I have a younger brother, Mike. He is the embodiment of a man-child and a mama’s boy, constantly complaining and expecting others to submit to him. Simply stated, an asshole. My parents have been unduly concerned about him since his birth. He has no particular needs, and his delivery was not traumatic. He was a new born. And my parents completely shunned me. My mother, especially. She went from being a loving mother to one of those guy mommies criticized on the internet.

My father still loves and supports me, but he has never been brave enough to stand up to my mother and allow me to win at least once. My grandfather (76M) was the only one who stood up for me; he frequently exposed my parents’ lies and loathed my brother. I remind him of his late wife, my grandmother, and we share a particular bond, but he lives on the other side of the country, so I don’t see him very often.

Mike is well aware of our mother’s preference for him, and he enjoys rubbing it in my face. We’ve had fights over this, as well as his behavior. He’s a pampered brat with a lousy personality. I’m not sure how many times I got into trouble because I outperformed him or because he accused me of anything. His only talent is his football skills. He was awarded a scholarship to a prestigious college outside of the state.

My parents did not pay for my college since my fund was allegedly used to cover debts after a fire, only to discover years later that the money was given to Mike to purchase a car and a house.Lucas and I met at the public university. He was the first person I felt drawn to there. Of course, I met new individuals who are now my closest friends, and it was because to them and Lucas, who had been my best friend for years before we met, that I was able to move out of my parents’ house.

Lucas and I are now well-known in our respective industries and earn extremely nice salaries. Now to the main point. Lucas proposed to me a year ago. We’re extremely private people, so we didn’t post it on social media or anything, and when I informed my parents, they said “that’s nice” (I’m starting to suspect they didn’t listen to me at all). We chose a pleasant, modest ceremony and reception with our friends and family.

Lucas asked me to invite my parents and brother, but they did not answer. When I went to visit and started talking about my wedding (without revealing it was a wedding), my mother would always speak over me, telling me about my brother’s triumphs and unusual adventures. I felt fed up with it and interrupted my mother to tell her about an event I was attempting to organize with an unchangeable date.

She informed me that they would be unable to attend because my brother’s final game of the season was scheduled on the same day and had requested their presence. Of course, their preference did not surprise me: they missed my ballets, shows, and both my high school and university graduations for reasons related to him. At this point, I just wanted to be petty. I informed both of my parents that missing this event wasn’t a problem, purposefully omitted the information that it was my wedding, and didn’t press further.

I recently got married. It was perfect. My family, Lucas’ family, and our friends all came, and we had a wonderful day. My grandfather was happy to give me away, and it was perfectly appropriate. My relatives asked me multiple times why my parents weren’t among us. I was honest and just told that they were unable to attend my brother’s game. They gave me a few stares, and my grandfather was visibly unhappy for a time, but nothing strange happened.

Lucas and I left for our honeymoon following the wedding and did not use our phones during the entire trip. However, when we returned, we saw that a storm had welcomed us home. I turned on my phone but was unable to unlock it before a flood of notifications came. The majority of them come from my mother and brother. Mike called me nasty and beat me because one of my paternal aunts posted photos of the wedding on Facebook and tagged them with a clear dig at my parents (particularly my mother) for missing it.

The post became viral in my parents’ neighborhood, and they were publicly scolded for mistreating me. It also turns out that my grandfather paid a personal visit to my parents and went on a tear-jerking diatribe to embarrass my father, his son. And this appeared to be my father’s breaking point, because he was so upset about missing his only daughter’s wedding and his father’s disapproval that he eventually rebelled against my mother and threatened divorce unless she made it up to me.

That, I believe, is why my mother has been bombarding my phone with abusive and threatening messages, followed by sorrowful ones full of pleading and pity parties. Now I am at home with my spouse, pondering how to approach the matter. Most of my relatives, including those I did not invite to the wedding, have contacted me to apologize for what I went through and claim they had no idea this was going on at home (I can’t blame any of my relatives;

they all live with my grandfather on the other side of the country or in another state), but my mother’s sisters and friends are mocking me for not informing her about the wedding because she is now distraught at the prospect of missing it. Personally, I believe she is only stating it to save face, but I am not certain.My parents’ most recent texts look to be terribly sad and hurt because they missed my wedding. My family is now divided on three fronts: the majority who support me, my maternal aunts who humiliate me for hurting my mother’s feelings, and my maternal grandparents who insist that I forgive my mother because of her “atonement.” My best friends are warning me not to listen to them.