He Faked Poverty, Tricked Me Into an Abortion, All for a Bet Chapter 12

He Faked Poverty, Tricked Me Into an Abortion, All for a Bet Chapter 12

I took Lucas around my hometown and showed him the old house where I used to live.

It was an aging wooden house, and because no one had lived there for years, half the roof had collapsed.

“So where do you stay when you come back now?”

“At my uncle’s house.” I smiled awkwardly. “But I never stay for more than a few days, and I pay them for room and board.”

“They don’t treat you well, do they? It feels like they’ve been taking advantage of you for money this whole time. With the cost of living around here, could your grandmother really spend five hundred dollars a month?”

“I can understand them, actually. My uncle has two sons. One got married not long ago and just had a baby, while the other hasn’t graduated yet. My uncle and aunt don’t have regular jobs. They only pick up occasional work nearby, and they also have to take care of Grandma. They’re under a lot of pressure.”

I paused before continuing.

“They’ve never treated me particularly well, but when I was little, they did buy me a few new outfits. My uncle even attended parent-teacher conferences at my school. Life gets messy when everyone is poor. People try to take a little more than their share, but that doesn’t always mean they truly want someone else to suffer.”

Lucas said nothing.

Feeling a little embarrassed, I rubbed my nose.

“Do you think I’m too softhearted?”

“A little.” Lucas nodded. “You should work on that, or you’ll never manage to hold on to any

money.”

“I still have boundaries,” I insisted. “I used to think that one day I’d save enough to repair the house. I may be broke right now, but I still own a small piece of land. If I ever can’t survive in the city anymore, I can come back here and grow vegetables and enough food to live on. At least I won’t

starve.”

Then I added, “But I have Grandma to support now, so I need to work hard and make money.”

“Oh, is that why you asked me for another eight hundred dollars last night?”

“I didn’t…” My face flushed. “I only borrowed it because I’d hit my daily transfer limit. I told you

that once I went to the bank and had the limit raised, I would…”

“Oh, please. If I actually accepted the eight hundred dollars back, you’d secretly think I was unbelievably stingy for making you repay such a small amount.”

“I would never think that!”

“And since you were already asking me for money, couldn’t you have been a little bolder? Last night was the perfect opportunity for you to name your terms, yet all you asked for was eight hundred

dollars.”

I fell silent.

After all, I had always been cautious and restrained.

I could never be like Lucas, saying whatever he wanted so openly and without hesitation.