His Celebration Left Me in Debt

The SAT results have been released, and my younger brother, Alvin Bellamy, got a score of 1400. To celebrate his achievement, I set aside my usual frugal habits and throw him a party. Amid the lively cheer, he suddenly says, "Sandy, I'm legally an adult now. It's time for you to give me Mom's life insurance payout, yeah?" I shake my head in response, but just as I'm about to explain why, he flies off the handle. "I've had enough of the pressure of studying in this country! I didn't even bother applying to any colleges, and the application deadlines have closed, so I'll be stuck attending a community college. If you don't want to ruin my future, you have to give me the money so I can study abroad instead!" Feeling disappointed and disheartened, I transfer Alvin 5,000 dollars on the spot. However, he assumes I'm keeping the lion's share of the money to myself. Not only does he threaten me in front of everyone, but he even teams up with our biological father, who cheated on our mother many years ago, to spread lies about me. "You've been hoarding all of our dead mom's life insurance payout, living it up this whole time while refusing to give any of the money to me, your own brother! What did I do to deserve a sister as vicious as you?" Looking right into the eyes of the nasty ingrate I've doted on for over a decade now, I scoff and throw out a pile of invoices. "Where do you think the money that's been spent on you all these years came from? In fact, if we're going to settle the score properly, you owe me 580 grand." Chapter 1 "When it comes down to it, you just don't want to give me the money! How can you have the nerve to call yourself my older sister when you're trying to keep all of Mom's life insurance payout to yourself?" Alvin Bellamy, the younger brother whom I'd painstakingly taken care of for ten long years, was now glaring resentfully at me. My throat tightened. I couldn't speak. Our relatives, who'd come for the party, all assumed I'd been caught in the act, so they started chiming in at once. "You're definitely in the wrong here, Sandra. Sure, you've worked hard taking care of Alvin all these years, but what kind of older sister doesn't look after her younger brother? Keeping the money for yourself is such a heartless thing to do." "Alvin scored 1400 on his SAT! Just give him the money. As long as you two maintain a good relationship, he'll definitely repay you in the future." "That's right. We know you've had a hard time all these years, but that's no excuse to keep all that money to yourself." Their doubts and accusations came crashing over me, making it hard for me to breathe. "I'm not trying to keep the money from him…" After Mom died, I ignored my teachers' advice and gave up my education. Throughout these years, for Alvin's sake, I worked all kinds of jobs, even waiting tables and standing for hours on end along factory assembly lines, doing whatever I could to earn money. At my most desperate, I even sold my blood. But in the end, what did I have to show for it? Alvin, my own brother, chose to put me on the spot at the celebration party I organized. Right in front of all our guests, he accused me of keeping Mom's life insurance payout to myself. This is what I got in return for all my years of sacrifice. Perhaps my expression had turned stormier than Alvin anticipated, for he relaxed his stance a little. "I only want to use the money to study abroad, so just give it to me. I'm all grown up now. I can make my own decisions about how I want to spend the money." "Your SAT score is good enough to get you into a decent college right here in the country. There's no reason for you to study abroad instead," I advised. Regardless of everything, he was still the brother I'd loved and protected for years now. I didn't want to see him go down the wrong path. "Discounting the fact that you'd be all alone in a foreign country, your health won't allow you to—" "At the end of the day, you're just coming up with excuses not to give Alvin the money!" Jimmy Sloan shouted even before I could finish speaking. "Half of the payout belongs to Alvin. How can you think about stealing your mom's life insurance payout from him? "Do you even have a conscience? What did he do to deserve a sibling as despicable as you?" "This is none of your damn business." I glanced icily at Jimmy, our biological father, who'd ignored us for years. I couldn't find it in me to show him even the slightest semblance of courtesy. In fact, I wouldn't even have let him into the party if Alvin hadn't insisted on it. "You didn't show us an ounce of concern all these years, so don't try to butt in now either," I declared without holding back. "Why, you!" Jimmy turned purple with rage, but he couldn't find the words to retort. "That's enough!" Frowning, Alvin walked over to Jimmy. "No matter what, he's still our dad. How can you talk to him like that? How can you be this cold to your own family? "All these years, you kept using my health as an excuse to control what I do. Don't tell me you've lied so much that you've even fooled yourself into thinking it's