Love's Challenges and Triumphs

My parents went crazy when they heard that I was going to marry Jonathan. They first tried to convince me, "Dating is different from marriage."

They also said earnestly, "The economic gap between our families is so big, once you get married, there will be many conflicts over money."

In the end, they even asked all my friends to persuade me not to marry Jonathan.

I responded perfunctorily, but I was busy choosing wedding photos and a wedding planning company.

I liked Jonathan. I had been with him for six years but we had hardly ever quarreled.

I understand that his family was not well off, so I gave him gifts every holiday and he didn't need to prepare for anything.

While the girls in my office received the coffee ordered by their boyfriend, I took the initiative to order it for Jonathan.

My colleagues all said I was crazy and that Jonathan must have cast a spell on me because no man wouldn't prepare gifts for his girlfriend.

But I thought they were biased. I didn't think men had no right to receive a gift.

They explained, "We mean if you prepare a gift for him, he should also prepare a gift for you. How could he just receive a gift but not prepare anything?"

I explained on behalf of Jonathan, "He doesn't have much money! And he has to send part of the money he earns back home."

"It doesn't matter if the gift is expensive. Even if it's worthy of just a few hundred dollars, or a few dozen dollars, it's fine if he chooses it carefully."

I explained again, "Maybe he doesn't know how to choose a gift."

"Then he can just transfer you some money. "

Then I didn't know how to explain this.

Jonathan and I had been together for six years. He only gave me fifty dollars once the first year we were together. Later, he made an excuse that he had no money, and I expressed my understanding of him. Since then, he never gave me anything.

I convinced myself that his family was so poor that he had no money to buy me gifts. After I started working, I convinced myself again that most of the money he earned was sent back home.

It might be because I'd deceived myself for too long, when Elsa said in front of me that their family wouldn't offer us anything for our marriage, I still convinced myself that I should follow their family custom.

But I was still sad for a long time because I didn't get a penny from his family. During that time, I even treated Jonathan coldly.

To please me, Jonathan bought me my favorite cake for the first time. He said, "I love you, Chole. I don't want our love to be tainted by money. You know our family's financial situation. If my family was better off, I would have given you money."

He even promised me, "Wait for me. When my salary exceeds twenty thousand dollars a month, I will take you on vacation. After we get married, I will give you my bank card."

I must have been insane. Anyone could tell he wouldn't keep his promise, but I still believed him. Even when I told my parents that Jonathan's family wouldn't offer me anything, I was still very proud. I was sure that the relationship between Jonathan and I was so pure that we didn't need to talk about money.

Jonathan, who regarded money as nothing, said, "Chole, how much will your family give us?"

Seeing that I was skeptical, he explained, "The money your parents give to you is a guarantee for you. I am just curious."

When I said carelessly that my parents would give me two hundred thousand dollars and a car, I noticed he looked excited. During that time, he took me to see cars every day and said that he could finally have a car of his own after working for so long.

I wondered if he had misunderstood something. My parent brought the car for me but not for him. Why was he so excited?