Reddit Stories - Unveiling Family Secrets Sibling's Betrayal and Childcare Drama ( Over 3 Hour Compilation ) - Episode 53

Episode Date: March 25, 2026

#redditstories #askreddit #aita #familydrama #betrayal #childcare #secrets #siblings  Summary: In Episode 53, "Unveiling Family Secrets," a gripping three-hour compilation reveals the complexities of sibling betrayal and childcare dilemmas. Family dynamics are tested as secrets come to light, leading to emotional confrontations and unexpected revelations that challenge relationships and trust among family members.  Tags: redditstories, askreddit, reddit, aita, betrayal, familysecrets, siblingdrama, childcareissues, emotionalconflict, trustissues, familydynamics, relationshipstruggles, drama, storytelling, podcast, compilation, secretsrevealed, siblingrivalry, familyconflict, personalstoriesBecome 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 sibling began caring for my children and unfriended me on social media, then my colleague discovered her profile where she was endorsed by a mother influencer label, and she declined when I informed her. Her to stop, so I sued her for $25,000. I, 32F, recently slammed my sister Lauren, 28F, with an injunction and a lawsuit for invading my privacy and my parents are

me to take it back, but I have no intention of doing that. This is happening because Lauren decided to use my children and my home for views because she wants to be an influencer right now. It's not like she doesn't have a job, she works in marketing in some firm and pays decently, but I know Lauren, she's always wanted to be in the limelight. And with how much the whole content creation industry has grown in the past couple of years, I'm sure she started thinking that she could do it as well and maybe she can, she's definitely entitled to do whatever she wants. But she's not entitled to use my family as a means to her end. And I'm disgusted that my parents are even expecting me to forgive and let go of something like this.

She had been coming over for the past couple of weeks to babysit my daughters, five and three years old respectively. We had a sitter, but due to personal reasons, she had to quit a couple of weeks ago. It wasn't possible for my parents to watch the kids because my dad hasn't been too well and my mom is too busy taking care of him and my husband's parents live out of state, so the only other person that I could ask was Lauren. She gets off of work before we do, but I was skeptical about whether she would be open to this or not because earlier, she had expressed absolutely no interest in babysitting or spending time with her nieces. Surprisingly though, she agreed and

so, for the past couple of weeks, she's been picking them up from daycare and school, respectively, and watching them until we come back home from work. It was an arrangement that worked out for all of us, and they seemed happy enough, so we had no problems. I didn't find anything suspicious about it either, because it never even occurred to me that she might be getting up to something. About three weeks ago, I noticed that I couldn't see her Instagram account anymore, and I did ask her about it because I thought that she wanted to be an influencer and she had even managed to hit almost 20,000 followers. But she told me that she was just taking a break, so she had deactivated her accounts for a social media detox until she was ready to get back to it again.

I thought that it was reasonable enough, so I didn't push it further. But then, one of my coworkers came across one of her posts on Instagram and she was the one who showed it to me and that's how I found out that ever since she had started babysitting, she had basically been pretending that the house she was staying and was her own and my daughters were hers as well. Earlier, she had been trying to get into the whole beauty and lifestyle space, but since that was not working out, as well as she thought, she decided to become one of those mom influencers, and that apparently has been working wonders for her because she's already almost at 50K right now.

My co-worker let me go through her entire feed and I couldn't believe it because literally all her content was centered around my children and she hadn't even bothered to hide their faces or anything. But she had gone to the trouble of blocking me, my husband, our parents, our close relatives and all our friends so they wouldn't be able to find out that she had been lying on the internet about who she was. Of course, I called her immediately after I saw that post that she had made and when I confronted her, she told me that she was planning on letting me know in a couple of weeks, but then, she knew that I would be upset so she had been delaying it. But now, since I knew it already, she wanted me to know that this is what she planned on doing

with her life, and since people were liking her content more now, and her account was growing faster than before, she intended on keeping this up and she wanted me to be fine with it. She said that she was willing to split the profits with me, whatever she received from brand collabs and stuff, all I had to do was let her pretend that this was her life and not mine. The way she said it, I'm pretty sure that she believes that this is a genuine proposition and she's not asking for anything outrageous. She was pretty casual about it, and when I started getting mad, and I asked her to stop, she told me that she couldn't, because she had already committed to the bid and she was building a brand for her audience, so she needed to keep this up if she wanted to retain the followers

that she had right now. We got into a pretty bad argument, but in the end, she refused to take anything down so I went home, I discussed it with my husband, and we spoke to a lawyer. And obviously, we had the grounds for it, so we went ahead with the lawsuit so now, she's been slapped with an injunction and she also has to pay us $25,000 if she loses this lawsuit, which I'm pretty sure she will, because she literally has no defense. Either she's going to have to settle, or she's going have to cough up the money and even if she wants to settle, she's still going to have to cough up what we are demanding. So either way, she's screwed and I think it's a good lesson for her to take away from this. But my parents think that we are being way too harsh and that we should just forgive her

because clearly, she was misguided and she made a mistake in being the older sister, I should let it go. They've told me that I can just cut her off and get her to take down all her posts, but I should not be trying to hurt her financially, because it's not like we need the money, and that's true, both my husband and I make enough money to be comfortable, but it's not just about the money, it's honestly more about the principle of the thing. And I think it's only fair what we are asking for, and I think my parents are being a little too soft. But anyway, what do you guys think? Ida for demanding a 25K settlement from my sister for invading my privacy and pretending that my daughters are hers online for views? Update 1, wow, I did not expect so much support on this post,

but I'm very grateful for it. My husband and I have decided that we are going to cut my parents off right now, because clearly their priorities are all off. They don't realize how disrespectful and dangerous this is, especially the fact that our content revolving around our children had been posted and monetized without our consent and now, for some reason, just because it hurts their feelings, we are expected to take it back. I don't think that's how it works, what my sister did was not legal, it was unethical and it was just really weird and creepy. I did not want to mention it in my original post, but my parents have even tried to use the fact that she is 28 and still single as a defense for her actions. I know lots of people who are around my age and even older

and even they are single, but guess what? They have not resorted to creepy stuff like this because they have a brain and they have morals. So if Lauren doesn't have that, that's not my problem and I'm not going to cut her any slack because it's not like she has apologized to me for anything. In fact, it's actually pathetic how my parents are acting right now, because they don't even see that she's making them do her dirty work by getting them to talk to me instead of just speaking to me directly. She hasn't even responded to them yet, but that's not something she can run away from, fortunately. Anyway, my husband, and I know for a fact that what we are doing is the right thing to do and we are not going to back off. Also, a lot of people did ask me my sister's

real name and things about her account and stuff, but of course, I cannot reveal that in good conscience. By doing that, I will be revealing my own identity as well, and I don't want that. So while I can understand that people want to report her account and stuff, I'm afraid that's not going to be possible right now. But I have been keeping a track of what's going on her page. I created a fake account specifically for that, and I've noticed that she hasn't taken anything down. I think she still believes that she can work it out with me and that just goes to show how delusional she actually is. I can't believe that I allowed my kids to be around this person. It's actually crazy. For now, my husband is working from home because his company has more lenient remote

working policies compared to mine, and I think this is what has to be done for the next couple of weeks. He's doing all the pickups and drop-offs, watching the kids when he's at home while I'm handling work, most of the chores at home and all the legal stuff. It's been tiring, but until we can find another sitter who we can rely on completely, this is going to have to work for us. But of course, even that's going to be a problem now, because this situation with Lauren has really spooked both of us. Right now, bringing ourselves to trust anyone is going to be a huge problem

and I don't think that we can leave our kids with anybody else for a while. Anyway, I'm glad that at least we are pursuing legal action against Lauren, because she needs to learn a lesson and she needs to understand that she cannot act entitled when it comes to other people's kids. It's shocking that she still hasn't removed anything from her profile, but I'm going to make sure that she does as soon as possible. It's a pretty dumb move for her, if I'm being very honest, because the longer it stays up, the worse it is for her.

I don't think she has even understood the full impact of what is going to hit her. She's taking all of this a little too casually, and she thinks that this is just another fight with me that she will breeze through and eventually, I'll forgive her because we see each other at family events, and we wouldn't want it to get awkward. But this is not one of those fights, this is much bigger and much worse for her and I don't understand why my parents are not drilling that into her head. They are wasting their time trying to talk me out of this when instead, they should be talking to her and trying to get her to see sense. but anyway, it's her choice, and in the end, she's the one who's going to suffer, so she can do whatever she wants. I'm perfectly fine with her screwing up everything for herself and getting into legal trouble, I just don't care about what she goes through anymore because she clearly does not care about me or respect my boundaries. Update 2, okay, so it's been six days since my

last update and two days ago. When I checked her account through my other account, I noticed that all the posts were gone. And by all, I mean, literally all of them, even the ones that she had posted before she had started babysitting my kids. I found that a little weird, and I knew that something was about to happen. So today, I was mentally prepared when I received a call and it was her lawyer, trying to arrange a meeting. She said that if it would be fine with me, we could appoint a mediator, or maybe even go with a court-appointed one, and try to sort things out instead of letting this go to trial. Because that would be a huge waste of time and money for both of us, given that we could sort things out between ourselves first. The lawyer was pretty slick,

and from her credentials, I knew that Lauren had picked a good one to defend herself. I did not expect any less, I'm pretty sure she did not want to suffer. Basically, she's offering me twice the amount that I asked for, and all I'll have to do is sign an NDA. I'm being offered hush money not to take it up publicly because now that she thinks of herself as a public figure, she can't risk her reputation and I can understand where it's coming from. But since this is not my decision alone, I have to ask my husband as well, because it's not like the kids are just mine, we are both parents and both our opinions matter. I told the lawyer that we would need some time to think about it before we responded to that. I've been told that she will have the paperwork

ready, nevertheless, but I don't know if we are going to go for it or not. I've spoken to spoken to my husband, and both of us are confused, and we have even listed out the pros and cons of both the scenarios with our lawyer. On one hand, it will definitely be a little less complicated to just take the money and be done with it. But now, since I am aware of the fact that she is in a position where she can just afford to pay me double of what I had asked for without even batting an eye, it doesn't feel enough. Because clearly, she's exploited me and my kids for her own benefit. And this is exactly what she wanted, she gets to keep half her profits and she's offering me the other half.

It's not like a reputation is going to take a hit, and nobody will ever find out what she did, she will get out of this scot-free. I guess I had underestimated exactly how much money she had made off of this whole influencer enterprise that she had been trying to get into. On top of that, she also has a job on the side, so I'm sure that that has helped as well. Anyway, the point is that we did not file the lawsuit because we wanted the money. We filed the lawsuit because we wanted her to know that this was not okay, and she could not get away with this. But now, it's clear that she thinks that she can just buy our silence and she'll be golden.

Like we had said, this is not about the money, this has never been about the money for us. We are comfortable enough with whatever we have, and we are not looking for a big payout in this lawsuit. The whole goal was to make sure that she learned a lesson and did not repeat this kind of behavior. She should be punished for what she did, because it was just not okay. But on the other hand, my husband, and I have also considered the fact that even if we do end up taking the money and signing the NDA, she will still never be able to profit off of our kids ever again. And on the internet, she has already cemented her role as a mom influencer.

So naturally, there are going to be a lot of questions from her audience regarding the sudden absence of kids and the change of houses. And she's going to have to answer it. And even if she lies about it, which I'm sure she will, she won't be able to benefit off of our kids and home anymore. And I'm pretty sure that the audience that she has built around my life will also diminish significantly, so that will definitely be tough for her. Either way, she's going to lose something or the other. One is just going to be a lot more drastic and a troublesome route for us as well, if we choose to go the legal way and refuse the NDA. It's going to be very time-consuming for us. And I'm sure it will make us the villain for my parents forever and they

might not talk to me again. But that's not the biggest of my concerns at all. It's just about the time, energy, and money that's going to take. So that's a concern, because even though we are ready to spend the money to go up against her, we won't have a lot of time for other parts of our life. So right now, my husband and I are just weighing the pros and cons and we haven't been able to make a decision yet as to what we want to do, but hopefully soon, we will be able to make up our minds. When we do, I'll definitely share it here, since you guys have been incredibly supportive, and because we can't share it with any of our friends at the moment, I think it's important for me to talk about this to at least somebody right now. Update 3, so it's been a couple of days since my last update, and after a lot of deliberation, my husband and I decided that we were going to do. to decline the NDA and the payout and go ahead with this lawsuit legally. Because at the end of the day, this was never about the money, we never wanted a huge paycheck to keep us quiet. And even though we had considered taking it and just letting this all go, it didn't feel right. Because we knew that she had exposed our kids on the internet and shown God knows how many

people their faces without our consent. A huge paycheck is not going to fix that and call me vindictive, but I don't think that it's good enough. At the end of the end of it. the day, she has profited off of my kids and my home. She has put them on the internet without my consent without even caring about the fact that she might be endangering them because we don't know what kind of people are watching her content. She has a public account, she's a public figure, and she has even gone ahead and done brand collaborations and stuff, using the likeness of my children and my home. It's a pretty big deal, and I don't think that she can just hand me a check and expect me to shut up. The NDA bid in particular is what really

annoyed me, because she really thinks that she can by our silence and get away with all of this. But anyway, she's going to be proven wrong, because for me, nothing is more important than my kids and their safety. And she has compromised it, so I'm not going to allow her to walk away and scathed and entitled. I have spoken to my lawyer, and I have told him that we are going ahead with this legally, and it doesn't matter how much time or resources it takes up, in the end, it's going to be worth it. I don't even care if my parents never speak to me again. because of this, because I know that I'm doing the right thing. If they can't see that, that's really not my problem. It's going to be a bit disappointing, that's for sure, because earlier,

they had always been fair to the both of us. But right now, I don't know what's gotten into them. These are their own grandkids, for God's sake, if not for us, they can at least be a little more understanding of our decision for their sake. But considering the fact that after I decided to go ahead with the lawsuit, they have not bothered to show up for their grandkids even once, it goes to show that their priorities are not me and my family, it's my sister, even though she is in the wrong here. I just don't know what to say about it, I'm very disappointed, but I'm not going to back off and I'm going to fight till the end. Update 4. So today, Lauren showed up with her lawyer at my house in the morning, and demanded to see me, even though I had told her from

inside the house that I did not want to talk to her, and we had nothing to discuss. But she just kept ringing the doorbell, and obviously since my kids don't know anything that's going on, they were quite happy to hear their aunt's voice and wanted me to let her in. The situation got quite complicated, so eventually, I decided to let her in and she greeted the kids and stuff, but then, I asked my husband to take them and hang out with them in the other room so I could speak to Lauren and just get this over with. After the kids had left, she came straight to the point and told me that she knew that I wanted to do the righteous thing and go after her legally, but ultimately, it was only going to be a huge waste of time and resources for me.

Because she has already learned her lesson, she has had to return the money that she took from brands that had collaborated with her and has had to refrain from posting for a while now, which means that her followers have started disappearing too. And even when she decides to make a comeback, she's going to have to work extra hard because she has already cemented her niche as a mom influencer but clearly that's not going to work anymore. And she's also going to have to answer those questions that her audience has, which I already knew. She was going to lie about, and she said that she was going to make up some story to explain herself, but ultimately, she was going to lose out on a lot of future opportunities. She has already lost a lot of money and even if I do go through with this

legally, it's not like she's going to get jail time or anything. Ultimately, she's only going to have to pay a fine that the court decides. And it might be less than what she's offering me, so for me, a better deal would be to just take her up on this offer and let it all go, and she promised me that she would never bother me again in her life. She was very composed throughout the entire thing, but I could see that she was exhausted as well. The only thing that I did not see on her face for even a second was any sort of regret or remorse. It did not seem like she felt bad about what she had done, and that's what really irked me. Even in the beginning, when I had confronted her on the phone after I first found out about

what she was up to, that had been my problem with her. That she did not seem to be sorry for what she had done, she just saw all of this as a minor inconvenience and even today, she didn't seem to care about what she had done. I just don't understand how she doesn't care. And I lost it at her, I told her that this was not a joke for all of us, like it was for her. For her, this might just be a deal and she could get me to back off and preserve her reputation and stuff, but ultimately, she knew that what she had done was really wrong. And the fact that she was still taking it so casually, it just didn't make any sense to me.

I screamed at her for a couple of minutes, and she did not even react. After I was done, she told me that I was just wasting everybody's time by acting like this, and that absolutely no good was going to come out of it. She told me that she did regret whatever had happened, but she also said that it's not like it made a difference anymore, because she had suffered. a lot of losses as well. And right now, she had more regret regarding that rather than whatever I was trying to guilt-trip her for. She tried to justify everything by saying that I was being fearful for no reason, because it's not like anything had actually gone wrong. It's not like any

stalker or whatever has shown up at my doorstep where somebody has tried to reach out to my children or whatever, she tried to tell me that there was no real danger, so I was just overreacting. Which is crazy, because the reason there is no real danger is because we took action quickly and also because we really got lucky there is no telling what crazy people on the internet might get up to, and for her, looking out for my own children might be an overreaction, but as a mother, I think what I'm doing is perfectly justified. I do not think that this is an overreaction in any sense of the word. So I told her that, even if I would have considered letting it all go, after what she had just said, there was no way that I was going to do it.

And then, she got mad at me as well, and she started yelling at me, saying that I was being unreasonable and she was done with me because clearly nothing was ever going to be good enough for me. She accused me of being jealous of her achieving new heights and stuff, which is why I was acting like this and the only reason I was not willing to drop this lawsuit was because I was insecure that she might end up becoming more successful and famous than me. I literally had to stop myself from rolling my eyes at that point, but I just told her to leave and she did go away, but not before letting off some steam by cursing me out. But it doesn't matter, my mind has been made up and there is nothing that can change it anymore. The fact that she has no regrets at all, it just made me

even more sure that I'm on the right track and that she deserves everything that's coming to her. Update 5, so high, I did not have the time to post, I was quite busy with everything that was going on with my life. I think, in my last update, I had mentioned that I was going ahead with the legal proceedings against Lauren, and that's exactly what I did. But that also meant that all my time was taken up by the lawsuit, and then of course I had my work and my kids, so that left very little time for anything else in my life. But I'm glad that I chose to do this, because she ended up paying a much bigger fine than what I had asked of her and I also ended up getting a protective order against her. So in the end, it was all worth it, and I don't have any regrets

at all. Of course, this definitely means that my parents will never be speaking to me again, at least not for a couple of years, but I'm fine with that. They have made their pick and if they want to side with Lauren, in spite of whatever she has done, then that's their call to make. I make no apologies for what I chose to do, especially when it comes to the sanctity and protection of my family. So I'm pretty glad that I went ahead with what I had planned on doing, and I hope that she thinks twice before messing with other people and acting entitled from now on.

I hope you enjoy this story. Spouse and stepchild deceived regarding a prestigious university and took the inheritance funds I provided for education. I discovered them utilizing it to pursue a fantasy instead. Now I'm leaving and taking back every penny. I, 40F, came into quite a lot of money after my aunt passed away and left me everything a couple of months ago. She passed away six months ago and three months ago. I received all the money that she had left for me and inherited her house as well, which I had been planning to sell, but now I'm living here. My aunt and I had always been close and even in her

last few days, I was the only person who was regularly visiting her and taking care of her. She had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer a couple of years ago and I had tried my best to be there for her. So it was no big surprise that she had left everything to me since she did not have any family of her own. She never married and never had any kids. She left a couple of other things to my mother, her sister, and a couple of other family members, but most of it came to me. And I will forever be grateful for it. I am an art teacher in middle school so naturally, I don't get paid much. I also conduct classes for elderly people in my free time, but that also does not generate enough revenue for me. Lately, I have been saving up to buy a car,

something that I have wanted for a long time so that it can make my commute easier. I have to take the bus to school every day and I did not have a problem with it earlier, but recently, I have been having a lot of problems with my back and the bus seats are really uncomfortable, so I can't deal with that sort of discomfort anymore. Besides, I'm in my 40s, I think it's about time that I get a car of my own. I thought I would buy it with the money that I got from my aunt. But then, my husband told me that he wanted me to invest that money in my stepson's education. My husband, Sean, 43M, and I have been married for two years, together for five.

I had never been married before, this was my first. I have had relationships in the past, but Sean has been the person that I have connected with on most levels. He and I matched on a dating app and that's how we got together. He is a widower, his first wife passed away 12 years ago, leaving him with her stepson, Mitch, 17M. I didn't really have a problem with the fact that he had been married before and had a from his previous relationship as well, but after we got married, I learned that I was not only expected

to be his wife, but also a stepmom to Mitch. And I meant that in a financial sense of the word, not emotionally. Because when we met, Mitch was already kind of mature, he was 12 and he was old enough to make up his mind about whether he wanted me to be his mother or just his father's wife. and he picked the latter of the two options, which was fine by me because he did not really try to connect with me anyway. We were cordial, he was nice to me, and I was nice to him because he's a kid and I am used to teaching kids around his age. But there was always a line, a boundary that was not supposed to be crossed, and I kept that in mind whenever I was interacting with him, that I was only going to be nice to him, but I would not try to replace his mother. He had made it very clear

to me that I would always be Tanya, my name, to him, but not his mom. And I respected that, I was not going to overstep. What I thought was kind of unfair was that Sean never really tried to build a relationship between the two of us, but when it came to helping out with the finances, I was always expected to contribute to things that had to do with his son. So it felt kind of weird that Mitch did not consider his mother, he did not treat me like he would have treated his mother and Sean did not even seem interested in trying to build that sort of relationship between us. But then, I was expected to contribute to his tuition and everything. It did not make sense to me and I don't know if I'm just being a little too touchy about this,

but it was like I was being forced to UT and raising a child that was not even mine and I knew for a fact that this boy would grow up but never treat me like part of the family. And it wasn't as though I had not tried to build a mother-son relationship with him, but he was really shut off, and I could understand that, but I just did not feel that it was fair for me to contribute to his expenses, since I was already not earning well enough. I had even discussed this with Sean in the early stages of our marriage. I had told him that I wanted him to speak to his son, and at least make sure that he put in an effort to build a relationship with me, or I would find it very weird to contribute to his expenses when he treated me like a stranger. And he got really pissed

at me, he told me that if I could not accept the fact that he had a child and if I could not split the expenses equally with him, then we probably shouldn't be married at all. And I did not want to lose him, so I stayed with him. I thought that maybe I was being unreasonable and I really did not want to be the kind of mother who tries to create drama between a son and his father, so I just kept my mouth shut. So that was how things went on for the last few years. When Sean asked me to contribute to his college fund, I was not surprised because we had been discussing this back and forth, and I had told him that I would think about it. I had been planning to say no to that because a college fund is a big deal and I'm not getting any younger, I need to save for my own retirement as well. I can't put aside

everything to contribute to the life of a kid who is not going to treat me like family. I just found it very disrespectful and had made up my mind that this time, if Sean tried to guilt-trip me into contributing to the fund, I would fight back and not just accept whatever he said. But after I received my inheritance when we had the discussion, he did not try to guilt-trip me, but he told me that Mitch had been accepted into Yale and even showed me a very legitimate-looking email and letter. He told me that he had put off this discussion for long enough, but he wanted an answer about whether I would be willing to contribute to the college fund or not because if I did not do so, then Mitch probably would not be able to go to Yale. And he would be losing out on a pretty

big opportunity since an Ivy League school is a big deal, and since he had been accepted, he hadn't stopped talking about it. Sean had apparently already promised Mitch that he would make sure that he attended, by hook or by crook. But honestly, he did not have that kind of money and he could apply for a student loan, but then it would take ages to clear the debt and he didn't want that. So he pretty much requested me to consider it and I ended up saying yes, not out of pressure, but just because it was a big deal. And even though Mitch and I were not close, I would want him to take up this opportunity. So I said, yes, and Mitch left for college a couple of weeks ago. I think it has been almost two months since he left, or so I was told.

Both Sean and Mitch were over the moon when I had agreed to put off buying the car, just so that I would be able to contribute to the college fund, and both of them thanked me from the bottom of their heart. I had even started to believe that maybe Mitch was going to turn over a new leaf and genuinely start appreciating me as a person instead of just treating me like an acquaintance. I wanted us to have a relationship because it had been really weird to live in the same house for so long, but then not have anything to talk about, since he did not seem interested. Also, I just really wanted him to be able to go to the college of his dreams, so that was my intention. But all of that had been a lie, and I only found out about it last week.

