Refusing to Marry a Divorced Man, I Become the Scapegoat

I slept until noon on Christmas. When I woke up, I went straight to have lunch. At the dining table, my sister-in-law didn't mention anything about money, but both my brother and sister-in-law didn't look good.

After eating, I made an excuse that I was too tired and went back to my room without even cleaning up the dishes and chopsticks.

"Look, she even doesn't help with the dishes..."

I heard my sister-in-law complaining softly behind the door, but I didn't pay attention. Every time I came home in previous years, I was busy with housework, and she didn't say anything nice to me.

After thinking about it, the only person I could ask for information was one of my cousins. She just graduated from university and had such a lively and cheerful personality that everyone liked her. She was one of the few relatives I had been in contact with.

Although she didn't come home often, she couldn't resist gossip and love to inquire, so she was well-informed.

[Shirley, can I ask you something?]

[Mandy, just ask. I am the information station of our Village. Nothing can escape my eyes.]

I couldn't help but smile, as if I saw my cousin's proud look. She was indeed likable, much better than my dull personality.

[It's nothing serious. I give my parents a monthly living allowance of three thousand dollars. But this time when I came back, Agnes keeps saying that the money is not enough, and my mom doesn't seem to have any money in her hands. Can you secretly ask your mother if my mother has been sick recently? Is she hiding it from me not to worry me?] I edited the message and sent it on WhatsApp.

[Ah, you give so much every month. Doesn't your younger brother give anything?]

[My younger brother just got married and has more expenses. As his older sister, I have to take care of our home more.]

[Okay, leave it to me. I will definitely find out what your family has been up to in the past two years and tell you when we meet.]

[Thank you.]

I was planning to talk to her tomorrow, but my cousin called me in less than half an hour.

"Mandy, let me tell you, I can't wait until tomorrow. Do you know that none of the living expenses you sent has spent on your parents? Agnes has taken it all.

Your parents have never been to the hospital, and they are in good health. Your father even went to do odd jobs.

Your brother still doesn't have a decent job or work hard...

How can they be like this? It's not easy for a girl like you working outside..."

My cousin kept talking for a long time. Most of it was about my parents favoring my brother and my brother's lack of ambition. I couldn't listen anymore.

"You have to take care of your younger brother. He is still young."

"We supported you to go to college, but your brother didn't even go to high school. You have to take care of him in the future."

"When your brother gets married, let him have this house."

…

From childhood to adulthood, I had listened to my parents' words. For more than 20 years, I had been accommodating and protecting him, not because I liked him very much, but because I was grateful for my parents' upbringing and I was willing to do it.

I didn't expect that my younger brother, who was in his late twenties and a father of two, couldn't even support his own family without buying a car or a house.

My younger brother wasn't even responsible for our parents' expenses, but they all thought what I did was never enough. How much should I offer?

I had tried my best to take care of the whole family. Should I have to exhaust myself?

After hanging up the phone, I hid in my room and cried for the whole afternoon. Even when my mother asked me to come out and eat fruit, I didn't go out. I just made an excuse of being too tired and continued hiding in my room.