Dear GhanaWeb,

I am a 27-year-old single woman. I haven’t met anyone I truly like yet, largely because of what I witnessed growing up between my parents. Those experiences still frighten me, so I am very careful about who I date or fall in love with.

Currently, I am involved with a married man who is 43 years old. I am not with him because I love him, but because of his wife. I have known this woman since I was about 18. At the time, she was dating my father, and I discovered their relationship myself.

I was the one who informed my mother about my father’s affair. He had been involved with many women before, but this particular relationship stood out because of how it changed him.

My father began physically abusing my mother around the time I was preparing to enter university. Instead of supporting me, he left home for nearly six months to stay with that woman.

My mother endured everything with patience. When my father eventually returned, he blamed her for his actions, and his relationship with the woman continued. Over time, my mother suffered a stroke.

My brother and I confronted the woman, but she dismissed us, saying our father was an adult who could make his own choices. Eventually, their relationship ended — I believe partly due to my father’s declining health.

When my father was about 54, he had a serious car accident that left him hospitalised for a long period. He was never the same afterward. Although he eventually changed, the damage had been done, my mother had already suffered a stroke at just 47.

I carried resentment toward that woman for years. Three years ago, I ran into her at Independence Square, and all those feelings resurfaced. I noticed she was married, and I made it my mission to find out where she lived.

That is how I met her husband. Since then, I have been seeing him, deliberately trying to make him love me more than her and treat her badly.

She has discovered the affair and confronted me, but she doesn’t recognise me. She calls to threaten me, and I sometimes provoke her further. I do not actually want her husband; my goal has been revenge.

However, the situation has dragged on longer than I expected. I want to hurt her the way I feel my family was hurt, but I also want this chapter of my life to end so I can move on.

Today, my mother remains in a wheelchair, and my father has also suffered a stroke. I find myself wondering what I should do next.

FG/EB

20 years of entertaining Ghanaians, Kwabena Kwabena talks about achievements