Family Confessions

I am 34 male, I got married last September (9 months back) to our distant relative girl, she is 20. First 3 days went everything nice. Later things started changing. When I got to know she who loved someone for 4 years, had breakup, I didn't mind it much thinking it's a puppy love. Due to AI evolution & boom, I lost my Data analyst job which gave me 35k monthly, lost that job in October. She started questioning, keep on doubting & asking me about my past. She even said openly, I am just 20, had love for 4 years, you are 34, can't believe u not had any ex in past. Later job lose, her & her family real face started showing. She started insulting me not making money, doubting me even if I talk with my relatives or friends. The toxicity started growing day by day bigger. At last, one fine fight, she left to her mom house in December. Tried many reconciliation attempt, nothing worked out. Now last 6 months she is there only. She started going for a job, earning 20k monthly. I moved to Bangalore for job hunt, doing courses now. During those reconciliation (Village panchayats) we not talked but giving our complaints to elder only, so it's been 6 months we talked actually. I don't think it's not gonna work for long run. They kept quite because I don't have any movable or immovable properties on my name, job & bank balance. They even threatened to book false dowry, cruelty, DV cases against me 4 months back, but no movement front their side so far. They are clearly money minded, No child formed. Even her one relatives told us, they are planning to remarry her to some rich guy this time, meanwhile looking to lure any things from me. Marriage is a blessing for most, myself become dark. Help me what to do next?

29F. I recently got married to a guy who's partly bald and has a pot belly. I really liked his standard of living therefore gave in. As time passed,out of the blue my Ex texted me, I just got surprised and excited tbh. We met over a coffee and since then one thing led to another and ended up in bed. Since then it became a daily affair, one day my husband came home early and caught us in the act. He has filed for divorce. The good part is he has no proof of infidelity. Can I get his house, BMW and maybe a lakh per month as maintainence in alimony so that my ex and I can get married and live peacefully. Im not asking for much, it' bare minimum. Kindly help.

35F Few years ago, while I was still a doctoral student, during one of the international conference I connected with a top FAANG leader. I used to post about my research in Linkedin and he later reached out to me to work for him. Interview process was very detailed and they explained how I can add value to their team. I joined with a very good package. After joining I was pushed to a different project with a new team which I had no previous experience about, yet I delivered my best and made the project a success. So fastforward 3 years, I had a very complicated pregnancy, the FAANG leader who hired me helped me work completely from home during the later months. I worked till the last day before my delivery with the same diligence as before. I gave birth to a healthy baby but my health detoriated because of post c-section complications. It compelled me to resign the job as they were not allowing any more WFH for me. Just as I was going through the resignation, the same FAANG leader reached out to me to work for him for his startup. Since I had no offers at hand, and was desperately looking for jobs, I thought lets just give it a try. Note that the startup was just an idea for him at that time and I along with few others formalized that idea and built the working model. There was no paperwork, no salary, no legal binding yet. Just a NDA was signed. I kept on checking with him about registering the company and what would be the cap table for each of us, and that I would like to draw a salary, he kept on postponing saying everyone is making sacrifices. Mind you this FAANG leader actually never left his job, he moved to a better role after starting this side- project startup with us, when questioned, he says he will lead the GTM and his role allows him to meet influencial VCs and potential customers, but he becomes angry if any of us, talks about looking for a side-role to make our ends meet. So this kept on going, its over a year now, company registration has just started but no cap table, so legal document has been drafted or shared to us. He alone will become the director. No salary, but we are pushing ourselves to complete the full work. So after a year I told him that I am in a bad financial condition and need to have some kind of earning and he bashed out at me saying you should not be in these meetings if you donot want to work with us, and added all those legal jargons that I can sue you if you talk about our work to other companies, and I can blacklist you. He even said its because of me you got the job before, etc etc. I have mentioned about facing financial difficulties before too, he just stalls it everytime saying later you will get what you deserve. Now I am torn as to what to do. I do want to develop and work for this startup because the idea is very unique, but at the same time there are too many things which are not sitting right. No compensation, no legal binding, nothing. The team is working only because of his word and his worth in the tech world. I am scared of what to do now. We do have a friendly customer who has agreed for a POC, and if this goes right we ‘may’ have other partners too, but thats all in the future which has no guarantee. He doesnot want to introduce our startup to VCs now because he says they will come and micromanage us. He said he will bear the expenses for any infra and setup related costs. The other team mates all have their own fulltime jobs and working on this startup as parttime. But for me, he says he wants me fulltime else i may leave. I donot have any other offers at hand now, I am only starting to seach but its a tuff market situation now. He has promised on get me on the company payroll once the first POC is successful and get some money for the next POC which can be anytime between the next 3-12 months. He only asked me to wait patiently. I donot know what to do now? Should I just continue to work, without a payment and wait for him to include me in the payroll after the customer comes while I develop his entire system? Or quit it straight forward and begin seriously searching for a new job. Help. Suggestions on how these things work in startups generally.

