PART 17 – After I Stopped Sending Money, My Family Suddenly Had More Questions About My Finances Than They Had Ever Asked About My Life

The next morning, I woke up later than usual.

For once, my alarm hadn't dragged me out of bed before sunrise.

My body still felt tired, but the exhaustion was different.

I had finally slept.

My phone was on the bedside table.

There were several missed calls.

Most were from David.

One was from Mom.

There were also messages from Sarah and Chloe.

I didn't open them immediately.

I made coffee first.

I stood in my little kitchen, holding the mug with both hands, watching the steam disappear.

It was a small thing.

But I hadn't allowed myself to enjoy small things for a long time.

Then I checked my messages.

David had written several paragraphs.

He said everyone was upset.

He said I was making Christmas difficult.

He also said that the family had counted on me to help with the expenses.

I read that last sentence twice.

Counted on me.

Not asked whether I could afford it.

Not wondered whether I wanted to help.

They had already included my money in their plans.

I put the phone down.

Then another message arrived.

Sarah: We still need to figure out the Christmas dinner.

I stared at it.

There it was again.

The turkey.

The dinner.

The expenses.

Even after everything I had discovered, she was still talking as if I would eventually take care of it.

I didn't answer.

A few minutes later, Chloe called.

I let it ring once before answering.

"Hello?"

She sounded nervous.

She asked whether I had reconsidered.

I asked what she meant.

She said Christmas was approaching and everyone was trying to organize things.

I told her I understood.

Then she asked whether I was still planning to pay for the gifts.

I looked at my coffee.

"No, Chloe."

She went quiet.

I explained that I wasn't covering Christmas gifts this year.

She said that would make things difficult for Mom and Dad.

I asked why everyone expected me to pay for their gifts.

She didn't have an answer.

Instead, she said I was making a difficult situation worse.

I felt something familiar rising inside me.

That old urge to apologize.

I almost said I was sorry.

Then I remembered the Gucci bag message.

I remembered the screenshots.

I remembered the fifteen laughing reactions beneath David's confession about the electricity.

I swallowed.

"I need to take care of myself too."

She sighed.

We ended the call.

I sat down at the kitchen table.

For years, my family had treated my income as something everyone could discuss.

They knew when I worked overtime.

They knew when I received extra pay.

They knew when I had money available.

But they rarely asked how much I had left after rent, food, and my own expenses.

I opened my banking application.

My balance was there.

For once, I didn't immediately start calculating how much I could transfer to somebody else.

I closed the application.

Then I made another cup of coffee.

I wasn't going to change my decision because somebody disliked it.

Click here to continue reading: PART 18: The Christmas Plans Began Falling Apart When Everyone Realized I Was No Longer Paying for the Things They Had Already Promised Themselves