My friends and I went to a restaurant that was a little distance away from my workplace and the places that I usually visit. It was a new restaurant and there was a fancy high-rise apartment building kind of place right opposite that restaurant. It was a very posh and rich neighborhood, that was for sure. My friends and I kind of treated ourselves to a girl's day out, but I received the shock of a lifetime. As we were leaving the restaurant, I saw Mitch coming out of the high-rise opposite. And he was not alone, he had his arm around a girl whom I recognized from his circle.

It was not much of a task for me to put two and two together, but nevertheless, when my friends pointed that out to me, I still went up to him to confront him about it. He seemed shocked to see me and was about to run the other way, but I told him that the jig was up anyway, so he might as well come clean to me now. If he was not at Yale, I knew that my money was not going to the place that I had intended for it to go, so I knew that he had been lying and he and his dad were in a lot of trouble anyway. So he might as well not bother to run and tell me the truth. Thankfully, I did not have to do much convincing, he ended up telling me everything right there. Apparently, he had no intention of going to college anyway, he just wanted money

so that he would be able to rent an apartment and move in with his girlfriend. But if that's what he and his father had told me, I would have flipped out and would never have given them the money. My husband would not be able to support the two of them on his own anyway, since they wanted to live together in a fancy place and didn't want to struggle since they were planning on starting a YouTube channel and they needed an aesthetic-looking place with a nice view for that kind of stuff, not just any old and dingy apartment, which is the only thing that they would be able to afford the kind of money that they had. So they had to lie to me, and I was never meant to find out about any of this until they were successful,

and then, they would have returned the money back to me. But now that their lie had been caught, there was no running away from it. I went back home immediately, and I confronted my husband about it. And he broke down, telling me that he had just wanted to support Mitch, but it had been a stupid idea and he was regretting it all now. He claimed that he had wanted to tell me the truth last month when he realized that Mitch wasn't exactly going to blow up with YouTube and they were just wasting my money.

He was scared of how I would react. So he didn't even tell me and just kept trying to convince Mitch to come back and then they could tell me the truth and face the consequences. Well, now they are facing the consequences and I have left the house after the confrontation with my husband. I just had nothing left to say to him anymore, and he kept begging me not to leave, but I just packed my stuff as hard as I could, and then I left. I am living in my aunt's house.

They don't know the address to that so they can't find me. Both of them have been trying to text me and get to me, but I haven't replied to any of them. Mitch kept texting me to say that this was all his idea and that he was the one who had coerced his father into doing this, so I should not blame him, since he was just trying to support his son. I love the intention behind him taking the fall, but it doesn't help the situation. I am pissed and I really don't think that what happened was right. Before I had left the house, I had told Sean that he had to return the money to me immediately, or I would make sure that everybody got to know how dishonest he and his son were,

and that would end Mitch's career as a YouTuber before it even began. The fact that he is involved in this wouldn't reflect well on him either since if his co-workers got to know about it, he would be in a lot of trouble at work since he was the guy who handled the accounts. And I don't think anybody would want their accountant to be a dishonest man. They are begging me for forgiveness, especially Sean, because there is a lot at stake for him. He's begging me to come back so we can sort things out and also because he doesn't have the kind of money right now to return it to me. I don't care, I just want my money back, but I feel guilty about the way that I'm acting since I'm really not as money-minded as I'm coming off right

now, but what they did was unacceptable. I know what I'm doing is necessary, but I just feel kind of weird. I'd offer demanding my money back from my husband after I found out that my stepson is not actually going to an Ivy League school. Update 1, hey, thank you so much for all the comments on my post for taking the time to explain to me that I am right and I have no need to feel guilty about anything, especially because I'm demanding my own money to be returned to me. I would just like to explain that I grew up in a home talking about money and finances was considered vulgar and so, I'm kind of weird and iffy when it comes to such things. But now I know that it's okay for me to demand that they return my own money back to me. I don't have to feel bad about it. There were also a lot of

comments that called me a doormat for putting up with Sean, but honestly, I really loved him. And maybe I still do, I'm not sure right now. My emotions are all over the place, but at one point in time, I was certain that I loved him more than anything in this world. So naturally, I wanted to be with him, and I was ready to do whatever it took to stay. Also, even though Mitch treated me like a stranger, I could not bring myself to do the same to him. In case you guys have forgotten, I am a middle school teacher, and I was used to dealing with kids around his age when I first met him, so I knew how he was thinking, and I wanted to be able to make that space for myself and his heart on my own. That's why I guess I was trying to help out and contribute to his life and raise him, but I guess it never worked out.

He just decided that he was not going to accept me as part of the family and continue to treat me indifferently. All I can say is that I tried my best and maybe it did not yield any good results, but at least I have the satisfaction of knowing that I did what I had to do. I did everything right and now the fact that they took advantage of it, just shows the kind of people that they are. It does not reflect badly on me. I'm going through a tough time,

I would just request people to be gentle and mindful of the words that they use. That's all I had to say about this. Anyway, it has been two weeks since I found out the truth and I have blocked both Sean and Mitch because their messages were really messing with my head. I don't need that right now. I have spoken to a lawyer and we are going to file for a divorce in a couple of days. I have been putting it off for so long because I'm not emotionally ready for that kind of thing, but now I know that it has to be done and it has to be done soon.

We are preparing for it and we are going to start the proceedings soon enough. In the meantime, I really need my money back, so I decided to speak to my mother-in-law about this instead. And I don't have a particularly close relationship, but from what I know, she's a bit reserved but has always been there for anybody who has needed her help. I told her that I wanted to talk about something that Sean and Mitch had done and she told me to visit her since this sounded like something that was very personal and sensitive, so she did not want to discuss it on the phone and wanted to meet me in person. I decided to take a leap of faith and agree to what she said,

so I'm going to visit her this evening and I will let you guys know what happens. So far, I have no idea what to expect. I'm just hoping that she doesn't talk to Mitch or Sean about what I said to her and I don't have to meet them when I get there, because that would be really awkward. I just don't know what's going to happen. So I'm just trying to keep my mind off of it. Update 2. Hello. I just came back from my mother-in-law's house and no, nobody was waiting there for me to ambush me. Before I get into what happened, I just really have to say this because I don't know who else to talk to about this.

My mother-in-law is really an exceptionally nice woman. I hope everybody has somebody like her and their family. Even when I told my parents about the reaction that she had to do what I told her, they were quite surprised that she was ready to go against her own son just because she wanted to do the right thing. So anyway, when I visited her today, I told her everything without even pausing while narrating the story to her because I just wanted to get everything out since I was scared of how she would react. After I was done talking, she was quiet for a while, and then she told me that she would handle everything, I did not have to worry about any of this. She told me that she would make sure that I got the money back, and even said that if she had cash at the moment, she would have returned the money to me herself, but she would have to withdraw the exact amount and that would require her to

come back and it would take since she was old and was just generally exhausted every day. So, she told me that I could come back in a couple of days and she would have the money ready for me and that was a promise. She promised me that she would make sure that her son did not cause too much trouble for me during the divorce since he had done enough. I almost had tears in my eyes because she was being so supportive and I really hadn't seen this coming. So she even comforted me and told me that she was going to try her best to be there for me, even though we were not close. But she knew that what her son had done was really messed up, as well as what her grandson had done. When I told her that I had been talked into covering the expenses for Mitch so far as well,

she was really outraged and told me that that shouldn't have been the case. Because as far as she knew, Mitch never treated me like family. Even Sean had spoken to her about it and said that he didn't want to get into it because he did not want to make it seem he was taking my side over his own sons and did not want to get into the drama. But making me feel guilty and then talking me into contributing to the family expenses, even though Mitch did not even treat me like a family member, did not seem fair either. She assured me that she would try her best to fix things and that gave me a sense of hope that maybe things were not going to be as bad as they are right now. If not for anything else,

I would at least get my money back soon. Update 3 Hey, it's been a big week for me. I don't even remember how many days it has been since I left my house, probably a little over a month. This week I filed for divorce. Sean is going to be served with the papers in a couple of days. And I also got my money back, thank God for that. My mother-in-law told me that Sean had refused to send her any money since he had to look out for himself as well and he is not contractually obliged to give anything back to me. It was just my words against his, so he was not scared. I can't I can't say that I was surprised, but I'm thankful that my mother-in-law was nice enough to return the money to me from her own pockets.

She did not need to do that, but she did, and I really appreciate that. Sean and Mitch stopped trying to reach out to me after I blocked the numbers, even though they could have emailed me or something. But they did not try anymore, and I don't know if I should be relieved or upset that Sean has not bothered to reach out to me. I'm still confused about how I feel right now, but I don't have time to think about these things because I still have to go to work and do all the work around the house myself. My aunt used to live in a considerably spacious house, so there's a lot of cleaning that I have to do.

I also have to cook for myself, which takes up a lot of my time and energy, and then there's laundry and so many other chores, all of which I have to do on my own. But at least with this freedom comes the sense of knowing that I'm going to be able to do it eventually, and I don't have to rely on anybody, especially Sean. I was a little intimidated by the idea of living on my own after so long, but it's been relatively easy so far. And since I come back home from school really tired and then I have to get to cooking and cleaning almost immediately, I don't even have time to think about Sean because as soon as my head hits the pillow, I'm fast asleep. I guess I would say that I'm lucky because I don't think I would have been able to handle overthinking at night.

But the divorce is finally happening, it's real and in a few days. days, he is going to be aware of it as well once he gets served with the papers. Truth be told, I don't know how to feel. I don't know how he's going to take it. Whatever the case is, and whatever his reaction is, I know that I have to get through this on my own. I have been planning to take a few days off of work and then go back to my parents because I've been feeling really lonely. And once he is served, I might just do it to avoid interacting with him. Update 4. So it has been too full. month since I filed for a divorce and the proceedings are ongoing right now. He did not contest the

divorce or stir any drama after he was served, which came as quite a shock to me. But then I received a call from my mother-in-law. She told me that she was the one who had spoken to Sean and told him that he was not going to contest the divorce or cause any more trouble for me because after what he had done, he owed this to me. He disagreed at first and said that he was not going to agree to the terms of the divorce because he thought that I was asking for too much, even though I don't agree with that. I had just asked for all our joint purchases to be sold so we could split the money and I didn't even ask for anything that would be unfair. But I did ask for a settlement. I have also contributed a lot of money, more than I should have, especially because of Mitch. And I wanted my money back,

I wasn't even asking for it all back, just the bare minimum. I felt like I had deserved it. In my head, completely fair because I had been cheated out of a marriage. There was no other woman involved, but there were a lot of lies and cover-ups involved, so I think I was entitled to what I was asking for. And even if I wasn't, we could come to a settlement. That's why the entire negotiation process was even happening. However, my mother-in-law made sure that he did not contest anything and did not try to fight with me so that our divorce could happen as smoothly as it could. I'm glad that she's taking my side, not a lot of people have such nice mothers-in-law like mine. I did go back to my parents to visit them for a couple of days after he was served,

and I lived with them for a while, so if he tried to get up to anything in those few days, I was not aware of it. Anyway, we have had two mediation sessions so far, and I think we are going to be able to wrap everything up by the next one. Wish me luck, you guys. Update 5, hello, it has been six months since my last update. Lots of things have changed in my life. First off, my divorce came through a couple of weeks ago.

Obviously, my husband and I have been separated for a really long time. It just became official. I have absolutely no contact with either Sean or Mitch after our last mediation session together. They apologized to me once we were out. It did not seem very heartfelt, but at least they said that they were sorry about everything. It felt like more of a formality than anything else. But I told him that did not matter anymore, I was moving on with my life.

I got a lot of money from everything that we had sold. I also sold my aunt's house and moved into a smaller apartment since now I was going to be on my own. Also, I brought a car for myself. It's a pretty nice car and I have to admit, it was more expensive than I had initially intended to buy, but you only live once, right? So why not? Besides, I don't have to save money or think about anyone else before I buy anything. I might as well treat myself to something.

I've been through a lot, I deserve this. I am still continuing with my teaching job and also I have taken up more classes outside of school as well, so I can make more money. I hadn't done that earlier because I used to be really tired after school and I also wanted to spend time with Sean when I came back, but now I think I'm going to conduct classes from home or online. I'm going to figure out a way but I've already told my friends to get the word out. I'm going to stop restricting myself. I'm going to live life for myself and on my own terms. So far, I've been worried about so many things, like my family, my husband, my stepson,

my future, and whatnot, but eventually nothing went according to plan. So now, I'm going to try and not plan stuff and see how it goes for a while. Thank you so much for caring about my life. I hope I have a much better update for you guys in a couple of months. I hope you enjoy this story. Former spouse departed from me and our children for a lucrative position and ended our marriage after we relocated to a different town. Shortly thereafter, she encountered a distressing predicament and begged me to come back. About seven months ago, Emma, my ex-wife, 42F and I'm 44M, moved away for her new job.

She had been offered an upper management position in a company that she had applied to without my knowledge and the reason she had done so was because she knew that I would never agree to move away. We had been together for 12 years, married for 10 and we have 8-year-old twins together. Both our families are situated here and a few years ago, my father was diagnosed with leukemia. Since then, it's been very difficult for our family because my dad's health hasn't been great and we are always afraid of when we might lose him. Naturally, as his only son, I want to be here for him and also for my mother and so, I hadn't wanted to move away after my dad's diagnosis. I thought that Emma would understand what I was going through, but instead, she told me that I was being a little too sensitive and that I can't just keep turning down opportunities to

work out of state and expect her to do the same just because my dad was sick. Before my dad fell sick, we had actually been planning to move away because she wanted a change of pace but after my father's diagnosis, I told her that it would not be possible for me anymore. She tried to be understanding of it in the beginning but gradually, since last year or so, she had started to become very restless and we had been fighting quite frequently over this. She wanted to move away because she felt stuck here and I couldn't possibly think about moving away while my dad was in such a condition, especially since it would also mean having to leave my mother to deal with it all on her own. Even if I had had had any siblings, I would

have been able to leave because my conscience wouldn't have let me. And I kept trying to explain that to Emma, but she refused to see my point, and I just felt like she was being selfish, whereas she felt like I was the one being selfish. And then, earlier this year, she just came home from work one day and told me that she had applied for a high-paying position in a company outside of state and she got the job. That came as a shock to me and I wanted to be happy for her, but I just couldn't because she hadn't told me anything about this application or this job. I was kind of in shock, so I just congratulated her and then I said nothing. That day, I remember we got into an argument because she didn't think I was happy enough for her, even though it was a pretty big deal

because I have to admit, it was a good job with decent pay. However, I was just upset that you hadn't even thought that she needed to talk to me about it before applying and she told me that she didn't even think that she would get the job but now that she had it, she was thinking of moving away and she wanted me to come along with her. She wanted to relocate our entire family, knowing what my feelings on this were.

So we ended up fighting over that and it was one of our worst fights. It got so bad that she ended up leaving to go stay with her parents for a couple of days and we had no contact for those days, so I actually thought that she was going to file for a divorce and put an end to this. But then, she came back,

back home and we ended up deciding that we were going to try and patch things up between us because we still had the kids and we couldn't let them down. And back then, I thought that I could still make it work with her because I didn't want to let go of this marriage. I was sure that I loved her and she told me that she did too, which is why she wanted to make it work. But she also didn't want to give up on her dreams and so, after a lot of discussion, we decided that she was going to take up the job and I would stay back here. She told me that she was a going to try and travel back and forth as often as she could, so we could make this work. We had no other option but to choose a long-distance marriage for now since neither of us was

ready to give up on each other. It was hard for me to agree, but I had to do it, at least for a while, before we could figure out what we wanted to do in the future. So then, she left and she would come back home every alternate weekend, but even then, she would only get to spend two days with us and take a flight back on Sunday evening since she would have to be back for work every Monday. It was tiring for her and I knew it, but there was nothing that I could do since she had agreed to this arrangement. With time, I guess she started resenting me, and her attitude towards me got worse. We had promised each other that we were going to try and make this work, but every time that I would try to call her during the week, she would always be really mean

to me and we would inevitably end up arguing about something or other. After a certain point of time, it started feeling like she didn't even want to speak to me, and instead of calling her on my own, I started waiting for her to call me first. And then, we started speaking less to each other, and even when we would talk, it was always very cold and weird, and I didn't know what to make of it. Then, eventually, after having spent almost four months away, she came home one weekend and had divorced papers with her. At the time, things were really tense between us, and she told me that she couldn't do this anymore.

When she came back home that weekend, we hadn't spoken for almost six days in a row because of the argument that we had the last time that we spoke. And I wanted to come up with a reason not to get a divorce, but I couldn't come up with anything. Because the last fight that we had was one where she had actually thrown out the idea of separating and ending this marriage for good.

I should have seen that coming because for months, not only had we been fighting, but she had also been getting closer to a certain friend of hers from high school. This friend, let's call her Melissa, was not a good person and was an even worse influence. Emma had always been good friends with Melissa and that woman had even been there as a bridesmaid at our wedding, but I had never liked her because she had always given off a weird vibe. From what I knew about her, she was a total gold digger and always went after rich married men so she wouldn't have to commit to them, but would still get the benefits of being with a rich guy.

She would even brag about it as if what she was doing wasn't detestable enough. When I used to bring up her behavior with Emma, she used to tell me that it was her personal choice and that we shouldn't judge her. That was quite infuriating, so eventually, I just stopped talking about Melissa and decided to ignore that friendship altogether. It got easier eventually because after Melissa moved away and Emma got caught up with work and kids, they kind of drifted apart. Anyway, I had known that Melissa had also been living in the same state with her son for a couple of years since she had moved away after her second divorce, probably to scout for new prey. Coincidentally, when Emma got a job in the same state, she reached out to Melissa and she was the one who introduced her to the city and helped her move in and stuff along with me. I was there all along, and I had hoped that maybe Melissa would have sober up after so many years but she was still the same weird person. I was not comfortable with Emma being so close with Melissa once again but she was the only

friend that Emma had there, so I couldn't even say anything about it. In the months that Emma had been staying there, she had told me that Melissa had been really supportive of her since she was on her own and had even introduced her to a couple of her own friends. This so-called group that Melissa had introduced Emma to was very dicey because as far as I remember, it was three or four women who were all single mothers. They had met through Facebook and had a Facebook support group kind of thing together. From whatever Emma had told me, these women had all been with men and had kids with them

but due to a variety of reasons, their partners had abandoned them and now, they were raising their kids on their own and the only support they got was a child support check. However, it was not as sad as it sounds because most of the women that Melissa was friends with were just like her. They had gone for super rich men, had affairs with them, got pregnant, and then when these men had decided to stay with their wives and families. These women managed to get them to pay a big fat child support check from them which supported their lifestyle. It actually wasn't just a support for them, it was also payment for them to keep

their mouths shut since I'm assuming these men didn't want word of their affairs getting to their wives. It was very common for all of them to have some online business that nobody was really interested in, but they were self-employed and wanted people to believe that they were doing it all on their own. But in reality, they were running a scam and proudly called themselves independent women who had all the freedom in the world to live by their own rules, while living off of the money of men who had been stupid enough to fall into their traps. Emma thought it was funny but I thought it was disgusting and I didn't think that it was a good idea for her to be socializing with them. However, she kept offending her friends and told me that she had gotten to know them personally

and they were all really nice women. And given how we were already fighting about so many things, I didn't want to fight about that as well, so I didn't say anything. But then, in the last fight that we had before she filed for a divorce, she told me that she really admired Melissa's strength because even without any help from any man, she was raising her two kids brilliantly on her own. I ended up scoffing at that and I told her that anybody who makes as much money from getting pregnant after an affair with rich guys would also probably be taking good care of the kids since

that was not their child but a meal ticket for them. And that was what led to a huge blow-up fight between us because before that, we had been trying our best to keep a lid on our tempers but the frustration had just been building up for months and that day, that little disagreement over one thing was enough to set us both off. We started cursing at each other, telling each other, telling each exactly how much we hated the situation and just kept blaming each other. After one point, she just said that if we were just going to fight like this all the time, it was probably better for us to go our separate ways and then disconnected the call. I thought she didn't mean that and I thought that she was going to call me and apologize, but that never happened. And I was really

upset with her as well, so I didn't bother to reach out either. That weekend, she showed up with the divorce papers and I decided to go ahead with it because I couldn't find a reason to stay with her anymore either. We had tried our best to make it work, but it didn't, unfortunately. And even the kids, the ones we were supposedly staying together for, hardly got to see us together and even when we were together, we were not happy. So rather than letting them grow up in a toxic environment, we decided to get a divorce. The divorce process was relatively simple since we don't have a waiting period here in our state and we only had to divide our joint assets, which was simple enough.

I got to keep the house and the kids since she didn't want to take them away with her right now and said that at the moment, we could stick to our arrangement of her coming back here every weekend to meet them. We had been splitting the cost of raising them anyway, so we continued to do that. Once they were a little older, we would leave it up to them what they wanted to do. It was not convenient for either of us, but we didn't want to fight for. for custody since we believed that our kids deserved both of us in their lives. As for the house, we had a verbal agreement that we would put it up for sale in a few years and whenever it sold, we would split the money.

Anyway, the divorce was finalized about a month ago and I didn't think that she would speak to me after that because even while we were getting divorced, we hardly had anything to talk about outside of the meetings with our lawyers. Now that everything had been finalized, I was trying to cope with the situation since even though it actually felt like nothing had really changed since we were still going to stick to the same routine, life was definitely going to be pretty different for me now because I was no longer married to Emma. My kids were also very confused about what was going on so I had to explain to them that their mother and I were no longer together, even though nothing exactly had changed.

But last night, she decided to call me up again so we could sort things out between us and give our relationship another chance because apparently, she had made a huge mistake and she wanted to reverse the divorce. I could tell that she had been crying and she was pretty much hysterical on the phone call. She started ranting about how she had unintentionally glamorized the lifestyle that Melissa and her friends had been leading and because of that group, she had decided to file for a divorce. She hadn't mentioned it to me earlier because she knew how I felt about Melissa, but after that last fight that we had, she had spoken to her group of friends, and they had told her to go for a divorce. She had been skeptical about it.

it initially, but they talked her into it so, she spoke to a lawyer that they put her in touch with. But one month has passed since then and she has tried literally to get herself to move on, like dating apps and blind dates and even going out every other night but has only ended up hooking up with random people and that has only made her feel pathetic because at least with me, even when we were fighting. She knew that she loved me and I loved her. Now, she's just really lonely, and more than anything else, she also misses the kids. Her friends told her that this would pass, but she hasn't been able to get rid of the loneliness and the guilt after the divorce. On top of that, her company had been doing pretty well when she joined, but she has had several

pay cuts since then because apparently, they had kind of embellished how well they were doing to get her on board and her income now doesn't match what she had been offered initially. It's not just her, everyone in the company has been going through the same thing and they keep telling people that things will work out if they keep working hard, but she thinks it's just so that they can retain their employees and that's another part of the reason why she wants to come back to me. She said that she really wanted me to consider it and reverse the decision to get divorced because she just misses her family and what her life used to be.

But after she was done talking and explaining her situation to me, I just felt furious with her because I couldn't believe that she had allowed her stupid and immoral friends to talk her into getting a divorce. I had always warned her against Melissa, and I had also made it very clear that I didn't like the company she was keeping after she moved away, but she never paid any mind to me. And now, they had turned out to be the reason that she ended up making the decision that she did. Had it been her own mistake, I might have even been all sympathetic towards her, but the fact that she had chosen to listen to people that I hated really got on my nerves.