true. Why wouldn't I know how my body feels, huh? "I'm going to be straight with you now. I didn't bother submitting any college applications, and the deadlines have passed. If you don't give me the money to study abroad, you'll be ruining my future." Chapter 2 My face instantly paled as I stared at Alvin in disbelief. "Are you out of your mind? How can you joke around with your own future like that?" "Just tell me whether you're giving me the money or not!" Impatience flashed in Alvin's eyes. "You've been controlling every aspect of my life all these years. "If you really care about me, you'll send me abroad instead of expecting me to continue struggling in this country's cutthroat academic environment. I wouldn't even have been able to hang in for so long if Dad hadn't been there to give me the guidance and support I needed." I looked at Alvin—and the smug Jimmy standing beside him—and scoffed. Alvin had always been in poor health. He even had several surgeries done when he was younger. Because of that, I devoted all my time and attention to taking care of him. I couldn't even sleep soundly at night for fear that I wouldn't hear him call for me. It took years of sacrificial care and unfailing attentiveness to nurse him back to health. That was the only reason why I restricted him from doing certain things. Yet according to him, I was just being a controlling person and somehow wasn't as good to him as Jimmy, the guy who abandoned us as children and only showed up occasionally to say a few empty words to him? "Do you know that it was his extramarital affair that resulted in Mom's car accident?" I snapped at Alvin, feeling a mix of exasperation and frustration. How I wish I could slap some sense into him. "But now, you're taking his side and pressuring me for money. How is this fair to Mom—or me?" In fact, I was already giving him a sugarcoated version of the truth. In reality, Jimmy's mistress had deliberately called Mom to let her hear what she and Jimmy were doing in bed. It'd been such a huge shock to Mom that she lost control of the car and got into an accident. I'd kept the truth from Alvin all this time because I didn't want it to affect him. I never thought I'd end up spilling the truth now. "So what?" Alvin retorted. The anger burning inside of me seemed to solidify as I paused, struck dumb by Alvin's response. Staring at him in disbelief, I asked, "What did you just say?" "Dad has nothing to do with Mom's death. It was just an accident." Alvin didn't look at me, possibly because my expression was too incredulous, but that didn't stop him from talking. "All men do these things. Mom's the one who was too weak and sensitive and got into an accident because of it." All men did these things, huh? Stunned, I turned woodenly toward Jimmy, who was still standing beside Alvin with a gloating expression on his face. He rubbed his protruding belly and eyed me mockingly. I turned my gaze back to Alvin, who was starting to resemble Jimmy more and more. "Is that how you've thought about this all along?" I asked. This whole time, I'd assumed that Alvin was unaware of the past and still harbored a childlike desire for fatherly love. Never did it occur to me that he was indeed his father's son. The apple didn't fall far from the tree, after all. "Either way, half the payout belongs to me. I have every right to get it back from you." Alvin didn't respond to my question outright. Instead, he brought up the money again. Nevertheless, his attitude alone was all the answer I needed, and my heart turned cold with disappointment. "Why are you wasting your breath on her? It seems to me she just doesn't want to give you the money!" Jimmy started shouting again. With him leading the charge, the rest of our relatives started voicing their agreement as well. "Sandra, regardless of the situation, that money belongs to Alvin. It's not right for you to keep hiding it from him and refusing to hand it over." "Alvin's future is in your hands now. You're his sister. You can't ruin his life." "If your mother knew things had come to this between you two, she'd be heartbroken." The invisible pressure surrounded me once more. It suddenly hit me that Alvin must've planned this from the start—he'd already decided to force me to hand over the money during the party. When did he stop trusting me? When did he start plotting against me? "Fine. You want the money, right?" I snorted as I pulled out my phone. "I'll give it to you. You'd better not regret it." Since I'd given in and got my phone out, Alvin finally broke into a smile. "Why would I regret it?" But just moments later, he cried out, "Five thousand dollars? Why is it only five thousand dollars?" Chapter 3 "How's that possible?" Jimmy snatched the phone from Alvin's hand. After seeing the transferred amount on the screen, he frowned grimly before suddenly pointing at me as if he'd realized something. "Sandra Bellamy! How can you steal your own brother's money? Have you no shame? The money comes from your mom's life insurance payout!" "Oh, so you do know it's the life insurance payout for my mom's death, huh?" Clutching my