AITA for feigning my suicide after my mentor was found guilty of murdering my father when I was a child?
I (26M) (Well, that's the age I was when the aforementioned incident occurred) had been working as a prosecutor since my debut when I was 20. I was trained under the mentorship of "A"(??M), raised by him after my father was shot and killed when I was a child of nine years. Since his death, I had believed that I was the one who shot him, but had discovered it was actually my mentor all along, who killed him when I was unconscious.
I was put on trial regarding a murder on christmas eve (I did not kill him), separate from the one involving my father, and out of misplaced guilt I had all but succumb to accepting a guilty verdict when my... associate(?) "B"(26M) offered to be my defense attorney. I eventually agreed, and thus began the trial.
During the trial, it was revealed that the true culprit was one of the witnesses "C"(??M), and it brought to light new information about my father's case all those years ago, which was consequently retried, B uncovering that A had conspired with the witness to carry out the recent murder on account of revenge against me. C believed it was my fault that his life was ruined (he was tried and acquitted for my father's death 15 years prior, but the backlash of the case ruined his reputation. Needless to say he wasn't very fond of me, also under the assumption that I had been the one to shoot my father). A had plotted it all because my father, who was a defense attorney, had blemished A's spotless record as a prosecutor the day he died.
This was both a great relief, to know I hadn't in fact murdered my father, and also very taxing on me mentally, to know that I had been raised and moulded by this man for 15 years into becoming the antithesis of my father. Ā
Ergo, I was in a very bad place, and shortly after my acquittal, I left a note behind that suggested I wasn't keen on continuing to live. I didn't go through with anything, just took some time to evaluate my life in Europe.
Here's where I recognize I may be an asshole. I didn't tell B any of this, letting him assume I was dead. B was very angry with me when I returned. Upon seeing me again, he told me it would've been better for everyone if I'd never come back from the dead.Ā
Well you see, our relationship is a bit complicated. I owe him a great deal, and I had come to consider him as a good friend. I had also known B briefly when we were children, and ever since he's become a part of my life again, he's saddled me with unnecessary feelings... Although he used to be someone I absolutely loathed, because I could not win against him when we faced off in court, he ended up being the sole catalyst for my life turning around for the better. Regardless of my opinion on B, he seems to think very highly of me, or in the very least he used to. He was definitely upset that I let him believe I was dead for a year, while I believe it was perfectly reasonable due to the duress I had been under, and I hadn't made any promises to stay around. It's not unusual for me to leave the country, as I resided in Europe for nearly half my life. B has also accused me of leaving because he put an end to my win streak, which as I said, used to be the case, but is absolutely not the reason I left.Ā
AITA?
Voting ended onSep 15, 2023