A son kept a secret that would cause his family to fall apart and posted it on Reddit to indicate how conflicted he felt about managing the circumstance.
His parents have been married for 27 years, and all his life, the son has only seen his father take good care of his mother and be a great father to him and his brother.
However, one day he discovered he was having an affair with her after accidently finding a discussion between his father and a woman on Facebook.
He finished his undergraduate degree and went to graduate school. After almost a year of not being home, he realized that his father was still acting suspiciously.
He requested to use his father’s phone and noticed him turn off his data so he wouldn’t receive any notifications. He understood that meant he was concealing something as a 24-year-old man.
What Happens If He Tells His Mother about the Affair?
The son has found himself between a rock and a hard place. He adored his father and was grateful for all that he had accomplished for him. He also understood that his mother was self-sufficient and independent.
However, telling her about his father’s affair would break her and eventually lead to divorce, which the 24-year-old did not want to feel responsible for.
He learned from this experience that a person may be a loving parent and an unfaithful spouse, but no matter how he viewed the issue, it resulted in his family being torn apart.
The son expressed that he and his father still shared a close relationship, which is why going to his mother with the information without first speaking to him would feel like a betrayal.
The circumstance would also impact his brother, who had just been accepted into medical school and was unaware that his father was having an affair.
Turning to his friends also did not sit well with the son as he did not want them to lose their respect for him. He has been forced to stew in all of these thoughts, which has also been emotionally draining for him.
But the son knew he had to figure out a way out of this dilemma. “At the end of the day, I know it’s on me to make the choice I think would possibly be the right one.”, he said.
What Advice Did the Son Get?
The first thing the posters wanted the son to understand was that no matter what happens in his family, it will not be his responsibility. He would have to be held accountable for his father’s behaviour because he had an affair.
In the same instance, one commenter advised him to take the information to his mother and stop carrying the emotional burden of his father’s lies. However, if there was evidence, one person thought the mother might already be aware of the affair.
Reddit users, however, also believed that it was crucial for him to talk to his father in an adult manner and comprehend that not every partnership is ideal. Others thought he was prioritising his father over his mother.
In any case, internet users encourage the son to come forward with the long-kept secret and set himself free before the emotional pain becomes any worse.