The audacity to call me up and start crying about all of these things as if it is. had all been very easy for me, just made me very upset, and I ended up snapping at her. And now she had to lie in it because I was not going to help her out here. In spite of everything, I had tried my very best to make this marriage work. And I'm not talking about the last few months, I'm talking about ever since my dad fell sick. I had been fighting for our marriage relentlessly and for a while, so had she, but she had been immensely selfish for the past couple of years and that's how we had ended up here, divorced. The least she could have done while she had been staying away was at least try to understand my feelings and situation,

but she allowed herself to get carried away by friends whom she knew I did not like. I told her that she was not a high school kid anymore and that a juvenile excuse like her friends had influenced her to make bad decisions was not going to work with me. She wasn't coming back home drunk to her parents, this was a very different situation and it had affected my life and even the kids. And now, just because it's inconvenient for her, she wants to reverse the divorce. Firstly, of course, that's not how it works. And secondly, even if it did, I wouldn't do it. I was really upset by everything she had told me right before that and I just couldn't hold back. So I told her that now, if she was feeling really lonely and guilty, then she should just ask her

friends for help because I'm sure if they were the ones who had encouraged her to file for a divorce, they cared about her enough to take her in, if she was not doing well financially and support her emotionally as well. I was also very annoyed by the fact that she had basically just confessed that she had been hooking up with random people for the past month after our divorce. Technically, she was single, so she was allowed to do whatever she wanted, but it made me feel really uncomfortable and depressed because I felt like it had cheapened whatever we had shared for the past 12 years. So I told her that I did not want her back in my life anymore, especially after the things she had just told me, and that I was going to make sure that the kids stayed with me

because I was not sure if she was a good influence on them anymore. She started crying even harder and told me that she was ready to do anything it took to make things right, but I told her that she had made a decision and she had to live with it, and the kids and I did not need her anymore. Then, I hung up and blocked her. When I woke up this morning, I was a I had several messages from my ex-in-laws and they were telling me that I shouldn't have said the things that I did because she was already really low and it was not nice of me to kick her when she was down. They said that it was not necessary because she was already regretting everything that she had done and seemed to try and punish her more by telling her that the kids and I did not need her. I wouldn't have cared about what my ex-in-laws say, but they have been very kind to me after the divorce, so I don't know. I'd offer telling my ex-wife that I don't want her back and that the kids and I don't need her anymore.

Update 1. Hello, guys. Thank you so much for all the support that you guys have shown for me in the comments. I don't know how to say it, but it really means a lot to me, knowing that so many people are on my side here. And it means even more to me that so many of you have identified with my story and have reached out to let me know that things are going to be all right. It's very kind of you guys and I know that things are going to get better. It has been four days since I posted and I had blocked Emma after we had the conversation so she hasn't been able to get in touch with me. But this weekend, she is supposed to come over to see the kids and spend some time with them, so I don't know what's going to happen then. For the past couple of months, ever since the divorce was initiated, she would just pick up the kids from my place and go to her parents' place to spend the weekend with them and occasionally spend some time here. with all four of us for some family bonding.

But mostly, she would try to stay away from me and I was fine with it because it just made things easier for me. This weekend, though, it's anybody's guess. I'm actually kind of dreading having to see her because her parents have been very upset with me and have told me that the things that I said to her were so harsh that she has ended up crying every single time that they have called her after that. I haven't been responding to any of their messages because I don't really know what to say to them, but I feel kind of bad because I know Emma is kind of a really non-emotional person and I

know that I really managed to hit her where it hurts because she's been crying so much. Even though she hasn't exactly been kind to me and our circumstances haven't been the best, I still feel really sad for her because we could have had a great life and I feel like she ruined it all for herself. I did my best to make it work, but it's not like I can make the marriage work on my own without any help from her. I don't know what to say anymore, to be honest. Update 2. So Emma came over yesterday to pick up the kids and we ended up having a discussion about everything that had been said. It was clear from her appearance that she had been having a very hard time and I could see it on her face and I found it really hard to be cold to her.

So then she asked me if I would be willing to talk to her just for a bit and I ended up agreeing. Once the kids were in their room, we got to talking and she told me that she was really sorry about everything. And she wasn't referring to the recent months, she was referring to the past couple of years because it had taken a lot for her to realize how selfish she had ultimately been and she even said that she did not deserve me. She told me that in the past few weeks, after the divorce, every time she would go out on a date or hook up with any guy, all she could think was how she wasn't sure if this was the kind of life that she wanted for herself and felt guilty for throwing it all away. She had built it up all in her head, but it wasn't all that

was cracked up to be, and when she realized that, it was too late for her to do anything about it because she had already lost me. While talking, she started crying again, and I tried to come for her, but she told me that it would only make her feel worse because that just made her realize the kind of person I was and how badly she had treated me. It was kind of bittersweet, hearing her say these things about me because I would have really appreciated that when we were together, but now, I don't know what to say about it. Anyway, after a while, while, she told me that she had decided to quit her job and move back here so she could be closer to her family. She also wanted to spend more time with the kids because she had already

been losing out on so much time with them. It didn't seem worth it to stay outside for such little money and sacrifice so much. The only request she had for me was that she wanted me not to file for full custody like I had said I would, and I told her not to worry about it. I had said it in the heat of the moment, but I didn't have any intention of actually doing it because both she and I had always maintained that our kids shouldn't have to suffer and I knew that they missed their mom. So spending some more time with her would definitely do the kids more good and I would be supportive of that as well. After we were done talking, she apologized to me for everything once again and told me that I was a good man. She also promised me that she was going to try and be a better mother and a better person and thanked me for even letting her speak to. me after everything that happened instead of just shutting the door in her face. That got me a little

emotional, but I didn't say anything and then she left with the kids. So that was it and I didn't actually expect things to turn out to be like this since I thought that she was going to come over and fight with me, but this was nice and unexpected. She has apologized and I'm not going to say that I forgive her and everything is in the past, but at least we are on the right track now. I don't think I can go back to her again, that's very unrealistic after everything that has happened. But the least we can do is try to co-parent our kids to the best of our abilities and make it as peaceful for them as possible. And of course, it will be better for us as well. Now let's see what the future holds. Update 3. Hey, guys. Okay, so four months have passed since my divorce and after my last update, Emma stayed true to her word, and we'll

within a few weeks, she quit her job and moved back here. Since then, our kids have been splitting their time between the two of us. They spent half the week at my place and the other half at their mothers and it's been pretty convenient for them till now. Emma had been with her parents for a couple of weeks initially, but then, she was able to find an apartment a few blocks away and the kids are having a lot of fun because they have two homes now. As for my ex-in-laws, we are back on normal terms. Of course, we don't speak to each other on a regular basis, but they have apologized to me for bothering me back when Emma was having her breakdown and they told me that it was not my fault, but as her parents. They were just really stressed

out and they ended up blaming it on me because it was a bit of a knee-jerk reaction. Emma and I are also back on decent terms. I wouldn't say good terms because it's not like we are friends, but we are cordial with each other and have kept things civil. I'm also slowly but surely moving on and trying to process everything that has happened and it's going well so far, and I'm hoping that it continues to get better after this as well. I hope you enjoy this story. Mother desired that my sibling had wedded my partner rather than myself, and my sibling has been visiting in my absence, wandering about in bath linens, and it appears that my spouse actually can't stand her. I am upset at my mom and my sister because of something my mother said, but everyone around me feel. I'm overreacting. Please be brutally honest in telling me if I am being insecure, or if my mom and

my husband are wrong in this. Let me give you a bit of backstory. My husband James, 34M, and I, 29F, were neighbors growing up. My sister, Fran, 34F, was in the same grade as my husband growing up. Everyone knew my sister in school because she is very smart and beautiful. James had a huge crush on her and all of us knew about it. He asked her out for senior prom and friends shot him down, in front of the whole school. They still remained friends, but he moved to a different state for college, and we did not hear much from him, except see him when he came back for holidays. James and I were never friends growing up, since I was in middle school when this happened. In fact, I was much younger than both of them, and they would actively avoid me or involving me in their hangouts and

activities. I went to a good college and got my first job in the same city as James. My mom suggested I should contact James, since I did not know anyone there. We became friends and three years later, we got married. We both have high-paying jobs and love our life. We moved back to our hometown during COVID as James' mom had health issues, and our jobs allowed us to work remotely. Fran also had a pretty good life. She married when she was 20, and her husband was pretty well off. Two years ago, Fran discovered that he was cheating on her for almost the entire duration of their marriage with multiple partners

and she decided to break things off. Fran moved back with my mom. Fran had not worked for the entire duration of their marriage and was expecting to gain significant alimony from the divorce. However, due to complications regarding pre-nup, she barely got anything and is struggling financially. She got a job but is barely able to afford her own. place and continues living with my mom. James and I were very supportive of her during the whole

process. Since James and Fran were friends growing up, they both have a special bond. They have their inside jokes and stories, and I sometimes feel like a third will when we all meet. However, James keeps his distance and has never given me any reason to believe that he is lingering feelings for her. Fran, on the other hand, constantly visits us, like two to three times a week, and ends up up staying for dinner and sleeping in our guest room. I don't mind her coming over, but I do not like the fact that she talks more to James than with me. Also, she always comes over when I am not at home, and I often find them sitting next to each other on sofa and watching TV when I get home. It sort of reminds me of my childhood where I was locked out of our basement when Fran had friends over,

and I would feel left out. Fran is also too comfortable around James and walks around the house in just a towel after her shower when James is around, or sleep in her underwear and guest room without locking the door. I have voiced my concerns to her, but she says that we are family, and she does not care. I have also voiced my concerns to James, and he does make efforts now to explain stories and inside jokes if Fran makes them. The main issue happened this weekend. I was hanging out with my mom and Fran last weekend and Fran was recollecting stories about how James would do her homework and do chores for her growing up. She said he was so much in love with me, and I felt guilty taking advantage of him. My mom, jokingly said to her that I wish you had the

wits to marry James than your loser husband and you would have not been in this situation. Friends smiled after hearing that and nodded, but I was hurt by the comment. I protested to my mom that James is my husband, and I do not want her to make such comments about him. My mom doubled down and said that she feels like it because both James and I are high earners, while Fran is struggling. So, it would make sense if Fran was married to James, and I would be fine since I do not need James to support me financially. She kept on saying she that it was a hypothetical, and just wants both her daughters to be happy.

I did not like those comments and told them to not speak like that about James and my marriage in general. Fran chimed in and told me that I should not take the comment. so personally, and I am being too sensitive. However, I had a fight with both of them, and I left. When I came home and told James, he also sided with my mom and Fran and told me that her mom just made a harmless joke. I also raised the issue of Fran's behavior around our house, and he told me that this is between me and my sister, and he is not going to tell Fran about what she can or cannot wear in our house. However, I am just feeling really bad since the situation and

despite everyone apologizing to me, things just don't feel right. Am I wrong here and reacting the way I did, or does everyone else have a point, and I should be more secure about my relationship with James? Comments where OPP has replied, commenter, NTA, your mother's comment was inappropriate and disrespectful towards your marriage, and it's concerning that your husband is dismissing your feelings about Fran's behavior. It's not about insecurity, it's about wanting respect in your relationship and home. Ah, this has been a pattern through my life. Due to age difference, Fran has always treated me like a kid. I just felt insulted that my mom completely ignored my feelings while making such comments. However, a part of me also has been

jealous of Fran because of all the attention she got, and I was the nerdy little weird girl in our family. Commenter, I'm waiting for Fran to try attempt something with your husband within three to six months also you need to tell her no more sleepovers or just showing up and put some clothes on for God's sake. And this is a firm boundary. And no you don't care if they think you're overreacting, this is how it's going to be. Up, all these comments have me really alarmed. I am going to talk to my husband regarding this. I do not want to be accusatory, but this whole situation has made me really insecure, and I was barely able to sleep last night. I trust him with all my heart, but I really am rethinking all the things Fran has done around him and how she has undermined

and belittled my feelings on every occasion. As for my mom, I got a half-assed apology from her last night about how she just blurted out something stupid and how I am overreacting to all this, and she only wishes the best for both her daughters. Update, October 22nd, 2024. Thanks everyone for all your support on my previous post. To summarize what happened, my mom made a really off-putting comment that she wished my sister, Fran, was married to my husband, James. I got really mad, and my husband also tried to undermine my feelings and told me I was overreacting to a harmless joke.

Sorry for the long post, but a lot of you were messaging me for update, and wanted to tell what happened. The comments really made me paranoid, and I did see everyone's point that James may have just married me because of his crush on Fran. This really shot up my anxiety, and I started snooping around. My husband literally makes me check his phone for new messages when he is not around. So, I knew there was nothing to hide there. However, I was spooked by how my sister always knows when I am not at home, and why James and Fran are always sitting on the same couch when I come home. I tried talking to my husband, and he told me that my feelings were valid. However, he always

also said that Fran is going through a tough time and refused to say anything bad about my mom and Fran. Last Friday, I went to gym as usual in the evening and when I came home, Fran was sitting in the living room while James was cooking dinner. I got a bit angry and asked her what she is doing here. She said had no plans for the night and she came to hang out with us. It really annoyed me and I told her that I wanted to spend a quiet weekend with Mai and if she can come some other time. She could see I was upset. She started saying how her mom was just being silly, and I need to let it go since it was just a joke. I told her I did not find it funny, and we got into a fight.

She said that I am always an insecure, annoying kid and no wonder no one liked me. It really hurt me, but James stepped in and told Fran that she needs to leave. I have never seen James be so forceful with Fran. Fran muttered some unpleasant things to James, and then left. I was in tears by the end of the whole thing and James was consoling me. I was really upset and spent the night in our room alone. In the morning, I prepared notes on all thing things I wanted to ask James. Your comments really helped me get my thoughts straight. I know I was being very insecure, but after reading the comments, I really started questioning

if James really married me for me, or just because I was Fran's sister and looked like her. People called me dollar store Fran in high school. James and I had a long conversation, and I told him my anxieties and insecurities. I told him how it makes me feel that he spends so much time with Fran when she visits us, and they have their own inside jokes. I asked him if he still has feelings for her. He was clam and smiling the whole time. He told me that he will tell me the truth but does not want me to hate him for it later. He said that he knows Fran used him all through their school days, because she knew he liked her. When he went to college, Fran still tried to keep in touch with him, but putting distance

between them made him realize how badly she treated him, and he decided to just cut contact with her so that he can work on himself. That was the reason he rarely visited us when he used to come for holidays and stopped being friends with Fran. I told him that it bothered me that he chose Fran before me and ignored me during our childhood. That was the reason I always had that doubt if I was his second choice. said that I was 13 when he went to college and if he would have liked me instead of Fran at that age, we would be having a different problem. He told me that when I contacted him, he thought

that I must be like Fran and was not very enthusiastic to meet me. However, after we hung out for few times, he realized I am nothing like Fran. We soon became close, started dating and got married after few years. He told me that Fran was married by then, and he saw that I always put Fran on the pedestal and would get jealous when Fran posted vacation pictures or the new shiny things her husband bought for her. That was the reason he never told me that he does not like hanging around Fran as he feels that for me, Fran was always the North Star. He told me that he has always kept his distance from Fran, and she was a nun issue since we would meet her only few times every year. However, after her divorce, he did not know how to act. He said that he was grateful to me for uprooting our lives and

moving back to our hometown for his mom's health. He wanted to do the same and take care of my family. When Fran got divorced, he supported her in every way he could for me, even though he realized it meant spending a lot of time with her and listening to her bring up all the memories from high school that he wants to forget. I told him it bothered me that Fran came to our house as often as she does, and generally in evenings when I go to gym. He told me that he also finds it odd that she knows my gym routine and always comes on evenings when I am not at home. However, he told me that he has always kept his distance from her, and if she did anything that would raise an alarm, he would have told me immediately. She just makes him all the old movies or TV shows they watched growing

up, and gossips endlessly about their high school friends. He told me I need to trust him and if I want him to be the bad guy and ask Fran to not visit us often, he can do that for me. However, he knows that I will eventually make up with my mom and Fran and does not want to blame him for being mean to Fran. However, he told me he will not tell Fran what to wear around the house, as it would be creepy if it came from him. I felt I got all the assurance I needed from James, and I will never doubt how amazing of a husband he has been. My mom and Fran visited us on Sunday, and my mom profusely apologized to me. She told me she does not want me to feel bad for her comment and she would never wish anything bad on my marriage. She meant to say that James was a great guy,

and she hopes Fran can find someone like him one day. Fran was a bit sour but apologized to us for all the name calling on Friday and told us that it's just her hormones. She said that she likes hanging out with her sister and her best friend, and hence comes to our house. I told her she is welcome to come any time she wants, but to call ahead of time in case James and I have plans for the evening and she agreed. I really want to move past this issue, but I do want to put some firm boundaries on when house and hang out with James alone, as I know it bothers him too. Overall, I feel things are good now. I am glad my worst fears did not come true, but I do feel I need some therapy in order to deal with my insecurities. Next story. G.F. wanted an open

relationship because she was curious to explore. After our breakup she confessed she'd been cheating for months, slept with him right after we split. Hello everyone. I've 19M, been with my girlfriend, 20F, for about two to three years now. Things have always been good between us, we had a solid relationship, sweet moments, and all the usual stuff that comes with being in a serious, committed relationship. From the beginning, we were clear that our relationship would be exclusive. I'm strictly monogamous. I don't have anything against open relationship. I don't have anything or polyamory, but it's just not something I could handle in a serious relationship, where my feelings are involved. Lately, though, things started to get weird. She began making

comments about other guys, saying how she found some random dude sexy or how attractive someone else was. At first, I just brushed it off and didn't make a big deal out of it, but these comments became more frequent, and honestly it started to feel a bit overwhelming. Then came the real shocker, she told me she was starting to get interested in other people. She said she still loved me, but she wanted to explore things both personally and sexually so she then asked, What if we open the relationship? I was stunned for a moment and nervously laughed, which she noticed. I half joked, half seriously replied, that I'm not going to be a part of it, ha. She got the hint, but still kept pushing the idea. I got frustrated and asked her why she wanted this,

she said she was curious and wanted to explore her sexuality without damaging the emotional bond we had. I was taken aback but responded, I support your decision to explore, but if you want that, then forget about me. You know very well that exclusivity is crucial to me in a serious relationship this led to a heated argument. She accused me of being closed-minded and called me a coward for not being willing to try something new. Those words hurt, and later that night in my home I lay in bed wondering if there was a way to talk this through or find some middle ground. We did eventually meet up again to discuss things more calmly, but no matter what, I just couldn't accept the idea of opening the relationship, even if I also had the freedom to see other people,

it was a solid no from me. I told her, I'm sorry, but we couldn't come to an agreement, you know my stance on this kind of relationship, I'm glad you want to explore this, but unfortunately, I won't be the person to do that with, let's just end things now, save ourselves the drama, and move on. You'll have the freedom to do what you want, and I won't have to deal with the anxiety of knowing you're with someone else. She didn't take it well, called me selfish again, and repeated that I was insecure. At that point, I just stayed silent and let her say what she needed to say. We both sat there for a while, both of us with tears in our eyes. We eventually said our goodbyes. She still told me everything she previously thought about me, and after I got

home, I saw that she had blocked me on everything, I just let out a sigh and laid down on my bed. Right now, I'm focusing on myself and moving forward, trying to maintain zero contact with her. So, Ida for breaking up with my girlfriend because she wanted an open relationship, even though she knew my stance on it? Edit, thanks you all for your comments, I really can't reply to all of them but I read all them, you all really give me good advices, and also some reasons that I will reflect on anyway, THX if something happens these days and I see it conveniently, I'd make an update update. October 27, 2024. For the record, forgive me if this have some errors as this post will be raw and English isn't my first language. Now, I will give you more context.

It's been five days since we broke up. During these days, I've been reflecting, mostly due to some comments on the previous post, mentioning that maybe she was always like this. That we were just incompatible, that we are young, and that she has the right to explore her sexuality or whatever. I admit I shouldn't have done it, but I kept thinking and racking my brain more and more, was she really like this? I didn't pay attention to this when we made the relationship official, because this felt so strange to me when we decided to make things serious because I asked for exclusivity, and emphasized it herself, which left me more and more confused. Anyway, yesterday I ran into her, I know, that maybe was an error, I tried to

to ignore her, but I couldn't, since now she wanted to talk to me and I was about to reject her, but my thoughts got the better of me, and I agreed, mainly to ask her about my doubts. We went to her house, and although she tried to be nice. I just asked her to get to the point. We sat down at the table and talked. She tried to ask me how I was doing, but I just dodged the question and then I confronted her again, asking why she was now bringing up polyamory and all that after so much time being with me, after even she agreed to exclusivity and emphasized it. When I said this, I raised my voice, basically shouting at her, then I got my answer and although it was predictable, it still shocked me.

Long story short, yes, she has indeed been emotionally cheating on me and was tempted to do it physically. I just stood there, stunned, took a deep breath, and even though I was really angry, I asked when and with whom? According to her, she spent the last two months with a guy she met at her college, which coincides suspiciously with when she started acting weird, I raised my voice again. Asking what she thought by not telling me did she think I was an idiot, even trying to manipulate me to open the relationship.

She said that, she didn't want to lose me, that she loved me and as for opening the relationship, it was advice from her friends. I must clarify that not all of them are women, they told me her that she had the right to explore while still being with me, that they even do it, and they still with their partners. some of their partners have no idea about it. What a shitty people in this life. Honestly, I had a fucking urge to scream at her as loud as I could, but I had to keep my composure. I asked her what she did with this guy. If they were still in touch, she just told me that the same day we broke up, she slept with him but later she regretted it. And in these last few days, she realized

her mistake and wanted to be honest with me now with the possibility to give her another opportunity, I couldn't deal with her anymore, and I told her she had almost three fucking months to be honest with me and instead. Tried to manipulate me into falling into her trap so she could walk away without any guilt. I told her that if she wants to cry, go ahead because I won't give her another chance and I don't care anymore because I lost the little respect I had for her. With a nod in my throat from the hurt, I told her clearly that I never want to see her in my fucking life again and that if she sees me in a store, she should avoid me and go somewhere else because I don't want to see or hear her, she broke down crying again, begging me to forgive her, grabbing my shirt to stop me from leaving, I pushed her away.

Opened the door and slammed it shut once I got home, and it would be a lie to say I didn't shed tears. We're young, she wanted to explore her sexuality, and she's right to do so. She was right to tell me, she is not the asshole either. Pure bullshit. Now, I'm still incredibly. hurt. I feel worse than when I started, and I feel like an idiot for even crying, knowing this could have been a possibility, I will see if I can get back on my feet and move on, even though I'm still hurt that's the only thing I can do. Man, I really thought I had a decent girlfriend

frown. Relatives rejected me long ago when my sibling took away my partner, but my relatives unexpectedly welcomed me back only because my grandfather warned to disinherit them if they didn't. They didn't apologize. After being disowned eight years ago, my family has invited me, my wife, 27F, and daughter, 1F, for Christmas. After getting conflicting advice from my friends, one of my buddies told me to post my dilemma here to see what random internet strangers would say. I, 25M, am the youngest of four kids between my mom 52F and dad, 54M. My siblings are, fake names, Michael, 31M, Sarah, 28F, and my twin brother Casey, 25M. For context, growing up I was the black sheep of the family and I knew that from a very young age.

See, my family is full of athletes. My dad was a star basketball player for A.D2 school, my mom played volleyball. Michael played soccer. Sarah played softball, and Casey was. was the star running back for the football team. I was never really interested in any of those physical sports, but rather I was interested in archery, which my family called a wimpy sport.

