but no, she just wanted to try to end things with my outside partner I don't even know what to do with this point.

Comments, Al's Frosty, I suspect your wife flipped because she has no intention of staying with you long term. Ah, that's exactly what I thought. Believe me, my intention is not to screw her financial, She's coming from the angle that she's so sure about us now and ready to close things up. Well, what about a year from now or two years from now when she decides she wants someone else and decides she wants to open things up again? I'm not going to be blackmailed with divorce every time she wants it both ways. John Miller, your marriage is already over. Good luck.

Op, I'm coming to that realization. I hate it, but she is not the same person I married. Lady Meg Pye, while he's in an open marriage, his wife is unaware. So, Hess just cheating on his wife then? Op, yep. Apparently my wife thought it was open, he told her it was, and he was just screwing around on his wife without her knowledge. Op on if his wife still wanted to close the marriage or not.

And if the divorce will still take place. Op, I first asked if she was willing to agree that once it was closed it would remain closed. Then I asked her if she'd be willing to waive spousal support in the event of divorce. Then specifically I asked if she'd be willing to waive it only on specific instances such as her cheating or me refusing to reopen the marriage. She refused to discuss it. I don't want to be in a situation where six months from now her outside partner wants to start back up where she sees someone else she's interested in and decides to threaten me with

divorce again if I don't open the marriage back up. I have no intention of screwing her financially. I wanted to see how she'd react to me asking for a guarantee she wouldn't ask that of me again. She made it clear that she wasn't willing to put her money where her mouth is. Op on how he met Amber. Op, I met Amber through band parents. Our daughters are not close, just in the band together. My wife was not involved in band at all as it's not her thing.

With quarantine going on she was looking for things to do and decided she wanted to help with the concert. At that point, should I have said, no you can't because my outside partner is a band mom and I don't want you involved in that circle? She was in my circle, not my wife's. My wife had nothing to do with the band until May, a full year after I was setting Amber. As it turns out there was a very specific reason my wife decided, all of the sudden, to get involved with the band. I got involved with Amber in May of 2019. She was with her guys since December 2018. Update 2, to recap.

My wife told me that she wanted an open marriage, I didn't but agreed when she told me she was prepared to file for divorce. She had an outside partner within 24 hours. It took me a few months. Her partner and her broke up. She stalked me and introduced herself to my partner to try to force me to end it. When that didn't work, she decided to demand that the marriage be closed again. I put conditions on it that she wasn't willing to accept. Now on to the last month.

It's been a very tough month. I confronted my wife about the stalking. She denied it at first and then I brought up her location history. She attempted to deflect, claiming I invaded her privacy, but I didn't take the bait. Finally she admitted that she didn't like that I had. had someone on the side when she didn't and a mom at the school felt too close to home. I agreed that I would end things with Amber if she would agree to counseling, close the marriage up permanently, and start looking for a job to help with household expenses. She replied that she's a stay-at-home mom. I told her it was something we could revisit after coronavirus is over, but when things normalize, she can't just stay home. We did a few therapy sessions and things went

well at first. The therapist challenged her on why she had followed me, asked why she felt she had to go outside the marriage, and had her address pretty much everything going through my mind. Then things went south. She admitted her outside partner was someone from her past, a high school boyfriend. They'd broken up before anything happened, and had reconnected. She regretted not going all the way with him in high school and decided that she wanted to fulfill that desire. I was pissed. I told her that if me choosing a mom from school was too close to home, then her choosing a married ex-boyfriend was completely unacceptable. I told her I didn't even want to look at her. I checked into a hotel to go cool off because I didn't want my kids to see me

like that. I stayed there for a few days and then decided to go home and deal with what was left of my marriage. When I got home, I found that my daughter was being unusually cold to me. Even for a 14-year-old girl, she was very dismissive. When I asked her what was going on, she went off on me for cheating on mom with a banned mom. I asked her where she heard this. She wouldn't tell me at first telling me it didn't matter, but then finally admitted her mother told her that I was staying at my girlfriend's house after I left. I counted to 10 in my head, told her it wasn't true, showed her the receipt on my phone for the hotel, and told her that her mother and I had a fight and I decided to take some time away so we could both calm down.

She cried a lot and I promised her that I loved her and I'd always love her. I did my best to remain calm though I was burning up inside. I didn't even go to my wife. I went on Facebook and found the guy's wife. I sent her a message letting her know that for a year and a half her husband had been having an affair with my wife and I'd be happy to send her any proof she'd like. She was very appreciative and had suspected something was up. A few hours later, my wife came to me in a rage screaming that I had violated the confidentiality

of our therapy and ruined the guy's life. I asked her what she meant to do by telling our daughter that I had a girlfriend. She denied doing it and still refuses to admit that she told her anything other than I was away for a few days. This went down last Thursday. We haven't spoken to each other since. We're supposed to have another counseling session tomorrow, though I don't know if it's even worth going. I keep catching her in lies and I don't think I'll ever be able to trust her again.

I know that filing for divorce is the wise choice at this point, but I feel sick thinking about it. I feel like a failure because I couldn't make my marriage work. I know that's where it's going to end up. I just feel like I'm going to throw up every time I try to call in. an attorney. Comments, Shattelac Don, appreciate the update. Sorry to hear therapy is only bringing more things to light and your wife drowning in her sea of lies has clearly shattered your trust in her completely. I hope for the sake of the kids that your wife wasn't the one to tell that to your daughter, but when people are sinking fast they'll latch on to anybody to keep them afloat

and turning the kids against you isn't exactly an original strategy. You are not a failure because the marriage has ran its course. At this point it's probably best to contact that attorney, no matter how difficult it may be. Do it for you. Do it for your kids. Even do it for your wife so she can hit rock bottom on her own without destroying your lives in the process. Best of luck, man. You're a resource.

Talk to an attorney. If you're honest with yourself, your wife opened the relationship after she had or was planning on cheating anyway. Then when things failed, she didn't want you to have fun while she wasn't. She doesn't contribute to the household and has no plans too. She constantly lies. What makes you think anything is going to fix this? When someone shows you who they are, believe them. It's her way or the highway.

So like I said, talk to an attorney, get your finances in order, and get out of this awful relationship. Oh, oh, Lisa, oh, you didn't fail. Your wife wanted to cheat but didn't want to call it cheating. She never wanted slash expected you to do the same. The fact she said she'd divorce you if you didn't is extra manipulative. The fact she tried to harm your relationship with your daughter is the last straw. I personally wouldn't find this situation fixable. But never beat yourself up for any of this.

This is all your wife going off the rails. and you tried hanging on for dear life, but maybe it's time to let go. Also, I'd be fully open with your daughter about the whole situation. It will all come out eventually so the true story instead of rumors and lies is much healthier. Now on to the next story. Story 2. Finally met my biological dad after 30 years, bonded on his boat, then caught him cheating with my girlfriend at a family dinner, and he got her pregnant while still married.

My girlfriend and I had been together for almost four years before everything ended. We met casually through some mutual friends when they both invited us to a haunted house attraction for Halloween. Everybody else was there with their partner, so that left us alone a lot of the time. There was a beer garden at the attraction and she and I ended up separating from the rest of the group to go there. We talked about everything while we hung out. At the end of the night, we exchanged numbers and started dating official. She moved in with me a year and a half after we started dating. Growing up, I never knew my dad. There had been many times in my life when I wanted to figure out who he was. The story I was told

growing up was that he and my mother had been dating when she got pregnant with me. She is a devout Catholic, so the only option was to go forward with the pregnancy. He didn't want that. He tried to encourage my mom to have an abortion, so she told him that she didn't want him. She didn't want him. anything to do with him. She gave birth to me and raised me as a single mother for the first 12 years of my life. Then she met my stepdad and they had more children after me. No matter how much I asked her to tell me who my father was, she would always refuse. I had eventually resigned to never knowing the truth. It was my girlfriend who convinced me to try and find out again. There was a death in my family. One of my cousins had cancer and they passed away.

That really got me thinking about other illnesses that my family might have. My girlfriend and I went to my mother and approached her about telling me who my father was from that angle. I needed to know if I had a history of any major illnesses in my blood. I also told her that it would be good to know when I wanted to have kids. That was the icing on the cake for her and she decided to tell me everything. She gave me his name and I finally reached out to him. He was receptive to meeting me. which I was afraid that he wouldn't be.

My girlfriend came with me to the lunch that we had scheduled. It was strange seeing him for the first time because I could see just how much I looked like him. After everything, it was extremely emotional for me and I didn't know how to process everything. My girlfriend was there for me and she comforted me through everything. About a week after our first lunch, my biological father reached out to me again and asked me if I wanted to see him again. Apparently, he felt very bad after our first meeting and had decided he wanted a chance to get to know me. My girlfriend encouraged me to try. I invited her to come along with me because it was difficult for me to do it alone.

All three of us went fishing out on his boat and we had a good time. We drank a few beers and we all talked. He told me all about his family. He was married and he had three kids, much younger than me. He explained that he just wasn't ready to be a father when my mom was pregnant. Before we parted ways for the day, he and my girlfriend exchanged numbers so we could all find time to meet his family. I wanted to meet my half-siblings and my girlfriend was the organized one between us. A few weeks went by and I hadn't seen him, but we have been texting every so often to keep in touch.

My girlfriend told me that they were planning a dinner at the end of the month at my father's house. I worked in construction and I was doing a job where I was about 50 feet in the air when I dropped my phone on concrete. When I looked at it again, it was completely trashed. The screen was virtually untouchable because of the glass. I got a new one as soon as I could and transferred everything over from my old phone. I moved the SIM card over for a quick transition. There were a few contacts that weren't saved to the SIM card that I needed to add to the phone again. One of those was my biological father.

I got home later that day and my girlfriend was taking a nap on the couch. I needed my father's number so I could let him know that I had a new phone in case you needed to reach out to me. I knew my girlfriend's phone password and I had used her phone countless times before, so I didn't think anything of it when I grabbed it to send myself the contact information. When I clicked on his name in the contacts, I saw a long call history between both of them. It immediately caught my attention because she had never told me they had been having conversations with each other on the phone. I walked into the other room and looked through the message and call log to see exactly what was happening. Their messages began the day that we all went on the boat together.

A few hours after they exchanged numbers, my father texted my girlfriend and told her that I was lucky to have her. It started off friendly and she thanked him, saying that she was lucky to have me too. Then my father started getting very flirty with her. He told her how beautiful she was and how if I didn't treat her right he might have to step in. It was weird to see because I knew that he was married with children. My girlfriend replied and told him that she would be happy to let him step in if needed. From there, other messages were very suggestive. They were always tiptoeing around overtly saying that they wanted to sleep with each other.

It was pretty obvious what was happening, but it didn't seem like it was anything other than flirting until my father sent my girlfriend a picture of himself. It was a nude photo where he told her that a new picture she uploaded to Instagram had really turned him on. My girlfriend told him that she was glad it did then send him some other pictures of herself. There were videos and audio recordings and dozens of pictures between them. I clicked on one of the videos that my father sent her, it was him telling her about all the filthy, things he wanted to do to her when they finally got together. I could hear kids running around in the background outside of the room he was in. It was clear through the messages that they hadn't actually met to have sex in person yet. They were planning on sneaking away to his boat

while everybody was at his house. Before my girlfriend woke up, I put her phone back and pretended like I didn't see anything. I was extremely hurt by everything. My father had known that I existed my entire life and pretended like I didn't. Now that I finally had the opportunity to reach out to him, he betrayed me once again by hitting on my girlfriend. And my girlfriend knew how important it was for me to meet him and decided to sleep with him. I felt massively betrayed by both of them. I knew right away that I wanted to make them suffer for their choices. The dinner was only a week away, so I sucked it up and pretended like everything was fine until then. The day of the dinner, I restrained myself and made it through the meal without lunging across the table to attack my father.

I spent a lot of time getting to know my stepmother and I felt bad for her about everything. Honestly, if he messaged my girlfriend after knowing her for such a short amount of time I wouldn't have been surprised to find out that he had other affairs in the past. After dinner, we decided to put on a movie and watch it together. My dad said that he wasn't particularly interested in watching the movie, and he had some things that he needed to wrap up on the boat. He excused himself from the movie and nobody questioned it. About 15 minutes into the movie, my girlfriend said she got a phone call. I didn't see her phone ring or light up. It was her cover to go outside and meet my father.

She was gone for about three minutes and I turned to my stepmother and mentioned that it was weird that she had been gone for so long. All of the kids had already fallen asleep on the couch so I was thankful that I wouldn't disturb them by causing a scene. I told her that I was going to go check on my girlfriend and she paused the movie to give me a moment. I already knew that I wouldn't see her on the porch. But I looked anyway and went back in and I told her that she was gone. She was concerned so she walked outside with me to look for her. She was the one who suggested we go ask my father if he'd seen her. So, I followed her to the boat where we both knew he was working on something.

As soon as we opened the door to the lower level, we could hear very obvious sex noises. She yelled my father's name and the sound stopped. It took a minute, but he came to the door of the bedroom and asked her what she needed like she was disturbing him. She asked him what he was doing and he told her he was rearranging furniture. I almost wanted to laugh. I asked him if my girlfriend was down there with her. with him and he tried to say that was ridiculous. I pushed past him and opened the door to find her trying to put her clothes on as quietly as possible.

A four-way argument broke out between everybody as everything unfolded. Honestly, even though I had a suspicion that we were going to find out what we did, my reaction was pretty natural. I was hurt and I was angry and I let that show. Nobody had any idea that I had almost planned for us to see what we did. My stepmom kicked my dad out of the house that night and I went back to her apartment to pack a bag and get away. I couldn't be around my girlfriend after what happened. I ended up moving out of the apartment entirely a few weeks later.

