I’ve known this guy for years. He works in USA, 14000+ km away. He earns like USD 9k per month minimum, the company paid for the car and housing, and he got bonuses for being expat in a foreign country.
He can only return to Singapore once a year. We talked on a daily basis for hours using whatever means of communication – videocall, whatsapp, instagram, everything. I literally switched on my camera the whole time by the time he got home until his bedtime, like a CCTV, solely to make sure he’s not lonely in such a foreign country.
When the restriction was lifted, he took a month off and flew back and demanded that I be with him when he’s here. I was a bit reluctant because I work during the night.
But when he’s with me, he splurged on food, he took me to an expensive restaurant, when he’s buying a watch, he asked if I wanted one and he paid for it. He gave me his old AirPods, which I had to deep clean several times because they were too dirty.
But it’s free. I earn only 1/10 from his earnings, I cannot say no to free stuff. I listened to his daily work rants, I know abt his family, everything. I was like his local wife but sans ring, marriage, monthly allowance and I-love-yous. I know he’s married before, but he never told me that and I didn’t bother to press for clarification. What’s past is past.
An accident happened last month and I lost my savings to almost zero.
To make matters worse, I was sick and was in and out of the hospital for treatment. He knew this, he knew all about me. Every day he would send pictures of Air Jordans and ask which one’s better, or perhaps a new TV, which size would be a better experience for his gaming room or a speaker set that will blast his eardrums. I would give him my opinion and he would buy those suggested items.
My phone bill was due yesterday and I barely have $200 in my account to survive till next month, so I asked if he could help me with the bill. He said no, he said he has no money too. I was surprised but I kept quiet.
And then he continued sharing luxury stuff that he got his eyes on, asking for my opinion again. Which I know, once I give my opinion on which one is better, he would send another picture to tell me that he bought it already.
I don’t feel like responding to his messages anymore, but I took a lot of free stuff from him.