28M here. I never thought I'd write something like this, but I guess some things become too heavy to carry alone. My story started when I was in 11th standard and she was in 8th. I got to know her through a friend. We studied in different schools and lived in different places, so our relationship grew through phone calls and text messages. Back then, we had a recharge plan that allowed only 75 messages a day. Somehow, we managed to use every one of them. We shared everything—our days, dreams, fears, and slowly became part of each other's lives. For a while, family issues forced us to lose contact. I thought that chapter had ended. Then she joined college, reached out again, and we picked up right where we left off. We eventually met for the first time when she was staying in a hostel. She had only two hours of outing permission, and we spent those two hours at a cake and ice cream shop. It may sound insignificant, but to me it felt like years of conversations had finally found a face. Time passed. I completed college, got placed in Chennai, and we grew closer. We travelled together, spent more time together, and I genuinely believed we were building a future. I trusted her completely. I came from a modest background and knew what it felt like to have dreams that seemed out of reach. Since I couldn't achieve some of the opportunities I wanted, I wanted her to have them instead. I supported her education, helped financially whenever I could, and genuinely wanted her to succeed. For years, I believed what we had was real. Then during her postgraduate studies, I found out she was involved with other guys. My world collapsed. The strange thing is that even after learning the truth, I still wanted her. I've always been a one-woman man. From the moment I loved her, I imagined spending my life with her. What hurt most was that while I was pleading with her not to leave, she was pleading with someone else to come back. I'm not saying this to portray her as a bad person. Life is rarely that simple. But that was my reality. Eventually, she told me she didn't want me anymore. That period broke me. I went through panic attacks, lost focus, and struggled to function normally. The days passed without her presence, but never without her memories. To survive, I focused on myself. I worked harder than ever. One of the proudest moments of my life was buying my first car. Growing up, there were times when even owning a bicycle felt impossible. By God's grace, life had changed. Ironically, around that time, she came back. She said she had made a mistake and wanted me in her life again. Logic told me not to go back. My heart didn't listen. So I gave us another chance. Years passed. What started as a school-time connection had now stretched across more than a decade. Whenever I asked whether she had lost interest, I always gave her the option to leave. Every time, she assured me she wanted me. Yet the same patterns continued. I eventually discovered she was cheating again. The pain wasn't just about what she did. It was realizing that even after knowing her best and worst sides, I still couldn't stop loving her. When I confronted her, she disappeared from my life once again. And now, here I am. Alone. I know I'll probably never see her again. Never hear her voice again. For years, we shared every detail of our lives. She wasn't just someone I loved—she became part of who I was. It's been more than a year, but I still don't want to forget her. I still find myself checking her profile more often than I should. Not because I expect a message. In fact, a part of me hopes she never comes back. Because if she did, I'd have to fight the same battle between my heart and my mind all over again. I don't think she was an evil person. In many ways, she was one of the most beautiful souls I knew. That's what makes everything so confusing. The person who gave me some of my happiest memories also gave me some of my deepest wounds. Despite everything, I genuinely want her to be happy. And if there is such a thing as another life, I hope we meet under different circumstances—without the confusion, the hurt, or the bad timing. Maybe then our story would have a different ending. Today, I have a decent life. My family is proud of me. They're looking for marriage alliances because they're worried I'll spend my life alone. If I'm being honest, that fear lives inside me too. I don't know whether I'm holding on to love, memories, or simply a future I imagined but never had. All I know is that after all these years, I'm still trying to find my way forward. Sorry for the long post. I used to skip lengthy confessions and wonder who had the patience to read them. Turns out everyone's story looks long until it's your turn to tell your own. If you've read this far, thank you. You've probably spent more time reading about my relationship than the person in it spent choosing me.

F28. I am facing a family issue and would really appreciate some genuine suggestions. I have been married for 2 years. My husband works in the IT sector, and I am a housewife. Since our marriage, I have taken responsibility for looking after his parents and managing all the household work. I have always tried my best to take care of the family and maintain a peaceful home. Over the last few months, I started noticing some changes in my husband's behavior. One night, I woke up to use the washroom and saw him chatting on his phone late at night. When he noticed me, he quickly locked his phone and turned away. A few days later, I happened to see some unknown contacts and a girl's profile picture on his WhatsApp. Before I could understand anything, he came into the room. The next day, those chats and contacts were no longer there. Eventually, I shared my concerns with him, but the conversation turned into a major argument. Things escalated badly, and he slapped me during the fight. After that incident, I came back to my parents' house. The hardest part is that I don't have any proof that he was doing anything wrong, but at the same time I can't ignore what I saw or how the situation unfolded. Out of desperation, I even contacted someone online who claimed they could help me access his phone, but it turned out to be a scam and I ended up losing ₹5,000. I feel hurt, confused, and unsure about what the right next step should be. I would sincerely appreciate hearing different perspectives. If you were in my position, what would you do? How would you handle this situation?

I am a 39-year-old woman with two children — an 11-year-old daughter and a 6-month-old baby boy. My life has been full of ups and downs, and I often feel many of my struggles are the result of my own impulsive emotional decisions. Sometimes I feel I have spoiled my own life in ways I never imagined. My husband and I had a love marriage in 2012, though we knew each other since 2008. We came from middle-class families and, being middle children, carried responsibilities for both sides of the family. Financially, we supported many relatives — my husband’s siblings and my own family as well. I spent most of my salary helping others, taking loans for my siblings’ education and marriage, and supporting family needs. Today, I have almost no savings, no jewelry of my own, and most of my salary goes toward loans. Despite giving so much, I often felt emotionally neglected, unseen, and unappreciated — both in my in-laws’ family and my own. During family gatherings, I felt cornered and lonely. Deep inside, I craved love, attention, emotional connection, and respect. In 2019, my life changed when I became emotionally attached to a colleague. Over time, the attachment became very strong. I even told him I would divorce my husband so we could marry, but he refused because he feared social judgment and damaging his reputation. Despite trying to end the relationship several times, we could not separate emotionally. Eventually, he got married due to family and societal pressure. I was heartbroken and even tried to stop the marriage, but later accepted it. After only a few months, his marriage fell apart due to personal issues between them. During that time, he chose me and wanted a future together. I even moved into a rented flat away from my husband and family to gain clarity, but eventually returned because I could not stay away from my daughter. In April 2023, I confessed my affair to my husband. He was deeply hurt but never cruel to me. We started divorce proceedings and even attended our first court hearing in tears. Yet he told me to choose the life that would make me happy. Later, we paused the divorce and continued living together. My husband remained calm and supportive, but I failed to fully end contact with my boyfriend, who was still waiting for clarity about our future. In 2025, I found out I was pregnant with my boyfriend’s child. I was devastated and terrified. I discovered the pregnancy after 10 weeks and felt emotionally broken. I did not want to terminate the pregnancy, but I was equally afraid of society, my husband, and the consequences. My boyfriend wanted to keep the baby and emotionally supported me. Since I still had no clarity about marriage or my future, we decided he would raise the baby after birth. For nearly seven months, I hid my pregnancy while living with my in-laws. I dealt with sickness, emotional pain, fear, and loneliness completely alone. Even my mother did not know. Later, I moved away claiming work reasons and stayed with my boyfriend during the final months of pregnancy. I gave birth to a baby boy and cared for him for two months before returning. Leaving him behind was emotionally devastating, but I believed I was following what had already been decided. After returning home, I told my husband the truth again. He was heartbroken, yet once again asked me to choose the life that would truly make me happy. The problem is that I am not happy. When I am with my husband and daughter, I deeply miss my boyfriend and baby boy. When I am with my boyfriend and son, I feel guilt and miss my husband and daughter. My daughter chose to stay with her father, which completely broke me. I wanted both my children to grow up together with me, but life seems to have taken another path. My husband still hopes we can rebuild our marriage, while my boyfriend wants us to build a life together for the sake of our son and stability. I feel emotionally torn, confused, guilty, and unable to decide where I truly belong or what life would bring peace to everyone involved. Sometimes, I feel so overwhelmed by the consequences of my choices that I want to run away from everything. I am not looking for sympathy or criticism of anyone involved. I know mistakes were made, including by me. I am only trying to understand what the right path forward is — for myself, my daughter, my son, and everyone connected to this situation. I would truly appreciate respectful and honest thoughts.

I really don't know what to do, and I need some advice. First, an important detail: I'm not from India, although I am South Asian. He is Indian. He is currently in my country for work and will be leaving soon(probably after a few months) Leaving aside how our love story started, the main thing I want to talk about is our future. I am 20 years old and currently in my first year of MBBS, so I still have many years of study ahead of me. He is 25 years old. I cannot disclose his identity, but I can say that we love each other very much. The problem is that both of us know that our future together seems uncertain. Recently, his parents have been pressuring him to get married. Since his job often keeps him away from home, they want him to marry someone who can stay with them and take care of them as they grow older. He tells me that he does not want to get married right now, but he feels that he may have to give in to his parents' wishes. This is especially difficult for me because he is my first love. He has shown me genuine love and care from the very beginning, and I have never had any reason to doubt his feelings. I genuinely cannot imagine my life without him. At the same time, I cannot marry him right now even if I wanted to, because I need to focus on completing my medical studies first. So now I feel completely stuck. Should I let him go and try to move on, acting as if the past six months never happened? Or should I hold on to him because I truly believe what we have is real and meaningful? Should I tell him to go ahead and marry if that's what his situation requires? I honestly don't know what to do. Love is such a crazy thing. I would really appreciate any advice.