My parents were always invested in my siblings and rarely ever attended my events to the point where I basically had to beg for them to come to my tournaments. Between the ages of 14 to 16, I had taken part in about 20 tournaments while my parents only showed up to one. I was never neglected by them, but they were never emotionally there for me as they were for my siblings, and as a teenager

I resented that. Whenever I tried to bring this up to them, they would always call me an attention seeker. But however, this is not why I was disowned from my family. When I was 15, I began dating Amy, now 25F, who was in the same grade as me at the time. After about six to seven months of dating I introduced her to my folks and my siblings and they really liked her. I know I I was young, but I could see myself having a future with her. Just two years later, one of Amy's ex-friends told me that she had been cheating on me for a couple of months. At the time I didn't know who the guy was, but after confronting her, she told me that it was

my twin brother. She basically told me that while at first she loved me, the love she had for my brother surpasses that. Later that day, when I confronted Casey at home, I was so enraged that I sucker punched him and knocked him out. I admit that I should have not gotten violent, but years of resentment towards him and the rest of the family just burst open. In exchange for my family not pressing charges on me as I could have been tried as an adult in court, I was sent to live with my paternal aunt, 48F, who at this point was estranged from the family and lived in another city about two

hours away. From then on, I have not had any contact with them. At first it was tough, but later on, with support for my aunt and her husband, 48M, I moved on from wanting a relationship with them. I transferred to a different high school and attended a university in my aunt city and graduated as an electrical engineer. I later met my wife and got married to her. I at the time of my wedding thought about inviting them, but went against it because I did not want any sort of drama at my wedding. From that point me and my wife bought a house an hour away from my aunt and were blessed with a daughter a year ago. About a week ago, I received a Facebook message from my mother and father wanting to reconnect over Christmas at their house. I told them that I would consider

it as I possibly have other plans, but would give them a clear answer soon. Later on, both Michael and Sarah sent me friend requests, which felt weird to me. My wife has told me that if I decided to go, she and my daughter would spend Christmas at my Phil's house as she does not have to deal with unwanted stress as she is two months pregnant and I agree with her. My question to those reading this is that should I go and try to reconcile with my family or should I not? I am very conflicted on what to do. On one hand, they perhaps feel bad about what they did to me and want to apologize for what they did, but on the other hand perhaps if I go there, they will try to make me apologize to Casey which I do not want to. Any advice would be helpful. Update, hi there guys, it's been a rough two weeks. It's been a rough two

but thank you all for your advice and support. This is going to be a really long post I wanted to post earlier, but some things got in the way. Two days after Christmas, my wife began to experience unbearable pain in her abdomen area and she hardly could stand on her two feet. Me and her sister, 30F, rushed her to hospital where we found out that my wife had suffered a miscarriage and that the fetus had to be removed right away. Honestly, the worst part for me was explaining to my wife what had happened. Due to complications surrounding the operation, my wife was forced to stay for two more days.

Honestly, I have been trying to stay strong for my wife and my daughter, but honestly, I am struggling right now. On to the update, most of you that commented on the same day I posted told me to not spend Christmas with them because of the significance of that holiday. I agree and decided I would spend the rest of the holidays with my wife. They never made time for me so why should I make time for them? When I texted them this, I assumed they would try to argue with me but rather they said they respected my opinion and could not wait to see me after the holidays. I began to do some digging into my family to try to figure out why they have reached out. Michael is a corporate lawyer who works for a major company in my hometown. By looking through his Facebook page, he has two daughters and was married to his wife in 2016.

Sarah appears to be married to a doctor, she herself eight years ago, was said. studying to be a nurse, and they have a son together. I have a friend who lives in my hometown and his parents who are friends with my parents. When I asked her about Sarah, she told me that Sarah had divorced her first husband, the one she was dating eight years ago, after he had committed male fraud. Casey got married to Amy Wright after high school and together they have two kids together. I could not exactly figure out what he or his wife does for a living through Facebook, but judging that they bought a big house last year in the midst of a pandemic tells me they are not really struggling. My dad seems to be going through a midlife crisis and my mother is really into the wellness

community. I then began to list the reasons of why they wanted to possibly reach out to me now. One, money unlikely because eight years ago, my parents combined salary was higher than my wife and my salary. And given that my siblings are not struggling financially makes me think money is not the reason. 2. Organ donation could be the case but seems unlikely but a Redditor said that it could be that Casey given he is my twin would be my most likely match and I think it's unlikely because he was tagged in a Facebook post skiing just a week before Christmas.

2. Regarding my daughter they could possibly be reaching out to me to have a relation to my daughter but I honestly am not sure. My daughter is not the first granddaughter for my parents, so I do not know why they want to meet her. They most likely found out my daughter existed because my wife's Facebook account was public. She has since private her account. I then contacted my aunt, the estranged one who took me in, informing her about the situation and she explained to me why they were reaching out to me after all this time. To understand this situation, you need to understand why my aunt was

estranged. My paternal grandpa 79M and Grandma 76F had four children. My dad was the second oldest and my aunt was the third. My aunt after college came out to her parents as bisexual and began dating her girlfriend. My grandparents immediately disowned her and refused to have any contact with her. However, about four years ago, my grandpa began to reach out about a month ago. My grandpa had been asking about me and what I was doing in life and whether I was married or had kids. My aunt responded by calling my grandpa out for wanting to know about me after he supported Casey for what he did. That is when the whole situation changes.

My grandpa told my aunt that because I had cheated on Amy with one of her close friends, I deserve to be estranged. My grandpa is a religious nut, so he looks down on cheating. He had been told by my family that after the friend who I allegedly cheated with confessed to Amy, she went to Casey and Sarah for support and comfort. And when I found out about this, I confronted and brutally attacked Casey and Sarah. While Sarah was the one who tried to break me and Casey apart, I did not lay a finger on her and I did not brutally attack Casey. When my aunt was telling me this, my jaw dropped. I could not believe that they hated me so much that they were willing to make up a terrible lie about me and spread it around.

My aunt later told Grandpa the full truth on what truly happened and my aunt told me he was shocked because he always thought Casey was a good kid. My grandpa then asked my aunt for my number which she declined to give. I figured out why my parents and siblings wanted to get into touch with me. It turns out my grandpa had told my parents and my siblings that if they did not apologize for what they did to me and have me over for the family Christmas dinner, they would be cut off from his will. For context, he is a multi-millionaire. So that is why they reached out to me, not to apologize about how they all wronged me in the past, but rather because if they did not, they would not get anything from Grandpa. What a bunch of greedy people.

After hearing about this for my aunt, I decided to block all of them. Why should I respond to them? At this point, all of them are dead to me. I have a wife to support after what she went through and a family that resched. respects me and my in-laws. However, this does not end here as three days after New Year's Eve, I received a call from an unknown number on my work phone. I am used to getting calls from unknown numbers because of my career, and when I picked up I heard my grandfather's voice. He most likely got my number from my company website. The first thing he did was apologize

for not trying to get into contact with me for the past eight years. He told me he was sorry that he could not be there for important events such as my graduation, my wedding, and the birth of my daughter. I was not really close to him before, so him cutting me off did not bother me. Later in the call, he told me he was so disgusted with the rest of my family that he is cutting them off his will and adding me to it. I honestly do not know how to feel about that as the money would be helpful, but at the same time I do not want him to use this as a way to force a relationship between me and my daughter. We talked for about half an hour. The way the call went made me think that perhaps I could build a good relationship with my grandpa, but then he told me something that

got me really pissed. He told me that he was disappointed in that my daughter had not taken the family name. For context, after I got married to my wife, the issue of what last name to use as a couple came up. For some legal reasons I was unable to change my last name to my wife's last name but we decided as a couple that all of our future children would ever last name. I at this point unloaded on my grandpa calling him a senile old man and many other hurtful things and told him to never contact me ever again. The audacity of this man to say that after what I went through is something. I will not let him use the money I receive and the will to control me. Even if I receive the money, I will donate it to a local charity but he is a man of false promises so this is unlikely. These past few weeks

have been really tough for me and I hope to make it to the other side. My wife has private her Facebook account and her in-laws have done the same. What they do to try to contact me is beyond me. Hell, they would probably hire a private detective to try to find me. I believe they do not know where I live, but you never know. I have thought of a get-a-restrain order, but given that there are lawyers within the family means getting a role will be hard. I did not really get any time to answer any questions given in my last post. I will do my best to answer any questions for the next day or two, but after this I am done using Reddit for a while. Thank you all for your advice and I wish you all the best in this new year. Next story, ex-girlfriend

left me and our daughter 10 years ago for another man, but now she's back wanting to be a family again after getting COVID and realizing she has nobody left in her life. My story begins 16 years ago, Lucy. She was an amazing girl, intelligent, beautiful, fancy, funny, just the greatest girl I ever met. I felt so lucky when we start dating. And after a year into the relationship, we had a baby. I was living the dream, living with my girlfriend, raising our little daughter, being a happy family. I loved Lucy so much, and after some years, we were finally getting married. Our daughter was the most excited one about the wedding, she was going to be the flowers everything seemed to be perfect. Until, one day, when I was heading back home, a guy wanted to talk with me.

At first I believed he may want to sell me something, until he mentioned Lucy. Politely, he asked me to talk in a private place. He then asked me to please, stop everything about the wedding and step back, because he and Lucy wanted to be together. I didn't believe him, until he started to tell me a lot of details about her that would be impossible to know. I returned home as fast as I could, I didn't want this to be truth, and told her about it, hopping all was a mistake. But, no, it wasn't. The next hour she told me everything. She has been cheating on me from the last two years. She told me about how all the time she said she loved me, that she wanted us to be together and she loved our family, were all lies.

How her new man was younger, stronger, handsome and better lover. She said that she didn't want it to be tied to me, how she lost her freedom for being a mother and she didn't want it to be a wife, that she wanted her freedom back. The final stab was when she said she was happy that I finally knew, and now she was able to leave. I cried, begged, humiliate myself and got on my knees, asking for another chance to try fix our relationship, but she didn't want it. She wanted the thrill and excitement that this new guy make her feel. By the next day, she left us. I felt broken, humiliate, emasculated. But my daughter needed me. She was heartbroken, her mother left, and she believed it was her fault. She heard when Lucy's said she didn't want it to be a mother anymore, she needed me, and I needed to be strong for her.

Fortunately, we had help, my family and Lucy's family supported us in any way possible. Her parents were so ashamed for their daughter's actions that they couldn't look me to the face without apologize for everything she did. I will be in debt with everyone forever for all their help. Fast forward, ten years later. After lots of time in therapy, my daughter and I are living happy. She is the light of my life. A beautiful 15 years old lady who I love. Our wounds are healed and we have a very good life. But then, she came back. When me and my daughter were getting back home, we found Lucy in front of our apartment, waiting for us, wanting to talk. I recognize her immediately, and I would like to say that I did something cool, like ignoring her,

asking her to leave, or at least be hostile with her. But no. I'm an idiot. My heart skip a beat in the moment I saw her. She still was beautiful as before, but somehow, she looked even better, maybe the age make her look mature and elegant, maybe the dress, or the makeup, I don't know. But I let her in, while our daughter gave us some space and went to her room. She told me everything she did since she left.

Basically, she lived with that guy for some years. She said how much she enjoyed it, all the fun she got and how she believed those were the best years of her life, until she noticed that the excitement of that new relationship was fading slowly. In some point, she started to cheat on that guy too. According to her, she wanted to feel alive and excited. Eventually, that relationship ended, and she started dating other guys. Every relationship became shorter than the previous one, until she only had casual hookups. She also said that sometimes, she thought about us, our family, bitch she said she was too proud

to admit she made a mistake, until last year. She got COVID and it hit her really hard, yo, the point that she believed she would die, and realized how alone she was, how stupid she was, and the mistake she made so long ago. After all of that, she said she regretted everything she did and said, and now she was ready to marry me, and be the family we always meant to be. When she was done, I asked her to leave, to give me some time to think. She accepted, saying she would be back the next day. For years I dreamed about her coming back, and now it was happening. But it just felt wrong.

Since then, she visited almost daily, wanting to talk about the best years of our relationship, and how we could be a happy family again. I asked for help. To my family, to my friends. Most of them said I would be making the worst mistake of my life if I take her back. Others said that I could give her a chance. It took me a lot to heal and some more time to start making new relationships, and I would be risking everything.

One night, my daughter and I had a deep conversation about all this. I always try to involve her in every part of our life. and this issue concerned her too, because is her mother. She surprised me being so wise and mature, because she told me can you really love someone that hurted us so much. And that was everything I needed. I would never forgive myself if I let her hurt my daughter again. And I said that to Lucy. If she want to be around, or have a relationship with our daughter, I'm okay with it, only if my daughter want it. But I told her we are not getting back. Lucy only said that she would make me fall in love with her again, and that she would not give up.

Update, I didn't expect so many answer, so, thanks to everyone for your answers and advices. Thanks to the ones who made me open my eyes and helped me to realize I still having issues with my ex and I'm not over with her, and overall, to the ones who pointed the risk of hurting my daughter that is letting her back in our lives. I can recognize my weakness, but I'm not letting her to hurt my baby again. So don't worry, I'm not getting back with her. Since the post, she had been insisting on meeting, she wanted to talk. I decided to have one last talk with her and setting my boundaries. We met in a public place. The talk was long and hard, I wanted her to be honest, and I told her the moment I caught a lie I was leaving. I asked if she was really sorry, or are we her last option?

Did she really love us, or are we just a consolation prize? Did she came back for love, or because she was unable to find another man anymore? She was unable to answer any of that. She only said things like it's not like that you need to understand me I'm not like this anymore. She kept insisting on giving her another chance, that we can love each other again, that we could be together, she never even mentioned our daughter in any moment, only after I pointed it, she started to mention her. When I tried to settle that we were over, she grabbed my hand and, as some of you told me she would do, she tried to seduce me, pulling down her blouse, showing me her cleavage, and saying we can find a room, so I can do whatever I wanted with her, that she wouldn't say no to anything, to compensate me. I didn't recognize that woman. She wasn't the amazing girl I met, she wasn't the mother of my daughter, I didn't know who that woman was, but she wasn't my Lucy. I said her to let me. I said her to let me. I said her to let me. I'm not. She wasn't the mother of my lucy. I said her to let me. I was. I was. I was she wasn't my woman. I was she wasn't. I was she was she me go, that we were over. Neither I or my daughter wanted anything with her, so please,

leave us alone, we were living a good life without her. She then went mad, saying I couldn't left her, that it wasn't my choice, that she doesn't have anything else. That I can't take away her daughter. I still don't know why, but that last sentence triggered me. The next are not my exact words, but are close of what I said on that moment, your daughter. Your daughter, You are not her mother. You only gave birth to her, but you are not her mother. Tell me, where you were when she was sick? Where you were when she had fever?

When she was scared on the night. When her first teeth fell. When she cried on the nights because she missed her mom. Where you were on her first day of school. When she had her first period. When she had her first boyfriend. When her heart broke for the second time. time. Because the first one who broke her heart was her mother. Which dick were you writing when

she needed a mom? You have no right to claim you are her mother, because you never acted like that. She tried to reply, but I saw how she was unable to find the words. I left her. Back at home, she sent me some texts, asking for another meeting, for another chance, that she loves me and she can change, but I'm done. You all were right, she doesn't love her. She doesn't love her. me or our daughter at all. She only loves herself, having her on my life would be bad, toxic, I don't need that. I don't need her. My daughter and I are going back to therapy soon. Some of you were right, I need to work on myself, be stronger, and get over those feelings for her, because they're not real, just a memory of what I thought she was. I hope you enjoy this story.

Sill taunted my occupation by claiming that their household manager earns the same amount as I do annually, so I informed them that their affluent spouse was being unfaithful. This nearly led to their separation, and my, Mill blamed me for ruining their lives. Hi, Reddit. A few days ago, I said something at a family dinner and now, my sister-in-law and her husband are getting divorced and my in-laws are blaming me for it. My wife is obviously with me, but I still want to know if I did the right thing or not according to you guys. So, for context, my wife, 33F, and I, 36M, have been together for eight years and married for five. I've always gotten along well with most of her family, apart from her sister. My sister-in-law, let's call her Sophia, 38F, is just not a good person.

There is no other way to say it. She has always been really annoying and mean and I think she's one of those people who just peaked in high school and thought that that's the personality they should stick to for the rest of their lives. I have never liked her personality because right from the beginning, she has always acted very arrogant and I guess that's why she has never liked me since I have always maintained a distance from her. She also has a tendency to make underhanded remarks about people or pay them backhanded compliments and most people ignore it, but sometimes, I like to hand it right back to her. And that's what I did at one of our family dinners that my wife and I were hosting last weekend. We had invited everyone from our families over to celebrate a promotion that I had recently received since it was a pretty big one. I was being promoted to the position of COO of the company and it was a huge deal because not only did it come with a huge raise, it was also a pretty prestigious position in the company and I had worked really hard for it.

Everyone in the family knew that ultimately, my goal was to become the CEO of the company that I was working in and I had a pretty good shot at it. So this was a step towards realizing my dream and that's why I think it was particularly nasty of Sophia to have said what she did. So before I announced it to everyone else, my wife and I decided to invite our families over and tell them about it first. I didn't really feel inclined to invite Sophia, but since she is a part of the family, we had to invite her unless, we wanted to start a feud, which we didn't. At the dinner, when my wife and I finally announced why exactly we had invited all of them and told them about my promotion, everyone was happy and congratulated me except for Sophia, who just kept sitting in her place with a weird look on her face, not even bothering to look at anybody and I guess everybody noticed it, but didn't

say anything. Even her husband, let's call him Jacob, 42M, congratulated me heartily but that was probably because he had no idea what was about to happen in the next couple of minutes. Once everybody had calmed down and returned to their seats, Sophia decided to ask me now that I had been promoted, how much would I be making? It was a pretty personal question that I didn't think was appropriate for her to ask, especially given our strained relationship. My wife tried to tell me that I didn't have to answer that and tried to laugh off the question to cut the tension because she didn't want to make this dinner awkward, but I decided to answer Sophia and I told her the amount that I would be making after my promotion.

Then, Sophia started to giggle and I thought that was really rude before I could stop myself, I ended up asking her why exactly was she laughing because I personally didn't think there was anything funny about whatever I had said. I shouldn't have done that because it's Sophia, I probably should have known that she definitely would have something horrible to say, and she did. With a very smugged look on her face, she told me that it was funny that I was so proud of this promotion because even after that, I would still be getting paid peanuts. She then said that it was cute that we were celebrating this because it really put things into perspective for her, since apparently, my annual income was around the same amount of money

that her husband paid their butler every year as well. Everybody went silent at that point because I guess everyone realized that a line had been crossed and even I was shocked that she would say something like this. It's true that Jacob is extremely wealthy, but that's because he is the son of the owner of a really successful chain of gyms. It's unfair to compare his situation to me because I don't have the kind of generational wealth that he does. My parents are ordinary people who had normal jobs and I'm pretty proud of the fact that I had achieved something like this without any help from my family. Besides, my income after my promotion was going to be a pretty decent amount, it was no laughing

matter at all, but she just had to make that comparison because she wanted to put me down. It's true that Jacob does a private household staff who get everything done for them and they don't even have to lift a finger. I'm pretty sure she was bluffing when she said that their butler makes the same amount as I do. She was laughing while she said it, so I could have just brushed it off as a joke, but I don't know what came over me when I decided to respond to her with the same energy. And I ended up calmly asking her if she was aware of the fact that not only did Jacob pay his butler well, he probably also spent the same kind of. of money on his mistress too. As soon as I had said those words, nobody knew what to say for a couple of seconds and then the room erupted. Sophia immediately started screaming at me, accusing me of lying and said that I had lost my mind and didn't know what I was saying,

and Jacob started trying to calm her down. My parents didn't say anything and neither did my wife, but my in-laws started telling me that I had to take back what I said because it was a little too much. I made it very clear that I was going to do no such thing and soon enough, Jacob was dragging Sophia out of our house because she was screaming at me hysterically. My in-laws followed them and then, it was just me, my parents and my wife left in the room. We stayed quiet for a couple of minutes, but then my wife told me that I had done the right thing by standing my ground because somebody needed to take her sister down a peg and she was glad that it was me. My parents also told me that what she had said was completely unnecessary and she was the one who had started that fight, so she deserved whatever I had said.

And for those of you who are wondering, I was not just making stuff up to get on her nerves, it's actually true. Jacob has been cheating on her for the past couple of months and we have known about it, but we haven't bothered to tell Sophia. It was not to protect Jacob or get back at Sophia, it's just that my wife and I found out about it purely by accident, and we didn't even have any proof of it, so we didn't know how we were even going to approach the topic with her. My wife and I had been having a dinner date at a restaurant that was a little out of town a couple of months ago and there, we saw Jacob canoodling with some other woman whom we didn't recognize. He had done his best to disguise himself by wearing an oversized hoodie as opposed to the

kind of stuff that he usually wears so that he wouldn't be so easily recognized by anybody whom he knew but unfortunately, for him, our table was positioned in such a way that we could see his face. The guy had glasses on even inside a restaurant and we found that weird initially, but once we figured out who actually was, it made sense. We never confronted him about it because in the beginning, we were in shock and later on, it just became too awkward to bring it up with him. And if he had seen us and knew that we had spotted him with some other woman, he never let us realize because he never brought it up with us either.

After that day at the restaurant, we met him several times and he behaved perfectly normal. with us, not like we knew some secret about him. So I'm guessing that he had either chosen not to confront us or maybe he had no clue but either way, we knew that there was something going on. For a really long time, my wife and I debated telling Sophia about it because no matter how much she got on our nerves, we felt like it would be wrong and unethical not to let her know. However, we also didn't want to speak to her about something like this without any proof because

then, if she decided to confront her husband about it and he started to deny stuff. We wouldn't be able to back ourselves up and we knew for a fact that Sophia was the kind of person who would love to throw us under the bus and act like we were trying to ruin her marriage if she felt like trusting Jacob. Eventually, my wife and I decided that since we did not have any proof, it would be better for us to just stay out of it and let Sophia find out about it on her own or wait for Jacob to do the decent thing and come clean to her. The reason that we made the decision was mostly because if Jacob was able to convince her that he wasn't up to anything behind her back, she would definitely try to villainize us

and we didn't want that, but at the party the other day, I just couldn't help myself. The words had come out before I could even think about it and honestly, I didn't really feel guilty about it in the aftermath of the situation either. I only started questioning what had happened the other day after I learned from my in-law's that Sophia and Jacob had decided to part ways and apparently, Sophia had even moved back in with her parents the day after I blurted out the truth. It's really sad because Sophia and Jacob have been together for much longer than even my wife and I. All of this is really sad, but what I don't understand is how any of this is my fault because if they are getting divorced,

it's obviously because Jacob decided to cheat on Sophia. All I did was tell her the truth, only because she was picking on me and trying to humiliate me. But for some reason, my in-laws have started trying to make me feel guilty for what happened and are holding me responsible for it, which seems a bit unfair. My wife is completely and totally on my side and is even ready to cut her parents off, but before we do that, I just want to make sure that we are doing the right thing, and that's why I'm asking you guys for your opinions. According to my in-laws, do you think that it was wrong for me to bring up something like that

and retaliation to what my sister-in-law had said about my income? They are willing to agree that what she said was completely unnecessary and was said purely with the intent of humiliating me, but in spite of that, the least I could have done was think about the consequences of what I was about to say to her. Since there is a child involved here, I should have been a bit more thoughtful, and not just blurted out whatever came into my mind without even thinking about the consequences of it, just because I wanted to get back at her. They also told me that Sophia had spoken to Jacob, and apparently, the affair had ended last month so he hadn't even been seeing the other woman.

It had just been a short-term fling with one of his high school exes and hadn't been anything serious that could actually damage their relationship, which is why he decided to never tell Sophia about it and had even blocked the other woman everywhere, so he wouldn't be tempted to go back to her at any point. Jacob was doing everything to stay loyal to her and make it up to her because he felt incredibly guilty about having cheated on her and on top of that, keeping the secret from her. But now that I had told her the truth, he had decided to confess, and it had ruined everything for them because Sophia, regardless of when the affair had ended or how long it had gone on, had decided that she couldn't trust him anymore and couldn't be with him. I don't blame her for that, I think I would have done the same thing in her position, but I do feel kind of sorry for what she's going through now. Despite her behavior, I knew that she really

loved Jacob. And their daughter is going to have to face the consequences of their divorce. It's not going to be easy for any of them because from what I hear, even Jacob was trying to fix things and while I have no sympathy for cheaters, I'm still taking that into consideration. And it's true that whatever I had said, it had been coming from a place of anger, but I don't think that inherently makes it wrong, if you guys know what I'm trying to say. Like, yeah, I might have said it because I wanted to get back at her, but that doesn't mean I was wrong. However, my in-laws don't agree with that sentiment and I feel like they want me to apologize to Sophia or maybe try to sort things out with her or something similar, which I'm absolutely unwilling to do. So I'd have for telling my sister-in-law that her husband had been cheating on her because she insulted me?

