Dear Prudence,
My father cheated on my mother for years and even had a secret family with his mistress. It all came out horribly when I was in high school and my mother was battling cancer at the time. I cut my father out of my life.
He made a few attempts but they were half-hearted at best. He rather slink off and play happy family and pretend my mother and I didn’t exist. Some attempts at reconciliation happened when my grandmother got sick. Part of me was actually hoping it would work. Only my father keeps pressing me to meet his other kids and even presented me with pictures they drew asking me to be their big brother.
I have no interest in the kids or either mother. I honestly don’t think I could be around them and not say something wrong. I acknowledge they are innocent in all this, but I am not up for playing pretend anymore. I miss my father. We used to be very close when I was a kid. How do I navigate this?
—Son of One