I am an officer in an Indian PSU from a lower middle-class General category family with two elder sisters and parents. Joining PSU was a major achievement. Academically bright, I was raised to deeply respect women, instilled with superhero-like morality, ethics, and honesty. Conditioned to believe women don't want s**x while men crave it, I idealized purity. I look decent but not tall/attractive, remain introverted, self-critical, and conscientious. Some life events shook me, making me question if life is worth living. Previously posted remotely, I transferred to a corporate location. A senior engaged girl (good-looking, officers' union position) joined my department. Her fiancé worked in her hometown. As a boy craving female attention but with low self-esteem, I never initiated. Boss directed her to me for work doubts, leading to conversations. She was extroverted. She invited me for lunch walks, movies, brought midnight birthday cake in the shared township hostel. This was my first serious female interaction. She shared sob stories about ill-treatment by parents/family, forced arranged marriage instead of love, toxic exes, calling me a "nice guy." She invited me to her room at midnight twice, once drunk saying she loved me. I maintained boundaries due to morality, her upcoming marriage, and low confidence—never crossed lines despite growing attachment and falling for her. After a 2-week work trip, she suddenly distanced herself, acting normal. I asked; she blamed me. We resumed friendly walks/talks. I later learned she had lived with another guy (transferred) and was close to another senior (Karan) from previous department. Suspicious, I saw Karan visiting her hostel at midnight. She pressured me to drink. I discovered she was s**xually involved with Karan even a week before her wedding (he attended). Shocked and traumatized by her happy wedding reels. Post-wedding, she continued the affair with Karan. I subtly confronted her emotional state, lies, and my role. She dismissed my vulnerabilities, maintained victim acts and multiple lies. Emotionally cold, no empathy. I confronted out of frustration; she turned hostile, blocked me everywhere, told me to "die," and acted like nothing happened. I turned to ChatGPT for therapy as I couldn't share with anyone (feared dismissal as "fool chasing married woman"). She enjoyed manipulation, cheating, and sadism. Karan enabled it (he's married now). This shattered my trust, caused deep trauma. As a woman in power (senior, union), confronting risks career. I feel inhumanly discarded after sharing vulnerabilities. Reflecting on narcissism, society, politicians—wonder why moral/emotional people like me suffer. Is this how high society functions?

I want to share something deeply personal that has shaped the last few years of my life. I am originally from Bihar, India, and I lost my father in 2019. Losing him created a void that I still carry with me. After his death, I moved to London to pursue my Master’s in Engineering Management. I was far from home, dealing with family disputes, emotional struggles, and trying to build a future on my own. During that time, I met a priest at a temple in Southall. He knew about my father’s death and how much I missed having that support in my life. In the beginning, he made me feel safe and cared for. He would often tell me that he would look after me like a father and that I would never have to face life alone. As time passed, our connection became much deeper. We were together for almost two years. I trusted him completely. I believed his words, his promises, and the future I thought we were building together. Then, without warning, everything ended. The breakup shattered me. I found myself completely alone, trying to understand how someone who knew my deepest wounds could walk away so suddenly. During that period, I experienced some of the darkest moments of my life. I struggled with suicidal thoughts, and I also went through a pregnancy and an abortion alone. There were days when I genuinely did not know how I would survive emotionally. Yet somehow, I did. It has been three months now. I am healing. I am moving forward. I smile again, I work, I function, and I continue building my life. But healing is not the same as forgetting. I still miss him every day. I miss the conversations, the memories, the comfort, and the person I believed he was. What makes it harder is that he was not just someone I loved. He was someone I trusted spiritually and emotionally. The loss felt bigger than a relationship—it felt like losing faith, trust, and safety all at once. And after everything, there is one question that still stays with me: Why do some people enter the lives of those who are already carrying so much pain, make them feel safe, loved, and protected, and then leave as if none of it mattered? If someone knows your deepest wounds, your fears, your vulnerabilities, and still chooses to earn your trust, why is it so easy for them to break it? If you never intended to stay, why make someone feel that they had finally found a home? I am not sharing this for sympathy. I am sharing it because I know many people carry invisible pain behind their smiles. Sometimes the strongest thing we can do is speak honestly about our experiences. I am still searching for answers, still learning to trust again, and still healing. But despite everything I have been through, I am here. I am standing. I am moving forward. And I would genuinely like to ask: Has anyone else ever struggled to understand why people do this, and how did you find peace with the unanswered questions?