phone tightly, I scoffed at Jimmy. "Sure, it seems like you're speaking up for Alvin, but anyone who isn't aware of the situation might think you're trying to take the money for yourself instead." After all, if I hadn't held a knife to my throat back then, this money would have already ended up in his hands. Now that he and his mistress had another son, it was hard not to suspect it was his own pockets he wanted to line with that money. Jimmy's gaze flickered, but I didn't bother with him anymore. I simply looked at Alvin, still hoping to see even a trace of realization on his face. "What the hell are you playing at?" Unexpectedly, he avoided my gaze and snapped irritably at me instead. "I've already told you I want to use this money to study abroad. Do you really want to ruin my future? "Just what will it take for you to give me the money? Do you think Mom would want to see you being this heartless toward your own family like this for the sake of money?" "You're calling me heartless?" Fuming, I jabbed a finger at Jimmy. I had to hiss out the words to avoid shouting them instead. "If you cared about this family at all, you wouldn't have invited him over—and you wouldn't be taking his side to demand money from me in front of everyone! "I'm guessing this wasn't a spur-of-the-moment thing, huh? You planned this from the beginning, didn't you?" Alvin said nothing, but the evasive look in his eyes gave him away. Even though I'd already suspected it, seeing his reaction still made my heart sink. The brother I'd devoted a decade to caring for didn't trust me at all. He even teamed up with the father who cheated on our mother to publicly pressure me into giving him money. What a mockery it made of everything I'd done for him! "There's only five thousand dollars. I didn't take a single cent. I've already given everything to you." Suppressing my anger, I picked up my bag and turned to leave. "Since you're an adult now, we'll go our separate ways from here on out." All I got to show for ten years of undivided care and attention was a nasty ingrate. Well, I wasn't going to foolishly carry on making the same mistake. "Hold it right there!" Jimmy shouted behind me. "How dare you say you didn't take any money when you only gave Alvin five thousand dollars? Who do you think you're fooling, Sandra? You even bought a house recently! How can you say there's only this little sum of money?" I stopped in my tracks. My blood seemed to freeze over as I whipped around and stared at Alvin. He was the only one I told about the house. "You just bought a house this year, Sandy. How can you say that's all the money you got?" Alvin met my gaze without a hint of guilt, his tone accusatory. "If you're going to lie, at least come up with a better one. "I know you've sacrificed a lot all these years, but half of Mom's life insurance payout was always mine. No matter what, you should give it to me. Don't you think you're crossing the line by using that money to buy yourself a house instead?" "I used my own money to buy the house! As for your share of the payout, five thousand dollars is truly all that's left of it. If you don't believe me, I can print out the account statements tomorrow," I replied coldly. Seeing the uncertain flicker in Alvin's eyes, I snorted and left. Behind me, Jimmy's furious shouts and our relatives' overlapping chatter kept going. Chapter 4 Alvin attended a boarding school. Ever since he demanded the money at the party, he stopped coming back to the house, choosing to stay at his dorm instead. That being said, he'd called me a few times, pressuring me to give him the money each time, of course. I didn't give him another cent. Meanwhile, I went to work as usual, but I kept getting the feeling that my coworkers were gossiping about me behind my back. A few days later, I finally understood why. "Sandra, if you can't resolve this matter, you should just resign on your own." My superior threw me a resignation letter he'd prepared for me and sent me straight home. The gossiping didn't stop. After checking my phone to see the social media post a coworker had sent me, I finally found the reason for all the contempt and malice I'd been receiving from them. Alvin had posted about what happened at the celebration party, only he'd embellished it with more lies than I could count. Every word he wrote was an accusation. He claimed I was a heartless woman who cared more about money than family. He even twisted the truth around, saying that I'd taken all of Mom's life insurance payout to buy myself a house. Standing outside the office building, I trembled with anger as I stared at my phone. Just as I was about to call Alvin, a group of people suddenly rushed toward me. "There she is! That's her! She looks like a decent person, but she stole her mother's life insurance payout from her own brother! She's a monster!" "You heartless beast! How dare you live a life of luxury with your mom's life insurance payout and use your brother's share to buy yourself a house? You're deplorable!" "Look at her, making herself appear all fancy and presentable. That doesn't hide the fact that