No Way Home
I had been married to Jeremy Yeager for three years, and he had a strict rule.
"We can't lend our money to outsiders. We help out during emergencies, but we don't support them endlessly. This is the bottom line."
Thus, I begged him on my knees when my father needed 60,000 dollars for his gastric cancer surgery.
He remained calm. "If we break this rule today, your entire family will be draining our bank account tomorrow. I have to be responsible for this family."
I sold my dowry to raise the surgery fee and accepted that some boundaries needed to be kept in marriage.
When Jeremy's childhood sweetheart, Celia Marten, returned to the country to start a business and her start-up funds were insufficient, he transferred 470,000 dollars from our joint account.
I confronted him, yet he just laughed and replied, "It's different. Celia's doing legitimate business. It's guaranteed to turn a profit. Besides, she's not an outsider."
Looking at the numbers on the transfer record, I suddenly understood everything. It was not a matter of principle. The 60,000 dollars for a life-saving treatment was for an outsider; the 470,000 dollars investment was not.
What truly mattered was who wanted the money.
I did not argue or make a scene. I took our marriage certificate out of the drawer and slammed it on the table. "She's not an outsider, huh? Just make her your wife, then."