So a little context. Earlier I made a post here about how my parents took away the ₹3000 I had saved for months to give my friends a treat on my birthday. A lot of people here said what they did wasn’t fair, and honestly the support made me feel a lot less crazy about the situation.
But then things got worse.
My cousin sister somehow found out about that post. She started acting really judgmental and said things like, “You’re such a disgrace to the family. How could you go around telling strangers about family matters? This is normal.” Then she said she was going to tell my mom that I made the post.
I immediately started panicking because if my parents found out I talked about them online, I would get into serious trouble. I literally cried and begged her not to tell them. Her response was basically, “Not my problem.”
Here’s where I might be the asshole.
She shares her Instagram account with me and has logged it into my phone before so I could reply to guys for her when she’s busy or out. So I still had access to it. I opened her account, took screenshots of her chats with a guy she’s been talking to, and sent them to her.
The thing is, she’s 20 and the guy she’s seeing is in his mid-30s, married, and has two kids. I told her that if she tells my parents about my Reddit post, I’ll send those screenshots to her parents and expose the relationship.
Now she’s furious and says I’m blackmailing her and that I’m just as bad as her.
I know what I did wasn’t great, but I also felt cornered because she was basically threatening to get me in serious trouble with my parents when I was already struggling.
So what do you guys think, AITA?
Nah she deserves it
it feels like that to me too
NTA – In a normal world you would totally be an AH here, but she made the opening move and you are defending yourself.
BTW – what you sescribed in your original post is NOT normal and NOT the kind of things that parents who care about their children do. If your cousin represents your family’s attitude, uou need to get out of that house ASAP.
I have started finding colleges and since last night I have been working on looking for places wit low rent too. I am taking the advices.
NTA
It’s not “blackmail” you’re covering your own ass. She has nothing to fear so long as she isn’t a snitch first!
yep true
NTA. Your whole family dynamic sounds super fucked up and you need to get out of there
working on that. looking for colleges
I think you should still tell her parents what is going to happen if your parents find out about the post atleast you are not dating a married man.
She should face the consequences of being a AH
I will wait for her to snitch because if i tell her parents, she will be pulled out of college.
Have to say NTA on this one. What OP did would usually be wrong, but in this case it was justified in response to the sister cousin’s attack. It’s like the old saying “people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones,” except here it’s “people who document their affairs with married men on Instagram shouldn’t threaten to expose the secrets of other people with access to the same Instagram acct.”
PS “sister cousin” looked like an oxymoron but instead of griping about it I decided to Google, and in case you didn’t know, it’s a term for a female cousin in various forms of South Asian English.
NTA. Turnabout is fair play.
NTA Fair is Fair. I’m sorry your whole family sucks.
Indian family and their khoon ka rishta is the most overhyped element of this country. I am so happy that we are not close to our extended family and my community was of my choice i.e. my friends.
Also NTA.