she's a shameless and ungrateful bitch!" The crowd surrounded me, and a handful of them at the front were even holding up banners, claiming that I'd kept all of Mom's life insurance payout for myself, preventing my own brother from attending college even though he'd gotten a score of 1400 on the SAT. The bolded words, printed in red, drew the attention of the other passersby. I even spotted my neighbors in the crowd. Many people were taking pictures with their phones, and some had already started live-streaming the scene. "Goodness me! The brother did so well on the SAT, but his older sister ruined his chance to go to college!" "How could she take all of her Mom's life insurance payout for herself? I guess you really can't judge a person by their appearance." "Look at her. She's dressed like a slut. I bet she is one, too!" Nasty insults filled the comment sections of the live streams, and some even started spreading obscene lies about me. "I hate people like you who'll do anything for money. I'm going to teach you a lesson on behalf of your dead mother!" With a roar, a burly man charged at me, his fist raised. "Whoa!" "What a righteous man!" The crowd was fired up—not to help me, but to praise the man's so-called "righteousness". A punch landed, alright, but it wasn't the one everyone expected. As the dust settled, Alvin suddenly pushed through the crowd, seemingly coming out of nowhere, his face full of worry. "Sandy, are you okay…" His voice faltered, along with the feigned concern on his face. The burly man was lying flat on the ground, groaning in pain. Everyone thought I'd be the one who got a beating, but I remained standing with an expressionless face. "I'm fine. Thanks for your concern. You definitely showed up at just the right moment." I rolled my wrist, deliberately emphasizing the last few words. Of all the times he could've shown up, he did at the most pivotal moment, right when I was about to get punched. What a timely arrival it was, indeed. "You will really stoop to anything just for money," I added darkly. If I didn't happen to know a bit of self-defense, I couldn't even imagine what I would have gone through today. I would've been besieged by the scandal and the humiliation. Thanks to his schemes, I might have even lost my job. This was what I got in return for everything I'd done for him the last decade. "Stop acting like you're morally superior. If you cared about family at all, you'd give Alvin his share of the life insurance payout instead of using the money to buy yourself a house!" Chapter 5 Jimmy pushed his way through the crowd and put his arm around Alvin before putting on a tearful performance as he listed out my "awful deeds". "Just look at yourself! You've been living such a comfortable life that your skin is practically glowing! Meanwhile, Alvin looks so frail. "Why do I get the feeling you've been abusing him all along, huh? And now you're hoarding the life insurance payout and trying to use emotional blackmail on him! How dare you talk about family, huh?" I scoffed in anger. At home, I had always given Alvin the best of everything. If he looked frail, it was because of his health condition. But that was somehow my fault? However, thanks to Jimmy's claims, the crowd that had briefly settled down after my counterattack seemed to snap back to life. Holding their banners, they began to condemn my "heartless" behavior. "I have to admit she's pretty tough. Look at how she took down that burly guy with one move." "Yeah, she looked pretty cool just now, but that doesn't change the fact that she's a heartless monster—using her mom's life insurance payout to buy herself a house. She's not even fit to be called a human." As they spoke, they edged closer, slowly surrounding me. The suffocating pressure closed in from all sides. "Sandy, I know you've had it hard all these years. Money is important. I get that. But it shouldn't come between us like this," Alvin said in a choked voice, his eyes misty. "I didn't want things to turn out like this. I would never have asked you for the money if I didn't need it to study abroad. I wouldn't even mind giving it all to you. "But right now, I have no other choice. Just give me the money, Sandy. When I come back after studying abroad, I'll give you all my salary. Please, Sandy? Sandy…" He called out to me again and again, sounding sincere enough to move the surrounding crowd to sigh in sympathy. But I could see right through him. I caught the scheming look in his eyes—and the smug satisfaction in Jimmy's. At last, I was completely disillusioned. My own brother—the one I had raised with my own hands—had turned into a monstrous leech. He'd spent a decade draining me dry, and now, he wanted to make my life a living hell, too. "You came here just for money, didn't you?" Looking at the crowd that was scowling angrily at me, I smirked. "You even resorted to a trick like this just to force me into giving you money." "I'm not trying to force you," Alvin declared, his gaze scheming. "It's just that your attitude worries me. Once you give me the money, nothing else will happen. I'm not trying to harm