Michael had already spent so much money on my family, so there was no way I’d let him deal with the issue at hand.
A few hundred thousand meant nothing to him, but for common folks like me, it was an enormous debt. I had already owed him so much, and I didn’t want that debt to become bigger.
“Do you honestly think that you can handle this on your own? If I’m not mistaken, you’ve already spent all your savings, haven’t you?”
Michael wasn’t angry about my rejection at all. He knows me so well! He actually guessed it right, and I have spent all my savings.
I tilted my head down in shame when faced with his nonchalant gaze. I didn’t know what to say because I truly couldn’t afford to make ends meet with the money I had on me at that moment. Despite that, I still didn’t want to owe him more.
“I’ll come up with something. Please don’t involve yourself in the matter.”
I looked into his eyes and had a straight face on when I spoke.
I didn’t want Michael to get involved in the matter because I didn’t want to owe him more than I already had, and I didn’t want my family to keep asking him for money.
Michael never owed us anything, and my family had no right to keep asking him for money.
He frowned a little after hearing what I said, but he never replied. I guess his silence means that he’s agreed to stay away.
“Anna, you don’t need to keep shouldering all the responsibilities yourself. I can help you out financially.”
Michael was quiet for a long time before he spoke up. His words touched my heart, and I appreciated the way he could always lift me up when I was at my lowest.
I understood that my family had a lot of issues and knew that it would be very difficult for me to shoulder it all on my own. However, it was still my family’s matter, and I couldn’t drag him into it.
“There’s no need for that. My parents will just become greedier if you keep helping them out. They will ask for more money as time goes on.”
It would not be inappropriate to call my family members worthless bloodsucking parasites. All they ever did was daydream about how they could get rich without working. They never thought about making an effort to lead a fruitful life.
“The same applies to you, doesn’t it? If you want to solve the issue within your family, then you must ignore them and stop letting them take advantage of you.”
Michael was a smart man, and he understood all that as well. He could even analyze the pattern clearly. Unfortunately, I couldn’t bring myself to ignore my family completely.
As a member of the family, I simply couldn’t stand idly by and watch as they suffer. I especially couldn’t ignore my parents, who were getting older. They were from a small village and had little income.
“My parents are getting older, and I don’t want them to suffer.”
I had my head down and spoke calmly. After that, I kept quiet.
Truth was, my parents wouldn’t need much money. They were two elders who lived in the village, so how much could they really spend? The only problem was that my stupid brother had a knack for dragging the entire family down with him.
We wouldn’t be in that terrible state if he weren’t addicted to gambling. There were times when I truly hated him, but it didn’t matter what I said or yelled or scolded. Nothing worked on him because he never listened.
I only prayed that he had learned his lesson after his debtors broke both his legs. Hopefully, the pain and the heavy price will change him into a better person.
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