I found out that my dad had been looking for a place to crash, so my girlfriend invited him there. They were seeing each other for a couple of months and my girlfriend got pregnant. It seems like my dad had a bit of a pattern in how he went about things. He told her that he already had children and he was trying to reconcile things with his wife. He couldn't do that if he had another baby in the picture. He tried to deny it and he even tried to convince her to get an abortion. She didn't want to do that. As soon as I found out what happened, I informed my stepmother about it so she would be aware that he was going to try to lie to her.

She thanked me for the information and assured me that she would be staying far away from my father. All of the friends that my girlfriend and I had together were appalled by what she did. They didn't understand how she could sleep with somebody who had such a fragile relationship with her boyfriend and they thought she was heartless. A lot of them stopped talking to her after everything. She did end up having a child with my father, but he wasn't in the picture. My father divorced his wife and was forced to pay child support and alimony from his paychecks to her. On top of that, because a DNA test proved that he was the father of my ex-girlfriend's child, he was forced to pay child support.

I highly doubt he was saying any of his own paychecks. I hope you enjoy this story. Partner insisted on having a non-exclusive arrangement to explore other romantic connections. I consented and pursued a relationship with their close companion. However, Partner is now spreading rumors that I engaged in infidelity. Okay, then. Need to get this down. I'm M. 31. The events I'm talking about started unfolding about a year ago, maybe a bit more. My girlfriend at the time, let's call her Sarah, was 29. We'd been together for about four years. It was a serious relationship, or so I thought. Live together for two of those years. The other key person in this is Chloe, Sarah's best friend. also 29 at the time. Chloe and I were friendly, given her closeness to Sarah.

I'd known her for pretty much as long as I'd known Sarah. She was always around, part of our shared social life. I learned later, much later, that Chloe had developed feelings for me early on, but she never acted on them because of Sarah. She valued her friendship with Sarah, and I was with Sarah. So, things were just normal, group hangouts, occasional dinners, the usual stuff. Our relationship, Sarah's and mine, was what I considered stable. We had routines, shared friends, future plans loosely discussed like holidays and maybe

buying a place in a few years. There weren't constant arguments. We had a comfortable life. Financially, we were both doing okay. We split bills, shared chores, the typical cohabitation setup. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, or at least, nothing prepared me for what came next. About 18 months ago, Sarah started to change. It began subtly. She started talking more about personal freedom, about new experiences. She became very interested in a new gym she joined, a rather high-end place with a younger, trendier crowd.

She'd spend hours there, not just working out but also socializing, according to her. Her justifications were always about health and networking. She began to mention other men from the gym, casually at first, like, oh, this guy Mark is a personal trainer and he gave me some tips, or Ben from my spin class is hilarious. I didn't think much of it initially. People make friends. Then, the conversations shifted. She started questioning monogamy, forwarding articles about alternative relationship styles, asking hypothetical questions about how I'd feel if she explored connections with other people. She phrased it as being about her personal growth and understanding her own desires better. She assured me it wasn't about me, or our relationship lacking anything, but about her own journey. I recall one evening

she sat me down and laid it out more directly. She said she felt she was missing out on experiences, specifically sexual experiences with other men. She felt she'd settled down too young, even though we met when she was 25. She emphasized that she still loved me and wanted to be with me, but also wanted the freedom to explore physically with others. She proposed an open relationship. Her rules were clear. She wanted to be able to sleep with other men. She said she would be safe, always, and that it wouldn't change her feelings for me. She suggested I could do the same if I wanted, but her focus was clearly on her own freedom. I remember her saying that this exploration would make her a more complete person

and ultimately benefit our relationship by making her happier and less likely to wonder what if. I listened. I asked questions about boundaries, about how this would practically work. She had answers for everything, clearly having thought this through for some time, or perhaps discussed it with her new gym friends. I told her I needed time to think. Internally, my first reaction was that this was the beginning of the end. But I didn't show that.

I observed her over the next couple of weeks. She was already detaching, spending more time out, her phone guarded more closely. She brought up the open relationship topic again, more insistently. This is where I made a decision. Instead of arguing or breaking up, which felt like the expected reactions, I decided to agree. I told her that if this was what she truly needed, then I would support it. I laid out one condition. Complete honesty about her encounters, not for jealousy, but for safety and transparency,

as she herself had suggested. She was visibly relieved, even excited. She promised full transparency and thanked me for being so understanding. So, it began. Sarah started going on dates. The gym guys featured prominently. There was a particular guy, a CrossFit instructor, who seemed to be her main focus for a while. She'd tell me when she was going out with him.

She'd come home late, sometimes staying out all night. She wasn't particularly discreet about it around the apartment either. New lingerie appeared. She'd take calls from these men where I could overhear snippets of their plans. She'd talk about her dates, sometimes in detail, framing it as being honest. She seemed to be enjoying herself, flaunting her new freedom. She'd parade around, getting ready for these dates, asking my opinion on her outfits, which was a strange experience.

Chloe was around during some of this. She'd come over to see Sarah, and I could tell Chloe was uncomfortable with the new arrangement. Sarah would sometimes brag to Chloe about her adventures. Chloe would usually just listen, offering minimal responses. On a couple of occasions when Sarah was out, and Chloe was over at our place waiting for her or just visiting, Chloe and I would talk. She never directly criticized Sarah to me,

but her expressions and the way she'd changed the subject hinted at her disapproval. She asked me a few times how I was really doing with it all. I kept my cards close, just saying I was processing it. It was during these brief conversations that I started to see Chloe in a different light, or perhaps, remember the kind of person she was. Steady, loyal, a stark contrast to Sarah's current behavior. This went on for about three months. Sarah was fully immersed in her new lifestyle.

She went on a weekend trip with one of the guys. She'd mentioned them by name, talk about what they did, where they went. It was all very open, as per her initial proposal. I continued to agree. I didn't date anyone else. I didn't act jealous. I just observed. I think Sarah took my calm demeanor as acceptance, perhaps even disinterest on my part to explore an open relationship for myself.

She seemed to like the arrangement where she had her freedom and I was the stable home base. During this time, my interactions with Chloe became a bit more frequent. Sometimes she'd text to see how I was, under the guise of checking in on a friend whose partner was behaving erratically. We met for coffee a couple of times, just to talk. It was during one of these conversations that she confessed she'd had feelings for me for years. She said it was painful to watch Sarah treat me this way, and to see our relationship, which she once admired, being dismantled by Sarah's actions. She wasn't making a move. It felt more like a confession from a friend who was worried and perhaps a little heartbroken by the whole situation, including her own unrequited feelings.

Her confession stayed with me. I realized the open relationship, as Sarah defined it, gave me an opening if I chose to take it. Sarah wanted to explore. She said I could too. So, I decided to. I started spending more in. intentional time with Chloe. We went for a long walk one Saturday. Sarah was away for the day with a gym guy, a planned outing she told me about. Chloe and I talked for hours about everything but Sarah initially. Then, inevitably, we talked about the situation. I told Chloe that Sarah's actions had effectively ended our relationship in my eyes, and I was just going through the motions. I told her I was considering my options for the future.

Chloe listened. She didn't push anything. A week later, I invited Chloe over for dinner at my place. Sarah was out again, a late night this time, she'd informed me. Chloe and I cooked together, had wine, talked. There was an undeniable connection. It was easy, comfortable. At the end of the evening, the attraction was clear,

and we acted on it. We slept together. It wasn't a spur of the moment, heat of passion thing. The next morning, Sarah came home. She'd said she'd be back late, but she ended up coming back early in the morning. She walked in to find Chloe in the kitchen, making coffee. I was there too. Sarah stopped dead in her tracks. Her expression went from tired postnight out to complete shock, then confusion, then dawning realization. She asked Chloe what she was doing here. Chloe, to her credit, didn't flinch. She just said, I stayed the night. Sarah looked at me. I didn't say anything, just looked back at her. The pieces visibly clicked into place in her mind. Sarah's reaction was immediate and intense. She started questioning Chloe, then me. She asked if we

were sleeping together. I confirmed that we were. She turned to Chloe, accusing her of betrayal, of stabbing her in the back. Chloe calmly replied that Sarah was the one who wanted an open relationship, and she had been seeing other men for months. Chloe pointed out that Sarah had actively encouraged me to do the same if I wished. Sarah then rounded on me. She said this wasn't what she meant by an open relationship. She said she thought I would have casual flings, not get involved with her best friend. She started yelling that this was different, that Chloe was her best friend. I reminded her that the terms were open, and that she had been quite public about her own explorations. I pointed out that she never said any conditions on who I could or couldn't see.

She had been focused solely on her own freedom and her own partners. The argument escalated. Sarah started crying, then screaming. She called me names, called Chloe names. She said I had done this to hurt her. I stayed calm. I told her that her actions had consequences and that I had simply taken her at her word that our relationship was open. I told her that while she was out exploring,

I had found a genuine connection with someone who seemed to value me. She tried to backtrack, saying we needed to close the relationship immediately. She said she didn't want to see other men anymore if it meant I would be with Chloe. I told her it was too late for that. The trust, from my perspective, had been irrevocably broken by her initial push for the open relationship and her subsequent actions. Her sudden desire to close the relationship now that I had found someone else felt manipulative, not genuine.

Chloe mostly stayed quiet during Sarah's meltdown with me, but when Sarah directly attacked her again, Chloe stood her ground. She told Sarah that she had been a terrible friend to her for a long time, not just in this instance, and that she, Chloe, had genuine feelings for me, something Sarah never seemed to consider or care about when she was pursuing her own desires. This went on for hours. Sarah alternated between rage, tears, and pleading. She tried to get Chloe to leave, but Chloe said she was there with me. Sarah demanded I shoes. I told her I already had. I stated that my relationship with Sarah was over, and I was now with Chloe. The sight of Sarah losing all control was something else. She started throwing

things, she packed a small bag, screaming that she couldn't stay here, and then she stormed out. Chloe stayed with me. We didn't say much immediately afterwards. The next few days were tense. Sarah came back a day later, not to reconcile, but to pack her things. It was a drawn out, miserable process. She cried a lot. She tried to argue with me again, tried to appeal to Chloe again. Each time, I reiterated that my decision was made. Chloe was supportive of me, present but not engaging in further arguments with Sarah.

Sarah made a few attempts to get me to talk alone, to work this out, but I declared. I told her all discussions should happen with Chloe present, as we were now a unit. This usually ended the conversation. It took her about a week to move all her stuff out. She had to arrange for movers for the larger furniture pieces that were hers. Each interaction was painful for her, I could see that. She kept saying I had destroyed everything, that Chloe had destroyed their friendship. I maintained that her choices led us to this point.

She'd ask how I could be so cold. I told her I had simply matched the energy she had put into our relationship over the past few months. Once she was gone, a strange sort of quiet descended on the apartment. Chloe and I started tentatively building something new. It wasn't an immediate fairy tale. But Chloe was, and is, a genuinely good person. She had been open about her feelings, and I found myself reciprocating them more strongly than I initially anticipated. We decided she would move in officially after a couple of months to give

things space to settle, but she was there most of the time anyway. It's been about six months since Sarah moved out. Chloe and I are together, living in my apartment. Our relationship is good. It's calm, respectful, and we're building a solid foundation. We're happy. The issue, or rather the reason I'm writing this, is that Sarah hasn't quite disappeared. She doesn't contact me directly anymore, not after a few initial attempts at angry texts and voicemails which I ignored and then blocked. But we have mutual acquaintances, a few remaining shared connections from our old life. Through these channels, I hear things. She's apparently telling everyone that I was emotionally unavailable and that I cheated on her with her best friend, conveniently omitting the whole open

relationship she pushed for part or spinning it to make herself the victim. She paints Chloe as a predatory homewrecker. Some of these mutual friends have cooled towards me. Others have openly questioned me, based on Sarah's version of events. I've given a brief, factual account to those I care about, but I don't want to get into a public mudsling match. It's just frustrating to know this narrative is out there. Chloe gets upset when she hears about it too, though she She tries not to show it. She's lost most of her old friend group because many sided with Sarah or couldn't handle the drama.

It doesn't impact my daily life with Chloe in a huge way. Our core circle of friends, my family, they all know the truth and are supportive of us. But there's this lingering annoyance. So I guess I'm just venting. Writing what actually happened, at least for myself and maybe for anyone who's been in a similar boat. Am I wrong for how this played out? I don't think so.

She initiated the game, I just played it to its conclusion with someone who actually valued me. But it's a mess to untangle with other people. Should I even bother trying to correct the narrative with those peripheral acquaintances, or just let them believe what they want and focus on my life with Chloe? It's more a rhetorical question, I suppose. I'm not losing sleep over it, but it's a persistent low-level irritation. Update 1, about three weeks after original post, thanks to everyone who read my original post and for the comments and private messages. I appreciate the various perspectives.