you." "Cut the bullshit! If you still think of Alvin as your brother, you'd hand over the money now!" Jimmy demanded before pretending to wipe his tears again. "Alvin is such a kind young man. Despite everything you've done to him, he's still worried about you. "What's wrong with him wanting to get back the money that's rightfully his?" Voices of agreement rose through the crowd again, while I stayed silent. Kind, huh? Was that the word used to describe a brother who used lies to manipulate the public, relying on public opinion to back his sister into a corner? "Sandy, even though we're siblings, when it comes to money, we should keep the accounts clear. Family is one thing, but this money really matters a lot to me." My lack of response made Alvin impatient, and his tone started taking on a resentful tinge. "Haven't I endured enough all these years, with the way you kept forcing me to focus on my studies? I'd been on the verge of breaking down countless times now. What's wrong with me wanting to study abroad? "Do you even know what it's like to stay up past midnight just to study? Have you ever had to get up at 6:30 am just to review your lessons? Do you have any idea how it feels to be so caught up in trying to solve a math problem that you're too stressed to even eat dinner?" Alvin's voice kept getting louder. "You know nothing! You dropped out of high school, yet you kept forcing me to study. Now that I can finally choose an easier path for myself by studying abroad, you hang onto all the money and refuse to give me my share!" Once again, I could only laugh in anger. It was true that I never had to study past midnight or wake up early to review my lessons. But no one knew the hours I worked each day. Even getting to sleep at 1:00 am was a luxury for me. I also had to wake up at 5:00 am to prepare his breakfast. In fact, I'd been hospitalized multiple times as a result of my sleep deprivation and overexhaustion. How was any of that less tiring than studying? To make matters worse, he was the reason I had to drop out of school! Chapter 6 Rage bubbled up in my chest, but I forced myself to stay calm. "I'll say this one more time—I did not take your money. Five thousand dollars truly is the entirety of your share of the life insurance payout." "How could it be that little? Dad told me Mom's life insurance payout was two million dollars!" Alvin blurted out. All at once, he thought of something and immediately forced some tears out. He launched into another bitter tirade about my domineering ways until the crowd couldn't stop empathizing with him. "I pity him so much. His mom is gone, and his sister ignored his feelings, forcing him to study just to bring honor to the family. I can't even imagine the pressure he's under." "This sister of his is absolute trash. She doesn't like studying either, yet she can't empathize with how difficult it is for her brother. And now she's even withholding the money meant for his education abroad." As the voices of condemnation grew louder, Alvin seemed to gain confidence. "Give me the money, Sandy." The crowd began waving their banners and punching their hands in the air, pressing closer as they chanted, "Give him the money! Give him the money!" Some even started getting physical with me, grabbing at me and shoving me. "Fine. You want the money, right? Don't touch me. I'll tell you where it is!" The moment I said that, I saw Alvin's eyes light up. He pushed through the crowd to stand in front of me. "See, Sandy? Wouldn't it have been easier if you'd just done this from the start?" "You're not entirely wrong." I looked at him. "At first, your share of the payout was a million dollars." The figure made his eyes sparkle, but before he could celebrate, I went on, "But after covering all your expenses until you became of age, only five thousand dollars remain." "Don't be ridiculous!" he shouted. "I barely had any money growing up! I ate bland, simple meals and wore cheap clothing. It couldn't have cost much at all! Don't think you can fool me!" It was true that we'd always lived frugally. Aside from saving money for his medical treatments, I'd also been saving money to buy back the house we had to sell off previously—the only thing I had left to remember Mom by. In order to do that, I had to cut down on everything. I didn't even allow myself to have the "bland, simple meals" Alvin was complaining about. "You're right. Your living expenses don't add up to much," I said, my lips curling into a mocking smirk. "But have you ever wondered why we had to live so frugally this whole time? "It's because of your health condition—because you suffered from a serious heart defect! All the money we had was spent on your treatment!" The moment I said that, I caught a flicker of evasiveness in Jimmy's eyes. But before I could think much of it, Alvin cried out, "That's impossible!" He immediately refuted my claims, "I'm perfectly healthy. You've just been using that ridiculous excuse to control me this whole time!" "Go ahead and see for yourself." Sneering, I reached into my handbag, got my phone out, and pulled up the transaction records.