I need an outside perspective because I feel too emotionally involved to think clearly. I met someone a few months ago who became very important to me. From the beginning, I was hesitant. I have trust issues, and I’m 27 while he is 4 years younger than me. There is also a clear financial and social status difference between our families. I told him many times I was scared of getting attached, but he kept reassuring me, talking about trust, marriage, and a future together. Over time, we became very close. We talked every day, shared our routines, worries, slept on calls, and became part of each other’s daily lives. I slowly trusted him completely. Then suddenly everything changed. One day, without any argument, I woke up and found I had been blocked everywhere. Later I found out it was due to a misunderstanding about a joke I made, where he thought I saw him as a backup option which was never true. At that time, his family was also already pushing for his marriage, and he said his father cried and asked him to end things, so he agreed. We met in person. I swore on the Holy Book that I had been sincere from the start. He said he believed me and wasn’t thinking badly of me. He apologized repeatedly Even now, things are confusing because contact didn’t fully end. He is still messaging me. He says things like: “I know what is happening with you is wrong, but my family is not listening. They can’t see my happiness. I will never be able to be happy like this.” He talks about feeling helpless and stuck. And then, in between all of that, the normal care is still there… “Aap kaisi hain?”, “Khaana khaya?”, “Medicine li?”, updates about his day. There are still small reminders too like Snapchat streaks, and even a snap of my hair tie that he still wears, and the matching bracelets we both ordered. That’s why I’m so confused. It feels like I’m losing someone and still talking to them at the same time. I don’t know what this is anymore or where it is going. I only know I trusted someone deeply despite being scared, and this situation has been one of the most painful and confusing things I’ve experienced.

My father was suffering from terminal cancer and passed away just three days after my marriage. Due to financial difficulties, my inter-caste marriage was conducted through Arya Samaj. After marriage, I discovered that many promises made about my husband's job, family status, and financial condition were untrue. Soon after, I faced financial hardship, emotional neglect, and continuous domestic violence. Despite being a bright student, I had to put my education aside because of family circumstances. After the birth of my son, there were times when I did not even have money to buy milk for him. I started working to support my family and later enrolled in IGNOU for graduation, but my husband's lack of support and dishonesty affected my studies. I managed work, childcare, household responsibilities, and education largely on my own. The abuse in my marriage continued for years. I suffered severe physical violence, resulting in permanent hearing damage and the need for hearing aids in both ears. During this period, I secured a government job on my first attempt and continued supporting my son financially, including paying rent and school fees, while also completing my graduation and starting a master's degree. Over the years, I discovered that my husband was involved in multiple extramarital relationships. I endured humiliation, verbal abuse, threats, and even an attempt to physically harm me. Eventually, I filed for divorce. Even now, I have not sought alimony or maintenance from him, despite the difficulties I have faced. During one of the most difficult phases of my life, a senior colleague entered my life. He is a 38-year-old Muslim man working as an AEE in the R&B Department. For the past three years, he has supported me emotionally and financially without expecting anything in return. He has always respected my boundaries, never pressured me for marriage, and has remained a constant source of support for both me and my son. Today, I feel emotionally attached to him and believe he possesses the qualities of a caring life partner. However, I remain conflicted because of social expectations, religious differences, and concerns about how such a decision may affect my family and future. My divorce case is still ongoing, and while I have rebuilt my life through hard work and determination, I now find myself facing one of the most important decisions of my life: whether to move forward with this relationship or continue alone. I am seeking genuine advice on how to make a decision that is best for me, my son, and my future

28 M I grew up in a very remote valley in Himachal Pradesh. So remote that we basically had only three career options: join the Army or become a shepherd, or leave the valley and build a life elsewhere. I chose the third option. I studied engineering in Delhi. During college, I faced a lot of bullying. Since we come from a cold, remote region of Himachal, our skin tone tends to be much paler than that of many other Indians due to the climate. That became one of the reasons I was targeted during ragging. People labeled me as "gay" and subjected me to various forms of harassment. I had to endure a lot. After graduation, I got placed in a company in Chennai. However, my mother was completely against the idea of me moving there. One of my cousins had told her that he had seen on social media that in Tamil Nadu, Brahmins were either set on fire after kerosene was poured on them or tied to trees and stoned to death. Because of this, my mother absolutely refused to let me go. She wanted me to join the Army like many others from our village.. But I came to Chennai anyway, more or less against her wishes. It has been two months now. Honestly, I have not faced any racism here so far. In fact, I experienced far more ragging and harassment in my college , Delhi from some seniors . After two months here, I can honestly say that Chennai is actually a pretty good place.

