**Diary Entry**
I cut ties with my familyand for the first time, I can breathe.
Growing up, I believed family was the most precious thing in the world. My parents had several siblings, meaning I was always surrounded by aunts, uncles, and countless cousins. Every Christmas, every summer, wed all gather at my grandparents house in a small village near Manchester. The place overflowed with laughter, lively debates, and the smell of my grandmothers cooking. I was convinced we were unbreakable, that nothing could ever tear us apart.
But I realised far too late that it was all an illusion.
After finishing school, I didnt go straight to university. My parents were struggling financially, and I didnt want to burden them further. So I chose an accounting course instead, thinking it would help me land a job quickly and save for uni later. When the time came to look for work, I thought of my aunt, Elizabethmy mothers sister. She worked in HR at a big firm in London. I wasnt asking for favours, just advice, maybe a recommendation.
She cut me off before I could finish.
“I cant do anything for you,” she said sharply. “You dont have the right qualifications, no experience, and frankly, I dont think this field suits you.”
I froze. She hadnt even tried to listen. Shed dismissed me like a stranger.
I was furious, but I refused to let it break me. I got into university and pushed forward on my own.
A few months later, I returned to my grandparents for a family dinner. The moment I walked in, I felt the atmosphere shift.
“Look whos herethe great scholar!” my uncle Philip sneered. “Finally figured out you need a degree to get anywhere in life?”
The whole table burst into laughter.
“Hell drop out anyway,” my cousin Thomas added. “If he were really clever, hed have gone to uni right after school, not wasted time with useless courses.”
I clenched my fists under the table and stayed silent. But inside, I was boiling. That night, I understood one thing: I didnt belong with them.
After that, I stopped going to family gatherings. Why subject myself to their cruelty? But one day, my mum called.
“I know its hard,” she said softly. “But family is family. You cant just cut them off.”
For her sake, I tried one last time.
At the next gathering, they found another reason to belittle me.
“Youre 29 and still not married?” Aunt Elizabeth smirked. “What woman would want a man with no stable career, no house, no future?”
I said nothing. I was working tirelessly, studying, building my life brick by brick. But to them, Id always be a failure.
Then, everything changed.
My grandmother, Margaret, fell seriously ill. She was 91, couldnt walk, and needed round-the-clock care. And suddenly, this family that preached so much about blood ties vanished one by one.
“Ive got my own children to look after,” my aunt sighed.
“My job takes all my time,” Uncle Philip muttered.
“Shed be better off in a care home,” Thomas concluded.
They abandoned her.
I couldnt.
I took her into my flat in Birmingham. I fed her, bathed her, cared for her every moment. My fiancée, Emily, whod only met her a handful of times, showed her more kindness than her own children ever had.
In her final months, my grandmother barely spoke. Every night, I sat by her side, held her hand, and reminded her of childhood memoriesso shed know she wasnt alone.
After she passed, I heard the whispers at the funeral.
“They only did it for the inheritance Who knows, maybe they hurried things along.”
The same people whod left her now dared to accuse *me*.
That was it.
By her grave, I made my decision.
It was over.
I refused the inheritance. I cut all ties. Even with my mum, I only speak when she truly needs help. The rest? They no longer exist to me.
And for the first time in my life, I feel free.
No guilt. No shame. No need to justify myself to people who never accepted me.
They may share my blood, but they were never my true family.
Now, I have my own life. My own future.
And finally, peace.