Update 1, hi, thanks to everyone who took out the time to comment on my post, I decided to speak to my in-laws and tell them that it was very unfortunate that this kind of information had to come out the way it did, I can't say that I feel sorry about it. It was very obvious that during dinner, it was Sophia, who was instigating me and I think it was about time that somebody knocked her down a peg or two. Besides, when even my wife was in agreement with me, I seriously don't think that I did anything wrong. So I reached out to my in-laws this morning, a few days after we last spoke, and I told them that I'm going to stand by what I did and if they were actually expecting me to reach out to Sophia at some point to talk to her or apologize to her, they could just forget about it. It was a bit unexpected, but when I said that, they totally lost their temper and started screaming at me, saying that I had ruined her life and the least. least I could do was say that I was sorry or at least pretend. They were shouting at me at the top of their lungs on the phone and told me that their daughter did not deserve this, and that I had no right to do this to her, which was really weird because I hadn't even done anything. If they had to be

mad at somebody, I think it should have been the guy who cheated on her and not me. I tried to reason with them and speak with them rationally, but they were just not having it. They just kept yelling at me so I lost my temper as well. I started shouting at them as well and I told them that it was beautiful that they were so concerned for their grown-up daughter but I was not the one ruining her life, her husband was. Most importantly, if she had learned to keep her mouth shut and be kind to people, none of this would even be happening and she could continue living an ignorant bliss with Jacob forever while he continued to cheat on her. So maybe they should introspect and think about where they went wrong with raising her. In the end, I'm a very much. In the end, I

I told them that I was not going to pretend that I was sorry about any of this because none of this was my fault, and if they felt like it, they could cut me off for this, but it would only be their loss. Then I hung up and my wife and I discussed whatever her parents had said. Of course, she was the most upset and affected by all of this because it's her family that we are talking about, but she's very clear about what she wants, she knows that the way they are acting is unacceptable and she's told me that she's going to stand by my side and stay no contact with them until they apologize. to me wholeheartedly. I count myself really lucky that I have such a supportive wife who is ready to stand by me through thick and thin, even against her own family, it's really a blessing. Anyway, we have decided that we are going to completely cut her parents off until they come to their senses and apologize for acting like this.

Update 2, hi, so it has been two weeks since the dinner fiasco and since then, as I said, Sophia had been living with her parents but her daughter had stayed with her father, presumably because she had no idea what exactly had gone wrong between them. But last evening, we found out that even their daughter had now moved to stay with Sophia because she had eventually found out from her father what had happened and why her mother was leaving him. We found out about it through Jacob because we have no contact with anybody from that side of the family, my wife and I have strictly no contact with them.

Yesterday, in the evening, he visited us so that he could speak to me. Obviously, he looked really hassled and exhausted and the first thing that he said to me was that I shouldn't have brought it up that day. Apparently, he had known all along that we had seen him at the restaurant that day, because he had seen us too, but he had tried to play it cool and pretend nothing had happened, and it had worked for a while. He told me that the only reason he had even been having a fling was that he had been having a rough patch with Sophia and got distracted, but as a man, I should have understood what he was going through and kept my mouth shut. He was making it sound like as a guy, I owe him some sort of loyalty because of the bro code or something, which was ridiculous because the last thing that a cheater should be preaching about his loyalty. Moreover, we were not even friends at any point, Jacob and I did not have much of a relationship. We would occasionally make small talk with each other at family gatherings, but that was it, so I didn't owe him anything. and I told him that I regretted the fact that I had waited for so long to tell Sophia the truth about him because honestly, we should have done the decent thing and told her about it way earlier and then, she could have decided what she wanted to do.

Either way, neither my wife and I were going to pretend that we were sorry for letting Sophia know that he had been cheating on her, and if he was expecting any sort of help from us during the divorce or the custody battle, he could leave that instant because it was not going to happen. He then got really upset and started telling me that in the morning, he had told his daughter about why exactly him and Sophia were fighting right now and she was so disgusted that she decided to move out within an hour and hasn't spoken to him since then. The way he was saying it, I was pretty sure that he was trying to blame me for it or at least make me feel guilty because I had torn his family apart or something but I made it very clear to him that neither had my in-laws succeed in making me feel bad about any of this, nor was he going to do so. I mean, I do feel bad for them in the sense that these kinds of things shouldn't happen to anybody because it's just upsetting but they brought it on to themselves. And Jacob, all people, has no right to play the victim in this situation. So when he told me that he wanted me to tell my wife to convince Sophia and her daughter to come back to him and not go through with the divorce, I told him that I was going to do no such thing. My wife was not in the room at the time since she had to take an important work call but after he said that, I called her into the room, told him what he had said, and she told him that she was not going to do any of that. He had created this mess, he could sort it out himself. That's when Jacob started losing it at us as well and started calling us names, and it was a particularly low blow when he said that whatever Sophia had said at dinner, the other day wasn't even too far from the truth, which is probably why it had hurt me so much. He called me a loser and said that he would make sure that he used his contacts and undid the promotion that I had just received.

So to retaliate, I called him a talentless product of nepotism and I guessed that really got under his skin because he came really close to throwing hands, but I guess he decided against it at the last moment when he heard my wife, screaming at her, saying that she would not hesitate in calling the cops if he didn't leave. He left while cursing at me and that was it. I was really worried for a while if he would actually be able to undo the promotion by using his contacts because he is pretty influential but my wife reassured me that it was unlikely since I had been a great employee and a hard worker and I was really valued by my bosses. Besides, if in all these years he hadn't even been able to get any of us any promotions for us at work, then it was hardly likely that he would be able to get any of us fired from our jobs. She told that he just wanted to say something to intimidate me and that's why he said it without even thinking twice, but the truth was, he was not going to be able to do any of that and it was an empty threat.

I'm still a bit worried though, because my promotion is still in the works now. I'm hoping for the best and I pray that my wife is right about this. Update 3, so it has been two days since Jacob visited and thankfully, I have nothing to worry about because today, when I went to work, my boss told me that. that the paperwork and stuff has been finalized and I can begin training for my new position now. So I don't think Jacob will be able to do anything at this point. Just to lay my mind to rest completely, I even spoke to my boss very casually about this because we are actually on good terms as friends and he told me that I have nothing to worry about since I have an excellent work ethic and I have earned this promotion.

Nobody will be able to take this away from me that easily. So that really helped and now that I know that I'm safe at work, I'll talk about whatever is going on with the rest of the family. My wife has had no contact with all of them, but they have not respected it. Sophia tried to reach out to her a couple of days ago and told her that it was really disheartening that she had decided to take my side instead of hers, even though she was her sister. My wife has been ignoring them but hasn't blocked them, but after that message, she decided to block them because the conversation didn't really go well. After receiving that message, my wife decided to reply to her and told her that she was

on the side of what was right, and if I was in the wrong here, she wouldn't have taken my side. But Sophia had unrealistic expectations from her and told her that family comes first, and then my wife told her that I am her family, Sophia got mad and started badmouting me. At that point, my wife realized there was no point in speaking to her, and so she blocked her. It's just really disappointing how they're acting right now, trying to pin the blame for the situation on me. I have blocked all of them as well, and I think that we are at the point where even if they apologize, I don't think I will be able to resume having a normal relationship with any of them, not even my parents-in-law. I have spoken to my wife about it and she understands where it's coming from and has been quite respectful of it.

Of course, if she wants to continue having a relationship with them if they apologize, that's completely fine with me because I can't expect her to cut off her family forever, especially if they apologize. But she has told me that she's not going to be forgiving them unless I do and she's completely fine with following my example in this situation because I am the one who has been treated badly by her family and honestly, I'm really grateful to her. I don't think that I would have been able to get through all of this without her being my rock. Update 4. Hi, everyone. So it has been two weeks since my last update and surprisingly, Sophia and Jacob have decided to get back together. We hadn't had any contact with them ever since my wife and I blocked

Sophia and the rest of the family because we just didn't want anything to do with them. We found out about it through a couple of other relatives, since they had posted something on social media about their decision to renew their vows. People had reached out to us to ask about this event, but we had to tell them that we knew nothing about it because naturally, even if they decided to make a whole thing out of it, they would not be inviting us. It obviously means that they have decided to sort out their differences and get back together. We have no idea why they came to this conclusion or how. Maybe it was because of their daughter, but whatever, at least there is a solution to their problem now and they're going to stop bothering us like they were so bent on

doing up until two weeks back. Most of all, I'm glad that no one. Nobody's going to be holding me responsible for anything anymore, now that they are back together. My wife and I are still in no contact with all of them and are planning to remain so until they apologize, but I don't think that apology is going to come anytime soon. If it hasn't come this far, it's highly unlikely that they're going to start feeling sorry after this. Anyway, it doesn't really matter to me and my wife because regardless of whether they apologize to us or not, we are happy with our lives at the moment. My work is going great and my wife is also thinking about quitting her job since she has saved enough money and starting a business of her own.

So things are looking up for us right now and we might even consider moving into a bigger house in a better neighborhood, closer to my workplace so I can cut down on the time for the commute and well, also because we've earned this. I do think that my wife really misses her family sometimes and I've told her that if she wants to get back in touch with them at some point in the future, I wouldn't have an issue with it. I really wouldn't. I understand how families are complicated, but she has told me that she has made her decision and she's going to stick to it because she can't let her family walk all over us and then get away with it. Things like this make me feel so blessed because I don't know how I got so lucky. Anyway, she and I are really happy and well, that is it.

I hope you enjoy this story. I evicted my unfaithful spouse after he requested me to care for the hidden child he had with lover who is no longer alive. I declined to take on that responsibility, so my decision was final. Is calling me the villain now? So I, 26F, have been married for almost two years. My husband, Kyle, 26M, and I met around the time that we graduated from college at a frat party. We were in different departments and I had seen him around college, but we didn't really interact much. Our friends had dragged us to the party because it was one of the last before the semester ended, and both of us were having a terrible time there as both of us are kind of introverted

and parties are not really our things, especially once people were getting drunk and throwing up all over the place. So I kept insisting that I wanted to leave, and my friends didn't. But they saw Kyle was leaving and asked him to walk with me instead because I also wanted to leave. So we ended up living together and we started talking on the walk back to campus and it was nice so we exchanged numbers at the end of it. Then we started texting and soon after graduation, we started dating. We were in a relationship for almost four years before he finally popped the question and we ended up getting married. We have had our ups and downs, but most of it has been really petty and unimportant. There have been no big fights, not when we were dating, and not even

after we got married. I never suspected him of cheating or anything of the sort, because it just never occurred to me and his behavior around me was always perfectly normal. I thought he was in love with me, and he insists that he still is, but clearly, that was not the case, because otherwise, he would not have cheated on me. About three weeks ago, Kyle came back home with a little girl in his arms who I had seen very few times before, but I realized that it was the daughter of one of his friends. He didn't offer up any explanation himself when he walked into the house after work with a child in his arms, so I had to ask him what this was all about. He didn't tell me anything until he had said the girl down on the couch with his phone and put on something and then he had

taken me aside to the bedroom. The way he was behaving was really freaking me out, and I could tell that something bad was about to happen. I just had a sixth sense telling me that something was very off. Once we were inside the bedroom, he sat me down and told me that he had something that he had to tell me. He started off by telling me that he still loved me more than anything in this world and that what he was about to tell me might make me feel otherwise, but I needed to remember that we were meant to be together. Instantly, I knew that the child was his, but I still let him talk because I was hoping against all odds that there would be some innocent explanation for the little girl sitting in our living room. However, when he started to do that he started to be,

talking, I knew that it was all over. He told me that it had all started a week before we were supposed to get married because that's when it had started really hitting him that he was getting married and now, he had to spend the rest of his life with one person. Like most guys do, he got cold feet and was about to make a run for it the night before the wedding, but one of his friends caught him in the act. Now this friend of his who passed away recently, let's call her Nikki, had been smoking in the parking lot and was apparently on a phone call outside because that was the only place she could get a signal, which is why she had been able to catch him before he got into his car. She had noticed the duffel bag that he had packed for the quick

getaway and figured out what was going on, so she tried to calm him down and tell him that it would all be fine. She even got into the car with him and tried to talk him out of it, but they ended up making out in the car. He and Nikki had known each other for a really long time since they went to high school together and I had always suspected that Nikki had a thing for him, but there was no proof of it, so I never said anything about it. She would always be nice to me as well, so I had no reason to bring it up and make a big deal out of it. But I always had a gut feeling that she thought of Kyle as more than a friend and had I not been part of the equation, she probably would have tried to get with him. Anyway, Kyle told me that he ended up spending the night before our wedding

with her and they slept together because he was nervous and she was the only person who had been around. He said that he hadn't been thinking straight and that as soon as he realized what he had done, he decided to apologize to her and leave so he could come back to his own room and get married to me because I was the one person he actually loved. He left her room at around four in the morning and came back to his own room immediately so nobody saw him leave at any point and so he had been able to keep this a secret for quite a long time. Nikki also didn't bring it up later and they decided that whatever had happened on the night

before our wedding had been nothing but a huge mistake and so, they were never going to talk about it ever again because she knew that he was happy with me and he had made up his mind that he wanted to be with me. I wish I could say that that was it, but unfortunately, a few weeks later, Nikki reached out to Kyle yet again because she was pregnant. That's when everything started going topsy-turvy because they hadn't accounted for this happening at all and both of them had been caught off guard by the news. But Nikki decided that she was going to keep the baby and had given Kyle the chance to either walk away from having a relationship with the child or he could choose to be an active part of the baby's life. And Kyle chose to co-parent their child together.

He didn't sign the parental rights that he had and was there for Nikki every step of the way. He would attend most of the appointments that she had with her OBGYN, and even on the day of her birth, he was with her all along. It was quite easy to fool me because every time he had to be with Nikki, he would just tell me that he had to go on a work trip, and he would be gone. I knew that she was pregnant, I had also congratulated her, and even on the day of our first anniversary together, she had been invited to the party, but little did I know that the baby she brought to the party was my husband's. The story that Nikki told everyone was that she got pregnant while hooking up with a dating app match, and the guy didn't want to be a part of the

pregnancy and the child's life, so she was a single mom now. The story was believable enough, so nobody questioned it and her daughter had very normal features so it never occurred to me that she looked similar to Kyle. Kyle and Nikki had been in touch even after the wedding and she had even been to our house several times after that on many occasions. I never noticed anything off about the way they behaved around each other, so it was quite easy for them to fool me. Nikki rarely ever brought her daughter along, so I would only see her in pictures, which is why I hadn't been able to recognize her when my husband brought her in last time. He told me that he had been supporting them and would visit them every chance he got, just to be

close to his daughter. He promised me that there was nothing between him and Nikki, and they had ended their affair after that night before the wedding. They had never been anything before or after it, it had just been one night, but he had continued to stay in touch with her because they had a parental agreement and shared custody of their daughter. He also had to pay child support, and he really wanted to be a part of his daughter's life, so he couldn't walk away from her. Unfortunately, Nikki passed away a month ago in a deadly car accident because a drunk truck driver had collided with her car. Their daughter had been living with her parents for the past few weeks but now, Kyle had

decided that it was finally time to tell me the truth and he wanted me to accept him and his daughter so she could have a mother and we could be a family together. After I had heard his entire story and processed it, I had no idea what he was going to tell me next because I was in shock. But the second he told me that he expected me to actually raise his daughter as my own after he just told me that he had cheated on me and slept with his friend the day before we were supposed to get married, I flipped out. I started screaming at him mysterically and told him that I was never going to accept him or

his daughter because what he had done to me was something that I could never forgive. I told him that the fact that he had even asked me and expected me to say yes showed me just how entitled he was and how tone deaf and insensitive he could be. I had a total breakdown and I remember cursing him out while throwing everything in the room here and there. I had a full-blown meltdown, and once it was over, I decided that I was not going to let him live here anymore. While I had been having my episode, Kyle was just standing around and trying to calm me down

by saying meaningless things so that we could work out and that he knew I didn't mean anything I was saying because I was just angry. He told me that, even though his daughter was partly Nicky's, it was also partly his, and he knew that I would come to accept her time. So I told him that I had nothing against the little girl because none of this was her fault, but he should have known better, and he shouldn't have cheated. I told him that he had to pack his stuff and leave

because I was not going to let a cheater like him live with me in this house and my decision was final. I also told him that he had to take his daughter with him and go, because no matter what, I was never going to accept the two of them in this family. What's done was done, he couldn't change it, but I wasn't going to put up with it either. He tried to guilt-trip me by saying that I had made promises to him when I got married to him and I had to be there for him in his bad times. But I told him that all those promises went out of the window as soon as he told me that he had

cheated on me right before making the same promises to me. I had signed up for a husband, not for this. He kept trying to talk me out of it, but I told him that I had already made up my mind and he couldn't even disagree because the deed of our house was under my name since it had been a wedding gift from my dad, and I had every right to kick him out. So after a lot of arguing and back and forth, he finally decided to start packing his things so he could leave. I had made it abundantly clear that I didn't want him or his daughter in my house anymore. He was very upset as well, and he thought that I would have a heart and be understanding about this, but I told him that I didn't really care. He had betrayed me and had continued to betray me for two years,

by not telling me the truth. If Nikki hadn't passed to him, he had been in a lot of it. If Nicky hadn't passed away in that terrible accident, he probably wouldn't even have told me the truth at any point. And I would have just spent my life with a cheater, never getting to know about his daughter or his affair. And I didn't even know if he was telling me the truth about it being just one night that he had spent with Nikki. For all I know, it could have been a long-drawn affair, but now I would never know about it, because she was gone, and nobody else knew about them either. So there were a lot of loose ends in the story and unfortunately, nobody would ever be able to able to tie them up for me, but it was fine because I didn't want to be a part of the story anyway.

I was done with him the second he told me that he had cheated. Even while he was leaving, he told me that I was being heartless by kicking him out along with his daughter. And it did make me feel a little guilty because his daughter had no idea what was happening and she was just a little girl so she didn't really deserve any of this, but I knew that she would be taken care of. Kyle was by no means poor or anything so once he got kicked out, he would probably either just go to a hotel, or live with his parents. So I knew that she would be safe and sound with him, she just wouldn't be living with me. And I don't think there was anything heartless about it.

Before he left, I told him that this might teach him a lesson about honesty, and if he ever got married again, he would know better than to lie to her about something so big. Then I slammed the door shut in his face as he waited for a cab outside. Once I had made sure that he had left, I finally allowed myself to actually cry, and I think I sobbed for hours that day. I also called my parents after he left and told them everything, and they told me that I could come live with them or they could come live with me, just so I would have company and I wouldn't have to go through this all on my own.

So they have been living with me for the past few days. It's been almost two weeks, and I still haven't filed for divorce yet because I don't have the courage to do it but Kyle is trying to get me back. He has been texting me almost every day to apologize to me for everything and he insists that I don't let this minor hiccup in our marriage ruin what we have. I don't understand how he can refer to this other minor hiccup, because as far as I am concerned, he lied to me for years and it wasn't really a small lie. It was a pretty big one, and it shook up the literal foundation of our marriage. And I don't think anybody in my place would treat this as something minor or petty like he is trying to convince me.

He's trying to downplay the impact of what has happened. So I don't leave him, I can understand that. But what his parents are trying to do is worse because they are trying to vilify me, just because I stood up for myself and refused to let Kyle stay with me after he told me that he had had an affair with Nikki. They sent me a long email a couple of days ago and they had a lot to say about all of this. Of course, there was the usual, calling me, selfish and cold-hearted, and whatnot. They also said that, since Nikki was no longer in this world, there was no reason for me to be so upset about it, because it wasn't as if they would rekindle the affair at any cost.

So I had no reason to feel so insecure and go to such lengths. And moreover, since she was dead, it was all the more reason for me to adopt her daughter and live as a family. It was the right thing to do. Long story short, they went all out in their email to make me the bad guy and called me the villain because of the way I was acting. And I seriously don't understand how I am in the wrong here. For a really long time, I have done everything that a good wife would and tried my best to be a good partner to Kyle. But this is something that I cannot accept or forgive, knowing that he cheated on me with someone who visited us several times after that.

Knowing that she had been under my roof and we had so many conversations, it makes my skin crawl. The disrespect is astounding, and yet, he expected me to accept him and his daughter. The most I can do is feel bad for him, but I cannot let my pride go and adopt his daughter. At the same time, that email has made me rethink a lot of things. I can't really deal with the fact that my in-laws are calling me the villain over something like this. They have always been nice to me, even while I was dating Kyle, and as far as I know, they were not aware of the fact that they had a granddaughter, so it was a surprise to them as well. They mentioned in the mail as well that if they could accept it, then I shouldn't have any problems

doing the same. It's not really the same thing, though, since I was cheated on, so I don't know what they are going on about. But anyway, coming back to the issue at hand, I just want to keep my conscience clear and I can't talk to my friends about this. Not yet, anyway. So Ida for kicking my husband out of the house after he brought home his secret daughter because his affair partner passed away? Update 1, thank you so much, you guys, for the overwhelming response. I'm staying strong, thanks to you guys and the support of my parents. I told them about the affair and the child and what Kyle had expected of me, and they were nothing but supportive of me. They told them. They told them, told me that I had done the right thing by kicking him out because he needed to be taught a lesson

and taken down a peg. They told me that it was outrageous, that he had even expected that I would accept the two of them and live happily ever after. It was just stupid of him. My father, especially, was really upset because he hadn't really liked Kyle in the first place, because he thought that my husband was a little too flighty for his taste. The reason for that was that he had switched careers many times but with very little success. He had a lot of money, but he had barely ever accomplished something because he just kept jumping from one job to one another, without bothering to stay at one for long enough to find out about his future with the company. And I had always defended him, saying that there was nothing of the sort, but as it turns out, my dad was right

about everything. So they're trying to look for good divorce attorneys and then, I can file for divorce because I don't think there is any point in waiting around anymore. He can keep apologizing, but that doesn't mean I'll have to forgive him at any point. And in my heart, I don't think that I can ever forgive him after what he has done. Some things are just never going to be fine, no matter how much you try to make them be. Update 2, hey, so it's been two weeks since I last posted on Reddit. About four days ago, I filed for divorce, and my dad found me one of the best attorneys in town, something that I am grateful for because now the divorce will mostly be in my favor unless he finds someone better. But that is unlikely because even if he does find the

best lawyer in the country, he still cheated. Anyway, that's not the point right now. This morning, Kyle was served with the divorce papers, and he was not pleased about it. Since he got kicked out, he has been texting me every day to try and win me over, but I guess today, he realized that I was never coming back. And that did not sit right with him, so instead of just gracefully accepting it and letting go with dignity, he decided to make a scene in front of my house. I guess he has been living with his parents, there's no other explanation because today when he showed up in front of my house, his daughter was not with him. And I am thankful that she wasn't because I don't think any kid would have liked to see what went down next. He started screaming at me from

the street and called me a bunch of names. He said that I was the worst and that he regretted ever marrying me. He should have just called off the wedding after that one night with Nikki and married her instead. And then, he even started blaming me for her demise. It was just absurd because he was saying that had I not been his wife, he would have married her and they would have been together and maybe she still would have been alive today and his daughter would have a mother. I don't even know how he came to that conclusion, because, as far as I knew, her car was plowed into by a drunken truck driver. I had absolutely nothing to do with it, so blaming me for something as big as that, that's just psychotic, and I knew that he was having a breakdown of some sort, so I didn't say anything,

but I did call the cops because wanted him away from me. And then they also started to call, asking for an explanation about what was going on because they knew us and they could recognize Kyle's voice. It was a whole mess. The cops arrived within 15 minutes and had him escorted off my property because while screaming, he had set foot into the garden. And I could have him arrested or have pressed charges against him, but I didn't because I didn't want the drama. I knew that my in-laws would have a lot to say if I did something like that, it just didn't

seem worth it, so I let it go. He was let off with a warning, and he seemed reasonably ashamed of himself while he was walking away. It was honestly a really weird day and I just wanted to be over. I really wish that he does not pull off stuff like this during the divorce because it's all really painful and stressful as it is, I don't need more. Update 3, hello, so I finally announced my divorce today on social media because a couple of friends were asking about me and Kyle and how we were doing because we had not posted

anything together in a really long time. Nobody knows, apart from my parents and his parents, what we are going through. and I decided that today, I was going to tell everybody that we were getting divorced. They don't need to know the reason why, but it's going to be awkward in the long run, so I think it was important to announce it to people. And I'm so lucky that I did because when I posted it, Nikki's parents reached out to me. They told me that apparently, they had been waiting for a post like this after the demise of their daughter, and had been checking my profile every day through Nikki's account,

and it had finally come through the news that the coast was clear, and they could finally tell me the whole truth. They texted me from Nikki's phone, so it was quite freaky because it was like she was texting me or something, but of course, that was not the case. They told me apparently whatever Kyle had told me about them ending the affair after just one night of hooking up before the wedding, was all a big fat lie. Kyle had actually been cheating on me until the day that Nikki passed away. They said that he would come over almost every other weekend, and promised Nikki that he would leave me because she was in love with him, and he claimed that he was in love with her as well. The affair had never ended, he just lied to me about it being just one night. Apparently, he had even taken her on weekend getaways a couple of times in the past two years.

