Hi TS, sorry to hear your loss. Mistakes were made and you're owning it, so credit where it is due, you have my respect. It's not easy at all to come forward to the public to share your situation, as you already experienced first-hand: many are quick to get on their high horse.

I see you're doing quite ok handling the "higher-ups" so keep it up, no pun intended

My personal story: I was a victim to a family who got scammed by a "friend" till bankruptcy (I had to help, which meant shouldering some debt). Compared to your story, I'd say you're doing very well on:
1) your intentions - you were desperate to protect your family where you thought they were possibly in danger. You weren't greedy.
2) your accountability - you're not afraid to admit your mistake despite knowing you'd get laughed by the public. It's okay to hide from your partner for now: not all truths need to be told immediately; there's a time and place for certain truths. That said, hiding this from your partner means you must be able to handle it without affecting your family at all. They must know if you would end up troubling them in any way.

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To those confident and smart people: good luck in your life and may your judgement never be clouded.

This post has been edited by Takudan: Aug 30 2025, 01:50 AM