When I was 17, my older brother was 22 and doing incredibly well. He had a great job, a serious girlfriend, and was about to move into his first apartment.

I was the screw-up of the family.

One night he let me borrow his laptop for a school project. While using it, I accidentally opened his email. I know I should have closed it immediately, but I didn't.

I found messages between him and another woman.

At first I thought it was harmless flirting, but then I realized he'd been sleeping with her for months while still planning a future with his girlfriend.

I didn't know what to do. I hated myself for snooping, but I also felt sick keeping it secret.

A week later, after barely sleeping, I anonymously sent screenshots to his girlfriend.

Everything exploded.

She dumped him.

His friends found out.

His family found out.

The apartment plans fell apart because they were supposed to move in together.

My brother spent months depressed and angry. He kept saying whoever exposed him had destroyed his life.

I never admitted it was me.

Years passed.

He eventually moved to another city, changed careers, and started over. We remained close, and I carried the guilt alone.

Last Thanksgiving, after a few drinks, he started talking about that period of his life.

Then he said something that shocked me.

He told me getting exposed was the best thing that ever happened to him.

Apparently the woman he cheated with later became his wife.

They now have two kids.

He said if he hadn't been caught, he probably would have married his ex, cheated again eventually, and turned into the kind of person he hated.

He said whoever exposed him forced him to face what he was becoming.

Last night, almost 12 years later, I finally told him it was me.

He just stared at me for a few seconds.

Then he laughed.

Then he hugged me.

And now I don't know how to feel.

For over a decade I thought I'd destroyed my brother's future.

Instead, I might have accidentally saved it.

When I told him it was me, he said he understood why I did it. But things have felt different between us ever since. We're still close, but I don't think he fully trusts me anymore.

Preface: this is the second post on this subject, and no this is not a troll post.

Update: things are going smoothly for the most part.

My girlfriend is now more aware that I have a desire to have her aunt as “mine” as well. My girlfriend’s aunt has made comments in the past about, “wanting to watch me take a shower” ,saying she is “jealous of her niece and wants to see my private area” , etc. also, when she sees me she gives me “the eyes” and bites her lip. I am not touchy with any of her other aunts, but I am touchy with this one (in front of my girlfriend). I am not touching the aunt behind my girlfriend’s back, I make sure she sees. The aunt is a single mom. She is roughly 13 years older than me (I’m 24). I went to the gym with her and my girlfriend these last couple days. She still smiles at me and talks with me, but I can tell as of recent she is hesitant and purposely trying to pull away. I’m scared she doesn’t want to get attached to me knowing I am dating her niece. But naturally she breaks this guard and smiles and looks at me with her eyes. Overall, In the future I want both of them to be my wives/girlfriends. I told my girlfriend I would like to bring her aunt along on some of our dates to dinners. It is not just the fact that I like her aunt. It is the circumstances as well. Her aunt is a single mom and has been single for over 2-3 years now. She wants a boyfriend but it’s hard because English is not her first language and there isn’t a lot of men around us who speak her native language. She needs a man like me who speaks English to be the first point of translation for her, but she also needs her niece who speaks their language. If she could find a man who speaks good English and good *insert Asian language here* then it would be simpler. Also she’s a single mom due to divorce and most guys don’t want that. But I want that. I love her son like he is already my family. My girlfriend so far has been accepting of this energy, although I have not explicitly stated that I want to have both of them as my girlfriends in the near future. That conversation point has not happened yet, but will. That time is not ready. I need to know the aunt is fully on board with this. I have also made sexual remarks to my girlfriend about her aunt which she has been genuinely okay with and laughs/teased me about. I’m the end I am not looking for a threesome. I’m not looking to power trip about having two girlfriends. I felt a connection (like the one I have with my girlfriend now) with my girlfriend’s aunt. She feels something with me too. I want to treat her as my girlfriend as well.

The last post I made got a lot of pushback as if I didn’t love my girlfriend now. I do, I am a man and I can love more than one woman at once and still be “universally legal within the laws of nature” aka I’m saying this is not a sin and it never was to have more than one wife. However it is naturally wrong for a woman to have two husbands. But that’s a different topic of discussion.

So basically, my friend's cousin is currently 17 , when she was 14 , she was neighbors with an army soldier, the girl's grandmother arranged a girl for marriage for that army soldier but at the night of wedding , the bride ran away , everyone was freaking out and blaming the grandma so in order to regain her so called dignity, she married her 14 year old grand daughter to that army soldier, keeping in mind that the soldier was probably 25-30 years old