Imagine raising a child for over a decade…only to find out everyone but you knew the truth about her real father.

Then she cuts you off, disappears for years, and suddenly decides she “misses you” after a brief reunion at your mum’s funeral.

And now you’re supposed to just slide back into the dad role like nothing ever happened? Read on for the story.

AITAH for not wanting a relationship with the girl I raised as my daughter?

I (42M) had a daughter (now 18F). I tried my best but it wasn’t an easy relationship.

I found out when she was 12 her long term stepdad was actually her biological father.

He lived with her and my ex for a few years. I also found out my daughter knew he was her biological father for a few years at that point too. Her, my ex and the stepdad knew but never told me anything.

That’s a heck of a secret to keep.

So I challenged the courts and they stopped my maintenance. Because that happened, she didn’t want a relationship with me.

Then, a couple of years later, her bio dad got parental responsibility for her and we parted ways.

I haven’t had contact with her for a few years later now but she’s had a relationship with family members.

Makes sense.

Recently, my mum sadly died and my dad invited her to the funeral.

Despite not seeing her for a good 5 years or so, I hugged her and gave her a kiss.

I exchanged pleasantries and thought that was it. I was just trying to be cordial.

How thoughtful.

I received a really long message from her on my social media saying how much the meeting meant to her and she wanted to meet up again – that she missed me and regretted the way things went and wanted to reconnect. I’ve ignored it because I feel so hurt still.

My dad disagrees. He said he thinks she’s still like a granddaughter to him and should meet her.

I’ve ignored them so far. AITAH for not wanting a relationship?

Most people would agree there’s grief, betrayal, and a whole lot of unprocessed hurt here.

This person says there aren’t really any jerks, but it’s pretty sad.

This person agrees…

And this person explains it plain and simply.

Hard to jump back into fatherhood when you were written out of the family script years ago.

If you thought that was an interesting story, check this one out about a man who created a points system for his inheritance, and a family friend ends up getting almost all of it.