A few people asked for clarifications on some points, so I'll address those first. Some wondered why I agreed to the open relationship in the first place if I wasn't genuinely okay with it, instead of just ending things with Sarah then and there. The truth is, her proposal, while initially a shock, also presented a strange sort of opportunity. I think a part of me knew the relationship was already over the moment she asked for it. Her desire to be with other men wasn't something I could reconcile with a long-term future together. But her pushing for it, her insistence, and her somewhat selfish framing of it all, it made me decide against a simple breakup. I wanted to see how committed she was to this idea of exploration.

and whether she had considered all the implications, including for me. So, I didn't fight it. I let her lead the way, and in doing so, she showed her hand completely. It was less about pretending and more about observing and letting her actions speak for themselves. A recurring question was about Chloe and her intentions. Specifically, whether her confession of feelings was a calculated move. From my perspective, and from everything Chloe has told me and shown, me, her feelings for me were genuine and long-standing, something she had suppressed for years

because of her friendship with Sarah and because I was with Sarah. Her telling me about them came at a point when Sarah had been actively involved with other men for months. I don't believe Chloe saw it as a move as much as an honest admission in a situation that was already highly irregular. She never pushed me or pressured me. The connection we made was mutual and grew out of shared conversations and a sense that we were both somewhat adrift due to Sarah's choices. People also asked about how obvious Sarah was with her other partners. She was not discreet. She'd talk about her dates, leave her phone around with messages from these guys visible. There were new clothes, late nights, weekends away. She told me she was being honest and transparent

as we'd agreed, but it often felt more like she was rubbing my nose in her new freedom. She seemed to expect me to be a compliant, stable fixture at home while she had her fun. There was no real concern for how I might be feeling beyond my initial agreement. The moment Sarah found out about me and Chloe, a few asked for more detail on that confrontation. When Sarah walked in, Chloe was making coffee. I was sitting at the kitchen table. Sarah's first words were to Chloe, something like, What are you doing here so early? Chloe just looked at her and said, I stayed over.

Sarah's eyes darted between us. She asked me, what does she mean? I just confirmed, Chloe spent the night with me. The change in Sarah was instant. The casual, slightly tired look vanished. Her face went pale, then red. She started firing questions, her voice rising with each one. She demanded to know how long this had been going on.

Chloe tried to explain calmly that it was a recent development, and that Sarah herself had opened this door. Sarah wasn't hearing it. She accused Chloe of plotting this, of wanting me all along. Chloe admitted she'd had feelings for me but reiterated that nothing happened until Sarah effectively dissolved the basis of our monogamous relationship. Sarah then turned her full anger on me, as I described in the op. My thinking was, Sarah set the new rules. She wanted freedom to explore, and implicitly granted me the same. Her shock and anger when I did so, especially with Chloe, showed that her idea of an open relationship was quite one-sided.

Freedom for her, continued loyalty and stability for me. She didn't anticipate I would find someone meaningful, and certainly not her best friend. My actions were a direct consequence of the environment's Sarah created. I chose to build something new with Chloe rather than try to salvage something with Sarah that she herself had devalued. The fact that Chloe was Sarah's best friend was a complication, certainly, but Sarah's actions had already deeply damaged that friendship from Chloe's perspective long before I was involved with Chloe. Since my original post, a few things have progressed. Chloe and I have had more conversations about everything that transpired. We are very

clear with each other. She has been incredibly supportive, especially with the social fallout from Sarah's narrative. The main action I've taken regarding the current situation I mentioned, Sarah's attempts to paint herself as the victim, has been to be very direct with a few mutual acquaintances who reached out to me or Chloe. I haven't engaged in public arguments or social media battles. But if someone asks, I tell them calmly and factually. Sarah wanted an open relationship to see other men, she did so for months, I eventually did the same, and she didn't like it. I state that I am now happy with Chloe. I don't elaborate much beyond that unless pressed for specifics, which I then provide. Chloe has also taken steps to distance herself from former

friends who have been accusatory or unsupportive without hearing her side. She's focused on our relationship and the friends who have stood by us. Sarah, from what I hear indirectly, is still very angry and bitter. She continues to try and garner sympathy. She apparently tried to confront Chloe again at a place they used to frequent, but Chloe handled it calmly and disengaged quickly, telling Sarah she had nothing further to say to her. This happened about a week ago. Sarah apparently made a bit of a scene, which only embarrassed herself further in front of people who saw it. Chloe and I are solidifying our plans. We've started looking for a new place. to live together. Update 2, it's now been just over a year since Sarah moved out, and about

seven months since my original post here. A lot has settled, and a lot has moved forward. Life with Chloe is good. Very good, actually. The initial turbulence has long since passed, and what's left is a strong, healthy, and genuinely happy relationship. We did find a new place, a nice apartment in a different part of town. We moved in about four months ago. Having a space that is entirely ours, with no prior history attached to it, has been fantastic. It really feels like a fresh start.

Chloe has made it a home. We've spent time decorating it, hosting small dinners for our close friends, the ones who stuck by us, and some new ones we've made. The narrative Sarah was trying to spin seems to have largely faded, or at least its impact has diminished significantly. People have moved on.

Those who believed her probably still do, but they are no longer part of our lives, so it doesn't matter. My family adores Chloe, and her small family, her parents and a sister, have welcomed me. There have been no further attempts at direct contact from Sarah towards me or Chloe. I think she finally understood that door is permanently closed. Thanks again to this subreddit for being. being a place to lay things out when I needed to.

I hope you enjoy this story. Spouse became intoxicated at her sibling's celebration and revealed that she never felt a romantic connection towards me and only entered into marriage because she perceived me as a secure choice that her parents supported. Had been secretly trying to contact her college ex. My wife Claire and I have been married for eight years now, and we have two kids together, a six-year-old daughter and a four-year-old son. We met in college through mutual friends and started dating in our junior year.

She was this really outgoing person who seemed to know everyone on campus, and I was more of the quiet type who focused on my studies and didn't go to parties much. I was studying engineering and she was in business, and we just clicked somehow even though we were pretty different. When we first started dating, everything seemed great, and I thought I was the luckiest guy in the world because she was way out of my league. She was really pretty and popular and could have dated anyone she wanted, but she chose me. I remember thinking that maybe she liked that I was different from the other guys she had dated before. She had mentioned a few times that her ex-boyfriends

were all the same type and that she wanted something different, but she never really went into detail about what that meant. During college, our relationship was good, and we spent a lot of time together studying and hanging out with friends. She would sometimes get moody or distant, but I figured that was just normal relationship stuff and everyone has their ups and downs. After we graduated, we both got jobs in the same city and moved and together, and that's when I started noticing some things that bothered me, but I didn't really know how to bring them up. The first thing I noticed was that she never seemed that interested in being physical with me. I mean, we had sex, but it always felt like she was just going through the motions and wasn't really into it.

I tried talking to her about it a few times, but she would just say she was tired from work or stressed about something and that it wasn't about me. I believed her because I didn't want to think that there was something wrong with our relationship, and I figured things would get better once we settled into our new routine. The second thing was that she seemed to get really uncomfortable whenever we ran into people from college, especially guys. that she used to know. There was this one time when we were at a restaurant and she saw someone she recognized, and she got all weird and fidgety and kept looking around like she wanted to leave. When I asked her who it was, she just said it was nobody important and changed the subject, but I could tell she was lying about something. The third thing was how much she cared about what her parents thought about everything we did. Her parents are really traditional and have very

specific ideas about what makes a good husband and father, and she was always worried about making sure I measured up to their standards. She would coach me before family dinners about what to say and what not to say, and she would get really anxious if she thought I might do something that would disappoint them. I thought it was sweet that she wanted her family to like me, but looking back, it feels like she was more concerned about their approval than about what she actually wanted. After we had been living together for about two years, I proposed to her and She said yes, but even then something felled off about the whole thing. When I gave her the ring, she seemed happy but not excited the way I thought she would be,

and when we told people we were engaged, she would always focus on the practical aspects like the wedding planning and the timeline instead of talking about how much she loved me or how excited she was to be my wife. The wedding planning was stressful, and we had a lot of arguments about different things, but I chalked it up to normal wedding stress that everyone goes through. Her parents were very involved in the planning and had opinions about everything from the venue to the guest list of the music, and she would always defer to what they wanted even when I knew she had different preferences. The wedding itself was beautiful, and everyone seemed to have a good time, but I remember feeling like Clara seemed relieved when it was over rather than happy that we were finally married. During our honeymoon, she was more relaxed than she had been in months, but she still seemed distant

physically, and I started wondering if maybe she was just not a very sexual person or if there was something about me that she didn't find attractive. The first few years of marriage were okay, and we settled into a routine where we both worked and spent time with friends and family, and everything seemed normal on the surface. We bought a house and started talking about having kids, and she seemed enthusiastic about starting a family. When she got pregnant with our first child, she was really happy and excited, and I thought maybe having kids would bring us closer together and fix whatever was wrong with our relationship. Having kids did change things, but not in the way I expected.

Clara became a really good mother and she was completely devoted to our children, but she seemed to have even less interest in our relationship as a couple. She would always be too tired or too busy with the kids to spend time together, and when I would try to plan date nights or romantic evenings, she would find excuses to cancel or cut them short. I started feeling like I was just there to help with the practical stuff like paying bills and doing chores and that she didn't really need me for anything else. I tried bringing up my concerns a few times, but she would always say that having young kids was just hard and that things would get better when they got older and needed less attention. She would also point out that I was being selfish for wanting

more attention when she was already overwhelmed with taking care of the house and the children, and I felt guilty for even bringing it up. About six months ago, things started getting worse, and I noticed that Clara was spending a lot more time on her phone than usual. She would be scrolling through social media or texting people, and when I would ask who she was talking to, she would just say it was her sister or a friend from work. She also started going out more often with her girlfriends and would come home later than she used to, and sometimes she would seem really happy and energetic in a way that I hadn't seen in years. I didn't want to be the kind of husband who was suspicious, so I tried not to make a big deal about it,

but I couldn't shake the feeling that something was going on. She also started dressing differently and paying more attention to her appearance than she had in a long time, and when I complimented her on a new outfit or hairstyle, she would just shrug it off and say she was just trying to take better care of herself. Three months ago, we had a really big fight about something stupid, and during the argument she said that she felt like we were just roommates who happened to have kids together and that she wasn't happy in our marriage. I was shocked because even though I knew things weren't perfect, I didn't realize that she was actually unhappy, and I asked her what we could do to fix things. She said she didn't know and that maybe we should try couples counseling, but then she never actually made an appointment, and every time I brought it up, she would say she was too busy or that she needed more time to think about it.

Two months ago, I found out that she had been looking at apartments online, and when I confronted her about it, she said that she was just curious about what was available in our area and that she wasn't actually planning to move out. She also said that sometimes she just liked to imagine what it would be like to live somewhere different and that it didn't mean anything, but I didn't believe her, and we had another big fight about honesty and communication. Last month, things came to a head when we were at her sister's birthday party and Clara had way too much to drink. She's not usually a heavy drinker, and I had never seen her that drunk before, and I was getting worried about her, so I kept

trying to get her to slow down or eat something, but she just kept ordering more drinks and laughing really loudly at everything anyone said. Her sister's husband pulled me a at one point and asked if everything was okay at home because Clara had been texting his wife a lot lately about being unhappy and feeling trapped, and he was concerned about her. I told him that we were going through a rough patch but that we were working on it, but inside I was panicking because I didn't know that Clara had been talking to other people about our problems. Near the end of the party, Clara started getting really emotional and clingy, and she kept telling everyone how much she loved them and how grateful she was for all the good people in her life. I thought she was just being

drunk and sentimental, but then she started talking about her college boyfriend and how he was the love of her life and how she still thought about him all the time. I tried to get her to stop talking and suggested that we should go home, but she just kept going and said that Dale was the only man who ever really understood her and that she had made a terrible mistake by letting him go. Everyone at the party was getting uncomfortable, and her sister was trying to change the subject, but Clara wouldn't stop, and she started crying in saying that she had settled for a life that wasn't what she wanted. That's when she looked right at me and said that she had never been attracted to me and that

she only married me because I was safe and stable and because her parents approved of me. She said that she thought she could learn to love me the way she loved Dale, but that it never happened, and that she felt like she was living a lie. She also said that she had been trying to find Dale on social media and that she had actually reached out to him a few weeks earlier to see if he wanted to meet up. I couldn't breathe, and everyone at the party was staring at us, and I didn't know what to do. I managed to get Clara to the car and drive her home, and she passed out in the passenger seat and didn't wake up until the next morning. When she woke up, she had a terrible hangover and said she didn't remember anything from the night before and asked me why I looked so upset. I told her everything she had said, and she went completely white and started crying and apologizing and saying that she was drunk and didn't mean any of it.

She begged me not to take it seriously and said that alcohol just makes people say crazy things that aren't true, but I could tell by the look on her face that she remembered saying it and that at least some of it was true. I asked her about Dale and whether she had really been trying to contact him, and she admitted that she had looked him up online and sent him a message but said that he never responded and that it was. was just a moment of weakness that didn't mean anything. She swore that she loved me and that she wanted to make our marriage work, but I could tell that she was just saying what she thought I wanted to hear. I've been sleeping in the guest room ever since, and we've barely talked except about logistics with the kids and household stuff. She keeps trying to bring up what happened and wants to talk about it, but I'm not ready, and I don't know if I ever will be. Every time I look at her, I hear those words again about how she was never attracted to me and how she settled for me

because I was safe and I feel sick to my stomach. The worst part is that now everything from our entire relationship makes sense in a way that I wish it didn't. All those times when she seemed distant or uninterested. All the times when she seemed uncomfortable around people from college. All the times when she seemed more concerned about what other people thought than about what she wanted. It all adds up to this picture of someone who was never really happy with me but was too afraid or too concerned about appearances to do anything about it. I keep thinking about our kids and how this is going to affect them if we get divorced, but I also don't know how I'm supposed to stay in a marriage with someone who has been pretending to love me for eight years. I feel like our

entire relationship has been a lie, and I don't know if there's any way to come back from that. Clara has been trying to act normal around the kids, but I can tell that they sense something is wrong because they keep asking why mommy and daddy aren't sleeping in the same room anymore and why we don't talk to each other the way we used to. I've been trying to keep things as normal as possible for them, but it's really hard when I can barely stand to be in the same room as their mother. I also can't stop thinking about this Dale guy and wondering what he's like and whether Clara is still trying to contact him.

