A man is struggling to come to terms with a devastating betrayal after discovering his girlfriend has been having an affair with his brother.
Finding out your partner has been unfaithful is a gut-wrenching feeling in all circumstances, but coming to terms with a family member being in on the act is even more heart-breaking.
The bloke admits that he'd become distant from his girlfriend due to high pressure work demands and long hours, but nothing could have prepared him for the awful discovery that followed - and his family's bizarre reaction.
Taking to Reddit to share his heartache, the man, who remains anonymous, explained that he'd always looked after his younger brother - which made the betrayal even more difficult to cope with. In order to protect the identities of the unfaithful pair, the man calls his girlfriend Chelsea in the post, while his brother is called Gabriel.
"While growing up, I sheltered him from any kind of problem. Bullies picked up on him? I made them stop. He struggled in math? I spent hours helping him understand how to solve every exercise," he revealed.
The heartbroken man even helped his brother land a job after he graduated, as his company had job openings and he wanted to see him succeed.
He started dating his girlfriend three years ago and explained that his family liked her. "She and my brother got along but I never thought anything about it," the man added.
"Fast forward to 1 year ago. My department was short on staff. There was a recession, people were let go and that put even more work on my and my colleagues' shoulders. For 2 months, more or less, I worked from 7 AM to 5PM, then crawled home and basically fell asleep instantly.
"Even during the weekends, I was too tired to do anything special. This caused me and Chelsea to not be able to meet each other as much as usual (normally we would go out at least twice a week. During those 2 months, we went out 1 a week or once every 2 weeks).
"After those 2 months ended, things went back to normal, or so I thought. I noticed that Chelsea was distant even while we were together and her behavior [sic] was weird. She became quite possessive with her phone, she would suddenly cancel our dates and other things like that."
When Chelsea's suspicious behaviour raised alarm bells, the boyfriend looked through her phone and found out about the shocking affair.
"I have never been so angry in my whole life. I kicked her out, went to my brother's house and confronted him. He laughed in my face. This man, my own brother, stole my GF after everything I did for him and even laughed in my face.
"Not reacting violently in that moment was the biggest test of self-restraint I ever had.
"I told him I had no brother from that moment onward and to act accordingly."
To add even more insult to injury, the man's parents took his brother's side. Devastated by the whole nightmare, the man admitted: "My family decided to side with Gabriel, because apparently he and Chelsea " found their true love in each other and, while they hurt me, I should try to forgive them and accept it. I told them exactly what I said to Gabriel: from now on, act as if I don't exist."
In response, people shared their disgust at the family's actions, as one person wrote: "I can't fathom how some people have such evil family members".
Another advised: "If you are financially independent, you should cut contact with your parents as well. If you don't you will have to see your brother and Chelsea occasionally and hear about them.
"I think you should put distance between you amd [sic] all of them. Move and change whatever is necessary to make them no longer part of your life."
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