Hey guys, need to vent before I completely lose my mind. I’m a standard 100% Singaporean guy, but my home situation right now is literally like a Channel 8 drama serial, except it’s happening in real life inside our 4-room HDB in Toa Payoh.
Background Story: How this nightmare started
Around two years ago, I started dating this girl. Let’s call her C. To be completely honest, C is a full-fledged Ah Lian. Sharp features, dyed yellow-blonde hair with dark roots growing out, multiple ear piercings, smoked like a chimney, and came from a super chaotic family background (full of Ah Beng Ah Seng drama).
One night, C got into a massive screaming match with her parents, and they literally packed her bags and chased her out of the house. She had nowhere to go, crying at 2 AM at the void deck. Me, being the naive “hero” boyfriend back then, felt super soft-hearted. I asked my Ah Ma (paternal grandmother) if C could crash at our place for a few weeks while she sorted her life out. My parents stay elsewhere, so it’s just me and Ah Ma in this flat. Ah Ma, being traditional and compassionate, said okay.
Fast forward to last year: C and I realized we were completely incompatible. The constant arguing, different life goals, and toxic traits meant we eventually broke up. It was a mutual split, no cheating involved, but definitely awkward.
Naturally, I expected C to pack up and find a rental room or go back to her family, right? WRONG.
The Plot Twist: She never left, and Ah Ma adopted her
When I told Ah Ma that C and I broke up, Ah Ma’s response was literally: “Break up then break up lor, why must force her to move? Outside rental room so expensive, she very poor thing!”
It’s been almost half a year since the breakup. C is STILL staying in our spare room. And the worst part? My Ah Ma treats her WAY better than her own biological grandson. Look at the stark comparison:
- Food Hierarchy: When I come home late from work, Ah Ma tells me “Fridge got bread, go toast yourself.” When C comes back, Ah Ma instantly boils herbal soup, warms up steam chicken, and asks her “Ah Girl, tired or not? Drink soup!”
- Bills & Aircon: If I turn on the living room aircon for 30 minutes, Ah Ma starts nagging about SP Services electricity bills and global warming. C leaves her room aircon running 18 hours a day, and Ah Ma says “Weather so hot, later Ah Girl skin break out, let her blow aircon lah.”
- Household Chores: I get scolded daily if my shoes are 1cm out of line. C leaves her dirty laundry in the basket for three days, and Ah Ma DOES HER LAUNDRY AND FOLDS IT FOR HER.
Am I the intruder in my own home now?
The dynamic is so bizarre that I feel like I’m the tenant paying rent, and C is the favorite biological granddaughter. Every evening, I walk out of my room and see my Ah Lian ex-gf lounging on the sofa in an oversized t-shirt, watching Taiwanese Hokkien dramas together with my Ah Ma, laughing and eating sliced papaya that Ah Ma lovingly cut for her.
C doesn’t even pay proper rent! She gives Ah Ma maybe $100 a month for “token allowance”, which Ah Ma probably sneaks right back into C’s pocket anyway. Meanwhile, I pay $600 monthly for household expenses and town council fees, only to be treated like an unpaid household maid.
Whenever I bring up the topic of C finding her own place, Ah Ma will guilt-trip me into oblivion: