Dear Ex,

I have done some pretty awful things, but I want to apologize to you for the biggest one. I am the one responsible for ruining the reputation of a perfectly respectable young man (you).

It started as a conversation your ex and I had where she stated that you had hit her a few times, and she had never told anyone. (Later I found her out to be a complete pathological liar, and that this was untrue.) Since I had just broken up with you myself, I decided that she deserved to be avenged in some way, so I took on the role of the one who was hit.

I told my best friends, I told my neighbors, and I told my parents. My friends came in with heavy anger towards you, your roommates even kicked you out of the house you were living in because of me. My neighbors consoled me, and I had perfected my lie so much so that I started to believe it myself. Then my parents… I had to literally beg my step-father not to kill you, as he knew where you, and your various close family members, lived, knew your name, birthday, and a bit of family history. He told me that with his [military] background he could easily make it look like an accident, and still, successfully, I begged.

I know that nothing I can ever say or do will be able to repair the years of dirty looks, angry people, and distrust that have been thrust upon you by my lies. No matter how good of an intention I had, it still doesn’t account for lying about something as serious as domestic violence. I can not yet bring myself to tell my family and friends the truth. I fear so greatly being disowned or worse.

This is one of the few things in life that I truly regret, and wish I had a time machine to be able to fix it, no matter what the outcome. My guilt runs deep, and I can do nothing except offer my sincerest apologies. I don’t wish to have your forgiveness, as I sure as hell wouldn’t forgive someone if they’d done that to me. I just wish to get the courage to set this straight. Even if it takes losing some friends, being disowned by family, and anything else… But my courage is far too weak to do that at the moment, and I have so very few [2] people I can turn to in a time of crisis that I can’t bear the thought of losing them.

- Your ex