They Called Me Selfish for Asking Him to Feed His Own Son Chapter 13
I pull up a chat log. Zoom in.
From two years ago. The day before Derek’s father needed heart surgery.
Me, [Derek, did you take the money from my drawer? That was for Dad’s procedure.]
Derek, [Yeah. A charity project needed urgent funding. I used it.]
Me, [That was for Dad’s surgery! The hospital bill is due tomorrow.]
Derek, [Borrow from a coworker. I’ll pay you back later.]
Me, [Derek, that’s his life!]
Derek, [You’re so narrow-minded. Helping people is helping people. Why does it matter if they’re family or
strangers?]
The chat loses its mind.
[Holy shit. He doesn’t give the family a dime AND he steals surgery money to donate?]
[What kind of saint leaves his own father to die?]
[This is next-level fake.]
[Wait… so maybe she’s the victim?]
I let the anger build, then continue.
“Derek said in his video that I tried to steal his paycheck, that I blew through the family’s savings, that I ran
off and left them with debt. Every single word is a lie. I never once tried to stop him from doing good. All I
ever asked was for a little of his money to stay in this house-because we were drowning.”
“Every month, I couldn’t keep up. The bills kept piling on. His parents ran out of meds. Leo’s tuition got later and later. I begged him to help-just enough so we could breathe. And this is how he responded.”
I pull up the living room security footage.
I’d installed that camera to keep an eye on his parents-in case one of them fell or had an emergency while I
was at work.
Never thought it would become my evidence.
The video plays.
Me flipping through bills, hesitant, “Derek, the bills this month are forty-five hundred. I only make thirty-two hundred. We’re short thirteen hundred. Could you please leave something for the family instead of donating
everything?”
Derek’s face hardens, “It’s my money. I’ll donate if I want. You want to control that too?”
Me, “I’m not trying to stop you. Just a little for the family. Dad’s heart is bad, Mom has diabetes, Leo needs
school. I can’t do it alone.”
Derek, colder, “Can’t do it? Work harder. The only way people think I’m great is if I give it all away. Why do you want to be lazy and ruin my reputation?”
Then his mom from off-screen, “Clara, my son is a famous philanthropist. Instead of being proud, you want to scheme against him?”
His dad, “Never seen anyone so selfish. Derek worked hard to become respected. You’re his wife-you should look up to him, not drag him down.”
And finally Leo, “Mommy won’t let Daddy be good. Mommy bad! I hate Mommy!”
The video cuts.
The chat freezes for a full five seconds.
