My phone was stolen in a car. I needed a phone desperately because of a group project I was doing. I got home and told my mom about it. She gave me an old iPhone she was using before my dad bought her a new one. I didn’t change a thing. I only placed my SIM in it and started using it.

That evening, I had a message I thought was for me but when I checked, it was addressed to my mom. The thing is, my mom is using the same iCloud account on both her new iPhone and the old one she gave me so the two phones are connected. The message came from a man who was asking if my mom had reached home.

I went back to read all the iMessages they had exchanged. The man is dating my mom and my mom is behaving like a high school girl with this man. They even exchanged nudes. She sends him money and she texts to ask for more. They’ve been on several trips together. It looked like the man had even spent a night in our house when everyone was away. He calls my mom, “Sweet Pu**y and my mom sends giggling emojis.

I put the phone back and started crying. My dad lives abroad but he has a business in Ghana—a business my mom manages so he comes home very often. At least four times a year he’s in Ghana. And when he’s here, he spends at least two weeks before leaving. My mom is not a child to be thinking about these things. She’s fifty-one and well respected so why would she do that?

The problem now is, I can’t tell her what I’ve seen. I’ve taken my SIM out of her phone and placed it where I took it. I’ve lost every respect I had for her. When she calls me I don’t want to pick. I’m scared she will read from my actions and know what I know. There’s no one to talk and my dad isn’t the best person to talk to at this moment.

I’m haunted. Where should I go from here with this news? I tried talking to my elder brother about it but knowing him, he will blow everything out of proportion. He’s my father’s boy. I wish I could speak to my mom about it but courage. I don’t have it. What if she hates me for knowing what I know? So many questions but no answer. Who should I talk to? Or I should keep mute and die with it?

—Dorinda

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