My Family Looked Down on Me, Thinking I Was Unemployed. But Once They Learned I Was a CEO…
A Change of Heart (Too Late)
Caleb’s furious defense finally made my sister realize the gravity of what she had done.
“I… I didn’t know, Emma. I’m sorry. I never thought…”
“It’s fine, Sister. I understand what kind of person you are now. I’m going home, so I’ll call the limousine.”,
“A limousine? A luxury car? Boss, you leaving?”
“Yes. It seems I’m not welcome here.”
As I said that, Caleb became very angry with my sister.
“Hey, what are you doing, Sophia? How dare you speak to the boss like that?”
“But I didn’t know! How can you blame me for not knowing? Ignorance is no excuse.”
“Boss, I apologize for Sophia’s rudeness.”
“It’s fine. She’s my family, so you don’t have to apologize.”
“No, I’ll take responsibility and call off the marriage with Sophia.”
The Cancellation
“What? Caleb, what are you saying?”
“Quiet! I can’t forgive someone who disrespects the boss.”
Caleb was angry as if it were a personal affront to him.
“Why are you so angry? Yes, I said terrible things to Emma, but it’s strange for you to be so angry about it.”
“You see, I owe the boss a lot.”
I kept changing jobs and my work history was a mess. I couldn’t get hired anywhere, and the only places left were companies that ignored workers’ rights and welfare, forcing people to work in unfair conditions.
Just when I was about to give up and take a job at one of those places, my application was accepted, and I got an interview at the boss’s company.
Caleb was talking about when he first got hired at my company. It brings back memories. I remember that happening.
The boss said she wanted to see me, not my resume. After talking with me for a while, she understood who I was and hired me.
The Cost of Disrespect
“The boss’s company offers fair working conditions and values me properly. Meaning, the boss changed my life.”
“Is that so? I didn’t know. Wow, what a wonderful story.”
Desperately trying to get on Caleb’s good side. However, Caleb saw through her cunning plan and became even angrier.
“You… It’s obvious you’re trying to win me over, but I have no intention of forgiving the disrespect you showed to the boss.”
Caleb’s genuine anger left my sister trembling.
“Please don’t cancel the wedding! Come on, Father, Mother, say something!”
My sister was trying to get help from Father and Mother. The father and mother were just cowering and didn’t seem to want to help.,
“We didn’t mean to blame Emma as much as Sophia did.”
“That’s right. This is all your own doing.”
“What?”
“Well, the idea of the wedding is canceled.”
The Thirty-Thousand Dollar Question
My sister was crying and screaming. Caleb calmly explained what would happen next.
“If we cancel the wedding, there will be a cancellation fee. If we cancel on the same day, it will be 100 percent.”
“What? 100 percent? How much money is that?”
“Well, the total cost of the wedding was thirty thousand dollars, so it would be thirty thousand dollars.”
“What? I have to pay thirty thousand dollars even if it’s canceled?”
“That’s how cancellation fees work.”
“No way! Then we should just continue with the wedding.”
“Sorry, but I won’t do that. I can’t forgive what you said to the boss, and I expect you would continue to speak abusively if we got married. I can’t live with someone so dangerous.”
“Dangerous? Hon, please!”
The Boss Speaks
“What do you think, Boss?”
Caleb turned to me, and I calmly replied.
“She’s saying this now, but she’s just saying what sounds good to get through this situation. If you get married, she’ll surely start abusing you too, saying things like it’s lazy not to do housework just because you’re working, or being a homemaker is hard so help with the chores.”,
“I see. Then it’s better to call off the marriage.”
“Hey, don’t say such unnecessary things! I almost had him convinced.”
“Did you hear that? She said convinced. That’s not a word you use with someone you’re going to marry, is it?”
“I think so. I think it’s better to call off the marriage. Or go change.”
Caleb said that and walked away.
Shifting Blame
“Wait, don’t go! Caleb!”
“Emma, what are you doing? My wedding is ruined!”
“Don’t blame me. It’s your own fault. It’s what you deserve.”
My sister became even angrier at my words.
“If you hadn’t come to the wedding venue in the first place, none of this would have happened! It’s your fault! Take responsibility! Bring Caleb back right now!”
“I understand how you feel, but Caleb seems to have lost his will to marry. If you get married in this state, it will only be painful for both of you. I think it’s better to call it off.”,
“What should I do then? You heard the cancellation fee right? He said thirty thousand dollars. That’s a huge amount.”
“Yes, it is.”
“Even if we split the cancellation fee, it’s fifteen thousand dollars. No, if they say it’s my fault, I might have to pay the whole amount.”
“Well, that’s a possibility. But what can you do? You’ve done enough to deserve it.”
Fair-Weather Parents
“Hey! I just said some harsh words. To cancel the wedding over that? It’s too much! Don’t tell me it’s Caleb’s decision. Hey, Father, Mother, say something!”
When my sister turned to our parents, they suddenly became very friendly towards me.
“Well, I never knew Emma had become a boss. Oh my, as a mother, I’m so proud.”
“No, I always believed in Emma. She’s a real go-getter. From now on, let’s live relying on Emma’s money.”
Father and Mother said that. Relying on my money? You must be joking.
They had also been verbally abusive to me, so I didn’t want to spend money on them.
“Sorry, but I don’t want to live with my family anymore. I’m going home now to look for an apartment to live alone.”
“What? Why? We’ve been living together all this time. Why suddenly live alone?”
“I lived with you because I believed in something called family bonds. I thought that if we lived together, you might understand my job someday. But the result was different. You never understood my job and even insulted me. And now you want to rely on my money? Would you want to live with such people?”
