He claimed I had bought too much. Then, he said things were too expensive these days.

He started to lecture me.

“You only get $150 a month as pocket money. You spent $50 on snacks! How will $100 cover groceries?

“You need to budget. Buy one lollipop this month, then a pack of gummy candies next month. That way, you don’t blow too much cash, and you still get to try everything.

“I’ll let it slide this time. But don’t ever do that again.”

I initially thought I had heard him wrong. Then I saw his grim expression and realized he was serious.

I was just about to retort when my younger sister, Bella White, called me.

She requested to borrow $50,000 to buy a car. She said she could pay it back by the end of the year when she received her year-end bonus.

The amount Bella wanted to borrow was exactly what we had in our savings.

After hanging up, before I could even explain, Trevor said, “No way! Even if Bella says she’ll pay you back by the end of the year, can she really do that? Is her year-end bonus even $50,000?”

Bella’s workplace had good employee benefits. For someone like her who had just completed two years of work, the year-end bonus could indeed amount to $50,000.

Her monthly salary was $10,000. Her husband’s salary was also very high. The two had just gotten married and did not have any savings yet.

That was why she needed to borrow money urgently from me.

Trevor fell silent.

Seeing him silent, I said, “She’ll definitely pay it back by the end of the year. Just send her $50,000.”

When he saw how resolute I was, he said, “Our money’s locked in a fixed deposit. If we cash it out early, we’ll lose $6,000 in interest.”

“But Bella is in trouble right now! You can earn interest anytime. Emergencies don’t wait around.”

“It doesn’t matter. We’re not lending her that money.”

Looking at his cold and heartless face, I felt utterly disappointed.

“Fine! You don’t need to. Give me back the money I give you every month.”

I thought he would feel something when I put it like that.

Trevor became agitated.

“We’re a family! Why are you keeping score like that? It’s not like I don’t want to lend her that money! I just can’t withdraw it right now! You can’t just take money out of a fixed deposit.”

Did he really think I was a fool?

Bella called again. I looked at Trevor.

He slammed the door and left.

When I answered Bella’s call, I steadied my breath and lied that I had not yet talked to Trevor. I told her we would discuss it in the evening.

Bella cautiously asked, “Trevor doesn’t want to lend me the money, does he?”

I quickly said, “No, that’s not it! He’s swamped with work today. I haven’t told him yet. Just give me some time. I’ll let you know tomorrow.”

After that, Bella happily hung up.

That night, Trevor and I had a fierce argument.

It even got to the point where we were about to come to blows.

I smashed everything in the house. He cursed at me as he handed me $25,000.

“I’ll only lend you half!”

At that moment, instead of feeling happy about getting the money, I sat on the floor and wailed bitterly because of how hard it was to even ask for my own money from him.

It was my money. Why did I have to beg for it like it was his?

I borrowed another $25,000 from a coworker. I finally had $50,000 in total to give to Bella.

Bella happily thanked me. She even said she wanted to call Trevor herself to thank him for being kind enough to lend her the money.

I did not have the heart to stop her. I told her that sending him a thank-you text would suffice.

The next second, Trevor received a thank-you text from Bella.

He asked me, “You lent her $50,000? Where did the other half come from?”

This time, I did not argue with him. I said calmly, “I borrowed it from someone else.”

“You only get $150 as pocket money a month. How are you supposed to pay back $25,000 back to them? Let me tell you right now, I’m not covering it for you!”

I looked at him as if I had heard the funniest joke. I kept silent and turned to head into the small bedroom.

I thought he would come looking for me. Instead, he fell fast asleep in the master bedroom as soon as his head hit the pillow.

He got up the next morning and acted as if nothing had happened.

But I could sense that his mood was off.

We went to work as usual and came home as usual. We went to the supermarket together to buy groceries.

When I asked him what he wanted to eat, he gave me a brisk reply and told me to decide by myself.

Seeing him like that, I could not be bothered to ask further.

At the checkout, I organized the month’s worth of groceries while listening to the cashier announce the total.

It cost $101.

I was short by $1.

I turned to look at Trevor. He was standing far away at the exit.

His eyes darted in every direction. He just would not look at me.

The cashier said again, “Miss, your total is $101.”

Embarrassed, I took out $100 and called Trevor.

He glanced at his phone. Then, he put it back into his pants pocket.

The people queuing behind started to complain.

“Come on, it’s just a few things! How long does it take to check out?”

“What’s up with young people these days? Living paycheck to paycheck! Seriously? Are you stressing over $1?”

“People are waiting behind you! If you’re broke, why even come to the supermarket?”

The complaints grew louder. I had no choice but to leave behind a condiment I liked. I barely manage to check out and leave.

Although the cashier said nothing, she looked at me in annoyance.

When I walked over to Trevor with the items, he said impatiently, “Why did it take you so long just to check out?”

I felt a knot in my chest and said softly, “It’s because I didn’t have enough money. I called you, but you didn’t answer. That’s why it took so long.”

