Chapter 3

That weekend, I met my best friend Chloe for dinner.

She was my college roommate, also a New Yorker, now a doctor at a hospital.

"Family trouble again?" Chloe guessed the moment she saw my face.

I nodded. "Leo's getting married. They want me to chip in."

"Are you going to?" Chloe took a bite of her steak, her eyes fixed on me.

"I don't know." I swirled the red wine in my glass. "I told them I only have fifty thousand saved, but they didn't seem to believe me."

Chloe chuckled. "Your monthly salary is more than fifty grand. Of course, they didn't believe you."

"It's not that I don't want to help Leo, but…" I paused. "If it were just normal help, I wouldn't hesitate. But growing up, the family always favored Leo. Now, for them to ask me to give up all my savings, even take out a loan, to help him? I can't do it."

Chloe put down her knife and fork, looking at me seriously. "Jade, you need to understand, this isn't just about helping your brother. It's about setting a boundary. If you keep giving, they'll just take it for granted."

I remained silent. Chloe was right; it was a matter of principle.

But facing my parents, I still found it hard to be firm.

"Oh, right, weren't you talking about buying a place? Did you find anything?" Chloe changed the subject.

"There's this new development. I'm thinking of a four hundred thousand dollar down payment, a three hundred thousand dollar mortgage. The monthly payments would be around seventeen hundred. I can afford it."

Chloe looked at me, surprised. "You really saved that much money?"

I smiled. "Ten years is a long time. Saving half my salary every month, plus a few raises from job hopping and some investment returns, I've managed to accumulate a little over five million."

"So, about your brother's wedding…"

"I can help out some, but there's no way I'm giving them all my savings," I said firmly. "In this life, I just want to live with dignity, on my own terms."

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