I looked him up online, and he's actually a pretty decent guy who seems to travel a lot and posts pictures of himself at restaurants and events, and I can see why Clara would think that he's more exciting than me. I keep wondering if she's comparing us and wishing that she had made different choices. Am I the asshole for wanting to leave my wife after she confessed that she was never attracted to me and only married me because I was safe? I know she was drunk when she said it, but drunk words are sober thoughts, and I don't think I can ever get past knowing how she really feels about me. Update 1, first off, I want to thank everyone who commented on my original post because

reading all the responses really helped me realize that I wasn't crazy for being upset about what Clara said. A lot of people pointed out that being drunk doesn't make you say things that aren't true, it just makes you say things that you usually keep to yourself, and that really hit home for me. After I made my post, I decided that I needed to have a serious conversation with Clara about our marriage and what she had said that night. I waited until the kids were at school,

and I asked her to sit down with me in the living room, and I told her that we needed to talk about everything that had happened. She immediately started crying and apologizing again and saying that she was so sorry for hurting me and that she didn't mean what she said, but I stopped her and told her that I needed her to be completely honest with me for once in our relationship. I said that I deserved to know the truth

about how she really felt about me and about our marriage and that if we were going to have any chance of moving forward, then she needed to stop lying and making excuses. That's when she finally admitted that, yes, she had never felt the same kind of physical attraction to me that she had felt for Dale and some of her other boyfriends from college. She said that when we first started dating, she thought that attraction would grow over time

and that she could learn to feel differently about me, but that it never happened the way she hoped it would. She also admitted that she had married me partly because her parents really liked me and thought I would be a good provider and father and that their approval was really important to her at the time. She said that she convinced herself that attraction wasn't the most important thing in a relationship and that our friendship and compatibility were more valuable than physical chemistry. The hardest part to hear was when she told me that over the years, she had started to resent me for not being more like the guys she used to date

who were more adventurous and spontaneous and exciting. She said that she knew it wasn't fair to blame me for being exactly the person I had always been, but that she couldn't help feeling like she had missed out on something by settling down with me. When I asked her about Dale and whether she had been trying to contact him, she got really defensive and said that it was just a stupid mistake and that she was going through a midlife crisis or something. But then I pressed her on it, and she finally admitted that she had been thinking about him for months before she actually reached out and that she had been fantasizing about what her life would have been like if they had stayed together. She said that she had sent him a message on Facebook telling him that she had

been thinking about him and asking if he wanted to catch up sometime and that she had been checking obsessively for weeks to see if he would respond. She also admitted that if he had responded positively, she probably would have met up with him even though she knew it would be wrong. Hearing all of this was like getting punched in the face over and over again, but I'm glad that she finally told me the truth because at least now I know where I stand. I asked her if she wanted to try to work on our marriage or if she wanted to get divorced, and she said that she didn't know and that she was confused about what she wanted. I told her that I needed some time to think about everything and that I was going to stay at my brother's house for a few days

while I figured out what to do next. She started crying again and begging me not to leave, but I couldn't stand to be around her anymore, and I needed some space to process everything. I ended up staying at my brother's place for a week, and it was actually really good for me to get away and clear my head. My brother and his wife were really supportive, and they let me talk through everything without judging me or trying to tell me what to do. They also helped me realize that I deserved to be with someone who actually wanted to be with me and who was attracted to me and that staying in a marriage where I was just the safe choice wasn't fair to either of us. When I came back home, Clara and I had another long conversation, and I told her that I thought we should get divorced.

She was shocked and said that she thought we could work things out with counseling and that she was willing to try harder to make our marriage work, but I told her that I didn't think therapy could fix the fundamental problem that she wasn't attracted to me and never had been. She argued that attraction wasn't everything and that we had built a good life together and that we should try to save our marriage for the sake of our kids, but I told her that I didn't want to spend the rest of my life with someone who saw me as a consolation prize. I also pointed out that our kids deserve to see what a healthy relationship looked like and that staying together just for their sake would probably do more harm than good. The conversation got pretty heated, and she accused me of giving up too easily and not being willing to fight for our family, but I told her that I had been fighting for our relationship for years without even realizing that she didn't want the same things I wanted. I said that it wasn't fair for her to ask me to keep fighting when she had already checked out

emotionally years ago. Since then, we've been trying to figure out the logistics of separation and divorce, and it's been really hard and awkward. Clara has been going back and forth between being angry at me for wanting to leave and being sad and apologetic about everything that happened. Sometimes she'll be cold and distant and act like the divorce is all my idea and that I'm being unreasonable, and other times she'll break down crying and beg me to reconsider and give her another chance.

The hardest part is that I still love her even though I know that she doesn't feel the same way about me. Eight years of marriage and two kids together doesn't just disappear overnight, and there are still moments when I wonder if I'm making a mistake by leaving. I've started looking for my own apartment, and I'm trying to figure out a custody arrangement that will work for everyone. Clara doesn't want me to move out and keep saying that we should try separation counseling first, but I think that would just be prolonging the inevitable and making things harder for. for everyone. The whole situation is just really sad, and I feel bad for our kids who are going to have to deal with their parents getting divorced, but I also feel like I finally have some clarity about what I want and need in a relationship. I deserve to be with someone who chooses me because they want me, not because I'm the safe option that their parents approve of.

I know that some people will think I'm being too harsh or that I should try harder to save my marriage, but I don't think you can force someone to be attracted to you or to love you the way you love them. Clara made her choice eight years ago when she decided to marry me even though she wasn't really into me, and now I'm making my choice to find someone who will actually want to be with me. Update 2. It's been about a month since my last update, and I wanted to let everyone know what's been happening because things have taken some unexpected turns that I didn't see coming. I ended up finding an apartment and moved out about three weeks ago, and it's been a really difficult adjustment for everyone involved. The kids are staying with Clara during the week and spending

weekends with me, and they're having a hard time understanding why Mommy and Daddy don't live together anymore. My daughter keeps asking when I'm coming home, and my son has been acting out at school and having tantrums that he never used to have. Clara and I are trying to co-parent as well as we can under the circumstances, but it's really awkward and tense whenever we have to interact. She's still going back and forth between being angry at me and trying to convince me to come back, and it's emotionally exhausting to deal with. Every time I go to pick up the kids or drop them off, she tries to start a conversation about our relationship, and I have to keep reminding her that we're getting divorced and that I don't want to rehash everything over and over again.

About two weeks ago, something happened that made everything even more complicated. I was at a store near my new apartment when I ran into someone I recognized from college, and it took me a minute to realize that it was Dale, Clara's ex-boyfriend that she had been trying to contact. He recognized me too and came over to say hello and ask how I was doing. We ended up talking for about 20 minutes, and he seemed like a genuinely nice guy and nothing like the exciting person that Clara had made him out to be. He's actually pretty quiet and soft-spoken and works as an accountant for a small firm and lives in a modest apartment by himself. He told me that he had gotten Clara's message a few months ago, but that he hadn't responded because he's been in a serious relationship for the past three years and didn't think it would be

appropriate. He also said that he was surprised to hear from her because they hadn't had much contact since college and their relationship back then wasn't as serious or passionate as she apparently remembered it being. He said that they dated for about six months and that it was pretty casual and that he had actually been the one to end it because he felt like they wanted different things out of life. The conversation was really eye-opening for me because it made me realize that Clara had built up this whole fantasy about Dale and their relationship that wasn't based in reality.

She had convinced herself that he was this amazing guy who got away and that her life would have been so much better if they had stayed together, but the truth was that he was just a regular person like me and their relationship hadn't been that special or meaningful. I didn't tell Dale about what was going on with Clara and me because it didn't seem appropriate, but after we said goodbye, I felt this weird mix of relief and sadness. When I got home to my apartment, I felt really lonely and started second-guessing my decision to leave. I found myself wondering if maybe I had been too hasty and if Clara and I could have worked things out if we had tried harder. I even started thinking about calling her and suggesting

that we try couples counseling after all. But then the next weekend when I had the kids, Clara did something that reminded me why I had to leave in the first place. I was dropping them off on Sunday evening, and she invited me in for coffee and started talking about how much she missed having me around the house. She said that she had been doing a lot of thinking and that she realized how much she had taken me for granted and how good of a husband and father I was. She also said that she had been talking to a therapist about our marriage and that she was starting to understand why she had been so unhappy and that it wasn't really about me or our relationship.

but about her own issues with commitment and fear of missing out. She said that she thought we could make things work if we both committed to being more open and honest with each other going forward. For a minute, I almost believed her, and I could feel myself getting pulled back into the hope that maybe we could fix things and get back together. But then she said something that made me realize that she still didn't really get it. She said that even though she had never felt the same kind of physical attraction to me that she had felt for other guys, she had learned to appreciate other things about me and that

attraction could grow over time if we worked at it. The way she said it made it clear that she still saw physical attraction as something that was missing from our relationship, but that she was willing to try to develop it for the sake of our family. It wasn't that she had suddenly realized that she was attracted to me all along. It was that she was willing to try to force herself to feel something that wasn't naturally there. I told her that I appreciated her honesty but that I didn't want to be in a relationship where someone had to work at being attracted to me. I said that I wanted to be with someone who wanted me for who I was, not someone who was trying to convince themselves to want me. She got upset and said that I was

being unrealistic and that all long-term relationships require work and compromise, but I told her that some things shouldn't have to be worked at. We ended up having a big argument, and I left feeling more convinced than ever that I had made the right decision. Over the next few days, I kept thinking about what she had said about learning to appreciate other things about me and working at developing attraction. And it made me feel even more like I had been settling for crumbs in our marriage. I also started thinking about the fact that I'm only 32 years old and that I have hopefully many more years ahead of me and that I don't want to spend them with someone who sees being with me as work that they have to do. I want to find someone who is excited about me and who thinks I'm attractive and who chooses to be with me because they can't imagine being with anyone else. else. Since then, I've been focusing on getting settled in my new place and establishing a routine

with the kids and trying to figure out what I want my life to look like going forward. I've been going to the gym more, and I've been hanging out with friends that I hadn't seen much of when I was married, and I'm starting to feel like myself again in a way that I haven't in years. The divorce proceedings are moving forward, and Clara and I are working with a mediator to figure out custody and financial arrangements. She's still holding out hope that I'll change my mind and come back, but I think she's starting to accept that this is really happening. Her family has been calling me and trying to convince me to reconsider, but I've told them that this is between Clara and me and that their input isn't helpful. My own family has been really

supportive, and they've told me that they could see that I wasn't happy in my marriage even though I was trying to make the best of it. My mom said that she always wondered if Clara was really right for me but that she didn't want to say anything because it wasn't her place to interfere. It's weird to think that other people could see problems in my marriage that I couldn't see myself. I hope you enjoy this story. He acted somewhat subdued, but I thought maybe he was just feeling the age or guilty. I tried to brush it aside and make the best of his day. My best friend Claire, not her real name, even stopped by that evening with a cake.

It was a quiet birthday, but he said he enjoyed it. A week later, I discovered that my husband had already made it husband had already made plans to cheat on me, and with Claire, of all people. It still makes me sick typing that. Turns out, when he asked for the hall pass, he wasn't speaking hypothetically. He had someone specific in mind. Unbeknownst to me, he and Claire had arranged to meet up at a hotel. I found out entirely by accident. I manage most of our bills since I'm home, and I saw a credit card charge for an expensive hotel in the city dated two days after. I found out entirely by accident. I managed most of our bills since I'm home, and I saw a credit card charge for an expensive hotel and the city dated two days after his birthday. At first I thought it was a

mistake on the statement. We hadn't stated any hotel. Something was off. So I checked his email, we know each other's passwords, he's never bothered to hide it until now. Sure enough, there was a booking confirmation for that hotel, for one night, under his name. And then I noticed the email had been forwarded. To Claire. I felt a way of of nausea hit me as I realized my best friend was involved in this. I couldn't believe my best friend would do that. She's been my closest friend since college, she was even the maid of honor at our wedding. I trusted her completely, and I never saw this coming. I confronted my husband that same night after the kids were in bed. I showed him the email and asked point blank if he had met up

with Claire at that hotel. At first, he tried to deny everything. He claimed he only booked room to see if I'd actually let him use a hall pass, a completely lame excuse. I called B.S. immediately. I asked him why the reservation was forwarded to Claire. He looked like a deer in headlights and then broke down and admitted they'd been texting and that she had agreed to help him out with his birthday request. In other words, he propositioned my best friend behind my back, and she went along with it. I was so angry and hurt I could barely even look at him. He kept saying it was just that one time and that it was just sex and meant nothing emotionally. He tried to downplay it, like my best friend was doing him a favor. I asked if they actually went through with it,

if they slept together in that hotel. He admitted they did. I think I went numb at that point. I just told him to get out. He refused at first, kept saying we should talk about this, that he made a mistake. But this wasn't a lapse in the heat of the moment. He planned this, even after I told him no. I ended up screaming at him that I wanted him out of the house. I didn't want the kids waking up, so I tried to keep it together, but I was furious. He did leave, he grabbed a few things and drove off, I assumed to a hotel or maybe to crash on a buddy's couch. I didn't even care at that point. As soon as he left, I broke down. I barely slept that night. I haven't talked to Claire yet, I just. I have no. I have no.

no idea what to even say to her. She knew damn well what she was doing. She was at my house on his birthday smiling in my face, and the whole time she had plans to sleep with my husband two days later. Who does that? Right now it's all a mess. I'm still in shock and absolutely live it. I've contacted a divorce attorney because I don't see any coming back from this. It's not just the cheating, it's the fact that he tried to get my permission, got denied, and did it anyway with the person I trusted most. And as a stay-at-home mom, I'm terrified of what this means for me and the kids, but I cannot stay with him.