Confession of a 35-Year-Old Man I am a 35-year-old man, married with a son. I was an average student and completed Civil Engineering from a very ordinary college. Soon after graduation, I lost a government job opportunity when the recruitment process was cancelled. Not wanting to depend on my father, I started working with a salary of just ₹10,000 per month. Over the years, I worked my way up from small companies to MNCs, often doing site work, night shifts, and even 24-hour duties. After marriage, my wife and I lived with my parents and contributed to household expenses. I later moved into an office role, which gave me time to prepare for competitive exams. Eventually, I secured a contractual government job. During the same period, my younger brother developed a serious gambling habit. My father repeatedly helped him financially, hoping he would improve. My wife often raised concerns about his behaviour, but nobody paid much attention. Then my father suddenly passed away. His death changed everything. As the elder son, I took responsibility for the family finances. I used settlement money to clear housing loans, car loans, and even my brother's education loan. After everything was settled, my mother was left with around ₹18 lakh in savings. A few months later, my brother got a government job on compassionate grounds. I was happy because my father had always worried about his future. About a year later, after years of preparation, I finally achieved my own dream and secured a permanent government job with nearly three times my previous salary. The only condition was relocating to another state. Around the same time, my brother wanted a grand wedding despite the girl's family being willing to have a simple Gurudwara marriage. He pressured my mother so much that she eventually spent nearly ₹10–12 lakh from her savings on the wedding. Unfortunately, marriage changed nothing. After the wedding, we discovered the extent of his debts. He had borrowed heavily, taken loans against my mother's pension, and eventually got suspended from his government job due to allegations of fraud and bribery. My mother received around ₹60,000 as family pension after my father's death. Over time, huge amounts of that money disappeared into gambling debts, loan repayments, wedding expenses, and financial crises created by my brother. In total, she spent around ₹25 lakh or more trying to save him. Whenever she stopped giving money, he would emotionally blackmail her. He claimed creditors would beat him, threatened self-harm, and created one crisis after another. Sometimes strangers would call saying he was lying injured somewhere. Other times he would claim to be hospitalized after accidents. My mother would panic and send money, only to later discover that many of these incidents were exaggerated or completely false. His marriage eventually collapsed. His wife left him. Jewellery was sold. My late father's car disappeared to settle debts. Even fixed deposits created by my father were broken and used. All this happened while I was living hundreds of kilometres away trying to manage my own family and job. The constant calls, emergencies, and emotional pressure became exhausting. Relatives eventually advised me to bring my mother to live with me because the environment had become unsafe. I brought her with me, hoping things would improve. But even after everything, my mother continued worrying about my brother and getting emotionally pulled into his problems. Every few weeks there would be another crisis, another phone call, another request for money, another story. Over time, I realized that every conversation about these issues affected my mental health. I would remain disturbed for days. It started affecting my peace, my marriage, and my relationship with my son. Today, I have reduced contact significantly. I still care for my mother and want her to be safe, but I can no longer keep carrying the emotional burden of decisions that are not mine. My question to the group is this: Am I wrong for creating distance from my mother for the sake of my own mental well-being? Every time I talk to her, I get dragged back into the same cycle of stress, guilt, and anxiety because my brother continues the same behaviour and my mother still struggles to stop enabling him. At what point does protecting your own peace stop being selfish and become necessary? I genuinely want honest opinions.

Hello, pls post this! F29, I had been into relationship with my ex bf, he promised that we will get married but his mother did not approve the marriage however she always knew about our relationship. Now he is happily married to another girl. During our relationship, I met his friend who became my friend too, he knew about us everything and we always been good friends. Now after years since I broke up with my ex, but his friend now interested to marry me, despite knowing everything about my past with his friend. My friend seems to be a genuine guy, but I am not able to think about him in certain way so that I can marry him, considering he knows everything about me. Somehow I am not comfortable with this fact, I always consider him as my good friend. Due to the betrayal of my ex, it’s hard for me to trust a man and I am not ready for marriage, neither with my friend nor anyone else. I am girl who is independent and doing everything absolutely fine with everything like taking care of family, finances, job, having business, secured my future and mostly will take financial retirement in few years, except the personal life which doesn’t make sense to me that I should get married. Please advise genuinely!

