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This story is about a young man who found out about his father’s secret family after he was diagnosed with cancer.
My dad was a healthy man. He worked hard and travelled often. We were based in KL but he often travelled to Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand for work.
One day, he went to the doctor’s office for a throat infection. A few tests later, they diagnosed him with stage 4 throat cancer.
I am the eldest son of three kids. When this happened, I was just 17 years old. From that day, everything in my life changed.
My father’s cancer spread rapidly
It was all so sudden. From the time my dad was diagnosed, his illness took over his life fairly quickly.
We were in and out of the hospital so often, it felt like we were living there.
Within 3 months, the doctors sent him home. They said, “There is not much else we can do. Instead, he should be surrounded with family in the last few moments of his life.”
We were devastated. Although it was a few months before my SPM exams, I couldn’t focus on school anymore.
I skipped school to take care of my father
When he got home, my dad was bed-ridden and couldn’t talk, eat or shower. He was basically in a vegetative state all day long.
I would take care of him, then spend the rest of the evening talking to him, reading the news or entertaining him in some way.
With what little movement he could muster, he would spend his time typing on his phone or using his tablet.
Watching him struggle broke my heart.
A strange woman messaged me on Facebook
One day, I received a message from an Indonesian woman on Facebook messenger. She claimed that she was my father’s wife and they have a family together.
I thought she was a scammer looking for money, until she shared photographs of my dad.
It looked like real family photos. It was pictures of my dad with two kids and the woman. Seeing those children grow up, I realised those photos spanned over 15 years.
She said my dad had been in contact with her up until three days ago when he stopped messaging. This made sense, as his illness took a turn recently and he was spending most of his time high on pain meds and sleeping.
The Indonesian woman told me she wanted to come visit him and say her final goodbye. She promised to explain more when she was here.
My father died, and now I keep his secret unwillingly
In my disgust and anger at this revelation, I blocked her. I never told my mom or my siblings about our dad’s secret family. My dad was barely conscious at this point.
After that, my empathy for my dad disappeared. I was angry at him, but the worst part is, I didn’t even have a chance to confront him, because he died a few days later.
Now, as my family still grieves his death and mourns the loss of him as a great husband and father, I live on in silence knowing I will take this secret to my own grave.
Should this young man keep his father’s secret?
Let us know in the comments!
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Read also: My 60 Year Old Father’s New Girlfriend Is 25. Here’s How I Came To Accept It
My 60 Year Old Father’s New Girlfriend Is 25. Here’s How I Came To Accept It
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