Under my aunt’s orders, my fianceé married her daughter. So, when I took back the trust fund, the twist that followed turned their triumph into ruins. I’m 28 years old, and up until last year, I thought I had my life perfectly figured out. I was engaged to Nate, 27, the man I thought was the love of my life.
We met in college, but back then we were just acquaintances. He was charming and funny, but we didn’t hang out in the same circles. After graduation, we reconnected at a mutual friends party, and that’s when everything changed. We clicked almost instantly and started dating not long after. For 4 years, we built what I thought was a solid relationship.
He proposed to me after a weekend trip to the mountains, and I thought I was the luckiest woman in the world. Our engagement was a big deal. We had a small ceremony to celebrate with close friends and family. My aunt and cousin Mia were invited, though honestly, I only included them out of obligation. My aunt and I have never been close.
She’s the kind of person who always finds ways to put others down to make herself and her daughter look better. Mia is four years younger than me and admittedly very pretty, but she’s also about as intelligent as a brick. My aunt though has always acted like Mia is the golden child, constantly comparing us in ridiculous ways.
Once she actually compared Mia’s eighth grade report card to my 12th grade 1 and declared Mia better academically because her grades were marginally better than mine in middle school. The fact that I graduated high school with honors and went on to college apparently didn’t matter. Despite our rocky relationship, I didn’t think much about my aunt or Mia attending the engagement.
They were family after all, and Nate seemed to charm everyone there, including my aunt. She wouldn’t stop gushing over him, saying things like, “Oh, he’s so handsome, and look at how successful he is. You really hit the jackpot, didn’t you?” At the time, I thought she was just being her usual over-the-top self. But looking back now, I see that it wasn’t just admiration.
It was something else entirely. Fast forward a few months and Nate and I were planning our wedding for October. I had to leave for a summer program in the UK, but everything was set to go. We picked a venue, started working on a guest list, and even put down deposits on some of the vendors. Nate seemed supportive of my trip, though looking back, I wonder if he was just pretending.
While I was abroad, we stayed in touch through calls and texts. But after the first couple of weeks, something shifted. He started making excuses for why he couldn’t talk. Things like being swamped with work are just too tired. I assumed the distance was taking a toll. But I figured we could get through it.
After all, we weren’t a new couple. We had years of trust and love behind us. At least that’s what I thought. About a month into my trip, our conversations became shorter and less frequent. I asked him if everything was okay, and he brushed it off, saying he was just stressed. Then, a week before my program ended, he completely stopped responding.
I called, texted, and even emailed him. But there was no reply. At first, I was worried. Maybe something had happened at work or he was dealing with some personal issue he wasn’t ready to talk about. But as the days went by, I started to feel like something was seriously wrong. Still, I told myself we’d work it out when I got home.
When I returned, I went straight to my apartment, hoping to find a message from him. Instead, I found my aunt waiting at my door. She handed me a printed wedding invitation. Yes, an actual printed invitation in the age of emails. and told me that Nate was marrying Mia. At first, I thought it was some kind of twisted joke.
I even laughed nervously and asked her what she was talking about, but her smug expression told me she wasn’t kidding. “I’m so sorry, dear,” she said, though she didn’t sound sorry at all. “I know this must be hard for you, but you have to understand when people fall out of love, it’s no one’s fault.” I stared at her, trying to process what she was saying.
Nate and I had been planning a wedding just weeks ago, and now he was marrying my cousin. It didn’t make any sense. My aunt must have noticed my confusion because she quickly filled in the gaps. She explained in excruciating detail how Nate had been lonely while I was away and had turned to Mia for comfort. She made it sound like some romantic fairy tale, describing how Nate had confessed his love for Mia over coffee and proposed to her like an old school gentleman.
Her words felt like knives, each one cutting deeper than the last. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Then came the insults. disguised as concern. “You can’t blame me, dear,” she said, her voice dripping with fake sympathy. “You know how beautiful she is. It’s not her fault Nate fell for her. Maybe you should have thought twice before going to the UK.
Long distance can be so hard on a relationship.” She even had the audacity to suggest that I should be happy for them, saying, “At least he’ll still be part of the family.” I was too stunned to respond. I wanted to scream at her to tell her to get out of my sight, but the words wouldn’t come. I just stood there, tears streaming down my face as she continued her cruel monologue.
