Pay for His Girlfriend? Not a Chance

[Do you know what you're saying, Eugene?]

I tried my best not to lose my temper as I replied to Eugene Cormac's text.

Eugene replied right away: [Of course, I do. What's wrong with it?]

The text was followed by an indignant voice note. "You're a rich woman, Nadia. You should use your money to help us out, especially when you don't have a boyfriend and you're not using your money anywhere.

"Both of us are still young, and we need the money more than you. You can't let me have a girlfriend without having the means to help her financially, can you?"

A dainty voice was heard in the background. "This bag is gorgeous, honey. Get your sponsor to give you the money to buy it for me."

I was laughing in anger when I heard her request. I could not match the man with the shameless request to the boy who lived in a small village with nothing to his name.

Three years ago, I visited a village in the mountains that was cut off from civilization with a charity organization. I met Eugene for the first time there, and I remembered how he was wearing a washed-out T-shirt, standing with pride amongst the other villagers.

The village chief told me that Eugene's father had passed away, and his mother was disabled. Even though his family was poor, Eugene had a lot of potential, and he asked me if I could help Eugene out.

I agreed, and Eugene did not let me down over the next few years.

Eugene studied hard despite harsh conditions, and he did well on the SATs, even getting accepted into a top-tier university. The villagers were happy for his achievements and called him their 'golden boy'.

Yet, things had changed.

Less than a month after he came to the city, the corrupting glamor turned him from an upright, determined young man into a greedy traitor. His appetite had grown too big for his own good, and he expected me to provide for him his entire life.

I took a deep breath and replied with a voice note, "I only promised to sponsor you, Eugene. Your girlfriend's request to buy new clothes and have a manicure has nothing to do with me."

When I saw that he was making a reply, I quickly added coldly, "Besides, a well-brought-up girl would never cross the line and covet something that doesn't belong to her. You shouldn't make use of someone's kindness to fulfill your own materialistic desires."

There were several seconds of silence after I sent him the voice note, but it was followed by several voice notes that shot at me one after the other.

"Just say it to my face if you refuse to give me the money. You have no right to lecture my girlfriend."

"Stop throwing your weight around just because you have some money."

"The day will come when you'll come crawling to me, begging for help. When the time comes, I will make sure you remember what you did to me."

I did not want to argue with him.

All I did was screenshot and save all of his replies to me, and compile them in a folder, but I did not report him to his university because I knew how difficult it was for a talented boy from a poor village like him to make it out here.

He was just a poor lad of about 19 who had been thrust into the glitzy and enticing city, and after witnessing how others splurge wantonly, he desired the same for himself, which was normal for a kid like him.

As Eugene had done right by me over the last three years by studying hard, I decided to give him a chance to apologize for what he did.