I was born and raised in Singapore, and I have never ventured too far from home. Growing up, I had the usual dreams of falling in love and getting married, but I never expected that my life would take the turn it has.
My fiancée was from Hong Kong. When we got engaged, I was ecstatic, but I soon found out that my fiancée had some unusual views on marriage.
Since she was from Hong Kong, she had her own unique set of traditions. One of the most important ones was that the groom should give all of his money and assets to the bride. At first, I was taken aback by this. While it wasn’t something I was used to in Singapore, I wanted to make her happy so I agreed to it.
It was only after I had transferred all my assets to my fiancée that I started to feel uneasy. I began to worry that she had taken advantage of me.
After all, I had no control over my money and assets anymore. I was now completely dependent on her.
My worry was validated when I heard from my friends that Hong Kong people have a tradition of using the groom’s money to buy gifts for the bride’s family.
I was shocked and angry. I felt like I had been tricked into giving away all of my hard-earned money. I was so upset that I considered cancelling the wedding.
My fiancée must have sensed my distress because she quickly assured me that she would not be using my money for anyone else. She said that she was only following the tradition of her people and that she had no intention of taking advantage of me. She also promised to be a good steward of my money and assets.
In the end, I decided to go ahead with the wedding. However, I was still wary of my fiancée and her motives. To make sure that she wasn’t taking advantage of me, I made sure to keep a close eye on our finances. I also told her that she should not use my money for anything that I did not agree to.