10 Times People Had to Face Cruel Reality

Life can surprise us in painful ways. Sometimes it’s a series of unlucky events, other times it’s someone close who hides the truth or lets us down. These moments can really shake your trust and make you question everything. But they also teach valuable lessons about strength, boundaries, and who truly deserves a place in your life.

• My wife has been hosting a book club for months with her female friends. I’d go out for a few hours to give them privacy. One night, I’d left my laptop at home. I came back quietly. As soon as I opened the door, I noticed something odd: the living room was perfectly clean. No books. No plates. Just a few empty glasses on the counter.
  From down the hall, I heard muffled crying. I followed the sound to our bedroom door. My wife and her friends were sitting in a circle on the floor. They all looked up, startled when they saw me. I was shocked.
  Turns out, it wasn’t anything shady. It was a support group. One of her friends had lost her husband suddenly, another was caring for a sick parent, and my wife had started hosting “book club” nights so they could talk, cry, and just not feel alone. She hadn’t told me because she said, “It’s not my story to share. I just wanted to give them a safe space.” I was hurt that she didn’t tell me about this from the beginning, but at the same time, I was really proud of my wife.

• When I was a child, I had a lot of stuffed animals. They weren’t toys for me, they were my best friends, each one had his own name, voice and personality. I used to spend hours by day playing with them. One horrible day, they all disappeared from the house. Don’t ask me how long I cried when I realized they were just gone. When I grew up, my mom told me that she was the one who gave my plush friends to a friend of her who had children too, and said “I thought you didn’t play with em anymore”. © Faculito22 / Reddit

• My boyfriend had four other girlfriends at the same time. We discovered each other when he dumped us all within a few weeks and moved on. © melesana / Reddit

• My girlfriend and I worked together with a new co-worker at a retail store, got to know him really well over a few months, enjoyed working with him because we joked around a lot and made work more tolerable. We saw him every day and became good friends. We even invited him to join us at a get-together with a few other friends, and we played Mario Kart with the guy.
  Then one day, he quit because he found a better job, and that same day he then called HR and tried to get my gf and I fired because we aren’t “allowed” to date and work together. He also made up a story about my girlfriend violently throwing things at him. She ended up getting fired. He had nothing against us as far as we knew. I’ll never understand the reasoning behind betraying us like that. © livelet*** / Reddit

• This beautiful boy bought me perfume, and it was a beloved treasure. One day, I couldn’t find it, and my friend helped me look all around my room. We were down on hands and knees, looking under the bed and behind things, but we just couldn’t find it and gave up.
  Few months later, I was at her house and asked if I could borrow her deodorant. Opened up the medicine cabinet and there was my perfume. I think she had some serious issues to steal from me and lie like this. © tinydotbiguniverse / Reddit

• My dad let my stepmother wear my dead mother’s wedding ring when my stepmom lost her own wedding ring. © tkauff7 / Reddit

• My wife and I weren’t perfect parents, but we tried our best with what we had. We both worked hard, and sacrificed much for them. They’re in their 20’s now, and are just annoyed that we still exist. If we have the audacity to invite them over for dinner, or ask to spend a few hours with our grandkids, they treat us like we’re dirt that they can’t get scraped off of their shoes. © ryanh*** / Reddit

• My sister called to ask if I was still with my girlfriend. I said, “Of course, why?” She informed me that she just saw her at the mall walking with some guy. Holding hands. Being all snuggly. This was on Christmas Eve. © RadioFriar / Reddit

• I was thinking of going back to school to become a nurse and was talking about this plan with my dad. A friend of his worked in a hospital and I mentioned that perhaps that friend could give me a recommendation someday. And my dad replies, very matter-of-factly, “Well, he’s not going to want to do anything that damages his reputation.” © milomcf***n / Reddit

• I’m adopted. I didn’t find out till I was 23 (27 now). Whole family knew. Even 5-8 of my closest friends knew. © VoiceofSiL3nce / Reddit

If you enjoy stories with shocking twists, check out these 11 True Stories That Put Every Soap Opera to Shame. Sometimes, truth really is more dramatic than fiction.