Finally, I managed to tell her to leave, though my voice was shaky and weak. She smirked, patted my shoulder like I was some pitiful child, and said, “Don’t be discouraged, dear. I’m sure you’ll find someone else. Maybe an older divorced man who’s looking for a second chance at love.” After she left, I collapsed on my couch and cried harder than I ever had in my life.
I felt humiliated, betrayed, and completely shattered. Nate, the man I had loved and trusted, had not only cheated on me, but had done so with my own cousin. And my aunt, who had always looked down on me, had taken delight in rubbing it in my face. I didn’t know how I was going to move forward. But one thing was clear.
I couldn’t stay in the city surrounded by people who would forever remind me of what I’d lost. After that humiliating visit from my aunt, I spent the next few days in a haze. I barely ate, slept, or did anything other than replay the whole situation in my head. How could this have happened? Nate had given me no real explanation, no closure, just silence.
I had thought we were building a life together, but apparently he had been planning a life with someone else. And not just anyone, but Mia, my cousin, the one person my aunt had always pitted against me. For a while, I couldn’t even face my friends or co-workers. I didn’t want to deal with the questions or the pitying looks.
Everyone had known about our engagement. How could they not? We’d had a big engagement party complete with photos on social media and gushy posts about how lucky we were to have found each other. Now, all I could think about was how stupid I must have looked. My mom, bless her, came to stay with me for a week when she found out what had happened.
She’s always been my rock, and having her there made things a little easier. She didn’t push me to talk about it, but she was there when I needed her. We spent hours watching bad TV, eating ice cream straight from the tub, and trying to laugh at the absurdity of the situation. She even joked, “Well, at least you dodged a bullet.
If he could do this to you, imagine what kind of husband he’d have been. It helped, but the moment she left, the loneliness hit me all over again.” Everywhere I went, there were memories of Nate. The coffee shop we used to visit on Saturday mornings, the park where he had proposed, even the kitchen table where we’d spent countless nights planning our future together. It was suffocating.
I knew I couldn’t stay in the city any longer. I needed a fresh start somewhere far away from all the reminders of what I’d lost. I started applying for jobs abroad, something I had thought about doing before Nate came into my life. Within a few weeks, I landed a promising position in Leeds, UK.
It wasn’t just a job. It was an opportunity to rebuild my life from the ground up. I packed up my apartment, said goodbye to my mom, and boarded a plane with a mix of fear and hope. Moving to a new city, let alone a new country, was terrifying at first. I didn’t know anyone, and for the first few weeks, I felt completely out of place.
But as the days turned into weeks, I started to find my footing. My co-workers were welcoming, and the work kept me busy. I threw myself into my new job, staying late and volunteering for extra projects just to keep my mind occupied. Slowly but surely, the ache in my chest began to fade. One day, a few months after I had settled in, I got a call from my mom that changed everything.
She sounded almost giddy as she told me about a recent family gathering. Apparently, my aunt had been bragging about Nate and Mia’s upcoming wedding, going on and on about how perfect they were together. But then someone asked what Nate did for a living. My mom, knowing full well that Nate had quit his job to pursue his passion for writing, decided to stay quiet and let my aunt handle the question.
My aunt, thinking Nate was still employed, confidently told everyone he was working in finance. Well, it didn’t take long for someone to spill the beans. Another relative chimed in saying, “Oh, I thought he quit his job last year. Isn’t he trying to become a writer now?” My mom said my aunt’s face turned beat red as she stammered through an excuse about how writing is such a noble profession, but the damage was done.
My aunt realized she had married Mia off to someone who didn’t even have a stable income. I couldn’t stop laughing as my mom recounted the story. For the first time in months, I felt like I had the upper hand. My aunt, who had always looked down on me, had been so blinded by Nate’s charm that she didn’t even bother to look beneath the surface.
Now she was stuck with a son-in-law who couldn’t pay the bills. And Mia, who had never worked a day in her life, had to take a part-time job as a receptionist just to keep them afloat. Hearing this was like a balm for my wounded pride. I had spent so long feeling like the loser in this situation, but now I could see that I was better off without Nate.
Sure, I had lost someone I loved, but what had they gained? a broke writer and a life built on lies. But the best part, my mom told me that Nate and I still had a joint trust fund. Back when we were engaged, we had started saving for our future together. I was the one who managed our finances, so I had full access to it.