I haven't told the kids anything yet, they're too young to understand, and I'm dreading when that time comes. I also haven't spoken to my husband beyond the confrontation, he's tried calling and texting, but I just feel so betrayed I can't deal with him right now. I feel like everything fell apart in just a week, ten years of marriage, gone just like that. I'm angry, I'm hurt, and honestly I'm feeling pretty lost. I don't know what our future looks like from here, but I know I'm not staying in this marriage.

Thanks for letting me get this out, I really needed to vent. Update 1, it's been about a week since I found out about the affair. I want to start by saying, thank you for the support and comments, I didn't expect so many people to care, but it's helped to know I'm not alone. A lot has happened over the last few days. I finally worked up the nerve to face my, former, best friend, Claire. She had been texting and calling me nonstop since everything came out, but I wasn't ready to respond until now. Yesterday, I let her come over to talk.

I made sure our kids were at my parents' house for the afternoon because I didn't want them around for this. Seeing Claire walk into my home was unreal. This is someone who used to be like a sister to me, now I could barely look at her without feeling sick. She started bawling the second she saw me. I was a mix of angry and weirdly calm. I think I'd cried every tear I had the first few days, so by the time she came over I was just, cold. I told her to sit down and start explaining.

Claire told me everything, at least, I think she did. According to her, my husband had been whining to her for a while about how unexciting our sex life had become after kids. She claimed she tried to brush it off or tell him to talk to me, but he kept bringing it up. Around his birthday, he told her that I wasn't giving him what he needed and that he was considering asking me for a one-time pass. She says she told him that was a terrible idea and it would hurt me,

but he somehow convinced her that I was actually open to it. I call BS on that, I would never agree to such a thing, and she should know that. Honestly, I think she's just trying to make herself feel less guilty by saying he misled her. He might have bent the truth, but at the end of the day she still made the choice to sleep with him. She admitted they had been flirting via text for a while. She tried to downplay it as joking around, but come on. On his birthday night when she came over with the cake, apparently they had already planned that meet-up for two days later. I nearly threw up when she said that, thinking back to that night, how normal it all felt, while they had this sick plan

behind my back. Claire kept saying she was sorry and that she hated herself for what she did. She said it only happened that one time at the hotel, and that she immediately regretted it. According to her, after I found out and kicked him out, my husband actually freaked out and begged her to not say a word to anyone. He was desperate to keep it under wraps. She said she couldn't live with herself and wanted to come clean to me anyway, but I beat her to it by finding the evidence. I mostly let her talk while I sat there quietly. When I did ask questions, they were pretty blunt. I asked her straight up how long she'd been lusting after my husband.

Because obviously you don't just fall onto someone's penis as a friendly favor. She insisted it wasn't like that, that she never had a crush on him and it just happened. She did admit she was lonely, she'd been single for a while after a bad breakup last year, and she confessed that she craved intimacy and stupidly found it in the wrong place. It was a pathetic excuse, and I told her so. I told her she betrayed me in the worst way imagine. and that I don't think I can ever forgive her. She was sobbing and kept saying she understands if I hate her and that she hates herself too.

At one point she tried to reach for my hand across the table and I pulled back. I told her not to touch me. Then Claire told me that she's pregnant. About six weeks along. That news completely threw me off balance. She quickly added that she doesn't believe it's my husband's. Apparently she'd been casually seeing some other guy on and off. and according to her the timeline lines up more with that guy.

She claims she and my husband used protection at the hotel and that it only happened once. Honestly, hearing the word pregnant at all just left me reeling. I couldn't even process it fully in the moment. All I could do was ask if my husband knows. She said she told him recently, and that he also knows it's unlikely the baby is his. But of course now there's this big question mark hanging in the air until it's confirmed. I think that was the moment I emotionally checked out of the conversation. I just nodded and said something like,

OK, thanks for telling me. I think you should go now. She begged me not to cut her out of my life, kept saying she would do anything to fix this, but we both know there's no fixing it. I told her I needed space and that she needed to leave. Eventually she did, still crying as I shut the door on her. After she left, I just sat on the couch in silence for a long long time.

time, trying to wrap my head around everything. My best friend is pregnant, and there's a non-zero chance my husband could be the father. As for my husband, we still haven't spoken face to face since I threw him out. We've texted only about logistical stuff. He knows that I know about the pregnancy. He said in a text that he's so sorry for everything and that he wants a chance to explain in person. I haven't given him that chance yet. Right now I just don't have it in me to hear more excuses or have truths from him. I'd been focusing on the kids and on talking to my lawyer. Speaking of the lawyer, I did have an initial consultation. Since I'm a stay-at-home mom with no income of my own, I needed to know my rights. The lawyer was great, she explained that I'll

likely be entitled to a fair share of assets and possibly spousal support, and of course child support. We haven't filed anything yet, but I told her I intend to. She advised me to gather documentation on our and, if possible, evidence of the affair, I saved those emails. In my state, adultery can theoretically have some impact on divorce outcomes, but it's mostly no fault here so it might not matter much legally. Still, I want everything noted. For now, I'm in a holding pattern. I'm avoiding my husband unless it's about the kids.

He comes by to see the kids in the evenings every couple of days, but I make those visits very brief and keep interaction with him minimal. He's been staying with his parents, I found out. I haven't told our kids anything beyond daddy is staying at grandmas for a little while. Thankfully they're young enough not to question too hard yet. My seven-year-old is a little confused, but I'm just trying to keep their life routine stable. Emotionally, I'm all over the place. One minute I'm angry and resolved to divorce and never look back. The next minute I'm grieving the life I thought I had. But even with all that turmoil, I know I can't stay with a man who did this. Trust is shattered. So that's where I am right now, preparing to end my marriage,

dealing with the double betrayal of my husband and my best friend, and now a possible pregnancy fallout on top of it. This whole situation is insane. I'll update again when I have more answers about the pregnancy and as I navigate the divorce process. Update 2, a couple of weeks have gone by, and things continue to be a roller coaster. First, some clarity on the big question, the paternity of Claire's baby. She went to her doctor and got an early ultrasound, and based on the dating, it looks virtually impossible that it's my husband's. In fact, Claire told me she reached out to the other guy she was seeing and he agreed to a

prenatal paternity test. I guess it's a simple blood test these days. The results confirm that he's the father, not my husband, so that's at least one small mercy in this mess. There's not going to be a surprise love child tying my soon-to-be ex and my ex-best friend together for life. When I got that news, I finally felt like I could breathe a little. I'm glad for my own sake and even for my kids' sake that we won't have that complication. Of course, just because the baby isn't as doesn't erase what they did. But it does simplify the next steps. Speaking of next steps, I officially told my husband that I'm moving forward with

the divorce. had an actual sit-down conversation a few days ago, our first real talk since the blow-up. Until then, everything had been through brief texts or lawyers. He kept asking to talk in person, and I finally agreed, partly because I wanted to get some things off my chest directly and hear what he had to say without the kids around. He came over after I put the kids to bed. It was awkward as hell to sit at our kitchen table across from him, now talking about ending our marriage. The first thing he did was apologize again. He said he was sorry for hurting me and that he regretted it all. I just sat there silently until he finished his little speech. Then I told him

flat out that apologizing doesn't magically fix anything. I said I will never be able to trust him again after this and that our marriage is effectively over. He pleaded with me to reconsider. He even brought up counseling, saying we owe it to the kids to try. I let him talk, but I think he knew from my expression it was a lost cause. I reminded him that I did give him a chance, I said no to the hall pass and trusted him to respect that, and he still went behind my back. I also told him I knew all about how he'd been complaining to Claire about our intimate life. He didn't deny it.

He just kept saying he was in a bad place mentally, having a midlife crisis and feeling unwanted, blah, blah. At one point I actually snorted and told him, so your midlife crisis plan was to blow up your family? Great job. I know I was a bit harsh, but I had no patience for his self-pity. The conversation went in circles for a while. He was crying at one point, saying he hates himself for what he did. I was just, numb. I think I'd cried enough already that seeing him cry didn't spark much sympathy in me. I told him he should be grateful the baby situation isn't adding more chaos, because frankly if he'd gotten my best friend pregnant, I would be coming after everything in the divorce. He kept saying he never

wanted any of this to happen and that Claire meant nothing to him. Funny how she was important enough to risk everything, but now she means nothing, right? Eventually, his tone shifted from apologetic to somewhat frustrated. When he realized I wasn't budging on the divorce, he got defensive. He said something like, are you really going to destroy our family over one mistake? You know I'm a good dad. That part got to me, the audacity of him acting like I'm the one destroying the family. I told him calmly that he did this, not me. I also made it clear that I'm not going to keep our kids away from him, but that our marriage is done and that's on him. We discussed some practical stuff too. I told him I'd like to stay in the house at least until the divorce is finalized,

for stability for the kids, and because frankly I have nowhere else to go right now. He said he understood. He actually mentioned he'd been looking for an apartment to rent so he can move out of his parents' place soon. As for custody, he insisted he wants to be very involved with the kids, which is fine, I want that too, as long as it's for the right reasons. But he did make a comment about wanting 50 to 50 custody. I'm a little wary about that, not because I want to cut him out, I don't, but because he's never handled the day-to-day care on his own for more than a few hours. the custody situation is still being worked out. For now, we have a temporary arrangement. He gets the kids every other weekend and one evening a week. It's basically what I proposed as a trial run,

since I knew he wanted significant time and I genuinely do want our kids to have their dad around. To my, mild, surprise, he's actually been punctual and responsible during his time with them these past several weeks. The kids come home fed, homework done, etc., so I'll give him credit for stepping up there. That said, he's still pushing hard for a true 50 to 50 split long term. Maybe he'll be able to handle it, but I'm skeptical given his work hours. I suspect right now he's on his best behavior to make a good impression for the court. I'm not saying he doesn't love our kids, he absolutely does, but handling two young kids full-time while working a demanding job is not easy, and historically I've done the bulk of that. One sticking point is that he wants

to eventually introduce the kids to a new living arrangement once he moves into his own apartment. He's still at his parents for now, but supposedly apartment hunting. I told my lawyer I'm not comfortable with the kids shuttling back and forth constantly until things are more settled. My lawyer said the court will ultimately decide if we can agree, but in our state they often favor stability for young kids, which usually means one primary home base. I'm hoping that ends up being with me, with him having generous visitation. It's not about punishing him, it's about what I believe is best for the kids' routine, since I'm the one who's always been their primary caregiver. Financially, it's been a battle too. As a stay-at-home mom, I have no income, and I paused my career for our family.

He was initially offering only minimal spousal support, basically trying to pressure me to quickly find a job. That pissed me off, to be honest. Not because I don't plan to work, I'm actually updating my resume and looking at part-time options. but because of the principal. I supported his career by taking care of everything at home, and now he's acting like I'm trying to leach off him by expecting fair support during this transition. My lawyer shut that down fast in negotiations. She laid out what a court would likely have him pay given our length of marriage and disparity in income. He backed off a bit after that, but it left a bad taste. It's like he wants to make sure I don't get too much, even though I'm just asking for what's fair so I can get back on my feet. We haven't finalized the

asset division yet either. The house is the big thing. He originally wanted to sell it and split the equity right away. I pushed back, saying the kids and I should stay put at least for a couple of years until the dust settles and our oldest finishes elementary school. Living with my parents or renting a tiny apartment with two kids would be a huge upheaval on top of everything. After a lot of arguing through attorneys, and some pressure from his own father, who I think reminded him that uprooting the grandkids would reflect poorly, he finally agreed to let me and the kids stay in the house for now. We'll likely arrange to sell or refinance later as part of the settlement, but at least I won't have to move them out immediately. I'm relieved about that. Emotionally, I've been in survival

mode. My days are so full with the kids and legal stuff and looking for work that I hardly have time to process the hurt. I still have my moments at night where it all hits me again, the betrayal by the two people I trusted most. I haven't spoken a word to Claire since our last conversation. She did send me a letter at one point, an actual handwritten letter, delivered to my parents' address. In it, she apologized yet again and said she understood I might never forgive her. She said she's moving to her sister's place a few hours away for months to have her baby, and she wished me and the kids well. I read it, felt a bunch of complicated things, and then tucked it away in a drawer. I have nothing to say to her at this point. Maybe someday I'll find it in me to let go of the anger,

but I will never let her back into my life. Betrayal changes everything. As for my ex, well, technically he's still my husband until the papers are signed. Our interactions have become civil but strictly about practical matters. We keep it mostly to texts about pick up up times or kid-related info. Now that he's realized I'm not going to budge on the divorce, he's toned down the emotional appeals and is focusing on trying to come out of this with some dignity. There's less outright hostility than there was in the beginning of negotiations, which is a small blessing. I think his lawyer probably told him to cool it and be cooperative if he doesn't want to drag this out longer or make himself look bad. My parents and a few

close friends have been my rocks through all of this. And no, those friends are definitely not mutual with Claire or my ex. In fact, a couple of them dropped Claire completely when they heard what happened. It's been eye-opening to see who truly has my back. My kids are doing okay given the circumstances. The seven-year-old has started asking more questions like, why can't Daddy live here with us? Which is heartbreaking, but I'm handling it with as much honesty as I can for his age. I tell him Mommy and Daddy both love him and his sister very much, but we are going to live in different houses so we can be better parents, it's hard to explain it without painting either of us as the villain to a child. The four-year-old is thankfully still

mostly oblivious to the situation and just enjoys the extra time at Grandma and Grandpa's and Daddy's fun weekend outings. So yeah, it's been rough, but we're getting through it day by day. The divorce isn't final yet, but we're inching closer. I can see an end to this ordeal on the horizon, faint as it is. Once the legal stuff is sorted, I'll finally be able to truly start the next chapter of my life without all this hanging over me. Update 4, it's been about nine months since this whole nightmare began, and I'm happy to say the divorce is finally finalized. The papers are signed, the assets divided, and we can all start to move forward. It's strange to close the book on a decade-long marriage, but mostly I feel relief that the legal battles are over and I can

focus on the future. The final settlement ended up being something we can both live with. I have primary custody of the kids, and he gets them every other weekend and one weeknight for dinner, plus some holidays we're splitting. It's pretty much the arrangement we were already doing, and it seems to be working for the kids. He eventually admitted that a strict 50 to 50-50 split wouldn't mesh well with his job schedule, so he backed off on that demand before we went to court. I'm glad we were able to be practical about it in the end. The kids are adjusting well to the new routine. They've gotten used to the idea that mom and dad live in different places.

