I’ve been with my fiancé, Adam, for six years. We were so excited because we were supposed to get married next month. But during a visit to my parents, everything took a shocking turn. Adam discovered a secret about my family, and it made him question our entire relationship.
We’ve known each other for nine years, and I thought introducing him to my extended family before the wedding would be a great idea. My parents offered to host us, and I thought it would be nostalgic to stay in my old room. Adam, however, suggested a hotel. “I don’t see why staying in your childhood home is going to change anything,” he said, looking uncomfortable.
I smiled, handing him a plate of food. “It’s a good thing! You’re supposed to feel welcome and at home with my family too.” But as the night went on and we prepared for a family outing to the theme park the next day, Adam struggled to sleep.
“What’s going on?” I asked, turning to face him in bed.
“I just can’t sleep, Sasha,” he snapped. “It’s not my bed, and I’m not used to sleeping in beds that aren’t my own. Your bed is lumpy and uncomfortable!”
I sighed, feeling frustrated. “Just go take a walk outside. The fresh air will help, and you’ll come back and fall asleep.”
“Fine,” he grumbled, getting out of bed.
Just as I was about to drift off, I was jolted awake by a scream. My heart raced—what was happening? Was someone in the house? Suddenly, Adam burst back into the room, looking furious.
“What happened?” I asked, my voice shaky.
“I cannot believe it!” he shouted. “Your mom! Sasha! Your mother is kissing another man in the foyer!”
My heart sank. I had always dreaded this moment, when my parents’ unusual marriage would be revealed. I took a deep breath, trying to calm him down. “Adam, please let me explain.”
“Call your dad, Sasha!” he demanded. “Tell him your mom is cheating right here in your own home!”
I could see why he thought that would fix everything, but it was far from the truth.
Before I could say anything, my mom walked in, adjusting her clothes. “I can explain,” she began, but Adam interrupted her.
“Explain? What’s there to explain? You’re cheating on your husband in his own home!”
“It’s not cheating, darling,” my mom said softly. “Sasha knows, and she’ll explain it all to you. Shaun and my marriage is different. Very different. You need to understand that, Adam, before you judge us.”
Adam turned to me, eyes wide with disbelief. “You knew? You knew about this, and you didn’t tell me?”
“I didn’t know how to tell you!” I exclaimed, desperate to reach out to him. “I’m not proud of keeping this secret, but it wasn’t mine to share.”
“Sasha!” he said, throwing his hands in the air. “You should have told me! This isn’t something you hide from the person you’re going to marry. I don’t know if I can trust you now. Was this a setup? Did you want to introduce me to this lifestyle?”
I felt overwhelmed, unsure how to respond. A memory flooded back to me from when I was sixteen. My friends and I were planning a sleepover at my house. “You have the biggest room, Sasha,” my friend Brielle said. “Let’s have it at your place!”
“That’s perfectly fine with me!” I replied. “My parents won’t mind. We can watch movies in the living room because they have a TV in their room now, so they won’t disturb us.”
“I’ll bring my cotton candy machine!” Brielle said, bouncing with excitement.
I remember telling my mom about our plans, and she smiled. “Sure, honey! You girls can take care of yourselves. Dad and I have a dinner that evening.”
Little did I know, that night I would discover the truth about my parents’ marriage. My friends and I were sitting on the couch when my parents walked in with another couple. My mother was holding onto a man’s hand while my father was kissing another woman. They looked shocked when they saw me.
“We’re married to each other and we love each other,” my mother explained gently. “But we’re also allowed to see other people if we want. There’s nothing wrong with the way we are, and you need to understand that.”
Now, hearing Adam’s angry words brought back that flood of emotions. “No, it’s nothing like that,” I said, my voice shaking. “I am dedicated to you. I don’t want that lifestyle.” But Adam wasn’t listening.
He started talking about his mother’s infidelity that led to his parents’ divorce. “Everything is a red flag for me, Sasha,” he said, looking hurt.
Feeling hurt too, Adam packed a bag and left for a hotel. “I need some time to reevaluate our engagement,” he said, his voice cold. I spent the rest of the night crying, feeling the weight of my parents’ choices crashing down on me.
“You need to talk to him,” my mother said, handing me a cup of coffee. “Just go to him.”
The next day, I joined Adam at the hotel. The silence between us felt heavy, filled with unspoken words. I didn’t know if he still wanted to be with me. I suggested moving to my grandmother’s house for the rest of our stay. “Yeah,” he replied, looking relieved. “This hotel is too cold anyway.”
There was a chill between us that hadn’t been there before. “I’ve never kept secrets from you,” I said softly. “I didn’t know how to bring it up. It’s just hard for me to talk about because I struggled to understand it myself.”
Adam sighed, rubbing his temples. “I get it. But this feels too close to home, Sasha. I just need some time.”
We spent the rest of the week at my grandmother’s, trying to make the best of the situation. My parents apologized to Adam, but it didn’t really matter anymore. Their actions had triggered something deep in him.
On the drive home, we talked about our future. “But I think we need to go to therapy,” I said, handing Adam a drink. “I think that’s a good idea,” he replied, biting his lip. “Because I need to uncover my own trauma before accepting your parents.”
Now, Adam and I have started talking about everything—his fears, my shame, our future. We both know we need to heal from this together.
What would you have done? If you enjoyed this story, here’s another one for you: My Entitled Parents Demanded That I Give Them My New House — My In-Laws Suddenly Stood up for Me. When Carina’s parents kicked her out after high school, she had to figure out life on her own.
Years later, just as her wedding was around the corner, they stormed back into her life, trying to take control of everything she had worked so hard for.
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