After everything that had happened, I had completely forgotten about it. Now, it felt like a gift. I wasted no time liquidating the account, transferring the money to my own savings. Sure, 20% of it technically belonged to Nate. But after everything I had spent supporting him, covering his rent, his groceries, even his creative expenses when he quit his job, I figured it was more than fair.
I knew Nate would eventually come looking for the money. He was too arrogant to think I’d actually do something like that. But for the first time in months, I felt like I had taken back control. I wasn’t the victim anymore. If Nate and Mia wanted to build a life together, they could do it without me or my money. For months, I settled into my new life in Leeds, working hard and focusing on myself.
I hadn’t thought much about Nate or my family back home, at least not until Christmas rolled around. That’s when the drama found its way back to me. It started with Nate showing up at my mom’s house. I wasn’t home for the holidays. I had decided to spend Christmas in Leeds and keep my distance, but that didn’t stop him.
According to my mom, he knocked on her door looking for me and demanded to talk about the trust fund. My mom wasn’t sure what he was talking about until he started ranting about how I had stolen his money. She quickly shut him down, saying, “If my daughter took anything, she had every right to, but Nate wasn’t having it.
He kept insisting that the trust fund was our money and that I was obligated to give him his share.” When my mom told me about this later, I could practically hear her rolling her eyes over the phone. I wasn’t surprised that Nate had come sniffing around. He had always been good at playing the victim. And this was just another example of him trying to manipulate the situation to his advantage.
What did surprise me was how bold he was. Did he really think he could cheat on me, marry my cousin, and then come back asking for money like nothing had happened? A few days after Christmas, Nate decided to email me directly. His tone was desperate, almost pathetic. He claimed he was on the verge of being evicted and needed the trust fund money to pay off his overdue rent.
even had the audacity to say that I was being petty by withholding the money. “You don’t understand how hard things have been for me and Mia,” he wrote, as if I was supposed to care about their struggles after what they had done to me. I ignored the email, but Nate, being Nate, didn’t stop there.
He sent another email a few days later, this time trying a different tactic. He apologized for how things had ended between us and admitted he had made mistakes. He said he regretted hurting me and hoped we could find a way to move past it. But of course, the real purpose of the email was clear. He wanted the money.
He even tried to guilt me by saying, “I thought you would be more understanding considering everything we shared. It was laughable.” Understanding? After he humiliated me and destroyed our relationship, not a chance. Still, I decided to reply. Not because I owed him anything, but because I wanted to make one thing clear.
I told him that the trust fund was gone and that he had no right to it. Consider it repayment for all the money I spent supporting you while you were busy chasing your dreams,” I wrote. Then I blocked him. But of course, it didn’t end there. A few weeks later, my aunt and Mia showed up at my mom’s house demanding to speak to me.
Apparently, Nate had told them about the trust fund, and now they were all up in arms over the fact that I had liquidated it. “My mom called me after they left, barely able to contain her laughter. “Your aunt was furious,” she said. “She actually had the nerve to say, “You ruined Nate’s life.” According to my mom, Mia was in tears, saying that I had sabotaged their future.
She claimed they were on the verge of homelessness and begged my mom to convince me to give Nate his share of the money. My mom, being the amazing woman she is, told them to leave and never come back. If Mia is so successful as your aunt keeps claiming. Then why can’t she support her husband? She asked them.
But the real kicker came when my dad got involved. He doesn’t usually get mixed up in family drama, but this time he had had enough. when he heard about what my aunt and Mia had said, he called them out. He told my aunt that if she didn’t stop harassing me, he would cut off the financial support he had been giving her for years.
He even pointed out that if Mia and Nate were struggling so much, maybe they should have thought twice before betraying me. My aunt, of course, tried to play the victim. She started crying, saying she had only wanted to secure Mia’s future and hadn’t realized Nate was a bum. Apparently, she had assumed Nate was still working in finance and was horrified to learn that he had quit his job over a year ago to pursue writing.
She actually had the gall to blame me for not telling her the truth about Nate’s financial situation. If I had known, I would never have let Mia marry him,” she wailed. The irony of the whole situation was almost too much to handle. “My aunt had spent years tearing me down, comparing me to Mia, and acting like she and her daughter were better than everyone else.
And now here they were begging for help because Mia had married a man who couldn’t even pay his own rent. But the best part, my grandparents, who had been letting my aunt and Mia live with them rent-ree for years, finally had enough. They kicked them out of the house, saying they were tired of all the drama.