We even managed to both attend our older child's school play last month without it being awkward. We just sat separately and kept it cordial. It was hard, emotionally, but I was proud of our kid and that mattered more than the divorce stuff in that moment. financially, I negotiated to keep the house in exchange for giving him a larger share of our saving slash retirement accounts, and I'll refinance in my name within a year or two. I'm receiving spousal support for a couple years in child support, which together will allow me to get on my feet. I actually found a part-time job. It's not a huge income, but it's a foot in the door and helps fill the gap. Juggling work in single parenting is going to be a challenge, but I've got a

solid support system with my parents nearby and a good daycare for the little one when I need it. As for my ex-husband, at this point he's basically just a co-parent. The interactions between us are civil and focused on the kids. He's been trying in his own way to make amends by being a reliable dad. I can tell he carries a lot of guilt. He apologized again during our final mediation session, a much more genuine apology for the pain he caused. I told him I appreciated it, and I do, but forgiveness is a work in progress. I'm not sure if I'll ever fully forgive everything, but I won't let my hurt ruin our ability to raise our kids together. We communicate as needed about school, health, schedules, business-like, but polite. In a weird way, I'm proud of us for

getting to this functional co-parenting stage after all the toxicity earlier. It's better for the kids this way. And what about Claire? Honestly, she's not a part of my life anymore. and that's for the best. I did hear through a mutual acquaintance that she gave birth to a healthy baby girl recently. I don't wish her ill, in fact, I hope she becomes a better person for that little girl's sake. But I have zero interest in reconnecting. That chapter is closed. Looking back on the past year, it still feels a little unreal how quickly my life changed. Nine months ago I was a devoted wife planning our family's future, now I'm a divorced single mom. But I'm okay. The kids are okay. We're navigating this new normal day by day. There are still moments of anger and hurt that

flare up. I won't pretend everything's magically healed, but those moments are fewer and farther between now. Mostly, I feel at peace with my decision to leave. It was absolutely the right call. This will likely be my last update. There isn't much more to tell, and I genuinely hope there are no more surprise twists waiting around the corner. I hope you enjoy this story. Relatives compelled me to sign a marital agreement because they believed I was financially unstable. Presently, as my net worth exceeds theirs by five-fold, they are seeking to annul the agreement and applying pressure. My wife to divorce me. Eight years ago, my wife and I got married, but before that, my in-laws decided, to make me sign a pre-up and I found that a bit insulting at the time because they had made it

quite clear to me that I was not really welcome in their family so making me sign the pre-nup just felt like even more of a slap in a face. I had been working in sales when I met my wife but after having been with her for one year, I decided to quit my job and start my own electronics brand. We were both 27 at the time and by the time I finally got around to officially starting my business, I was almost 28. But my wife had been supportive of me throughout the process and she was the happiest when I finally got to start working on my dream business. Her parents, however, were not that happy because they thought that I was living off of her money, which was true to a certain extent. She was definitely supporting me because I didn't have a study income, but it's not

like I was completely relying on her. Anyway, at 29, I decided to propose to her and we got married within a year. But a couple of months before our wedding, her parents came to me and told me that I needed to sign up for a pre-up that stated that, in the case of a divorce, all our assets and money would be kept separate, and I could not stake a claim to anything that was hers, and vice versa. In the case of a divorce, I would also have to repay my wife and my in-laws for having supported me while I was working on my business since they had occasionally sent money to my wife to help us out while we were living together. And it was a reminder that I was indebted to them, which I thought was kind of unnecessary at that point of time. And I'm pretty sure that they included the second

part of the clause, that even my wife would not be able to stake a claim to anything that was mine so it would all be fair. The agreement even stated that if we decided to have a joint account, the money from that would also be divided on the basis of who had contributed more because my in-laws had just assumed that throughout our marriage, my wife would be supporting me. When they had approached me with it, they had told me that signing off on that would be the only way for them to feel safe about accepting me as their son-in-law. It was quite insulting for several reasons. Firstly, because they had just assumed that I would always rely on my wife and would never be able to make something of myself, which was an unfair assumption in itself because I was already working quite hard at the time to get my business going so that I wouldn't be a burden on my wife or anybody else. Secondly, even before I quit my job to start my own business, they had never liked me.

They had a problem with me right from the beginning, from the first time that my wife had brought me to her house to introduce me to her parents because they did not think that I was good enough to be dating their daughter. And by good, I actually just mean rich. For context, my in-laws have a real estate firm and have been doing quite well ever since they started. They come from financially well-off backgrounds themselves, so all of them have grown up comfortably. My parents had normal jobs, though my dad was a high school football coach and my mom was the manager at a nearby coffee shop. So I didn't exactly have to struggle with money growing up, but I definitely did not have the kind of money that my in-laws did and right from the beginning, they used to look down on me. It was the usual, snarky remarks, mean comments disguised as jokes and stuff, and just an insufferable and weird attitude around me in general. I never said a word about it, even though my wife got quite worked up about their behavior because I did not want them to know that they had managed to get under my skin.

I believe that the best way to deal with them was by not paying any heat to them because I knew that my wife loved me, and I loved her, and that was good enough for both of us. I did not need them to approve of us, so even when they approached me with the pre-nup, I felt a bit insulted, but I signed it. And when they took it to my wife, she was quite offended, but I had discussed it with her beforehand, and she signed it as well without any complaint. Both of us knew exactly what they were trying to accomplish, they were just trying to play my games with me and insult me right before the wedding so that I would maybe back off or something and they would be able to accomplish

what they had set out to do right from the beginning, sideline me, and somehow get their daughter to be with somebody more appropriate by their standards. Unfortunately for them, they haven't been able to do that so far, and they won't be able to do that ever because my wife and I are always going to be on one team. That was several years ago, and since then, I have made a lot of progress in my career. My business grew and I kept working at it, and in the last two years, it took off exponentially and started doing better than it ever had all of a sudden. I guess the social media marketing and all the hard work that I had put into my company had started to finally pay off.

Whatever it was, something had worked in our favor greatly, and as of now, I'm worth almost five times more than what my in-laws are. So now, of course, they want to dissolve the pre-nup all of a sudden. They came to visit us a couple of days back, and we were all having dinner together. But after dinner, once our son was in bed, they got us both to do. sit down together and told us that they had been giving it a lot of thought, and now, they finally thought that it was time to speak to their lawyers and have the pre-nup dissolved. My wife looked surprised and even I was pretty taken aback for an instant. But then, I decided to decline. I told them to their faces that I did not think that it was

necessary, since they themselves had claimed that the pre-nup was the only way they would feel safe with accepting me as their son-in-law, and I did not want them to lose the safety net. I was obviously being sarcastic and I guess they picked up on that, even though I tried to sound as sincere as I possibly could. They told me that several years had passed since then, and we had a son together now, so they no longer had any reason to have any doubts about me, but I still declined, and I told them that I was not open to discussing this anymore. When I said that, they started to get agitated and told me that it was their idea to have the pre-nup in the first place, so now I should respect whatever they say and have it dissolved since they don't think it's necessary

anymore and because they are older and more experienced. They think that we should take their advice to avoid any bitterness in the future. Honestly, I had no idea what they were even talking about, but after some bickering, I told them that I had no interest in talking about the pre-nup anymore, and since my wife, and I had no plans of getting divorced anytime soon, they should drop it as well. but they simply refused to let it go until it turned into a fight and all the drama that we had been sweeping under the rug for so many years started coming out. I finally brought up how they had only designed that pre-nup and brought it to me because they wanted to humiliate me and remind me that I was not in the same tax bracket as them,

and now that I had surpassed them, they suddenly wanted to pretend as none of that had ever happened. And their point was that they only wanted their daughter's future to be secure because in case I turned out to be a gold-digging husband who was going to leach off of her for as long as we were married, they wanted her to at least have a safety net in the form of that pre-nup and they were just looking out for their daughter. So that went on for a while, and after some time, I was too tired to keep arguing with them anymore, so I decided to tell them that I was done, and I wanted them to leave. I thought I was being perfectly reasonable by asking them to leave because we were getting too loud and my son was asleep, so I did not want to wake him up.

Besides, it was quite late at night at the time, so I just wanted him to go away and then I would be able to get some sleep and take my mind off this. However, they took offense at that, and they told me that the only reason I had even been able to get to the place that I am today was because of the support that their daughter and they had given me. And there, I would beg to differ because they had never supported me, they had only ever supported their daughter. I know that in the beginning, I had mentioned that they would occasionally send money to us

while I was still working on my business, and I'm really grateful to them for that, but that was not for me. That was for their daughter, and we could have easily survived without their help as well because I did have some savings of my own. The only times that they would send money was when my wife would ask them for it,

and that money was specifically for her own purpose because sometimes she would run short after all the household expenses for us. I had offered to dip into my savings several times, but she told me not to because her parents had the money and she knew it and as long as they were sending it to her, they would not have an issue with it. So technically, they did support us but they only did it for the sake of their daughter, they never had any faith in me. And as for supporting me emotionally, let's not even go there,

they had never made me feel like a part of the family and they had no right to tell me, me that I wouldn't have gotten to the place that I am in today without their support. I think I could have easily done it and they had no role to play in it, so they had no right to be throwing it in my face like that. When I said that to them, at which they started yelling at me even louder, and the fight just got worse because they thought that I was being ungrateful by telling them that they did not have anything to do with my success. After one point, they turned to my wife, and they told her that she needed to make a choice now because they had tried to support our relationship for as long as they could. But this was getting out of

hands since I refused to acknowledge their contributions at all. Somehow, my wife managed to convince them to leave, and since then, we haven't spoken. She has stayed in touch with her parents and has been trying to get them to apologize, even though I've told her that I don't really need to apologize. I just want to stay away from me, they can visit her freely and even have the same kind of relationship with our son, but all I want from them is to give me space because I really don't feel like I'm interested in repairing my relationship with them right now. Especially after everything that went down the other day since the fight had been a long time coming in honestly, I'm surprised that we were able to avoid the kind of an emotional

confrontation for so many years. But anyway, now it's done and dusted and I just want to stay away from them. However, I recently learned from my wife that while she was trying to convince them to apologize to me for all the things that they said and for treating me badly all these years, they were trying to brainwash her into divorcing me. Last evening, she came to me with her phone and showed me a bunch of messages. She seemed pretty upset because she had been trying really hard to get things back to normal because my son really loves his grandparents and she just didn't want things to get weird with the family and neither did I, to be honest.

But after reading those messages, I'm not so sure anymore because they were refusing to acknowledge, the fact that they had ever treated me badly and were acting as if they had every right to have treated me the way that they did, even if it was humiliating for me. And not only were they defending their own behavior, they were also accusing me of being ungrateful for support, which, again, I don't think there was any. And they think that that's the reason why my wife should start rethinking her marriage to me and consider a divorce right now before it gets too late because I clearly don't love her enough to respect her family and since I don't want to dissolve the pre-nup, I'm also obviously suspicious of her now that I have some money of my own.