“You don’t have enough? Borrow some from a coworker, then. Aren’t you supposed to be so good at that?”

I looked at him in disbelief as I found it utterly ridiculous.

“You borrow money only for emergencies. Coming to the supermarket is to buy food for both of us. Why did you just leave?”

Trevor sneered with his hands in his pockets.

“I spent money on groceries last week. This week, it’s your turn.

“Besides, when you go to the supermarket, you need to spend within your means. You can’t just buy whatever you see.

“I’m not like you. I’m not used to buying useless stuff. I only buy what we need. That’s why I never go over budget, not even by $1.”

I was so angry that I could not help but laugh.

Every month, I gave him over $10,000, yet I did not even have the right to spend more than $100 on groceries!

Before I could say anything, he picked up the groceries and walked out.

He yelled at me to hurry up and follow.

Seeing that there was a crowd, I did not make a scene. I followed behind him.

After we got home, he took the groceries out.

“Four apples for $10? You actually bought those? What are these? Gold-plated tomatoes? And these potatoes? There were ones for ten cents a pound. Why did you buy these?”

Listening to his endless nagging, I lost my composure.

I picked up the bag and threw it out the door along with the groceries.

“Faye White, are you out of your mind? Why are you throwing away perfectly good food?”

I could no longer suppress my anger.

“Yeah, I’m out of my mind!”

Trevor gave me a dirty look and picked up the groceries one by one.

He rinsed the food and veggies that were scattered on the floor with water and placed them on the dining table.

“You must be really rich! Throwing away $100 worth of groceries just like that!” he said sarcastically.

I did not have dinner that night.

He came over to lecture me again.

He let on the same drivel about saving money while young. He said I should spend within our means at the supermarket and not splurge.

I got tired of listening to him. I closed my eyes, covered my ears, and ran into the bathroom.

My salary arrived at that moment.

This time, I did not hand it over to him. Instead, I stared at the numbers.

This money was enough for nice clothes, a nice purse, or even good-quality makeup.

I gave him everything every month. I wore old clothes from my school days. Even my bag was an old, tattered tote bag that had cost me $10.

I used the cheapest lotion for my skin.

I felt lost. What was the point of working so hard to earn money year after year?

Trevor suddenly pushed the bathroom door open. He leaned against the doorway and asked, “You always get paid around this time every month. Why haven’t you transferred the money to me today?”

“What if I don’t give it to you? What are you going to do about it?”

When I met his calculating gaze, I felt physically nauseous.

“What am I going to do? When you transfer the money to me, I budget it all out. It’s not like I’m spending it on myself. Why won’t you give it to me?”

This was what happened when someone got comfortable receiving from someone else all the time. It was taken for granted.

“New Year’s coming. I need to buy myself new clothes.”

“Do the clothes you buy cost over $10,000? Do you even deserve clothes that expensive? Transfer the money first. When you actually need to buy the clothes, I’ll transfer the money to you.”

I walked out of the bathroom. He followed behind me and nagged nonstop.

It was as if he was trying to annoy me to death until I gave him the money.

I stopped in my tracks and said firmly, “I want to keep my salary to myself.”

Trevor became anxious.

He stepped in front of me and said, “You’re too careless with money. You can’t save anything! It’s better with me keeping it under control. If I leave you in control of finances, we’ll end up broke.”

I laughed in exasperation.

“I get $150 a month, and yet you call me careless with money.”

Perhaps because of guilt, Trevor froze for a moment.

An urgent phone call broke the tense atmosphere.

It was Trevor’s younger brother, Bryan Guthrie. He needed $100,000 for a down payment on a house.

It sounded urgent.

The money had to be transferred immediately.

I watched Trevor take out his phone. The moment his finger touched the screen, I raised my hand and knocked his phone to the floor.

“Have I said okay to lending him the money?”

Trevor sneered and said, “That’s the money I saved for myself. I’m not touching your money! Besides, I already lent your share to Bella.”

That was ridiculous!

He was ready to transfer the money immediately, without consulting me, when it came to Bryan.

But when Bella needed to borrow money, she had to beg Trevor for it. Why was that?

“Tell Bryan to call me if he wants to borrow money. You can only lend it to him if I say yes.”

Trevor was visibly angry. “What’s your problem? Is this really necessary? Don’t push your luck!”

With that, he leaned down to pick up the phone from the floor.

I ran into the kitchen, grabbed a kitchen knife, and rushed in front of him. I yelled, “I told you that you can only lend him the money if I agree to it!”

Trevor slapped me and snatched the knife from my hand.

He said viciously, “I’m giving Bryan the money! You don’t have the right to stop me!”

I numbly touched my cheek. At that moment, I felt the urge to run away.

I grabbed my phone and rushed out the front door.

Behind me, Trevor shouted, “I’ll give you one minute to transfer your paycheck to me!”

I glanced at Trevor, who was looking down at his phone to make a transfer.

Rage washed over me.

He would never take another cent of my money again!