So I guess I was right to file for divorce. He was just trying to make a fool out of me yet again. and this time, it might have even been easier for him, since Nikki was not here anymore to deny or confirm the story. It makes me sick to think that he was going to take advantage of the fact that Nikki had passed away, and I hadn't posted about the divorce, her parents never would have reached out to me and I probably wouldn't have ever found out the truth. It's so scary to think that I could have spent my whole life believing in a lie like this. I'm really happy that I made that post. I also asked them if they would be able to testify against him if it really came down to it,

and they agreed readily. They told me that they had never approved of Kyle and Nikki's relationship, just because of the fact that he had been cheating on me. If he had refused to marry me once he realized that he had feelings for Nikki and broken off the marriage, it would have been moderately respectable, but instead of doing that, he continued to meet Nikki behind my back because he wasn't ready to give up on me either. They told me that they tested him because he was miserable throughout the pregnancy and even afterward because he would always promise that he would leave me, but everybody knew that was not going to happen because he cared too much about what other people thought of him to actually leave me. If he left me and then he started going out with

Nikki, he would immediately become the bad guy, and he didn't want that. So he was ready to cheat on me and betray my trust, and do the same to Nikki and put us both through so much pain because he cared about his reputation. It was just disgusting and I am really happy that I decided to file for a divorce because he doesn't deserve to be with me. In fact, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that he doesn't deserve to be with anyone. Or rather, I cannot imagine a woman so horrible that she would deserve to be with him, because he is the worst man on earth. I know that Nikki loved him, I had always known it because it was just so evident. And I know that she had been part of an affair with a married man, but for some reason, I just feel bad for her.

Now, it might be the fact that she's gone, but she didn't deserve this. The way her parents put it, she would cry day and night and the only respite from all the pain was her daughter. She had even been begging him to leave me because she couldn't do this anymore, and even until a week before she passed away, he had promised her that he would leave me soon enough. But these were all false promises, and now, there's no need for him to live up. to any of it. So I bet he must be very relieved. The only reason he even came clean to me recently was because Nikki's parents were threatening to tell him if he didn't tell me the truth himself, so that's what drove him. And he realized that if he came to me with the truth, he would have

more of a chance to manipulate it to suit him and his narrative, which is why he did it himself. He's just a nasty piece of work. I'm going to make sure that I destroy him in the divorce because he doesn't deserve to get away with what he did, both to me and Nikki. I've already told my lawyer everything and he thinks it's good stuff. Let's see how it goes. I hope you enjoy this story. I was attacked by my sibling spouse. Do you think it was unjust of me not to inform her?

I, a woman aged 33, experienced sexual misconduct by my sister's husband, who has struggled with alcoholism when I was 24. It happened less than six months since I'd moved 1.5 hours away, out of my parents' house. It took me eight years to tell my husband, who I had been dating for four months when it happened. Once I told him, it started explaining a lot of weird behaviors, panic attacks when going to visit my family and night terrors being the two biggest. About a year ago, I told my parents everything that happened. My father was fairly silent. My mother tried to be understanding but couldn't help herself on comments like why didn't you tell us

and making jokes about how fucked up my childhood was when I said I had been in therapy. At the time, I explained to my parents the difficulty I was having. I told them I need their support to tell me if he's going to be around when I'm visiting. I explained to them how it has impacted me from being around as often as I would like. My dad was quiet and my mom carried on about how that show. shouldn't slow me down from visiting my family. Over the course of the last year, neither of my parents have even broached this topic since the day I told them. If my bill is around at a family gathering, my dad pays attention and is right by my side if he tries to talk to me. My mom

gives him alcohol when he shows up already drunk and does things like set an extra place setting at family dinners just in case he shows up. It has been hurtful and I haven't exactly felt supported by my family. My relationship with my sister has also deteriorated, although we were never super close to begin with, she is still blissfully unaware. A few years ago, my mother announced to the family that she was officially giving me Thanksgiving to host. Since then it has been a battle and she tries to host every year. I finally put my foot down this year and said I won't come. I tried to explain to her how hurt I am and that I want to be in my own safe place. If Bill actually shows up, he usually gets sick when it involves coming to my house.

I think I'll feel empowered to finally confront him. I got emotional trying to say this and my mother told me not to cry. I lost it and told her I was allowed to have emotions and she was going to listen to them even if they made her uncomfortable. She was not happy with what I had to say to her and starting swinging back with unrelated issues. I hung up on her because the conversation was going nowhere good, fast. After I got into the fight with my mom, I felt empowered to confront my bill. We talked, he tried to say he slightly remembered what he did to me but wasn't sure because he was blackout drunk. I gave him every single.

Detail. I also told him I'm not looking to blow up my sister's life almost a decade later, but he needs to step up and be a better husband and father. and also stopped drinking. The next day my mom told my sister about our fight. The main point of the fight was me not feeling supported around the ah who sexually assaulted me. My sister doesn't know this part, so she thinks I'm arguing about hosting Thanksgiving just because I'm difficult. I got a long, nasty text from my sister for being rude to my mother. She carried on and called me a bad aunt for not being around my nephews enough and not spending more time with my family. I'm hurt. I screen-shotted the text and sent it to my Bill so he has to at least see what I'm going through because of him. So, I've been attempting to protect my sister by not telling her this secret. Ada? Should I just spill the beans and let the cards fall where they may?

T.L. DR. Bill sexually assaulted me almost ten years ago. Everyone except my sister knows. She's mad at me for not being around enough, but it's because of a bit of it. the trauma I'm still working through. Do I keep taking her shit to keep the piece or spill the beans? Update 1, saying I'm attempting to protect my sister was the wrong word choice. I think I've been trying to protect myself from her volatility. My thinking is definitely jumbled, but, thanks for helping me work through straightening it out, Reddit. Relevant comments. Why have you never told your sister? Who are you protecting in this scenario?

The reason I have not told my sister is because I believe this will be a shoot-the-messinger situation. It is also the reason I never told her at the time. I believe my mother and sister will gang up against me. I hear what you're saying and totally understand it. I also have a lot of resentment towards my sister. He was doing heroin when they were dating and couldn't hold down a job because of stealing. When I think about it, I'm very angry at her. I think I feel guilty over the Chadenfreude of potentially ruining their marriage.

She may be trauma bonded. I agree she's probably trauma bonded. When I started dealing with all of this and pulled away from my family very noticeably, according to my mom, my sister thought I might be having marital issues and brought it up to my mother. My mother told me flat out that her response to my sister was that it's my life slash marriage and they shouldn't get involved. So this all started with me having a breakdown and nobody in my family asking because it wasn't any of their business. I believe they are projecting.

Oop defends herself against someone who says she's sending mixed messages by being fine with Bill in person and leaving Sill with a monster. I have not been fine interacting with him. I was having panic attacks since the beginning but didn't understand the reason because I thought I had repressed it successfully. It took a lot of therapy to figure out what I was upset about and what was causing the panic attack slash night terrors. I'm not fine leaving my sister and the kids in a situation like that. My sister has spent her entire life running face first into bad partners, think physical, emotional, drug abusers. She doubles down when anybody expresses any concern or tries to help her, usually making the problem substantially worse. I never want to see him again.

The only time I have contacted him outside of family interaction since this happened was to confront him on Saturday and send a screenshot of my sister's nasty text. There have been no other texts. So two texts in the last nine years. Nobody has accused me of being aggressive. The problem is that I haven't been able to stand up for myself, not that I'm causing a scene. I agree they're trying to go to status quo. at all costs and their gripe is the fact that I've been distancing myself. If you want to call it trauma dumping.

I did that back in January when I told my parents about the assault. This most recent argument was me telling my mother that her strong arming a holiday away from me so my assactor can be present hurts my feelings and does not make me feel like I have her support. I proposed very clear instructions back in January and those requests have been denied. This was me reiterating those requests. and calling out that they aren't being considered. Funny you say I should run to a therapist.

I fired my last one for telling me I shouldn't address this situation at all. Right now I'm doing the best I can with the tools I have. I'm surprised your husband didn't handle him slash when did you tell him? My husband hasn't handled him at my request. There were several insistent offers. I only told my husband two months before telling my parents. He was the one who helped me work through things and be able to start verbalizing what happened to me. We had several serious discussions in which he promised to support me in the ways I asked, which included not adding to the conflict.

Trust me, husband is just waiting for an excuse to jump. He is upset that I won't allow him to handle it how he wants. OOP explains, in detail, what happened T.W. for assault description not necessary to read. I appreciate the nuance. When this happened, it was the middle of the night and I was sound asleep. I woke up to his fingers inside of me. My gut reaction was to slap him away and curl up in a tight little ball. At some point, I fell back asleep, then woke up to his fingers inside of me a second time.

I foresee my sister accusing me of lying to hurt her in some way, then going NC. I've tried broaching much less skin. scandalous topics with her as gently as possible and she has lost her ever-loving mind on me. She has terrible, unaddressed anxiety and is very emotionally volatile. It's pretty clear I need to tear the band-aid off. I'm going to try calling my dad soon and hopefully he'll be of some help. Update 2, November 7th, same post I've reached out to my dad and asked to talk to him without my mother around.

I'm going to tell him that I'm going to tell my sister. I'm going to ask him to go to her house before I do this and take my nephews so they don't get exposed to the aftermath of the conversation. Further explanation of update 2 in comments. Thank you for saying all of this. I finally spoke to my dad. I told him I'm going to tell my sister and would appreciate his help making sure my nephews aren't around when that phone call happens. I told him the ways my mother has hurt me recently by forcing interactions and telling half of you. truths. His rebuttal was that it was hurtful when I hung up on my mom over the weekend.

He first tried to talk me out of saying something to my sister by accusing me of being vindictive. I had to say, and repeat, that what Bill did to me is rape and that I need to share the burden I've been carrying for the last decade. That was met with silence. He then couldn't help until next week, and finally said he might be able to make things happen tonight, as my sister is currently at my parents' house. I'm waiting on a text from him for the go-ahead to call my sister. There was definitely some gaslighting during the conversation, but he's offered to help and it's the most support I've managed,

minus my hubs, so I'll take what I can get. The anger monologue you wrote is amazing. Except a few stylistic word choices, that's basically my inner monologue when I think about how I truly feel. I've been reading and rereading that to keep my emotions appropriately angry. I agree with you about not having my dad do it. This is mine and I'm not going to heal unless I do it myself. The first words out of her mouth were that I will never have to see him again,

he will never be welcome at mine or my parents' houses, per her. She believed me 100%. She asked questions, including if he was drunk when it happened. She acknowledged the answer didn't really matter and it was still inexcusable. This happened when we were all on a trip together visiting my grandparents. She didn't even remember going on the trip, so I walked her back to that weekend and we talked through the details. She also shared that Bill was raped by an alcoholic when he was younger.

I told her I called and confronted him Saturday. She asked about our conversation and I told her everything. She asked me if he admitted to remembering it and said she doesn't allow him to drink in the house anymore because he blacks out and doesn't remember what he does. I told her if ever there was a reason to be 100% sober, I thought this was a pretty damn good one. She got angry. But not at me. She went on repeat a few times that she's my big sister and her job is to protect me. I could feel her internalizing a lot of pain. Bill wound up in the hospital yesterday due to a staff infection, so she told me she wants to go home and beat the shit out of him but can't do it in the hospital,

so we'll wait for him to get discharged. I explained that I do love my family, but the panic attacks and night terrors keep me away so I can protect myself. She told me she's been very angry at me for years for not being around and knowing this changes things. She said had she known, I never would have had to be around him all these years. She kept telling me she wished I had told her sooner. I told her how I always thought I'd defend myself in that type of situation but for some reason froze. I watched some videos on betrayal last night and boy, does that explain some stuff, she acknowledged that everyone handles trauma differently and it isn't my fault.

We then both acknowledged that we were raised to repress any emotions that weren't positive and I had ultimately handled this situation how I had been raised, alone and internalized. She then said I was a victim, and not responsible for how I handled. handled this trauma when it happened, and none of this was my fault. I felt hurt. She told me that she wished I had told her at the time. They didn't have any kids when this happened. She said she most likely would have divorced him. She doesn't see divorce as an option now because of the kids. I explained that I didn't have the tools in my toolbox at the time and that's what I've been working on. I told her until a year ago, I couldn't stand in an empty room and say what

happened to me out loud or even write it on a piece of paper. She just sobbed. I told her I am very angry at my mother for telling half-truths and being so hurtful to me. She tried to make excuses for my mom telling her about the argument over the weekend. I told her how hurt I was at the most recent family gathering. My sister confirmed a week ahead of time that Bill was working and wouldn't be there. We walked into my parents' house and he was there, drunk. I watched my mother give him at least three beers and laugh and joke with him. Neither of my parents gave me a heads up he was there. My sister understood and apologized.

When I brought this same topic up to my mom, she told me she didn't think it mattered or was that big of a deal. I'm really happy Bill is in the hospital. It means my sister has time to herself to straighten out her own thoughts and make some plans. She is also on a shortened WFH schedule this week. It all seems serendipitous. She was at my parents' house. I hope they are helpful and kind to her.

I hope she does a lot of thinking and makes decisions that are best for her and my nephews. If talking to her made me realize anything for sure, it's that my parents are pretty fucked-up units. I'm going to text my sister this morning. considering the way she handled it, I think reaching out and trying to heal our relationship will be a good move. I also don't want my parents to do what they did to me, to her. When the dust settles some, I'm going to talk to my sister about all the unhealthy BS from my parents. I think if we can stand up to their fucked up behaviors together, everyone will be better off. I might reach out to my dad today. I'm undecided. I will definitely not be reaching out.

out to my mother. I am going to go extremely low contact with her for the next few months, at least, I will adjust however I need to, including NC if needed. Both of my parents have some apologizing to do before they'll be allowed back in my good graces. I am happy I did everything I did yesterday without speaking a word to my mother. There's something poetic about it. My husband still very much wants to have a come to Jesus. He asked if he can cold cockbill, if he ever sees him again, or at least bitch slap him to the ground. He is also adamant that I am owed apologies from my parents individually and that they need to change their behaviors.

I can't express how grateful I am to have a man like him in my life. He told me he'd do this 100 times if it was what I needed. I know this is just the start in a lot of ways. Yesterday was like getting to the peak of Mount Everest. I still have to get down the mountain, but the worst. of it is over. How Oop is doing now. Thank you for the virtual mom hug. I've blown the bubble up and my entire family isn't speaking to me. They're treating me as though I'm the one who did something wrong and owes an apology. But I already feel lighter. It hurts, but I think I'm seeing

things more clearly than I ever have. I have an insanely supportive husband and my mill has been moaming pretty hard. Plus an appointment with a psychologist early next week. Mini update from today when you posted in her comments. Sister has turned on you too. We haven't spoken since I told her eight days ago. So it's been almost radio silence from the entire nuclear family since. My dad texted yesterday asking if I was coming for Thanksgiving now.

Fuck no. I'm so sorry. Thank you. I texted with my dad and he said she is doing better. I've texted my sister twice now with no response. I'm thankful for some really solid people in my life who are showering me with love and support right now. I'm going to get my confidence back, hold my head up high, and move forward in the way I know I was raised, even if my folks are being hypocritical. Now on to the next story.

Story 2 My ex cheated on me with my childhood best friend. So, here's my story about how I lost the love of my life, C, and my best friend, Jay, all in one day. It all started when I met C in grade five and I had a crush on her for years, never gaining the talk to her or anything as I was just figuring out these feelings. Plus I knew I was an introvert from the beginning, barely having any real friends besides a small group of four, one of them being. my best friend J. We did everything a kid could do together, go camping something I didn't like but was fun with him, play video games, board games, sleepovers, all those things and thought of him as a brother. It was he who had the courage to add her to put friend group. We grew closer as we got

older. It was only in grade 9 that me and C were starting to get closer as friends. During high school, when we were both in grade 10, I finally gained the courage to ask C out and to me surprise and happiness, she said yes. Our first date was amazing as I took her out to her favorite restaurant which wasn't really expensive but did have a big bill. Then we went skating as she has always loved that and that was one of the best memories I've ever had. Over next four years, we had the best relationship or at least what I thought was the best. It was only during year three of our relationship that C wanted to go the next level, and so did I, but I was just so nervous about it that I never realized what was happening between my GF and BF until it was too late. I was also stressed from the SOTS that I didn't have enough time to spend with her either.

It all came to a screeching halt when I not only passed my SATs, my nervous about having sex went away with the letter and I walked to her apartment to tell her the great news. I entered the elevator to go to her floor and walk to her door when I noticed it was open slightly, and so in a panic, I opened the door myself, not thinking straight and thinking she was in trouble, but found nothing. I walked around the apartment, but eventually I noticed the trail of clothes leading up to her bedroom door. If those weren't obvious, then the moans and screams of pleasure were. That was until I noticed a jacket on the ground, the very same one I gave Jay on his 18th birthday. I saw only red when I thought that and barged into a room where they were both

shocked at my interruption, but C soon screamed in terror as I pulled Jay off of her and started beating him. I was never a violent person growing up, but this, this rage and betrayal turned me into someone I hope I could never be again. It's been two weeks since I caught Jay and C together and I have been ignoring every message they sent me, every call and voicemail they made, and have even ignored their family's attempts at getting me to speak to them. I couldn't stand to be in the same room with them anymore, every time I think of them. I just remember that day when I caught them. Hope you guys have any advice about what I should do next with them, because I don't. Update, so, here's my update on my situation. Sorry this took a bit, but I decided to just look at the future

for myself now after everything that's happened. So, on to the update. As many of you pointed out, I had to get the truth about our breakup before the two of them vilify me. To my and possibly your surprise, they didn't say anything about me, but they also didn't out themselves. The two of them kept quiet about the whole thing and I couldn't stand at, watching as if nothing happened between the three of us. So, I contacted as many of our mutual friends as I could to tell them. Some believed me, others thought I was in the wrong, and a few were in. indifferent, but all looked at Jay and C differently after that day as I had many details of what they did while those Posseft. After I outed the two of them, I realized I needed to get away

from the city, I lived here my whole life, but I had to get away, I just couldn't stand being close to C and J anymore. I was simply getting boxes of my stuff ready to move when I could, and I hear a knock at the door, and wouldn't you know, C was standing right outside. Her eyes just bloodshot and looks like she hasn't slept in days. I barely opened it for her anyways, so I just rudely asked what are you doing here? Because I'm not about to be gracious towards her, and never will again.

She asked to be led in, to talk for a minute and I decided to do so, but not to take her back, to just hear the excuses I know she'll come up with. She started to cry, asking for forgiveness, and wanted to explain why she did what she did. I kept a straight face and didn't say a word while she was speaking. She told me how she felt neglected cause of the lack of sex between us,

which I guess is true. She went on to say that Jay comforted her, and slowly began to follow her him as the days went on and one thing led to another, and I had caught them soon after they became physical. After she was done, I told her that if she fell for Jay, all she had to tell me was that she wanted to break up, and I would have accepted them getting together afterwards, but they didn't do so. Instead, I saw my first love in bed with my best friend. I told her I was moving away after this, that I couldn't stand being in the city anymore with C and J or their family, but I didn't tell her where, because I don't want her to follow me. I saw the tears flowing even faster as she heard that. Guess she thought that we could reconcile after what happened.

Well, sorry C, but I got other plans than take you back. After that, I just held on to her. her hand, she gained a hopeful look in her eyes and led her to the door, before pushing her out. She turned towards me, pure sadness in her eyes. I'll never love you again. Go back to Jay, I'm sure he'll be happy to accept you fully, after all, he already did so. I slammed the door in her face after that, and heard her crying outside but didn't care and just continue to relax and back my stuff. As for Jay, well, never bothered with him again, didn't speak to him, didn't respond to any of his messages, nothing.

I'm done with him, and nothing will change that. So, that's my update, nothing too big but hey, don't really care right now to make this my whole life story. So, goodbye and have a nice day. I hope you enjoy this story. Elders chose my relative instead of me, and I was their secondary option and to you. I declined their proposed path for my life. Now they desire to portray a harmonious family dynamic. I, a 31-year-old male, have resided.

With my grandparents all my life. My parents passed away when I was little, so my grandparents adopted me. I am a single child, so I was probably going to go into the foster system if they hadn't taken me into their custody. I have always been grateful to them for doing that. I also acknowledged that they sacrificed a lot to raise me. They were pretty old when they took me home. It wasn't easy for them to raise a small kid, but they still took care of me.

They were pretty strict, but I honestly can't complain. I owe my life to them. I don't know where I would have been if they hadn't stepped in and taken me under their wing. I don't remember my parents much, but I am sure I would have reminded them of them, which wouldn't have been easy for them either. They did treat me like their own child, but at the same time, they tried to control my life too. I don't know if that was the idea of parenting that they had or something else,

but they always wanted me to do exactly what they wanted. When I was a kid, they would feed me what they thought was best for me. They clothed me and whatever they thought would be good for me. I never got to have an opinion on anything regarding myself. I wanted so many things growing up, but I was always denied because my opinion didn't matter. I never even tried to argue with them because I was so afraid that they would get rid of me or something, and I wouldn't have any family at all. They weren't the most affectionate people in the world, so I was always sort of scared that they might change their mind someday and I would have to leave.

It wasn't like they treated me badly or something. They were just indifferent. I think it was a generational thing. They weren't comfortable showing too much emotion. They just wanted to raise me, and in raising me, they wanted me to just listen to whatever they were saying. I was never supposed to argue, or they might get mad. I did do it, though. I listened to everything they had to say until I was in high school.

I thought that they knew better than me, and I made every decision based on what my grandparents told me. I used to see my cousins play with their toys and have the best superhero. clothes, and I used to be filled with envy. But I always told myself that my grandparents knew what they were doing and if they weren't buying me toys, then it was for my own good. I never thought that something was wrong with their parenting style until I was older and could form an unbiased opinion. They had been controlling me all my life, and I don't know if they were doing that on purpose or if they were just wired that way. It could be a generational thing, but they got so comfortable dictating what I should and shouldn't do with my life that it started to come naturally to

them. I didn't think it was a problem when I was a kid, but as I grew up, it started to grate on my nerves that I had to do everything they wanted me to. I still did it, even though I hated myself for it. I still complied with everything they asked or told me to do because I was afraid of ending up alone. It went like that for as long as I can remember, and before I knew it, I was filling up my college forms. I have always wanted to go to an art college, but of course, my grandparents had different plans. They didn't reason with me or anything.

They just demanded that I study whatever they thought was good for me. That was the moment all my rage boiled over. I had been festering in it for so long that it surprised even me when I stood up to them. They were as surprised as me. I had never denied them anything before that, but I needed to take control of my life. I would have never forgiven myself if I had listened to them in that moment. They wanted me to study economics, and I had no interest in it.

I tried to tell them that I was a good artist, but they brushed me off. All my teachers had told me that I could be successful in the art world. I was that good, but nothing was good enough for my grandparents if it wasn't up to their standards. They started to keep me at a distance after I filled out all my college form. They wanted me to know that I had dictating what I should and shouldn't do with my life that it started to come naturally to them. I didn't think it was a problem when I was a kid, but as I grew up, it started to grate on my nerves that I had to do everything they wanted me to. I still did it, even though I hated myself for it. I still complied with everything they asked or told me to do because I was afraid of ending up alone.

It went like that for as long as I can remember, and before I knew it, I was filling up my own. college forms. I have always wanted to go to an art college, but of course, my grandparents had different plans. They didn't reason with me or anything. They just demanded that I study whatever they thought was good for me. That was the moment all my rage boiled over. I had been festering in it for so long that it surprised even me when I stood up to them. They were as surprised as me. I had never denied them anything before that, but I needed to take control of my life. I would have never forgiven myself if I had listened to them in that moment. They wanted me to study economics, and I had no interest in it.