It's all rubbish that they are trying to feed to her so that she gets brainwashed into divorcing me, but she isn't buying any of it. She's just exhausted trying to talk sense into them. But the only thing that she does think they have a point speaking for is the fact that they have, even if somewhat unwillingly, supported us a little bit financially in our early days when I was working on my business and she was taking care of all the expenses. However, I don't feel like acknowledging that because it was clearly only because they did not want to say no to their daughter, it had nothing to do with me, and if my wife had allowed me to, I would have used my savings to contribute during that time and we wouldn't have had to rely on them

at all. Besides, they had always made sure that I never felt accepted into the family and treated me like I was with my wife only for the money, so it's not like I did not have to face the consequences of that. So I'd offer refusing to be thankful to my in-laws for having supported my wife and I when I was just starting out with my company. Edit, I don't actually have an issue with dissolving the pre-nup, I just had an issue with the timing of it all because recently, my wife and I just made some big purchases for the both of us, but they are under my name. It's not a big deal for her and neither is it for me because I know that we love each other, we're going to make it work, no matter how much we fight. In fact, we are not even fighting right now, just her opinion that

she is placed and I'm considering it, I'm not even outright rejecting it. Divorce is definitely not on the table for us, but I guess my in-laws have been doing some thinking of their own and that is why they made this situation at this time. It's just the timing that got to me because even now, they haven't stopped suspecting me and they think that they care about my wife and always have their daughter's best interests at heart but I don't, which is why they always have to put me down. It's very obvious that even now, they really haven't accepted me as part of the family and that's what I have an issue with. As for how much they supported us financially in the beginning, I haven't repaid them, but if they ask for it, then I have no qualms about paying it all back

to them. The only reason I haven't offered it myself yet is because I did not think that I owed them that, because as soon as my business started making money, my wife did not have to spend a single dollar out of her own pockets. I've taken great care and at this point in time, I think we can call it even. Whatever money they had contributed, it had been for their daughter so it had always been given to her directly, and I had no part to play in it, and my wife hasn't had to spend much from some personal expenses since my business started making money, so I think my debt has been repaired in that way. But even after that, if my in-laws think that I should pay them back now, I would gladly do it if that gets them off my back. Update 1, hi, everyone. So it has been a week

since that fight that I had with my in-laws and from what I have read so far, people have mixed opinions on my situation, but I have made up my mind. I'm going to return all the money, I do have an arbitrary figure and I'm doing well for myself now, so I don't want to owe them anything. Neither do I want to constantly feel like I am indebted to them forever, and I need to worship the ground that they walk on because of that. I want to be able to stand up for myself without having them throw this in my face and the only way to deal with this problem is by paying them back all the money that they claim to have supported us by contributing in our initial days. I discussed this idea with my wife, and she thinks it's good enough, since her parents have not

stopped, trying to brainwash her into filing for a divorce for me because they think that I have disrespected them several times. Even though they have never taken into account with the fact that they have also disrespected me and even my family on several occasions. If they can't handle it when I am treating them the same way that they have treated me and my family for years, I don't think they had the right to be dishing it out in the first place either. Besides, I think I was quite polite with them in the beginning before the argument started, and they started bringing up. up personal stuff and going below the belt. But with them, they have always been outright against me and have never even pretended that they like me or my family. So I think the way that I behave

with them was quite reasonable after spending so many years suppressing my feelings and trying my best to be respectful of them. Now, by paying back the money, I will owe them absolutely nothing, since they have never supported me emotionally or even pretended like they accept me. And both my wife and I are really exhausted, trying to deal with the situation at hand, so we are hoping that writing them a check will solve all our problems. Usually, that's not the way I go in relationships, since I know that throwing money at something will not solve the problem. But with them, I think that's the way to go because they are literally that materialistic and selfish. I can't imagine any other parents in the world trying to ruin their own daughter's marriage, especially

when a kid is involved because they think that their own ego is bigger and more important than everything else. It just speaks volumes about how much they actually care for her and how much they like to pretend that they have her best interest at heart. But the reality is that the only thing that they care about is their image, their ego, and themselves. Update 2 so earlier today, my wife spoke to her parents and told them that I was ready to write them a check and end this whole situation because it was getting exhausting to deal with, even for her. And since all of this had started because of the money, maybe writing them a check to repay them for everything that they had done for us in the past is going to fix things.

But of course, that did not fix anything. And they got offended at the suggestion itself, that they could be bought out. They told my wife that this was not about the money, which is strange because, from the way that they were behaving the other day while we were fighting, it felt like it was all the about the money. However, now, all of a sudden, it's about the respect that I have never shown them. Which is insane because I can literally claim the same thing for them. My wife and I don't even know what they are talking about because I have always behaved very politely and civilly with them. It's they who have always had an attitude with me. I have literally never disrespected them.

But they think that this one incident of me refusing to acknowledge and be thankful for the fact that they had supported us a little bit, in the beginning, is equal to years and years of them taking advantage of my love for their daughter and constantly trying to instigate me or my family members by being as disrespectful as they possibly can. It is not the same thing at all, and at this point, even my wife agrees that they didn't support me as much as they're claiming they did. And on top of that, I've already said that I'm going to pay them back so I won't owe them anything. We don't see where the problem is. If this is going to be about respect instead of money, I really don't think that I owe anything to them, for reasons that I have

already mentioned. Thankfully, they are not speaking to me at the moment. They are only interacting with their daughter, and my wife is completely on my side. They are still trying to brainwash her into filing for a divorce and now, they started telling her that she needs to start taking our son under her wing and stuff. And I really can't imagine resuming a normal relationship with them after all of this. It's just pathetic that ruining our marriage won't be enough for them. They need my wife to file for custody because of their own ego. I mean, I think this is a reason enough for me not to respect them at all because this is the kind of treatment that I have been receiving ever since I met my wife. Update 3, it has been slightly over two weeks since that fight that I had with my in-laws

and for the past couple of days, my wife has not been responding to them because she thinks it's a lost battle. She had tried her best to explain to her parents why they were wrong, but they kept telling her to file for a divorce and she got tired of trying to fix the situation all by herself. They had made it clear that they were not interested in fixing things anymore. So she had stopped replying to them and that's why they decided to show up at our house today. I was the one who opened the door to them, and they ignored me and walked straight in and started calling for my wife. At this point, I'm not even surprised that they are acting like this after accusing me of being respectful to them. They are just hypocrites and they will always be just like this.

Anyway, I didn't even say anything. I just kept waiting for my life to come out and after a while, when she did, she immediately told her parents that she was not interested in speaking to them unless they were ready to acknowledge our side of things. They started telling her that they were only here to confront her about her behavior because she was going the same way that I did and becoming increasingly disrespectful to them as well. If I was indebted to them, so was she and she shouldn't forget that. When her parents made that statement, she immediately lost her temper and started shouting at them, and rightfully so. She was their daughter, she hadn't asked them to do anything for her, they had just done

stuff for her, and now, they did not have the right to hold it against her since it had all been done of their free will. If they had wished though, they could have easily declined. and we could have still made it work without their help. It's not like other parents don't do stuff like this for their kids, but they do it out of love, not because they want to throw this in their faces later, like my in-laws. As for gratitude, we had tried our best to be grateful to them and show them respect in spite of their ridiculous behavior with me and my family over the past years. Even then, we hadn't said anything and had quietly put up with it because we did not want

to create any drama and wanted to be respectful of them so that the peace of the family was maintained. But at this point, it was impossible not to stand up against them. Now, they have to realize that they cannot constantly demand to be respected, sometimes they have to earn it and this is one of those times. So my wife ended up arguing with them for quite some time, but I said nothing and just stood in the corner because I did not want to interact with them at all. After some time, my wife started getting agitated, so I went to her side so I would be able to calm her down, and my in-laws started freaking out at me, blaming me for all of this. Because apparently, all of this had started because of my refusal to dissolve the pre-nup and I had to correct them. I told them that

this had not started because of that. This had started when they decided that they were going to treat me badly just because I was not from the same circle of rich kids that they had expected their daughter to pick from while choosing a life partner. That's what they were really mad about for all these years and that's why they had always treated me badly, but I had put up with it, simply because I did not want to make a whole thing out of it. However, they couldn't get away with it all the time and they needed to realize that, which is why I had refused to dissolve the pre-nup because they need to know that I am not going to be a puppet for them and do as they say. Things got even more heated after that since now I was also involved, but I did not let them get to me and kept my cool.

They kept shouting at me, saying horrible things and cursing me out to make me mad, but I just refused to let them get under my skin because I knew that that's exactly what they wanted, and that made them even more upset. Then, they finally realized that they wouldn't be able to get to me and so, they told my wife that she needed to seriously choose between her family and me and she declared that she was going to choose her family. which meant that she was going to choose her husband and her son. She told her parents to get out of her house and that they were going to be receiving the check soon, after that we would be done and dusted. Her parents were shocked because they obviously had not expected this reaction from her. They had probably just believed that they were going to get another chance because that's what usually happens. But honestly, my wife and I have had enough, and when they tried to argue after that, my wife told them that she was going to call the police and have them arrested if they

did not leave immediately and they finally left. After that, we blocked them everywhere and we are finally going to cut them out of our lives. It's going to be hard to explain to our son why he can't see his grandparents anymore, but it's fine. He has another set of grandparents who love him just as much, and maybe in the future, we will be able to reconcile, but for now, this has to be done. We had tried really hard to make things work with them, but unfortunately, they want that. They only want things to work on their terms and that's not going to be possible anymore. I am honestly glad that I took a stand for myself and so did my wife. Some things had to be addressed and we are very happy that we've dealt with the situation now. I hope you enjoy this story.

Ken was praised on two occasions and left a note that caused my sibling to reject my nephew, so I welcomed her and brought her up. After 16 years, my sibling appeared and demanded the girl's house. To start with, my sister-in-law, Zara, was an incredibly warm and generous person. She always greeted me with kindness and made me feel like I was a sister from the very first day I met her. Over the years, since we were both working ladies, we had gotten incredibly close with each other and spent our weekends shopping or going to lunch together. Zara was always a very fit person and took took incredible care of her health. This is why when she received the devastating news of her breast cancer diagnosis, it shook all of us deeply. We rallied around her and gave her our

support to fight back against the cancer. I made it a point to visit her regularly during her chemotherapy sessions to spend time with her or watch over my baby niece whenever I could during one of my visits to her place. As we sat together in her living room, she shared with me a piece of news that shattered my heart. Her voice trembled as she revealed that her doctors had delivered a crushing update. Her cancer was aggressive and was resistant to treatment. They had given her a prognosis that left little room for hope. The weight of her words hung heavy in the air, and I struggled to find the right words to comfort her. In that vulnerable moment, I asked her what I could do to make things easier for her. Her eyes, usually so full of warmth and laughter,

now reflected a mix of fear and resignation. She told me that she was grateful for everything that I had done for her and wished she didn't have to burden me with a secret that she had kept hidden from everyone. I firmly told her that she had nothing to apologize for and that I would do anything for her, no questions asked. It was then that she entrusted me with a secret she had never revealed to anyone, including her own parents. She confided in me that years ago, during her college days, she endured a harrowing experience that had haunted her ever since. It was at a party, a night blurred by too much alcohol when she found herself the victim of a sexual assault. The perpetrator wore a mask, making it impossible for her to identify him. The trauma of that

night had left deep scars that she had carried silently for years. As she recounted the events of that fateful evening, I listened in horror. She was in a relationship with my brother at the time, hence naturally, she turned to him for support and comfort, hoping that he would be the one person in the world who would understand her. However, instead of finding solace in his embrace, she was met with disbelief and blame. My brother couldn't comprehend how another man could violate her in such a way, and in his shock, he started questioning her about her actions. He implied that perhaps it was her attire or behavior towards the guy in the party that had invited the assault on her. He refused to believe that a man could just do something like this to a woman without the woman giving him

some type of signal. Sill was devastated that he was questioning her this way. The weight of shame and guilt unfairly placed upon her shoulders by someone she loved only added to her anguish. Despite this, she gathered the courage to report the assault to the police and even went for a medical test which proved her statement about the assault, since she wanted the perpetrator punished. However, unfortunately for my Sill, she lived in a college neighborhood where parties were commonplace, and thousands of students mingled under the cover of night so the police could not identify the masked assailant, no matter how much they tried. It also did not help that none of the people present in the party came forward to testify for her. As a result, the investigation

went nowhere and my sill never got her justice. At the time, her parents were alive, so they were the only ones who believed in her and this is how she was able to overcome the deep shame of what it happened to her. According to Sil, after months of talking to my brother about the incident, he eventually came around and apologized to her for his initial reaction. He admitted that he should have known better to trust her and promised that he would support her better from then on. Despite the strain in the relationship, Sil didn't want to end things with him so she decided to forgive him. In the years that followed, although my brother tried his best to be there for her, she was always haunted by the incident. I was devastated hearing this since I was devastated hearing this

since my brother had never mentioned any of this to me. Sil pointed out to me how my brother never liked talking about this, and he had in fact told Sil to always keep this incident a secret as if it was dirty for others to find out. I squeezed Sil's hands softly and told her that I did not judge her for anything that had happened to her because it was never her fault. Sil smiled back Riley and told me that she had more to tell me. She spoke haltingly as if each word was both a confession and a plea for understanding.

She then revealed that she had been sexually assaulted again after the first incident, but this time it was by her former boss at her previous job. I remembered how two to three years ago, she had left her job out of the blue even though she had always liked working at her position. Sil had never told me the reason why until then. Her hands trembled as she recounted the fear and helplessness she felt during the second assault. She told me she felt numb with shock during the entire thing and was only able to move once the assault had ended. Tears streamed down her face as she fled the scene in a haze, her whole body shaking with the weight of what had just happened. She described feeling disconnected from everything as if she were experiencing the entire ordeal

from outside her own body. Later, when she sat in her car crying, crying, her initial thoughts turned to my brother, and she knew from his last reaction that he would again blame her this time. She told me how she felt that shame returning when she realized she had let yet another man violate her without her consent. She felt unclean and disgusted towards herself. This time the trauma took a toll on her mental health because, unlike last time, she didn't have anyone to talk to anymore. Her parents had passed away and she was scared to open up to my brother. As a result, she plunged into depression and even had a few panic attacks. Sil told me that she wrestled with the decision to report the assault to the police and get her boss arrested or protect her marriage. Then three weeks later, she discovered that

she was pregnant. At that moment, she knew with certainty that the child was not my brothers. The weight of this realization depressed her further. She was unsure of how to break the news to my brother since she thought he would definitely ask her for a divorce. As a result, due to her depleting mental health, Sil had resolved to end her life. She told me how at that time, she felt so helpless since she lacked the strength to terminate the pregnancy and also didn't want people finding out about her assaults. I listened to her story, holding back tears, not able to believe everything she had gone through, silently without any of us realizing anything. Sil continued to tell me how the evening when she had chosen to end her life with sleeping pills,

everything suddenly changed when my brother, out of nowhere, discovered the positive pregnancy tests in the washroom. Instead of waiting for an explanation, he started jumping up and down in joy, expressing his happiness that she was pregnant and that they could finally start a family together. Caught up in his jubilation and enveloped in his embrace, she found herself unable to shatter his happiness with the truth. She later confided in me how ashamed she felt for not finding the courage to tell him the truth that day, or over the course of the last two years, that the child was never his. Sil told me how every time she witnessed the tender moments between her daughter and my brother, her heart broke anew. She streamed down her face as she apologized to me for lying to my brother

and everyone else and even called herself a coward and a loser who didn't deserve such a wonderful family like ours. According to her, she felt getting cancer was God's way of punishing her for her lies. She told me she would be eventually confessing. everything to my brother before she passed away, however, she wanted me to promise her something. It turns out that she wanted me to look after her daughter when she was gone. She held my hands as she begged me that, since she didn't have any family members left as both her parents and grandparents were long gone, I was her only hope who could potentially take care of her daughter if my brother didn't accept the child after finding out the entire

truth. I was quite shaken after hearing everything and took some time to process everything. As a woman myself, I felt a deep sympathy for everything she had been through. I knew she was telling me the entire truth because she was dying and needed to get everything off her chest. Of course, I understood that she had lied to my brother all this time about being the father of the baby, but she was also clearly remorseful, and at this point, there was nothing I could do other than to assure her that I would raise my niece myself if I had to. She breathed a sigh of relief after I made my promise to her.

