A 43-year-old woman wrote to us to share a story she can’t tell anyone else because she fears being judged. She fell in love with her son’s best friend, and now her relationship with her son is very bad. For the last 4 years, she hasn’t been able to mend things with him, and their recent meeting left her feeling upset.

Anna, the woman who wrote to us, started her letter by saying, “I feel that I’ll be judged. But I’m writing to ask for advice on how to fix this situation.”

She had her only son when she was 21. Her husband and Nick’s father passed away 2 years after Nick was born, so it was just Anna and her son against the world.

Anna admitted she hasn’t had much luck with dating. She went on a few random dates and had a couple of short relationships while raising her son.

One day, everything changed when her son introduced her to his best friend.

Anna wrote that things were normal until her son brought his friend home. She said, “At the beginning of Nick’s senior year, he brought Max, his best friend, to our house. After that, Max came over almost every other weekend. I was really happy because Nick didn’t have many friends and usually kept to himself.”

She admitted she liked Max and thought he was a nice and friendly guy. They had short conversations when he visited.

Then she wrote, “We exchanged numbers just in case. He started sending me messages and jokes, and I replied. Nick didn’t mind, and it seemed normal to him.”

After 6 months of visiting, Max texted Anna to say he wanted to meet for coffee. This message surprised her, and she asked if it was urgent or about Nick. Max said it was important, so Anna agreed to meet him.