I tried to tell them that I was a good artist, but they brushed me off. All my teachers had told me that I could be successful in the art world. I was that good, but nothing was good enough for my grandparents if it wasn't up to their standards. They started to keep me at a distance after I filled out all my college forms. They wanted me to know that I had made a mistake, so they ignored me for the last days of high school. I was devastated. They were the only parents I knew, and they just cut me out of their lives like it didn't matter. They didn't even attend my graduation.

I was the only one there alone. No parents skipped their kids' graduation, and that was the day I really said that they weren't my parents. I had idealized them and thought of them as my parents, but they didn't feel the same one. way. If they had, they would have kept our differences aside and come to see me graduate. The longer I thought of it, the clearer it became. I was a project for them. They wanted me to be perfect and listened to everything they told me. They were nice to me when I abided by their rules, but as soon as I made a decision that they didn't agree with, they disappeared from my life. It was the saddest realization I had ever come to, but it was true nonetheless. It took me

me a long time after that to accept that they didn't love me or care for me like I did for them. My love was unconditional, while there's came with a list full of conditions. They didn't talk to me after graduation, they didn't talk to me when I left for college, and they certainly didn't talk to me the following days. I got used to it after a while. I was ultimately an orphan, so it wasn't that far-fetched that I wouldn't have any family. It was just very difficult to finally come to that conclusion after I had. had lived my life worshipping my grandparents for literally saving my life and giving me a home.

They didn't reach out at all after I left for college. I still saw them at family gatherings because my uncles and aunts still invited me. They didn't have any beef with me or my choice of college. I was another family member to them, so they always used to invite me to dinner and stuff. My grandparents didn't like my presence there, but they didn't say anything either. They would usually ignore me or sometimes make small talk like we were strangers. I just hung out with my cousins and used to get out of family gatherings fairly early. I really didn't want anything to make me feel uncomfortable because of the hostility between my grandparents and me.

It went on like that throughout college and graduation. I called and told them when I got my first real job, but they didn't seem very happy about it. I had been working since high school, but I got a high-paying job as an art consultant after graduation, and it was still not good enough for them. It was a huge accomplishment, but I felt sadder than ever after my phone call with my grandparents. I was still kind of holding out hope that one day they might accept me if I was successful enough or earned enough money, but I was wrong.

They couldn't care less about me just because I chose to go to college of my own choice instead of theirs. That day, all my hope was killed. I knew for sure that I couldn't do anything that would make them forgive me. I had stopped calling them after that day because I knew I wasn't wanted. They never reached out on their own, so I didn't hear from them for a long time until one day I got a call. It was my grandmother asking me to come to the house. I initially thought that maybe they wanted to resolve things finally, and the prospect of that was sort of bittersweet. I did want them in my life again, but at the same time, my life was so peaceful in their absence. I felt like a horrible person just thinking about it at the time.

When I went to our house, though, I was greeted by every other member of our family. So, it was a family gathering. Nonetheless, they had invited me after so long, so there must have been some reason. After everyone got there, my grandparents told us all that they were going to announce their will to us. I mean, I knew they were getting old, but still, it was like a gut-punched to hear them say that they wanted to be prepared in case something happened. I listened to them intently. I was sure I wasn't going to get anything except for the house, and I honestly didn't want anything except for the house. I needed the house because of the emotional attachment I had to it.

All my aunts and uncles had their own homes, so I was confident that I was going to get the house anyway. Both my grandparents knew about my wish to inherit the house, and they had assured me a few times that I would get it when I grew up. After they were done with almost all their will, they got the house, and they completely blindsided me by giving it to my cousin instead of me. I stood on their shells, not even knowing what to say. All my cousins were looking at me too, because it was common knowledge that I was going to get the house one day. When I gained enough courage to speak, I asked my grandparents what was going on. They simply said that they wanted to give the house to their oldest grandchild, and who was my cousin. I reminded them that they had promised me the house.

I had so many memories there. It was the only home I ever knew. All my parents' stuff was in the attic of that house. My mother chose the furniture that was in the dining room. I held all the memories of my parents, even though I never got to know them. It held all the happy memories of my time with my grandparents before it all went sour. I told them that I wanted it, and they told me that they had made their decision. I pleaded with them to let me have it.

Then, they said that I could have had it if I had listened to them and chosen a respectable college for myself. They said that I had made a fool of them, so I didn't deserve to have anything of theirs. I never looked at that house as theirs. It was always ours for me. And then I understood that the oldest grandchild excuse was bullshit. They just wanted to punish me for following my own dreams instead of their dreams for me. I lost a lot of respect for them in that moment. I have always thought that they might not be equipped to be good parents to me because of our age gap.

But that day, I thought for the first time that they might not be good people. I left without saying anything further because, really, what was there to say after that? In the following days, though, sadness gave way to anger. I just thought that if they can't even grant me this one thing that I have always wanted, maybe I don't need them in my life after all. They are perfectly happy without any contact with me, so I needed to move on from them and accept the fact that they are perfect in my mind only. They have made it pretty clear that they don't want anything to do with me,

So the only thing that linked me to them was all their bills that I had been paying for a few years. I had been taking care of everything. Food, water, electricity, and medicines, everything got delivered to their doorstep. They never talked to me about it. They probably thought that one of my uncles was doing it for them. Whatever the reason, I just couldn't be in their lives anymore. It was eating me alive. They were not good for my peace of mind.

So, I cancelled all the payments as a first step to truly being separate from them. It took them 18 days to realize that I was the one making all the payments. I assumed they were calling me to talk about it, but when I picked up the call, they were talking to me really politely. I was confused at first, and then they said that we should be a family again because my absence was not bearable for them. It didn't even take me 30 seconds to realize that they wanted me to pay their bills again. There was no way they wanted me back in their lives.

Their egos were way too big for that to happen. I told them that I would rather not be a family again and hung up. Was I wrong for not even listening to them first and assuming that they wanted money? Update 1, it's been a few days after my phone call with my grandparents. I kept wondering if I was too hasty and shutting them down. Maybe they didn't want me to pay their bills and simply wanted me back in their lives. They didn't try to contact me after that one phone call for a few weeks. I was still mad at them for depriving me of that house just because I took charge of my own life.

I still wanted to help them out with their bills and all, and that was the most ridiculous thing. They kicked me to the curb, and I still wanted to help them out. I just couldn't bear the fact that they might be suffering because of me. My grandfather received a generous pension after his retirement, so it wasn't like they didn't have any money. but I just wanted to be there for them in their old age. When they didn't contact me for weeks, I started to think that maybe I should call them and apologize. I honestly didn't know what I did wrong, but it was keeping me awake at night.

The fact that I might be the reason our relationship would never be the same was eating me alive. I didn't call them though. They did after a month or so. My grandmother called me and started assuming I was heartless and selfish. I had never heard her say such cold and mean things to me, and it immediately brought tears to my eyes. I asked her what I did, and she scoffed and said that I stopped paying their bills because they wouldn't give me the house. I told her that I was sorry and that if they wanted, I could start

paying their bills again. She told me that they didn't need anything from me, and she was calling to let me know how ungrateful I was and that they failed at raising me. She was saying such horrible things to me, and all I could do was listen and cry. I have never been more alone than I was at that moment. Update 2 so a couple of months have passed since my altercation with my grandmother, and I finally went to therapy. I have been almost depressed since everything happened, and my friends have been pushing me to try therapy, but I have been putting it off. After two whole months of feeling sorry for myself, I finally decided to give it a try, and it really helped. I learned a lot of things that I might have done unconsciously my whole life.

My therapist told me that I had been clinging to my grandparents because I felt like I owed them something. She was right, I did feel like it. I felt like I owed them my life, so I kept going back to them even if they were hurting me emotionally. She assured me that it was their fault, not mine. Children are not supposed to feel like they owe something to their parents because they raised them. That's when I realized that I hadn't done anything out of my love for them. I did everything they told me when I was a kid because I was scared they would get rid of me. Then, when I grew up, I did everything for them to pay off the debt of raising me. It was like a door opened in my mind, and I could see everything clearly. It was heartbreaking to realize that I didn't mean that much to

them. I have been worshipping them for saving me and making me what I am today. But in reality, but in reality, they were the ones who messed me up. I was an insecure person. I was always clinging to someone for love. I was always begging other people to not leave me because they put all those fears in me. They were bad parents to me, and they punished me for realizing that after so many years. Update 3, I finally gathered enough courage to face my grandparents. They have been a constant presence in my life, even when they weren't physically there. I don't think they could say the same. I decided to talk to them face to face instead of calling. All my other family members were still inviting me to a gathering, but I haven't been to one

since my grandparents announced their will. They have been worried about me, and I was getting calls from them to check in. They never took sides, and I was grateful for that. I could have easily chosen my grandparents and forgotten all about me, but it was heartwarming that they cared for me as well. So, the next day time my aunt invited me, I went there. It was surprising for every one of them since I hadn't shown up for a while, but my grandparents' faces were frozen in shock. They probably thought they never had to see me again. I didn't want to see them either. I just wanted closure, and I won't be able to get it if I don't face them head on and tell them what they did to me. They needed to get

off their high horse and see what mistakes they made. I told my family that I wouldn't stay for long and that I just wanted to have a conversation with my grandparents. My grandparents, on the other hand, didn't want to go anywhere private with me. Instead, they asked that I say my peace in front of everyone. So, that's what I did. I told them that they were terrible caretakers for me. They made me feel like I wasn't good enough. I was constantly scared that they were going to abandon me if I stepped out of line even once.

They made me feel like I owed them for giving me a home. They listened to me intently for a while, and then they burst too. They told me that I did owe them because if it wasn't for them, I would have been a homeless orphan. They said that I should be thankful that they decided to take me home and not leave me like astray. It was all so horrible. The language they were using was so awful that it made a couple of ants cry.

They said that they gave everything to me, and I still defied them. They told me that they had dreams for me, and I refused to follow through with them like the ungrateful brat that I was. My cousins jumped in at that point and told our grandparents to basically shut up. I honestly couldn't say anything because I hadn't expected this level of hostility from them, but my cousins had my back. When I could talk again, I told them firmly that they were nothing to me anymore. Their love was so conditional that it wasn't love anymore.

They can't control my whole life and expect me to be okay with it. They didn't say anything after that, so I said whatever I wanted to and left with the promise of never seeing them again. Update 4. Hi, guys. I went into isolation after my fight with my grandparents a few months ago. True to my promise, I hadn't reached out, and I wasn't planning to ever. My uncles, aunts and cousins reached out to me, but I just texted them to let them know that I was okay.

It took me eight whole weeks to finally go out with my cousins. They had been badgering me to come hang out with them. They told me that they weren't going to talk to our grandparents after what they said and did to me. I was grateful for their support. I finally hung out with them and it was pretty great to have family who didn't want anything from you. They just wanted to be with me without any conditions, and it sort of felt foreign. I am still getting used to that feeling and trusting other family members to not. take advantage of me. My oldest cousin did tell me that the house was mine if I wanted it, but I

refused. I got movers to get my parents stuff from there, but I didn't want the house anymore. When I thought about it, it held bad memories for me now. My grandparents were not my parents, however much I wanted them to be. They just weren't, and there was no reason for me to hold on to that house that reminded me of them. I didn't want to be reminded of them. I was finally happy after not having them in my life. My therapist saw a huge difference in my behavior and was happy with my progress too. I was getting better every day and breaking all the metaphorical chains that they put around my ankles. I hope you enjoy this story. Sarah revealed her pregnancy during my celebration of marriage, aware of my challenges with conception. Presently, her spouse is

filing for divorce as a result, and she is imploring me for assistance. I, a 27-year-old female, have been struggling with conceiving for a while now. My husband and I have been trying for almost eight months but with no luck and have decided that we're going to get fertility tests in a few weeks. We haven't done that so far out of nerves, but it's about time we take the test. He and I have been together for six years, married for three. I really want to be a mother and everyone who knows me knows that all I've really wanted is to have a family of my own. My husband is also equally into the idea and this just felt like the right time to start trying but it's just not happening for us right now and it's getting kind of frustrating since we've been doing everything we can

to get pregnant, from medicines to home remedies. Both of us have been on edge for the last couple of months. So we celebrated our wedding anniversary by throwing a big party a couple of days back. We went all out with the party so we could take our minds off of things but it totally backfired and it's all thanks to my dearest sister-in-law, Jenny 25F. A About Jenny, she got married a few months ago to her long-time boyfriend, and it was a pretty grand affair. She's a bit of a show-off and kind of holier than thou, but I've never had a problem with her or anyone from my husband's family.

This is probably the first time that we're all at odds and I don't know, it feels wrong and weird. Jenny and I have never been great friends but we have always been on good terms. However, the incident at my anniversary party messed everything up and now I don't think I can look at her, or my in-laws, the same way. For context, my husband's family didn't know that he and I were trying for a baby. We did want to tell them but after we were unsuccessful for the first couple of months, we decided that we wouldn't tell them anything until we had good news to share with them. My parents didn't know about it either, to be fair, so I thought that it was

okay. A couple of my friends knew but they were all busy with their lives, so it wasn't as if I could go to them for advice or bother them by talking about my troubles with concerns. Then, a few days ago, about four or five days back, I suppose, Jenny was visiting us with her husband. Our husbands went out into the garden outside at one point because I'd mentioned that the sprinklers need to be fixed and Jenny's husband very graciously offered to take a look at it since he was quite handy. So they left me and Jenny in the room. I tried to make small talk with her, but she just straight up asked me what I was so upset about because she said that she could tell that I was feeling down about something and she wanted me to share it with her.

I hesitated and tried to pass it off as nothing, but I guess I had been really upset that day after yet another negative pregnancy test and I hadn't been able to hide it well. So she insisted that I tell her what was going on with me and I decided to tell her the truth after she told me that she wanted to help. My husband and I had decided that we were not going to share this with people until we were actually pregnant, but I couldn't keep this to myself anymore. I was already feeling very upset and emotional because I was struggling with conceiving and it was even more difficult for me to not talk. about it to anybody. I couldn't talk about it to my husband because he was going through the same thing and bringing it up with him repeatedly would just make us both feel bad. So when Jenny asked me, I just told her the truth, that my husband and I were trying to have a baby, without thinking of the consequences. I was just desperate to get it off my chest and talk to

somebody about this. At the time, she seemed genuinely happy for me and even hugged me and told me that she was so excited to have a baby niece or nephew. But then I told her that we had been struggling for quite some time now and it was just getting to the both of us, which is why I looked really upset that day. She seemed sympathetic and even offered to take me to a fertility specialist who could help me out and I thanked her for the concern. But I didn't need that, I just needed somebody to talk to and I was glad that she was being so helpful and sensitive. Our husbands were in the garden for about half an hour and as long as they were outside, Jenny and I had a real conversation

it was actually really nice to talk to her because it felt like she really understood what I was saying and was trying her best to be empathetic towards me. By the time my husband came back and we had to drop the topic, I felt considerably better. When they were leaving, Jenny gave me a hug which she usually doesn't do

and it just felt nice to have a friend to talk to. We didn't talk for the next couple of days until she came over on the day of our anniversary party. That was two days ago and even when she arrived, she was very nice to me. She hugged me once again and gave me our gift. I thought that we were finally becoming friends but that didn't last for very long. My husband and I had invited a lot of people to the party. All his family and friends as well as mine were present and it was actually helping us take our minds off of babies and pregnancy. We were chatting with people, laughing and making

jokes and having a generally fun time. Around an hour into the party, Jenny and her husband walked to the middle of the room and said that they had an announcement to make. My husband looked confused and I froze because I thought she was going to say something about me and what I had told her just a few days ago. But it was much worse because once everybody was quiet and listening to them, her husband went on to announce that about a week ago, they had found out that they were pregnant. And in just nine months, they would become parents. Everyone who was present there started clapping and cheering for them and my husband's family

went up to her to congratulate her while the two of us just stood in a corner quietly. Before I knew what I was doing, the tears started flowing down my face and I had to make a run for it towards the restroom. My husband had seen me crying and he followed me but I didn't let him in because I wanted a couple of minutes to myself so I could calm down and not make a scene in front of all our guests. I was trying to process this information and make sense of what was happening while my husband stood outside the door and kept telling me that it was going to be fine and that it would certainly happen for us at some point as well. it was just taking some time.

And even if it didn't, we would be fine and we'd look into other options but we'd get through it together. His saying that made me feel better and so I let him in. I told him that Jenny knew that I had been struggling but he didn't react to it and told me that we could talk about that later. At the time, the only thing that he was worried about was if I was all right or not and everything else could wait. So we just stood there hugging each other quietly for a few minutes and that was all I needed

to recover from my shock. By the time we came back out, people were done congratulating her and the attention was back on us. And apparently, everybody had been looking for us. So when we reappeared into the living room all eyes were on us. Which wasn't ideal because I had been crying and it showed. I had tried my best to make my face look normal but my mascara had been running like crazy while I was crying and I hadn't been able to get rid of all of it before I came back out. So as soon as people saw me, they started asking me if I was. was all right and were all very concerned about me. I know I wasn't fooling anyone, but I told

everybody that I just felt kind of overwhelmed, which is why I had to take a break, but I was all right. It was a feeble excuse, but I had to say something to get them off my back. Once my husband and I were back, we even went up to Jenny and her husband and congratulated them. She looked upset but didn't say anything and we continued with the party. It was difficult, but I think my husband and I tried our best to handle the situation with dignity and grace. And I would say that we dealt with things pretty well. Even though I had been overcome with emotion in the middle of the party after Jenny's announcement, I didn't let it ruin the evening or get in the way of an otherwise successful evening. My husband and I discussed everything only

after the guests had all left and we were in bed all by ourselves. I told him that I had confided in Jenny about us trying to get pregnant when she had visited the other day, so I thought it was a bit insensitive of her to make this announcement at our anniversary party, knowing that we were suffering and trying to distract ourselves from it. He told me that he agreed with me and even if I hadn't told her about our struggles with trying to get pregnant before the day of the party, she still shouldn't have made that announcement on the day of our wedding anniversary because this was a day supposed to be about us. And it was just tacky to make it about herself without even asking us for permission first and that was a valid point as well. While discussing this, we also realized

that when she was consoling me the other day, she already knew she was pregnant at the time. Because they had found out about it a week before the day of the party and we realized that it was a deliberate move on her part to make the announcement at our anniversary party. But we couldn't figure out why she would want to do such a thing and hurt me because as far as I was concerned, we were never the best of friends but we were never on bad terms either. My husband and I decided that we had to talk to Jenny about this and confront her about it. We knew that after we discussed things with her, there were only two ways this could go. She could either apologize to us and we could clear the air and move on or we would have to cut her off.

So yesterday, my husband and I decided to make a call to Jenny and talk to her about what had happened at the party. We decided that we were going to do it once we came back home from work, but instead, we received a phone call from his parents, telling us to come over to their place ASAP for a family meeting. They said it was urgent so we decided that we would take a day off of work and check out what this was all about. So we went to his parents' place and everybody was there already, my husband's parents, his grandma as well as Jenny and her husband. Everybody looked very serious and it felt like I'd walked into a courtroom but the jury had already decided that we were guilty, so we didn't even stand a chance. Jenny was avoiding even looking at us and I thought that

it was strange, but it all started making sense once my husband's parents started talking. They told me that on the day of the party, they had noticed that my husband and I were the only people who left the room after Jenny announced that she was pregnant and didn't even return to the room for a considerable amount of time. They said that even when I did congratulate them, it didn't seem genuine or sincere. I could tell that they were accusing me of something and I didn't really appreciate it, but I still told them the reason why I'd acted that way as I didn't want to be rude to them. My husband and I told him that we had been trying to get pregnant for a long time, but it wasn't happening for us and we were frustrated. So when Jenny made her announcement,

it was pretty much the last straw for us because this anniversary party was supposed to help us be distracted and not think about pregnancy for a little while. But that didn't work because Jenny announced that she was pregnant and everything that we were trying to forget just came rushing back to us. So we got overwhelmed and I had to leave the room because I started crying and I didn't want to let anyone see me break down, and so I left. I thought that was enough of an explanation and it was a pretty valid reason for me to behave the way that I did, so they couldn't possibly argue with it. There was silence for a while and my husband and I actually thought that they were going to ask us more about our decision to have a baby or at least say something

positive about it, but they didn't even react to that news and continued to talk about our reaction to Jenny's announcement. After the brief pause, his mother told me that she could understand that I was upset but I was also an adult. And I had to learn how to regulate and control my emotions and not let them get the better of me because apparently, the way I behaved at the party was just unacceptable. I honestly didn't think that there was anything wrong with the way I acted and I think we covered it up pretty well after we came back to the living room. We congratulated Jenny and her husband and we got it over with gracefully, I thought that was enough to compensate. My husband and I argued with them and told them there was nothing wrong with the way

we had behaved and anybody else in our place would have probably had a worse reaction and maybe even kicked Jenny and her husband out of the party for making the day all about themselves. I also told them that Jenny had known about our struggles before the party and in spite of that, she chose to make that announcement, knowing that we were going through something. So if anybody needs to be held accountable, it should be her and not us because she was the one who did something and made that announcement at a place that she wasn't supposed to. And then things got kind of chaotic as Jenny also became part of the argument and started playing the victim, saying that she was hoping that her news would make us

feel better and we would know that it would happen for us at some point as well. It was a ridiculous reason, but she was sticking to it and her parents were talking her up by saying that she was just trying to be nice to us. So we had to suck it up and apologize for what we did. There was a lot of fighting and shouting and at one point, his mother screamed at me and said that I had stolen Jenny's thunder on purpose because I was jealous of her and that's why I had thrown a temple tantrum and started crying, so I could get some attention and sympathy from everybody present at the party. I was very upset when she said that and so was my husband, so he told them that if that's what they thought about me, then we were probably better off

cutting all ties with them. We left the house and came back home, still discussing whatever they had said to us and the audacity that it took to play the victim knowing that you had done something wrong and it screwed up a happy day for somebody on purpose for no real reason. We didn't expect to hear from them for at least a couple more days, but then Jenny sent my husband a message saying that she was hurt and disappointed by the way that we were acting because she only wanted to make us feel better with her own announcement and had no intention of making us feel bad. She also said that she didn't think I would take it so hard and start crying just because

she was pregnant. She had believed that it was a reason to be happy for everyone, not just her, and she wanted to share that happiness with us, but I had spoiled it by misinterpreting her intentions. She said that she felt insulted and also kind of agreed with her mother, that I had stolen her thunder because anniversaries come every year but she can only announce her first pregnancy once. So I should have been happy for her and tried to understand the reason behind what she did, instead of being so self-involved that I couldn't think past myself and my struggles.

I really don't know what to make of that so I wish to ask, Ida for crying and leaving the room when my sister-in-law announced her pregnancy. Update 1. Hey, I just want to thank you. everybody who commented on our post and reached out to us to support us. I know pregnancy isn't easy and struggling to get pregnant at all is not something that I'm going through on my own. It feels nice to know the stories of other women who went through the exact same thing that I'm going through right now. I just want to say that motherhood is beautiful and I will love my baby even if I don't get pregnant myself and end up opting for surrogacy or maybe adoption. It's all just the same to us.

The point is that our child will always be loved and cared for. We are going to get tested tomorrow and after that, we'll finally know what we have to do. So wish us luck. And now, coming to the situation with my husband's family. There has been no improvement yet, but, thanks to all the comments here, my husband and I at least know that we were not the ones at fault here. So we have nothing to apologize for. And if they want to stay in touch with us, then Jenny is the one.

who is going to have to apologize. Personally, I would want all of them to apologize to us because the way they were just flinging accusations at us when we went to their house was really horrible. They had no right to speak to us that way, especially when we were the victims of this mess. Even now, thinking about it makes me want to call them up and give them a piece of my mind

because they had said a lot of terrible things. I haven't heard from any of them yet, but it's just been two days, so I guess they are going to wait for us to reach out to them before they do anything. I wasn't surprised that Jenny did what she did, but to be honest, I didn't expect her parents to be just as entitled and delusional as her. And my husband said that it came as a shock to him as well because they had never behaved

like this in the past. My husband and Jenny had always been treated equally by them so this switch up in their behavior, where they were favoring Jenny over him made no sense. I honestly believe that my husband coming after me instead of congratulating his sister is what pissed them off, but that's just a theory. Anyway, a lot of you had also been asking about my parents' opinion on what happened and if I'm being honest, they didn't have a lot to say. My parents and I are not particularly close, unlike my husband and his family. They did say that what Jenny did was messed up and extended their sympathies to me, but there's not much to talk about regarding the reaction to this.

