A decade after a catastrophic betrayal ripped her life apart, one woman found happiness—but her peace is now being threatened by her family’s new crisis.
At 21, the OP’s world was destroyed when her older sister, Elizabeth, revealed she had been secretly dating the OP’s fiancé for three years. Elizabeth topped off the revelation by demanding the OP get an abortion so she and the ex could be together.
The OP subsequently miscarried and went no-contact. Eight years later, her parents are trying to drag her back into the drama, hoping she will help intervene with Elizabeth’s children, whom she is reportedly treating like accessories.
The OP preemptively shut the idea down, leading her parents to call her “cold.”
Now, read the full story:
This is less a question of being an [jerk] and more a masterclass in setting necessary, protective boundaries. The sister’s betrayal—the cheating, the deceit, and the monstrous demand for an abortion—was not a simple mistake. It was calculated cruelty that caused enormous trauma, compounded by the subsequent miscarriage.
Eight years later, the parents are attempting a soft reconciliation maneuver, weaponizing “nieces” to force the OP back into the fold. This entire situation is a perfect storm of relationship trauma and parental enabling. The OP’s proactive stance saved her future sanity.
The mother and father are using a manipulative tactic: conditional forgiveness. Their argument, that because the OP is “happy now,” she is obligated to forgive and welcome the consequences of the betrayal (the children), is psychologically unsound.
Releasing oneself from anger does not equal restoring a relationship with the source of the trauma. The OP’s choice to remain estranged is a choice to prioritize her own mental health and protect her new marriage and pregnancy.
Furthermore, the parents’ statement, “Elizabeth had done was awful but she was still a good person,” shows classic enabling behavior. They are minimizing the severity of the betrayal to maintain their relationship with the “golden child,” and now they expect the OP to participate in that delusion.
The OP is right to connect her sister’s past actions with her present parenting style. Someone capable of such profound cruelty and selfishness is highly likely to treat children, who require selflessness, as mere extensions of their own ego.
Check out how the community responded:
The entire community was firmly NTA, celebrating the OP for her strong boundaries and calling out the parents for their manipulative behavior.
![I'm a firm believer that people who tell others what they "should" do often "should" [get lost] all the way off and mind their own.](https://dailyhighlight.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/wp-editor-1761820320123-2.webp "Woman Refuses to Meet Nieces Born From The Affair That Caused Her Miscarriage")
Many users focused on the gravity of the betrayal, arguing that the OP owed nothing—especially contact with the sister who caused so much trauma.
Commenters also pointed out the hypocrisy of the parents, who failed to fully support the OP during the original crisis.
The community universally praised the grandmother for being the only family member who validated the OP’s feelings.
The OP made the difficult, but correct, choice to protect her own peace. Forcing her to engage with her sister’s consequences, under the guise of compassion for the children, is cruel and inappropriate.
The parents’ focus should be on protecting the grandchildren by calling social services, not on manipulating their estranged daughter.
Do you agree that the OP made the right choice to shut down her parents proactively? Is there ever an obligation to forgive a sibling for a betrayal this catastrophic?