Now my aunt and Mia are renting a tiny apartment together, struggling to make ends meet. Nate is still trying to find steady work, but from what I hear, no one is eager to hire him. I won’t lie, it felt good to hear about their struggles. Call it karma, call it justice, but after everything they put me through, I think they deserve every bit of it.
By the time my aunt, Mia, and Nate were all turning on each other, I felt like I was finally regaining control of my life. I had no intention of stepping back into the chaos, but as usual, they found ways to drag me back into the drama. A couple of weeks after my grandparents kicked my aunt and Mia out of their house, my mom called to let me know that they had shown up again, this time with a sob story.
Apparently, Mia was panicking because the landlord had given them an eviction notice after Nate failed to pay rent for the third month in a row. My aunt was desperate to find someone to blame. And predictably, they decided that person was me. They showed up here like they were storming the gates of a castle, my mom said clearly trying to hold back laughter.
Your aunt started ranting about how you’re the reason Nate and Mia are struggling. She actually said if you hadn’t stolen that money, they’d be living comfortably right now. Can you believe that? I could. Unfortunately, my aunt had spent her entire life dodging accountability. So, it was no surprise that she refused to take responsibility for her role in this disaster.
After all, she had practically thrown Mia at Nate, convinced that marrying him would solve all of their problems. Now that it had blown up in her face, she was scrambling to pin the blame on someone else. But what really made me laugh was how delusional Mia sounded. According to my mom, she kept saying things like, “I thought Nate was going to take care of me, and he promised we’d have a big house by now.
The idea that Nate, a man who had been unemployed for over a year, could provide that kind of life was so ridiculous that I couldn’t help but laugh. Still, the situation wasn’t without its highlights. My dad, who had been mostly quiet throughout this whole ordeal, finally decided to speak his mind.
When he heard my aunt yelling at my mom, he came downstairs and told her off. If Mia and Nate are so successful, why are they begging for money?” he asked. “Maybe instead of blaming my daughter, you should ask yourself why you thought it was a good idea to marry Mia off to a man who couldn’t even pay his own bills.” My aunt, of course, tried to deflect.
She claimed she had no idea about Nate’s financial problems and that I had deliberately hidden the truth from her. If she had told me I would have never let this happen, she cried as if her ignorance somehow excused her actions. But my dad wasn’t having it. He reminded her that she had spent years treating me like a secondass citizen while putting Mia on a pedestal.
You thought you were so clever, didn’t you? He said, “You stole my daughter’s fianceé and called it a victory. But now that the truth is out, you’re coming to us for help.” Don’t make me laugh. According to my mom, that’s when things really started to unravel. Mia, who had been quiet up until that point, suddenly burst into tears and admitted that she was afraid of being homeless.
Nate said he was going to take care of me, but he lied. She sobbed. I don’t even think he loves me anymore. Apparently, Nate had been blaming Mia for their financial problems, accusing her of not contributing enough. This was hilarious considering that Mia was working part-time as a receptionist, a job she only got because of a favor from my uncle, and Nate was barely making any money from his writing.
The two of them had built their relationship on lies and deceit, and now it was crumbling under the weight of reality. But the real cherry on top came when my aunt started throwing Nate under the bus. I told Mia not to marry him. She claimed conveniently forgetting that she had spent months bragging about their engagement.
I knew he wasn’t good enough for her, but she wouldn’t listen. At that point, my dad had heard enough. He told my aunt and Mia to leave and never come back. “You wanted to humiliate my daughter by parading Nate around like some kind of trophy,” he said. “Now that the tables have turned, you expect us to feel sorry for you? Get out.
” When my mom told me all of this, I couldn’t stop laughing. The image of my aunt and Mia being kicked out of my parents’ house was so satisfying that it almost made up for everything they had put me through. Almost. A few days later, I got an email from Nate. This time, he wasn’t asking for money. He was apologizing.
He admitted that he had made a huge mistake by marrying Mia and claimed that he had been manipulated by my aunt. I thought I was doing the right thing, but now I see how wrong I was, he wrote. I know I hurt you and I’ll regret that for the rest of my life. He went on to say that his life had fallen apart since we broke up.
He was struggling to find work, his writing career was going nowhere, and his relationship with Mia was hanging by a thread. “I wish I could take it all back,” he said. “I wish I had stayed with you.” I didn’t even bother responding. What was the point? Nate had made his bed and now he had to lie in it.