I had told them everything a day after the party because they had called me to ask why I had been crying after Jenny's announcement. Then they consoled me for a bit and told me that they were here for me, but all of us knew that that was just something that they were saying for the sake of it. They were actually too busy with work to be there for me and that's how it had always been, ever since I was a kid. I don't hold it against them but there are consequences for everything and as a result of them never really being around when I was younger, I'm not that close to them now as an adult. This is also part of the reason why I want to be a mother so badly. I've always wanted a family of my own, because I've always wanted a family of my own because I knew I'd do it right.

I'm not upset about my parents anymore. I used to feel bad about it, but now I'm used to it. I do have a lot of love for them and so do they, but we don't act like a family when it really comes down to it and I am honestly okay with that. Update 2 so Jenny reached out to my husband today. He was at work when she called him, so he wasn't able to answer,

but she left him a text saying that she wanted to talk to him and it was an emergency. She told him that she would be waiting near his workplace and they could go grab some coffee after he got off. My husband was clever enough to forward that text to me. So around the time that he got off work, I drove to his workplace. And when my husband called me, I met him and we went to the coffee shop that Jenny was waiting it together.

Even though she had specifically told him that she only wanted to talk to him and not me. She didn't seem too happy to see me but didn't say anything about it. Then we took our seats and ordered coffee but after that, we silent. waited for her to say something. Because my husband and I had already decided that we were not going to start the conversation. She was the one who had called us there, so she was the one who would have to start talking. We were all silent for about five minutes and it was awkward. But then she gave up, and in an exasperated voice, she said that she was sorry about what happened. She didn't sound like she meant her apology in the slightest, but she didn't stop and wait for us to

react to it or even accept her apology. She told us that the other day when we had that fight with her and her parents at their house, her husband had caught on to the truth and realized that she didn't have my permission to make the announcement at our anniversary party. Earlier, he had believed that Jenny had already asked me if I was all right with them announcing their pregnancy at our party because that's what she had told him. But after that fight, he realized that Jenny had been lying and he didn't feel comfortable with it.

Apparently, he was the only person in that room who actually had a spine and a conscience and could see the situation for what it was, an entire family gaslighting the victims into thinking that they were the bad guys here somehow. So naturally, he wasn't comfortable with it and once they got back home, he had a discussion with Jenny and confronted her to ask her if she had lied to him. He already knew the truth now, so Jenny had told him that she hadn't actually asked me if I would be okay with her making the announcement at our party. But she had assumed that it wouldn't be an issue because it was supposed to make everyone happy and she didn't anticipate that it was going to make me cry. However, her husband is not an idiot and he called her bluff immediately

because he had learned during the fight that Jenny had known that I was struggling to concede before she made the announcement. So there was no way she believed that making the announcement at our party was going to make me happy somehow. And they ended up getting into a fight after that, where her husband accused her of making that announcement at our party on purpose just so she could add insult to injury. He said that she knew that this was going to break my heart and that's why she did it. She had lied to him about having my consent so she could make that announcement at our party and make matters worse for me. She had done everything intentionally and on purpose. Listening to her narrate whatever her husband had said to her was super satisfying because my

husband and I felt like somebody had finally been able to see through all her BS. But that's not why she was there to meet us. Apparently, her husband had said that he was not going to talk to her or forgive her until we forgave her and had left that day itself. He hasn't returned since then even though she has been trying to contact him nonstop. He wasn't returning any calls and had made it very clear to her that he was not going to entertain her until we forgave her. So now, as a last resort, she had come to us and was pleading with us to forgive her and tell her husband about it.

My husband and I are not particularly proud of what we did next but it was much needed. We laughed in her face and told her that she had earned this. And now, she was on her own because she had intentionally hit us where it hurt the most after pretending to be a friend to me. We weren't going to forgive her and accept an apology that she didn't even mean. My husband told her that she could tell her husband that he was making the right choice by staying away from her because a person as cruel and heartless as her really wasn't fit to be a mother.

She tried to manipulate us by crying but that wasn't going to work because she and her family hadn't cared when I was crying. And now, I didn't have to care either because I knew where we were. I stood with them. And it was about time that they learned their place in our lives as well. We went back home and didn't look back. We don't have any idea as to what is going to happen to them next, but I really hope that her husband files for divorce and gets full custody of the child. Trust me when I say this, that's what is best for the kid. Update 3, hi, people of Reddit. I forgot to mention in my previous update that I did receive the results of our tests. Neither my husband nor

I have fertility issues as such, so we just need to stay strong and power through it, and that's quite a relief because I had honestly started to think that there was something off. So we are going to continue trying and now, we will try to be a little less stressed out about it because this is supposed to be joyous and not stressful. I guess that's what we were doing wrong the first couple of months. Also, Jenny and her husband are getting divorced now. I guess they'd already been having problems. And he is filing for full custody from what I know. Her parents are obviously blaming me for all of this and think that I am the root of all their troubles, but my husband and I have pretty much cut all ties with them and have blocked them everywhere,

so they can't get through to us anymore. We have also told all his relatives that we will not be attending any events where they might be present and have also mentioned our reasons. Most people understand where we're coming from and have told us that they will only invite us and not them because Jenny's actions didn't go down well with most of my husband's extended family. I would feel bad for them, but they brought this on to themselves. Not much that my husband and I can do. I hope you enjoy this story. Spouse left me while I was battling illness. After four years, he sought reconciliation not realizing I had recovered from the illness and was residing with the

former partner he had always envied. Five years later. A go, I got married to my ex-husband Jerry and about a year later, he left me during one of the worst phases of my life. Back then, both of us were 25. We had been dating for about three years after college, and then we got married because it seemed like the most obvious next step since we were both happy with each other. We had been married for about four months, when all of a sudden, I was diagnosed with stage two cervical cancer.

There had been signs for a couple of months, but we had just chalked it up to general exhaustion and minor illnesses when things started getting worse, we had to take my condition seriously and that's when I was diagnosed. After that, I was in and out of the hospital on a regular basis, and for the first couple of months,

Jerry was extremely helpful. He would take great care of me, he would handle all the medical reports, and keep in touch with the doctors. I felt like I didn't have to worry about anything at all, and even when I started chemotherapy and I started losing my hair, he shaved his head in solidarity with me. In short, he was literally perfect but then, he started losing faith when I didn't get better after

almost six months had passed, and I had undergone several rounds of treatment. I was not showing any sign of progress and slowly, but steadily, I was getting worse. He started distancing himself from me and even when I would try to get him to talk to me, he would just shut me out. I was already going through a lot, and in behaving like that with me, I felt like I was being rejected by him and I couldn't take that. So I started picking fights with him, just to get his attention, and that seemed to work for a while, but then, he moved even further away from me emotionally. Finally, about two weeks before our one year wedding anniversary, I woke up one day to find him gone and all he had left from me was a note on our bedside table, telling me not to go looking for him because he did not want to be found.

I thought he was playing a prank on me or something. So I tried to call him and I sent him several messages, but none of them went through. After a couple of minutes, I realized that he had blocked me. Not just my phone number, but he had also blocked me on social media. So I started panicking and I called my in-laws and they told me that they knew nothing of this and said that they would get back to me as soon as possible, but they never did. I told my parents about it, and they moved in with me so they could take care of me in his absence, which we assumed would be just for a couple of days.

Unfortunately, he just never came back, and after he disliked. I tried my best to look for him, but I was never able to find him again. He was just gone for good and it took me a really long time to recover from that emotionally, and I was incredibly depressed for a long time afterwards. I tried getting in touch with my in-laws several times after his disappearance from my life, but after that first phone call, they never responded to me until a month later. They visited me but they were acting very cold and weird and later on. They disclosed that they were only here because they needed to serve me with divorce.

papers. I was devastated and I realized that they had been in touch with Jerry but they refused to let on anything else. I was told that he wanted nothing to do with me anymore and that he was really sorry about this, but it had to end this way because he couldn't just waste his life with me anymore. I was really hurt because I could tell that the only reason he left was because I had cancer and he didn't want to take care of me anymore. It's not like I didn't understand what he was going through, it must have been tough on him, but the least he could have done was have a conversation with me. I think after three years of being together and one year of marriage, that's the least that we owe each other. One honest and transparent conversation about our feelings, but he didn't

think that he owed me even that and that's why he left without a word. It took me a while to come to terms with it emotionally, but after his parents served me with the divorce papers, I signed off on it without any drama. It was already pretty obvious to me that there was nothing left to fight for in this relationship anymore, so it was better to just let it go in a dignified way. I obviously did have a lawyer go over everything with a fine-tooth comb, but in all honesty, his terms were pretty fair. Besides, in one year of marriage, we didn't really have any joint assets and neither of us wanted to drag this thing out, so after getting done with a waiting period, we finalized our divorce without even coming face-to-face with each other. Everything that I had to communicate with him,

my lawyer spoke to his parents and lawyer about it, and that was it. And especially since this was an uncontested divorce, there was no need for us to meet each other either. That was it, after that, I did not hear from my in-laws either, and even though I was completely shattered, I knew that I had to keep going somehow. My condition had started worsening because of the heartbreak that I had gone through and even though my parents were trying to be strong for me, I could tell that it was hard for them to see me like this. For their sake, I knew that I couldn't just give up on my life and go, even though it probably would have been easy for me back then. Anyway, I decided that I was going to fight for

my life and I don't know if it was a mental thing or if the treatment started working, but somehow, I managed to make it through. I'm doing fine right now, and for the past three months, I've been cancer-free. It wasn't easy for me at all, and for the past four years, all I've done is try to be thankful for my life. Part of that gratitude meant that I was ready to give myself a second chance at love. And that's why I agreed to let my ex-boyfriend move in with me six months ago. Some background information about me and my ex, he and I met in college and dated for two years but parted ways shortly after graduation because we wanted different things from life. My ex, let's call him Andy, and I were part of a larger circle. And that's actually also how I knew Jerry since he was part of the

same circle. After we graduated from college, we didn't exactly keep in touch, but a couple of months after Andy and I broke up, Jerry reached out to me and we started talking. We became friends, and within a few months, he confessed to me and told me that even when we were in college, he had always had feelings for me, but never acted upon it because I was with Andy. Now that we had broken up, though, he wanted to ask me out, and after a couple of months, I finally said yes. So that's how we ended up together but even after we got serious about our relationship, Jerry always seemed to be a bit insecure about Andy and so, even though I had been friends with Andy after our breakup.

I ended up slowly phasing him out of my life and eventually blocking him altogether because I knew that Jerry didn't feel comfortable with Andy. Our common friends told me that Andy had been very disappointed that I had ghosted him and blocked him after I got with Jerry, but honestly, there was nothing else that I could do and at the time, Jerry was more important to me than anyone else because I was very serious about him. Eventually, I obviously ended up marrying Jerry and forgot about Andy altogether. But then, we ended up getting divorced, and even though I never posted about it on social media or went public with it, I did tell a few friends of mine and I'm guessing that's how Andy found

out about our divorce and my diagnosis. So five months after my divorce was finalized, Andy reached out to me via email. He told me that he was really sorry about whatever I was going through, both the divorce and the cancer. He also said that he would really like to be friends again, but he would understand if I didn't feel comfortable with it. He was just very sweet in that email and he ended by saying that he wanted me to know that he would always be here for me if I ever wanted somebody to talk to. However, back then, I was still reeling from the shock of Jerry leaving me so I didn't respond to it for 10 months. I did think about that email from time to time, and I even thought about responding,

but I couldn't bring myself to actually do it until 10 months later when I had finally made my peace with the fact that Jerry had left and he was not coming back. And I had told a few of my friends about it, and they had insisted that I at least talked to him, in a friendly capacity. So that's exactly what I did and I really didn't have any intention of getting back together with him or whatever. I just wanted to clear the air between the two of us because he was obviously making an effort to do the same. I responded to him in a completely platonic capacity and that's how we got to talking eventually. We went back to being really good friends and it was nice to have somebody to talk to on a regular basis, especially since Andy really understands me more than

anybody else, to be honest. And I did have my other friends, but with him, I'd always had something special and talking to him made me happy. My parents also noticed that and encouraged me to keep talking to him, even if we were just friends. For a few months, we would only speak online, and then, he started visiting me at home. Slowly, but surely, we started getting closer again and even though I was not ready to get back with him or anything of the sort, he did not give up on me. Last year, he finally told me that he had never really fallen out of love with me, and getting to know that I had started dating Jerry had been a huge heartbreak for him, but knowing that I was happy was enough for him to stay away from both of us.

But now that Jerry was gone and we had become friends again, he felt like he had to tell me the truth, that he loved me and he didn't expect me to get back with him, but he just needed to get it off his chest. I appreciated his honesty, but I was very confused because it had been three years since my divorce and I always felt uneasy thinking about Jerry and our past together because we never really got any closure.

So I was very conflicted about whether I should try to move on or not, even though I really liked Andy, and honestly, I was pretty sure that I loved him back now, even more than I had before. My parents and friends talked to me and reminded me that it had been three whole years since my divorce and if Jerry hadn't come back by now, it meant that he never cared about me and never would. So I needed to give myself a second chance, especially since I was getting better health-wise. Having fought for my life once, I knew that I needed to value whatever I have at the moment because there's no telling what might happen in the future. They convinced me to stop living in the past and give Andy a chance, so a couple of weeks after his confession, I decided to get back with him.

And then, after a few months of being back together, he told me that he wanted to be the one to take care of me. He said he wanted to move in with me, and after giving it some thought, my parents, and I decided that since he already spent most of his time with me at my house, it would be better for him to just move in here. So I agreed to let him move in since then, we have been staying together. It's been great. I love having him around in a couple of weeks after he moved in. Once he was familiar with my routine, my parents moved out. They still visit me on a regular basis, obviously, but they finally have some time for themselves as well and I guess they really appreciate it. I'm not ready for a second marriage as of now, but Andy and I have discussed the idea and maybe in some time, we will think about getting married.

However, for the past couple of months, I've just really been happy that I'm cancer-free and living with Andy, who really loves me and I really love him too. Everything was just perfect until earlier this week when Jerry reached out to me. He had finally unblocked me everywhere and had sent me a message on Facebook, telling me that he had realized that he had treated me really badly and I didn't deserve that. Of course, it was not in my control that I had been diagnosed with cancer and I was not responding well to the treatment, but he was getting frustrated and did the cowardly thing and decided to just take off without even discussing it with me. He said that he owed me some closure

and honestly, more than anything, he wanted to get back together with me because, in the past four years, all he had done was miss me terribly. He said that he was ready to give our marriage a second chance and if things go back to how they were, even if that meant that he was going to have to take care of me for the rest of his life. He said that he was ready to do it all, and I decided to ask him to visit me, but not for the reasons that he believed. And here, is where I might have been in the odd because my intentions were very obvious, I was trying to hurt him. I hadn't posted about my diagnosis or my recovery anywhere, only my family and close friends knew that I was fine right now. So he had obviously still assumed that I was

struggling with cancer, and after taking some time off for four years, he decided to finally come back to me. It was so insulting that he had believed that I was going to take him back after how he had treated me and pretended like I wasn't even a part of his life for the past four years. I was furious when I had read that message because it was clear that he actually genuinely believed that I was just going to take him back, no questions asked. He hadn't even bothered to explain to me what he had been doing for the past four years, that's how confident he seemed. I was very upset about it, so I decided that I was going to teach him a lesson.

So I invited him home, just so that I could show him how my new life was. He had no idea that I was staying with Andy because I've never been one to go public with my relationships. I only even posted about Jerry online when I got married. So right now, very few people know about my relationship with Andy and obviously, none of these people have been in touch with Jerry. That's why, a couple of days ago, when Jerry showed up at my house with flowers and chocolates, the first thing that I did after opening the door to him was call Andy to the door and tell Jerry, that while I really appreciated his apology, the flowers, and the chocolates, I had moved on with my life, and I did not want him back. He immediately started losing it because

obviously, Andy was the one person he was extremely insecure about, and had always been. He started freaking out at me, telling me that I had betrayed him and stuff, and even accused me of cheating on him. I don't understand how it counts as cheating if I hadn't even been with him at the time that I started dating Andy again, but anyway, I didn't care about his reaction because all I had wanted to do was give him a shock and I had succeeded in doing that. So while he was having a mental breakdown on my porch, I decided to shut the door in Andy and I went back to watching TV. For the record, I hadn't told Andy about it, but he didn't really have a problem with what I had done. However, my parents and my friends thought that there was no reason for me to do this. I could have just let it go

because this was me just inviting toxicity into my life again. And if I'm being honest, I don't exactly think that they were wrong. Because after he left that day, my in-laws haven't stopped trying to contact me because they think that I have been completely heartless. They said that if I had moved on already, then I shouldn't have agreed to invite their son over to my house and give him false hoax because he had actually been feeling sorry about everything that he had done and wanted to fix things with me, which is why he had taken the effort to reach out to me and come to visit me. They are accusing me of trying to ruin his mental health on purpose, and they even have the audacity to suspect me of having had an affair with Andy all along, even though they know for a fact that for the past four years,

I had nothing on my mind apart from getting better. And before we got married, I had blocked Andy out of my life altogether just for Jerry. So I don't understand how they have the audacity to accuse me of having had an affair with him. Anyway, they are trying to make me out to be the villain and are acting as if their son was completely innocent in this whole situation. And like I said, my parents and friends are already against this. They have told me that what I did was very unnecessary. They can understand that I felt the need to get back at him but at the end of the day, it doesn't change the fact that it was kind of petty. They're not exactly making a big deal out of it, but they have spoken their mind and I feel kind of guilty about what I did. I could have avoided

all the drama if I had just not responded to him at all and I knew that I had been petty, but now I feel bad. However, I still don't think that I need to apologize to him or whatever because I don't think that it's such a big deal. I definitely do not think that it's as big a deal as his parents are making it out to be, especially considering the fact that he had literally left me while I was fighting for my life and had gone MIA for the next four years, not even showing up for our divorce. His parents also hadn't tried to be apologetic for it, so I don't understand why I'm expected to be forgiving and just let everything go, especially when my in-laws know how their son

had treated me back then. Anyway, Ida for inviting my ex-husband home just so that I can show off my new life? Update 1, hi, so thank you so much for all the comments on my post. It was all really helpful. First things first, I did speak to my parents and my friends about why I did what I did. I don't deny the fact that I was petty and I definitely don't deny the fact that it was completely unnecessary. I could have totally avoided all the drama by just not responding to him, but I felt like I needed to get some closure. I didn't think things through, I made the decision in the heat of the moment, so it was probably not the best way to deal with it, but I don't have any regrets about it either. They didn't

have much to say, we just decided not to talk about it because it really wasn't worth it. And it wasn't exactly as bad as you guys think, I guess I might not have been able to communicate properly in the post or something. But just to be clear, my parents and my friends were not insisting that I apologize to my ex or whatever. They had just told me that they didn't exactly agree with what I had done and they had left it at that, they hadn't tried to guilt-trip me like my in-laws were doing. And now that we have spoken about it, we have decided that we are just going to agree to disagree. It's really not a big deal for them and nothing in our relationship has changed, so we are fine. The only problem that I'm dealing with right now are my in-laws

because they are very upset with what I did. They think that I have emotionally tortured their son by inviting him over and they think that I owe him a huge apology. I'm not even joking, they have sent me several emails, telling me that I need to apologize to him in person and that I need to clarify that I didn't have anything to do with Andy while we were together because apparently, he is completely broken down. I don't understand why my in-laws expect so much of me, especially since we haven't had much of a relationship ever since the divorce. They knew that what their son was talking to me was incredibly wrong and yet, they had been

on his side and had helped him hide from me during the divorce. I'm not completely blaming them, but they were a huge part of the reason why I was never able to get any sort of emotional closure from Jerry while we were separating. So how come it was back then but now, since it's Jerry's mental health at risk, all of a sudden, I need to talk to him and give him an explanation for everything. He didn't think that he owed it to me back then neither did his parents, so I'm just playing by the same rulebook now. Update 2.

So it's been three days since my last update and I have been having no way. problems, but of course, that probably did not sit well with Jerry and his parents. Andy and I work from home, but I guess they didn't know that. They probably assumed that Andy wouldn't be at home if they showed up in the morning. Jerry and his parents visited me in the morning today and when I opened the door. They started demanding that I speak to Jerry and give him an explanation for everything that is going on because he's been very confused and they can't allow their son to go through this.

I literally just wrote my eyes at them and I told them that I was. not entertaining any of this BS. I did not owe them anything because Jerry didn't bother to give me an explanation when he left. And now, he could think whatever he wanted. I was not going to give him the satisfaction of getting an explanation or a reaction out of me. The only reason I had even opened the door was so that I could say this to their faces and then I told them that if they did not clear out, I would call the cops. Then, Jerry started screaming at me, telling me that I was a horrible human being for what I had done. He called me petty and selfish, and then, he started cursing at me. When he started screaming, Andy had heard that,

and he came to my side. He looked furious and I could tell that it was taking him all he had to keep himself from having a go at Jerry, and I really didn't want to do that, so I took my phone out, and I told Jerry and his parents that they had to leave where I really would call the cops. After bickering with me for a couple of seconds, they finally left because I had started dialing, even though they did not let go of the opportunity to curse at me some more. That did not affect me, though, even though it really made Andy mad and he cursed right back at them. But finally, they left and luckily, Andy told me that he had started recording everything on his phone so even though there is hardly any video of any of this happening,

he has a full audio recording of Jerry yelling at me and he didn't stop recording until they had left. Now that we have this, we know for a fact that the next time they show up, we will not only be pressing charges against them, but we will also be contacting our lawyers to file a restraining order against Jerry and his family. But I really hope that we don't have to go through all of that and that they leave me alone after this because I think I've said whatever I had to. Update 3, hey, so it's been a couple of days since Jerry and his parents showed up at my house. After that, they did not try to contact me anymore, and I was really relieved. I did speak to a couple of my friends about what had happened and they told me that what I had done was kind of petty and unnecessary.

The way they were reacting right now was unhinged and they thought it would be wise for me to speak to a lawyer just in case. But I don't think I'm going to need to do that because I received an email from Jerry and he told me that he's moving to Europe with his parents and he's never going to bother me again. Apparently, after he left me, he moved to California for his new job. He had applied to it while he was still with me but he could. didn't bring himself to talk to me about it because he knew that it was impossible for me to relocate at a time like that. And neither did he want me to even consider it, but he would feel like a horrible human being for leaving me while I was struggling to live.

So he admitted to being a coward and said that he left so that he could avoid any sort of confrontation. And even though he had had a couple of flings in the past four years, he could never get serious with anybody because he always regretted whatever had gone wrong with me. Recently, he had applied for a position in Europe and he had been back here for a couple of months so he could convince his parents to move with him and have a fresh start. That's why he had reached out to me as well because now that he was back in town, he had at least wanted to apologize to me and give our relationship another shot. But after seeing me with Andy the other day, he realized that he had no right to intrude in our lives.

Especially not after everything that he had put me through and he definitely did not have the right to question me either, nor his parents. So now, he was doing the decent thing and leaving me alone. He said that he did not expect to be forgiven because all of this was coming too late and it was just too little. But he wanted to apologize for everything that he had done because he had been a coward and even, he had no right to be throwing tantrums and sending his parents after me the way he did. He knew that Andy loved me and I was happy with him, so he's going to stay away from me now and

I have to say, I'm really glad that he came to this conclusion. I did not reply to that email, but I did make Andy read it and my friends and parents read it as well. They think that this is good enough to put an end to whatever had been going on and I agree. So now we can all finally collectively move on from this. This is good because, in a couple of months, I think I would like to get married to Andy and start a new chapter of my life with him. I guess I finally got the closure that I needed and I'm finally ready to get married again, to start a family, and just live my life to the fullest once more. more.