I don't know if I am just being unreasonable and I should just shut up and stop expecting things from life or that I am living in a loveless marriage.  1.5 crazy years have passed. He sent me connect request on matrimonial app , profile was good so I proceeded further. He was ok with supporting me financially after marriage after quitting my clinic and shifting to a new place which will take a while. His widowed mother lives with us and married sister half hour away. After marriage we didn't go to honeymoon and mother in law said she cancelled it saying he has lots of expenses to pay attention to. When one day I was unable to receive my mother's call, she called him and she picked up, saying I am fine and adjusting well in house and refused to give his phone to him. That was the first time I realised she doesn't like my mother at all. When he started spending some money on me, like bringing me back from parent's home and buying me some new clothes, she created a scene. Since then, he never took me out anywhere. She video called her daughter to show what all he brought for me and screamed. Neither her nor her daughter has any boundaries. Within a month I became pregnant and although children are blessings, I was sceptical if I ever be able to raise the baby especially since I was unemployed at that time with no stable income. Have to admit in initial first trimester she was actually nice to me for a change. Then started her actual satanic torture. She started accusing me of stinking badly and kept saying that ever since I came to this house, it stinks of me. She made me wash my bags, daily hair wash,made me buy fabric conditioner and when she was still not satisfied, threw my bags. Yet she randomly entered our room frequently and sniffed and said the room stinks and opened windows without my permission. Kept seperate stick to lift my washed clothes to examine. My husband also started saying that I stink after filling his head with nothing but hatred for me. I had heightened senses during my first trimester yet I had to tolerate strong smells of fabric conditioner and floor cleaners and bleach. When we shifted to our new house, his sister and daughter with his mother slept in our room and me and husband in common room. Next day she used the same stick to remove the bedsheet on the side where I slept. I did not tell my family about any of this thinking it will hurt them. We even stopped going for walks after she got paranoid and thought I give him my phone to speak to my parents during that time. She is a terrible cook yet says to everyone that listen that everyone says they like her cooking. She only has to cook in the house while I cut onions and tomatoes and doesn't even make us something we actually like and barely adds and seasonings and condiments just because she doesn't like. Even when she's not at home her son is supposed to inform and ask her permission to go anywhere and inform her when he reaches too. He doesn't inform me where he goes and when I ask her she sometimes says but sometimes she says none of my business. Just days before my baby shower, my father had a heart attack and my mother looked after him in the hospital. None of my immediate family members attended my baby shower. Since my parents are at the hospital and I was uncomfortable staying with my relatives, I returned the next day where she started screaming with her daughter. She talked about everything from head to toe how she doesn't like us at all and she can marry her son off to someone better than me, how our wedding was not upto her expectations, how I didn't bring much gold in the family. I recorded everything on my phone and then revealed everything to my family. My husband has never been supportive nor he called out his mother for calling me useless and laughing that my family has no medical insurance to our maid. He simply verbally abused me and wrote terrible things on WhatsApp, saying that am an self loathing gold digger and marrying me was his biggest mistake and then deleting it. Left immediately after our son was born. Gave me no support whatsoever and constantly chatting with his family. He only messaged me on my birthday while none of his other family members even called or messaged. I had to get my family involved except my brother who stays abroad everyone were present and had the audacity to point fingers at me. My mother earlier had to yell at her for torturing her pregnant daughter. His sister started saying how I wear torn clothes she have seen it and how I leaked some of the information to their family friends. Although many months have passed and their behaviour is better than how it used to be, this problems still haven't stopped completely. There is hardly any intimacy in my so called marriage. He only watches movies till 2 am and play games on his phone. He even takes his phone to the bathroom and doesn't come out for hours. My mother in low still thinks she can dominate me like she does to her children. I have started giving them back so they call me nuisance creater and dramatic. I am worried about my child. I honestly want safe , happy environment for him. But we barely go out and have a good time, I barely had any money in my account,work has been unkind,husband doesn't give me money although he earns well. I am unhappy, I really am. I should have remained spinster all my life. I was a virgin before marriage, docile by nature, spends less money, respectful to people and excellent skills required for my work yet nothing is going my way. He doesn't want to go to marriage counsellor to make things work . My family is ready even if divorce happens and siblings will look after me and my child until I stand up on my feet.

#26F I have been married for 2 years through matrimony. My husband works in the IT sector, and I am a homemaker. During the first year of our marriage, everything seemed good. I took care of the household, cooking, and my in-laws, and we shared what I believed was a loving and respectful relationship. However, after about a year, I started noticing changes in my husband's behavior. Since I usually sleep early due to household responsibilities, one night I woke up in the middle of the night and saw him chatting with someone on his phone. When he noticed me, he quickly turned the screen away. A few days later, I checked his phone and found a chat with another woman, but before I could read the conversation, he came into the room. The next day, when I checked again, all the chats had been deleted. I confronted him directly. He denied everything and said he was only scrolling through reels because he couldn't sleep. The argument became heated, and during the fight, he slapped me. That moment broke something inside me. I left and came to my mother's home, where I am now. I feel hurt, confused, and lost. I have suspicions but no proof, and that makes everything even harder. I am so desperate for answers that I have even thought about somehow getting access to his WhatsApp or Instagram accounts just to find out the truth. I know this may not be the right thing to do, but the uncertainty is affecting my peace of mind every day. I am not looking for revenge. I just want to know whether my doubts are real or whether I am overthinking everything. Has anyone been in a similar situation? How did you deal with the lack of trust and unanswered questions? Please be kind in the comments. I am already carrying enough pain.

