“Yuval, since we have talked about marriage when we entered into this relationship, I feel that I shouldn’t keep mum about my family problems. After all, we need to get along well with each other’s family after getting married.”
“Just tell me whatever is in your mind. We need to get to know more about each other before that, don’t you agree?” Yuval said as he looked at me gently.
I was caught in a dilemma, racking my brain to explain to Yuval about my complicated family issues. Gosh! I wonder if he will be able to accept it after I tell him later!
I finally broke the silence and mustered up my courage to tell him about the phone call from my mother earlier on. Apart from that, I described to him the complicated circumstance at home.
In an instant, Yuval knitted his brows and was rendered speechless. The atmosphere became tense gradually due to the utter silence between us. I was clueless about what was playing in his mind, but I would not be surprised if he could not accept my complicated family situations. Moreover, I had a feeling that our relationship might come to an end soon.
My family was just like a bottomless pit. If Yuval intended to spend the rest of his lifetime with me, he would have to be prepared to be a gold mine in order to fill it up.
Even though he was making good money with his profession, he was still not a billionaire. On top of that, the heavy burden of my family might drag him down as well.
I forced a smile and said casually, “It’s alright. My family issues are complicated indeed. You can just be frank with me if you can’t accept it. I won’t mind it. Even if we can’t be a couple, we can still be friends.”
I could actually predict Yuval’s reaction and guess that he would not be able to accept my family. At our age, we had looked past romance and had the tendency to take more things into consideration before making the decision to settle down with someone for the rest of our lifetime.
“Anna, don’t get me wrong. I’m just a bit overwhelmed after you pour out everything to me. Can you give me some time to think it through?” Yuval explained apprehensively.
I was grateful to him for being understanding and did not criticize anything in my face. Catering to my self-esteem, he was considerate and did not choose to make a decision on the spot.
“No problem. If I were you, I guess I would request for a breakup right away without a second thought.” I smiled self-deprecatingly. Even though he did not comment on anything, my instinct told me that our relationship had started dying away.
Later, he offered to send me back to Natalie’s place as usual. He sped off right after I got out of his car. Before that, I managed to catch a glimpse of the grimness on his face.
Feeling dejected, I dragged myself into Natalie’s house and slumped onto the couch in the living room. All this while I had treated Yuval as an ideal future spouse. I was indignant at the thought that my plan to get married to him would be ruined due to my family issues.
Nonetheless, I knew that sooner or later I would need to tell Yuval about the problems. It was actually more practical to let him know earlier. In other words, if he found out that we were not suitable for each other, we could break up earlier, other than wasting each other’s time. I tried to console myself, yet I could not ease my frustration at the sudden loss that I was likely to sustain.
When Natalie came back, she sensed the sadness in me at once and approached me in bewilderment.
“What’s the matter with you? You look as if something is bugging you. Is it related to your work?” Natalie sat next to me and asked in great concern.
“Yeah, kind of. Yet, I’m even more frustrated with my family matters. Steven is gambling again. He is in debt of more than one hundred thousand this round,” I replied wearily. The moment the large sum came into my mind, I could feel my temples start to throb again.
Natalie was aware of how I had tried to settle Steven’s debt all this while. She furrowed her brows again and gasped, ”What a big sum! Steven is really brainless. Imagine how much you have spent to pay off his debt all along! Yet, he never changes and turns over a new leaf!”
“I have basically given up hope that he can mend his ways! My Mom called me today and asked for money again. Even though I made myself clear that I would not help Steven this round, I’m feeling uneasy now. Oh, Natalie, what am I supposed to do?” I mumbled helplessly.
I had been in a dilemma ever since I received the phone call from my mom. Since she was pleading with me to help Steven, I did not have the heart to ignore him. Nevertheless, I could foresee that Steven would stir up bigger trouble next round. Besides, I could not afford to settle such a large sum of debt!
“Anna, take my advice. Just let your brother settle his own problem this round. Even if you manage to pay off his debt this round, I bet he won’t be grateful to you as well. Do you think you can keep helping him when something similar happens again next round?” Natalie stared into my eyes and tried to talk me into ignoring Steven’s debt.
“But, he’s still my brother. I can’t just turn a blind eye to it.” I knew that Natalie was very concerned about me, yet I could not make up my mind.
“Anna, I hope you can try to stay firm this round. Even if you help to pay off his debt again, he might end up owing a bigger sum next round. Gambling is just like the black hole in the universe. No matter how wealthy you are, your money would be gone within seconds,” Natalie advised me again. She was worried that I would be soft-hearted and taken advantage of again.
“What should I do then?” I asked Natalie in bewilderment. Even if I saw eye to eye with Natalie, I worried that I would feel bad for ignoring Steven’s problem this round.
“I think that you shouldn’t help him again. You have worked so hard to earn every single cent. Furthermore, you don’t have much money left now. Thus, it’s impossible for you to pay off such a large sum. You should just let him learn a lesson this round,” Natalie advised me again patiently. I thought of giving it a try although it was challenging for me to do so.
“I get it. Thank you, Natalie.” Deep in my heart, I really thought of doing so. Nonetheless, if Natalie did not try to advise me, I would not be able to talk myself into that.
I finally made up my mind not to help Steven again this round, no matter how my mom tried to plead with me. It was time to let Steven pay the price for his own deed. If not, he would never change.
I was not solely thinking of myself, but for my family as well. Our family was not the prominent type, so we could not afford to let Steven spend extravagantly. I wished that he would lead a practical life and take up a proper job after this.
“You don’t have to thank me. As your friend, I don’t wish to see you burdened with your family matters every day. You have sacrificed a lot for your family.” Natalie gave me a sympathetic glance.
“Oh yeah, there’s still one more thing.” I looked at Natalie and opened my mouth hesitantly.
“What’s that?” Natalie frowned and asked quizzically.
