It all began on a Wednesday evening when my father messaged our family group chat saying we had to get together on Sunday no excuses.
He said it was urgent.
He said it was something important and insisted that everyone had to be there.
Of course, my mind went to the worst possible place.
My sister and brother felt the same.
We rang each other we all thought the same: illness, some diagnosis, something dreadful.
My father never calls family meetings. Never.
Even my aunt travelled down from Manchester, thinking it might be a goodbye or something equally serious.
We all arrived, hearts thudding, throats tight, hands clammy with worry.
When we saw him sitting in the living room, wearing a grave expression, not one of us said a word.
My mother though theyre separated, she still came watched him anxiously.
He started with lines like:
These are tough times
Life changes
Sometimes you have to make bold decisions
He spoke slowly, as if about to deliver news that would devastate us.
My throat closed up.
We braced for something truly awful.
Then he finally said:
I need some financial help for a while.
We froze.
But he went on:
To help me begin a project with my partner.
At first, we assumed he meant a business partner.
But then he clarified, plainly and without a hint of embarrassment:
With my girlfriend.
A woman hed met six months ago.
Shes nearly my age.
I felt cold.
My sister swallowed hard.
Mum was rigid.
All our worries about illness or tragedies simply evaporated.
All that remained was disbelief.
He explained further: apparently, the young woman had dreams and he wanted to help her; they needed money to open a little café.
And because hes always been there for us, he now expected us to be there for him.
I was furious.
Really furious.
Because the truth is, hes never actually been there for us as he claims.
He never paid all the child support.
Never turned up to school shows.
Never once asked if we had food on the table.
But now now he wanted us to foot the bill for his image in front of his new girlfriend.
My brother told him, if he wanted to keep a young girlfriend, hed better work harder.
That it wasnt our job to indulge his whims.
He took offence.
He said it wasnt a whim, but love.
My sister came close to laughing out loud.
I kept quiet, knowing if I spoke, I’d probably say something I’d regret later.
He pressed on, saying he needed a family loan but couldnt sign anything, as he didnt want to destroy trust.
In the end, none of us agreed.
He shot up, furious, declared that we were ungrateful, that we didnt know how to support each other, that families fall apart this way.
Mum simply replied, voice calm:
Families fall apart when someone stops fulfilling their role.
He stormed out, slamming the door behind him.
His girlfriend even messaged me on WhatsApp:
I never knew what love was until I met him.
Imagine that.
I didnt even reply.
Since that day, he hasnt spoken to any of us.
Hes blocked my siblings.
He sent me a separate message, saying he expected more from me.
I dont know if I did the right thing or not.
But I do know this:
If he wants to show off for his new, young girlfriend
he can do it with his own money, not ours.