M29 I resigned from my job and cannot face my girlfriend who is also working in same project. And it completely broke me. 2months after graduation (@21) I got a job in a renowned MNC in a different city. I got a crush on my TL, who is married and has a kid. I received so much help from this lady. She was lovely and generous. We bonded well. She used to bring lunch for me sometimes. I attended my first office party and she was there too, looking upset. I asked how is she doing, she said 'ok'. I was sitting in corner looking at people dancing, talking, I was very socially awkward to talk to anybody. In the middle of the party my TL came to me and said, she is leaving and asked how am I going to my pg, I said I will take a cab. She asked if I want to leave with her, so that she can drop me, I said yes. In the car she asked if I was feed well, I said I only had appetizers. She said she knows a good roadside food place, if I want to go. We had food and good conversation. She asked me to stay the in her apartment, I stayed. We had more conversation about our personal life at her apartment, about her husband, who work at merchant navy, didn't came home for past 5 years as he settled with someone in Canada, her daughter is studying in another city, how she struggle to brought her up. She cried, I don't know how to sympathies her, I tried to hug her, she hug me tight for 3-4 minutes. And then she kissed me, I felt a little bit awkward. But I kissed her back, we had the rest as well. What would you do if you woke up bedide a beautiful naked woman for the first time. I did the same thing, it was passionate from both the side. I left the next day from her apartment. We had this passionate encounter for next two years, every Friday night till mid Saturday, became a retual of our life, except the days when she visits her daughter or I go home town. After two years, she got promoted, I too got promoted, work pressure increased, and it becomes less frequent. And then stopped. We talked sometimes but not get physical. She suggested me to get settled down. One and half years back she got promoted to SDL, got two different projects including mine, I promoted as TL beginning of this year. And we hardly talk even. We respect each other's space and choice. Cut to February, a new girl joined our team, she is young and beautiful. I often take my team member for tea break, including her. One evening on weekend, April, she called me, didn't talked for a minute, I was scared, if any accident happened or what, I continuously asked what is happening, finally she answed she likes me and loves me. I said it's okay but it's not possible. I gave her 15-20 reasons why she should not be in relationship with me including our age gap. She convinced me nothing would matter if I agree. And I finally did. She visited my home met my mother and other family members, they liked her too. She told me that she will arrange a meeting with her mother as her father died at an early age. We were sitting in a restaurant waiting for her mother to meet me. Her mother came, I met, my leg started shaking, felt seek, sweating, I left the restaurant within 5 minutes. Her mother did not said a single word. She called my more than 100 times, she came to my door, I couldn't not opened it. I didn't not told her about my affair, she din't told me that her mother works in the same company.

I need honest opinions because I'm too emotionally involved to think clearly. I met someone couple of months ago. He showed serious interest from the beginning, confessed his feelings before I did, talked about marriage, and even told his family about me. A few days ago, I finally told him "I love you." Before that, we spent the whole night talking on call. He kept saying things like he would fight for us, convince his family, wanted me to talk to my family soon, reminded me of my promise not to leave him, and said "I love you" many times. The next morning, everything seemed normal. He was sending me updates about his day, work, and even the Snapchat vlog he usually sends me. Around 4 PM, our conversation was still normal. I went to sleep for a while. When I woke up around 5 PM, I realized I had been blocked everywhere: WhatsApp, Snapchat, Instagram, everything. Later, I contacted him through another number and asked to meet. We met in person. One issue was that he had found out about a joke conversation I had with a friend and felt like I saw him as a "backup plan." I explained that it was a joke taken out of context and that I had been sincere with him from the beginning. I even swore on the Holy Book that I had never treated him as a backup plan or played games with him. He told me he did not think I was a bad person and was not misunderstanding me. However, he then said that everything was over. His main reason was family pressure. He told me his father had been crying, holding his face, and asking him to end things. He said he told his father, "Okay, whatever you say, I will do." There are also differences between us. His family is much wealthier than mine, and he is 4 years younger than me. What is confusing me is that only hours before blocking me, he was talking about fighting for us, marriage, and our future, and don't even think about leaving me, I'll do something really bad if you ever leave me and then suddenly everything changed. Do you think this sounds like someone who genuinely loved me but chose family? Or does it sound like there was something else going on? Please be honest, but kind.