Turns out, he was sharing my stories to build connections with others. It made him look wise and thoughtful. He never used names, but the stories were clearly mine.
When I confronted him, he acted like it wasn’t a big deal. It felt like he was using my life as his personal PR. After that, I stopped telling him anything personal.

Story 8:
I discovered that my now ex-wife purposefully tried to get herself pregnant with our daughter before we were married because she knew her mom couldn’t pay for her health insurance anymore, and she didn’t want to work. However, she knew that having a baby could qualify her for the state’s healthcare system. © Schikadance / Reddit

Story 9:

Story 10:

I had a coworker who always offered to help me with projects. She’d bring me coffee, offer to take on extra tasks, even complimented my work to our manager. I thought she was just incredibly kind and supportive. Then I got passed over for a promotion I’d been working toward for a year.

I later found out she had been documenting my mistakes and quietly taking credit for joint tasks. Turns out, all that help was just part of a strategy. She wanted the promotion and played the long game perfectly. She got the job, and I learned to pay closer attention.

Story 11:

Story 12:
Our neighbor always brought cookies, checked our mail, and even mowed part of our lawn. We thought he was just a nice older man with extra time. But then he started suggesting how we should park, handle trash, even when to turn off lights. It slowly felt like we were being managed.

Later, we found out he was running for the HOA board. He admitted he wanted to “make the neighborhood more presentable.” All that kindness was just groundwork. Not creepy—just calculated.

He got elected, and we realized it had been the plan all along.