He had chosen to betray me and now he was dealing with the consequences of that choice. It wasn’t my job to fix his life or make him feel better about his mistakes. Instead, I forwarded the email to my mom. Looks like karma finally caught up with him. I wrote. She replied with a single sentence. Best Christmas gift ever.
Two years later, my life looks completely different from the mess it was back then. Living in Leeds has been the best decision I’ve ever made. I’ve built a solid career in my new job, made some amazing friends, and even started dating again. My boyfriend James is everything Nate wasn’t. Kind, respectful, and genuinely supportive of my goals.
For the first time in years, I feel like I’m in a healthy, loving relationship, and I couldn’t be happier. But as for Nate, Mia, and my aunt, let’s just say karma has been working overtime. Shortly after the eviction debacle, my grandparents completely cut off my aunt financially. For years, she had been living off their generosity, letting them pay her bills and give her a roof over her head while she did nothing to contribute.
But after seeing how she manipulated Nate into marrying Mia, they decided enough was enough. They kicked her out and she’s been struggling ever since. Mia, on the other hand, has been stuck in a toxic marriage with Nate. From what I’ve heard through the family grapevine, their relationship went downhill fast.
Nate blames Mia for their financial problems, claiming she tricked him into thinking she could support him while he pursued his writing career. Meanwhile, Mia is furious with Nate for lying about his income and failing to provide the lifestyle she thought she was marrying into. They argue constantly and several relatives have told me they wouldn’t be surprised if they divorced soon.
And then there’s Nate. Oh, Nate. The last I heard, he finally gave up on his writing dream and took a low-paying job in customer service just to make ends meet. He’s miserable, of course, and spends most of his time complaining about how unfair life has been to him. Apparently, he still blames me for stealing the trust fund money, even though I’ve made it clear that I don’t owe him a single penny.
A few months ago, he sent me another email. This one was much shorter than the last. Just a couple of sentences apologizing for everything and asking if we could start fresh. I didn’t even bother responding. What was there to say? Nate made his choices. And now he has to live with the consequences. I have no interest in reopening that chapter of my life.
But the most satisfying part of all this, my aunt has finally been forced to face the reality of her actions. For years, she treated me like I was less than Mia. Constantly putting me down and making me feel like I wasn’t good enough. She thought she had won when Nate left me for her daughter.
But now, she’s living in a cramped apartment with no income, no support, and no hope of things getting better. And Mia, her precious golden child, is stuck in a marriage that’s crumbling before her eyes. A few weeks ago, my mom called me with an update. Apparently, my aunt had been trying to reconnect with the family, hoping to get back into everyone’s good graces.
She even went so far as to apologize to my grandparents for her past behavior, claiming she was just trying to do what was best for Mia. My grandparents weren’t buying it. They told her that until she took responsibility for her actions and made amends with me, they wanted nothing to do with her. My mom also mentioned that Mia had been asking around about divorce lawyers.
It sounds like she’s finally realizing that Nate isn’t the prince charming she thought he was. But honestly, what did she expect? My mom said she knew what she was getting into when she married him. Hearing all of this felt like validation. For so long, I had been painted as the villain in this story, the stubborn, selfish woman who drove Nate into Mia’s arms.
But now, the truth was coming to light. My aunt Mia and Nate had all dug their own graves. And now they were dealing with the fallout. Meanwhile, I was thriving. I had a great job, a loving boyfriend, and a life that felt entirely my own. Looking back, I can’t believe how much my life has changed since the day my aunt showed up with that wedding invitation.
At the time, I thought my world was ending. I felt humiliated, betrayed, and completely lost. But in hindsight, losing Nate was the best thing that ever happened to me. If he hadn’t left, I might still be stuck in a one-sided relationship, pouring all my energy into supporting a man who didn’t value me. Instead, I’ve built a life that I’m proud of, surrounded by people who truly care about me.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from all of this, it’s that karma is real. It might take time, but eventually people get what they deserve. Nate, Mia, and my aunt thought they could hurt me and walk away unscathed, but life had other plans. And while they’re busy dealing with the mess they created, I’m free to live my best life. To anyone reading this who’s going through a similar situation, just know that it gets better.
The pain doesn’t last forever, and eventually you’ll come out stronger on the other side. And who knows, maybe karma will pay you a visit,