Over the weeks, as Sills' illness progressed, I continued to visit her, holding on to her hope of survival even as the reality of her condition grew more stark. Through it all, she remained courageous as much as she could. In the end, she passed away peacefully in her sleep. Her absence has left a void, but her spirit continues to still inspire me to live this life with compassion and gratitude. She has taught me that even in the darkest moments, there can be moments of grace and beauty if only we have the strength to see them. She was more than a sister-in-law to me. She was my friend and a true confidant. After her passing, my brother shared with me the contents of a letter left behind by my sister-in-law, laying bare the painful truths she had confided in me earlier.

It was a heartbreaking revelation for him to learn that the child he had embraced with such joy was not biologically his own. His grief and anger were palpable as he grappled with this new reality, compounded by the recent loss of his wife. In his sorrow, he could not bring himself to hold the baby any longer, instead informing our parents and me that he would be giving her up. I firmly told him that Sill wanted me to look after my niece, so I wanted to take care of her if he no longer wanted her. This is how I brought my niece into my home without any hesitation. I felt so sad for her since she had just lost her mother and with no other family left her parents and grandparents long gone I knew she needed a stable and loving environment at the time.

Later, when we gathered for the reading of my sister-in-law's will, emotions were already high since everyone by then already knew that my niece didn't belong to my brother. A lot of my family members were divided about this news. However, Sill was no longer with us to take on their wrath. According to her will, she had made clear and deliberate provisions for her daughter's future, leaving every asset and resource she had made over the years for her daughter's well-being. Since Sill had received an inheritance from both her parents as well as her grandparents, she had a considerable amount of money to give. To my brother's disappointment, there was nothing allocated to him,

a decision that only deepened his pain and sense of betrayal, and he loudly exclaimed how it was wrong of her to not leave him anything. In her will, Sill had exclusively mentioned that she entrusted the management of these funds to me if I would be willing to take on the role of Karen. for her daughter. I was surprised by this news and so was everyone else who was present. I guess this is why Sil wanted me to make that promise to her weeks ago before she passed away so she could change her will accordingly. She was right to trust her instincts and not let my brother have access to her funds because if that were the case, he would have never let my niece

have anything and would have abandoned her without any money. Since my brother was unwilling to continue caring for the child, I was eventually granted full custody of my niece and with access to the financial provisions I had received, I've been able to take care of her all these years. My brother did try to fight me regarding the money Sill had left behind since he felt he was entitled to receiving at least half of it. However, the judge didn't listen to him. In anger, my brother told me that he wanted nothing to do with Sill's daughter and insisted that he never wanted to see my face again since I had clearly betrayed him by taking in the girl. I firmly told him that I was sorry for all the hurt he felt but that I was not going to go back

on my promise to my sill. I recognize that my sister-in-law had been wrong in withholding the truth from my brother. However, with her no longer with us, I firmly believe that the child should not bear any blame for her parents' actions. This is why my focus has always been entirely on providing a loving and stable environment for my niece, shielding her from the complexities of the past. Over the years, I've ensured that my niece is at everything she has wanted, using the funds left behind by my sill. I have also bought her a home using the same which my niece will inherit fully when she comes of age. I've spared no effort in sending her to excellent schools and caring for her as if she were my own daughter. I have not been married and have dedicated my entire life to raising my niece.

Despite my best efforts, my niece sometimes, understandably, has questions about her parents, particularly her dad. She misses my brother, but she also understands that under these circumstances, relationships cannot be forced. My decision to prioritize my niece's well-being has strained my relationships with the rest of my family. They've all chosen to sever ties with me, and no longer invite me to any event as they believe that my actions are misguided

and that I've chosen my niece over my own family. Even my own parents believe I should have given up my niece and have repeatedly told me how disappointed they are that I am raising someone else's child who did nothing but lie to my brother. As you can imagine, the past years have been been a difficult journey, where I've had to navigate the rift between what I believe is right and the consequences of those decisions on my familial relationships. This year, as my niece approaches

her 18th birthday, I feel a sense of fulfillment in preparing to transfer all her assets, including the house I've secured for her, as per Sill's wishes. It's a milestone I've been preparing for a long time. I feel like I have done everything I could until now to protect her and she is now ready to make her own decisions. Just last week, out of nowhere, my brother contacted me, telling me how he needed to talk to me about something very important.

My heart skipped a beat and I thought that perhaps he had seen the error in his ways and maybe he wanted to reconnect with me and my niece after all these years. I agreed to meet up with him but I didn't want my niece to find out and give her false hopes before I could find out the actual reason behind his visit hence,

I arranged for us to meet while she would be at school. When my brother arrived, there was a mix of anticipation and genuine warmth as we caught up with small talk. My brother told me how he had since remarried and I was pleasantly surprised to hear that he even had two children of his own. He showed me pictures of them and his boys looked like a splitting image of him. I was a little hurt that he had not even invited me to his wedding but I also understood that he did what he had to do after the way Sill had betrayed him. During our conversation, I couldn't help but overflow with pride as I shared the achievements and progress my niece had made over the years. I told my brother how she would sometimes ask about him and was quite mature for her age,

hoping that he would tell me that he wanted to meet with her perhaps. However, despite my eagerness to share these positive updates, he seemed least interested in my niece. He interrupted me, his tone shifting abruptly to one of seriousness, and told me that the reason he was in front of me was to not talk about my niece but to ask for ownership of my niece's house. I stared at him, wide-eyed, as he went on to explain how he and his family had recently lost their home and our parents had already loaned them a lot of money over the years so he could no longer go to them for any help. Since he knew that I had bought this house using Sill's money, he felt it was only right

my niece to let him have this house to accommodate his big family while we could move out to a much smaller place. I asked him what made him think that he could even ask us something like this. My brother went on to justify how in the past, he had done a lot for Sill. but according to him, that woman had turned out to be nothing but a leech. Now, I knew this wasn't true since Sil always had a job and paid for her own share of the house when she lived with my brother. Even when she underwent her chemo treatment, she paid for her expenses and also had health insurance. I pointed this out to my brother and told him that it was unfair

of him to expect a house from all this when he did not even bother raising my niece after Sil passed away. However, this only pissed him off. He told me. He told me, me how as his sister, I should stop holding a candle for a dead woman who was long gone and instead help him and his family secure this house before my niece could turn 18. He urged me to see things from his perspective for once and how this place was his rightful property anyway. The weight of his words hung heavy in the air. As I processed his request, I couldn't help but wrestle with the implications of such a decision. The house represented not just a physical asset, but a symbol of security and stability carefully planned for my niece's future. To relinquish it no matter how

much my brother needed it would mean compromising on promises made and jeopardizing the stability I had worked so hard to provide. My niece's well-being and future were paramount, and any decision regarding her assets needed to be made with her best interests at heart, regardless of the challenges and emotions involved. In that moment, I realized the gravity of the situation and the importance of standing firm in what I believed was right. I firmly told him that I couldn't support his request because he needed to take responsibility for his own family instead of relying on his deceased wife's assets.

I continued to tell him how ashamed I was that he even thought this was an option and that he had relinquished all rights when he had given up custody of the daughter to me after Sill's death. My brother's face flushed red with anger at my response, but I continued before he could interrupt again. I expressed my disappointment that he had not been there, for my niece throughout all these years. I didn't hold back in reminding him that while I understood that Sill had betrayed him, he should also understand that she had been a victim of numerous traumas.

It was unfair for him to shift blame onto her now, especially considering he hadn't supported her after her first sexual assault. His eyes widened in surprise when I told him this, and he demanded to know how I knew about that since no one besides him knew the truth. This is when I explained to him that Sil had confided everything to me and entrusted me with the responsibility of caring for my niece before she passed away. Upon hearing this, my brother became accusatory, claiming I had blindsided him and told me how I was a liar just like Sil. I shook my head and countered by reminding him that Sil had been terminally ill and had suffered enough. After all the years of him not taking responsibility for my niece, while I had done everything in my power to support her,

he had no grounds to dredge up the past and complain about it now just because he wanted Sills money. I was tired of him acting like a victim all the time. It was frustrating to see him shift blame and demand entitlement when he hadn't been financially supportive of my niece all these years. His audacity to come after 16 years and request ownership of her house felt like a slap in the face, disregarding all the sacrifices and efforts I had made to ensure my niece's well-being and future stability. My brother was pissed that I was not giving into his demands. Ever since our conversation, he and my parents have been repeatedly calling me, demanding that I am being difficult for no reason and that I should have family loyalty for them

rather than my niece. It's so weird and scary that when it comes to money, even your blood relations can turn into animals. I'd offer standing up for my niece and refusing to give into my brother's ridiculous demands? First of all, I am blown away by how sweet everyone has been in my DMs and in the comments. Thank you for me. making me smile. Secondly, I cannot tell you the number of women who have reached out to me, talking about how they have gone through what Sill went through and how sorry they feel for her. I wish I could give each and every one of you a big, tight hug and take away your pain. Sexual assault is the worst thing that can happen to a woman and I wish someone could have

helped Sill at the time. She was not a bad person and she didn't deserve to go through what she went through. It's sad that I even have to defend her but just because you have never been sexually assaulted doesn't mean other people don't go through it. My sill had fought back during the first assault, showing incredible courage despite the trauma. However, the second incident left her more shaken, and she was understandably frozen in fear which is what happens, unfortunately, to most victims of sexual assault. I truly wish she had felt comfortable enough to open up to me sooner because I would have supported her in every way possible. Knowing what she went through breaks my heart, and I only wish I could have been there for her during those dark times. Now coming on to some of you

who are calling my sill a cheater and not believing her story, I pray to God you never have to go through such a traumatic thing and then have people question you. If Sil had truly had an affair, she could have asked me to contact the man for custody after her death. Additionally, if there had been an affair, the man would likely not have stayed silent all these years. He would have definitely shown up for his daughter, especially knowing how much money Sill has left behind for her daughter. Also, if she had indeed had an affair, I'm certain she would have wanted her daughter to know her biological father as well and would have definitely told me. Until her last breath, Sill did everything she could to protect her daughter. On day two, I sat down with my niece and explained to her that my brother

had recently come to talk to me, and his main intention was to take possession of the house. I warned her to be cautious if he ever approached her. As I spoke, I could see the anger and heard in her eyes. She had held on to hope for so many years, hoping that one day her father would reach out to her because he genuinely cared. But now, discovering that his contact was motivated by his own needs, she felt betrayed. I can't believe him, she told me, her voice trembling with emotion. After all this time, he only reached out when he needed something.

She assured me that she wanted nothing to do with him. She told me how glad she was that her mother didn't leave him anything. She then gave me a hug and told me how grateful she was for everything I had done for her over the years. Her words were both heartbreaking and empowering to hear. It made me teary-eyed as I realized that, despite the pain of her father's actions, she was strong and determined to move forward without him. Update 3. After talking with my niece, I decided to send a detailed email to my parents and my brother to document everything and make my stance clear. In the email, I outlined our recent conversations and emphasized that they had no right to ask me to give my niece's home to my brother.

I explained that this request amounted to financial fraud and made it clear that I would take legal action if my brother ever tried to visit me or my niece again to ask for the house for his family. I reminded my brother that he had forfeited all rights when he chose not to care for his daughter. I also shared the numerous hardships and struggles I had faced in raising my niece on my own, without any prior experience. I described the emotional, financial, and logistical challenges I had overcome to provide her with a stable and loving home. I further reminded him that he had never paid child support or even checked in on his daughter all these years.

I pointed out that both he and my parents should feel. nothing but shame for trying to take something that didn't belong to them. I emphasized that they had no right to suddenly step in and make demands after all this time, especially when they had contributed nothing to her upbringing and well-being. The email was long and heartfelt, a testament to the sacrifices I had made for my niece. I underscored my commitment that I would continue to protect her and honor Sills' wishes, no matter what. My message was firm and unequivocal. They had lost their right to be part of her life through their neglect and lack of support, and they had no place in her future now. I never received any reply after

sending that email. However, my brother and my parents have not contacted me again, which is good enough for me. The silence speaks volumes, and I'm relieved to have some peace and to know they won't interfere with my niece's life any further. As for my niece, she is busy preparing for her prom and her upcoming birthday party. Watching her navigate these exciting moments fills me with immense pride. I am so proud of the woman she has become and can't wait to be there for her at every major milestone in her future. It already makes me emotional to think about how much she has grown up and how she looks so much like Sil now, especially her lips and eyebrows. I see Sil's strength and resilience in my niece every day. I just hope that she can be as brave as her

mother no matter what she does.