- Joined
- Sep 3, 2011
- Messages
- 34,817
- Reaction score
- 18,576
- Location
- Look to your right... I'm that guy.
- Gender
- Undisclosed
- Political Leaning
- Centrist
Ask Amy: After a false accusation, aunt now wants to move on
~~~How would you answer this?
I'm amazed at the gall of the aunt. "Oh, I ruined your reputation, but let's act like it never happened, ok?"
Really?
Dear Amy: A while back, an heirloom necklace of mine went missing.
The only person to visit me recently had been my adult niece. I asked my niece why she took my necklace and told her to return it immediately.
My niece kept denying she had even seen my necklace. I was furious with her for lying to me.
I went to the police and pressed charges against her for stealing. A few weeks later I found my necklace in the pocket of a coat I had forgotten about.
I had wrongfully accused my niece of stealing from me and had pressed charges against her!
I’m ashamed to admit that I also insulted her as a parent, her young children and blasted her on several social media sites during those weeks.
We live in a small tight-knit community, so word traveled quickly. I was told by another family member that my niece told them she could not even go to the store now without getting dirty looks.
I have, of course, dropped all charges against her and told her I made a mistake. I said, “Let’s put this ugly incident behind us and forget it happened.”
My niece will not speak to me! Her husband told me that my accusations have caused my niece a great deal of anxiety and she’s been sleeping poorly, and having migraines because of what happened.
I just want everything back to how it was before all of this. A close friend suggested that since I publicly humiliated my niece, a public apology would be a good place to start.
I’m ready to drop the whole incident and forget it ever happened, and see no need in continuing to refer back to it.
Older but Not Wiser
~~~How would you answer this?
I'm amazed at the gall of the aunt. "Oh, I ruined your reputation, but let's act like it never happened, ok?"
Really?