My Boyfriend Reported My Whole Family

Victor and I had been together for five years, so after we graduated from college, I figured it was about time to introduce him to my parents. Victor’s tall, good-looking, and always knows how to carry himself. My mom and dad were immediately impressed by his polite, gentlemanly manners.

Even though Victor’s mom, Shelly, wasn’t exactly thrilled that I was not the domestic type, everyone was generally on board with the idea of us getting married. I’d been swamped with exam prep recently, so I hadn’t had the chance to arrange a meeting between our families. But once my exam results were out and I got accepted, Victor started nudging me to get the ball rolling on wedding plans.

That evening, my parents and I drove to the restaurant Victor had picked. The moment we pulled up, my mom frowned and asked, “Rebecca, are you sure this is the right place? It doesn’t really scream ‘let’s talk about a wedding.’”

I looked out the window and saw a small, run-down two-story building with peeling paint and grimy walls. The doors and windows were caked with grease, and there were two big trash bins outside, reeking of rot and swarming with flies.

I double-checked the map and squinted at the faded sign on the door to confirm the name. “Mom, the GPS says this is it,” I said.

Her frown deepened. “Are we really supposed to have an important conversation here?”

My dad tried to reassure her. “Maybe the inside’s better. You know what they say—the best food is often in the most unassuming places.”

“But we’re here to talk about our daughter’s marriage. If this is where they chose, it feels like they’re not taking us seriously,” my mom grumbled, but she got out of the car anyway.

When we pushed open the greasy door, we found the inside was just as bad as the outside. The place was practically empty—just Victor and his parents sitting at a table. Even my dad frowned and said, “The shabby environment is one thing, but no private room?”

Victor stood up as we walked in. “What took you so long? My parents have been waiting forever,” he said.

I handed him the gift I’d brought and whispered, “The restaurant you picked is really far from my place, so we got delayed. But why did you choose this spot? It doesn’t seem right for something important.”

Victor took the gift and replied casually, “What’s wrong with it? The owner is from our village, so we’ll get a discount. We’ll need to save money for the wedding and everything else.”

I was at a loss for words, so I just followed him to the table. Shelly was sitting there, casually munching on some nuts while she waited for us.

I smiled at Shelly and Victor’s dad, Adam, and introduced my parents. “Hi, this is my mom and dad.”

Adam immediately stood up, pulled out a pack of cigarettes, and offered one to my dad. My dad politely declined, saying he didn’t smoke.

Shelly scoffed. “Come on, Adam, they don’t want your cigarettes. Just put them away.”

Adam awkwardly scratched his head, and my dad was left standing there, unsure of what to say.

“No, it’s not like that. My dad just doesn’t smoke,” I quickly tried to smooth things over. Shelly spat out a nutshell and said, “Alright, alright, let’s get to ordering. I’m starving after waiting so long.”

The waiter brought over the menu, and Shelly started ordering without even letting my parents have a look. I shot Victor a few pleading looks, but he didn’t respond. Finally, I had to ask for another menu.

When I opened it, I was shocked—it was an Indian restaurant, and my mom couldn’t stand Indian food.

I tugged on Victor’s sleeve and asked him what was going on. He glanced at me and said, completely unfazed, “What’s wrong with Indian food? It’s got tons of flavor. Your mom’s just being picky—eating something spicy won’t kill her.”

I narrowed my eyes, wondering what was going on with Victor. He’d never talked to me like this before.

"My mom can't handle spicy food. How about we switch to another restaurant? I know a place nearby that's pretty good. I'll treat," I suggested to Shelly.

Shelly was initially reluctant to change restaurants, but upon hearing that I would be treating them, she quickly nodded. "If your mom can’t eat spicy food, then let’s go somewhere else."

After a bit of shuffling around, we finally settled into a private room at the new restaurant and ordered our meals.

My mom cleared her throat and tried to make conversation with Shelly. "So, where do you work these days?"

Unlike my mom's warm approach, Shelly answered each question with an indifferent tone, offering only short replies. It was obvious my mom was getting irritated by her attitude, and soon she stopped talking altogether, her expression stiff.

My dad, sensing the tension, decided to break the silence. "Mr. Brown, in our culture, it's customary for the groom's family to give a significant gift to the bride’s family—usually around $20,000—before the wedding. However, if the kids are happy together, the amount doesn’t have to be that high. Even $10,000 would be fine."

As soon as my dad mentioned the gift, Victor slammed his hand on the table before Adam or Shelly could respond. "What? A fancy gift? You’ve got to be kidding! Why don’t you just rob us?"

Victor’s behavior had already been rubbing my mom the wrong way, and now she was even more furious.

My mom, who’s a high school teacher with a strong presence, was just about to say something when my dad spoke up again. "This gift is just a formality. When Rebecca moves in with you, we’ll make sure she brings it along. Besides, we’re planning to give her a dowry—a house."

As soon as my dad mentioned the house, Shelly's face lit up with a big smile. "Mr. Louis, from the moment I met Rebecca, I felt she was a perfect match for our Victor. We’re so lucky to have her join our family. Don’t worry, I’ll treat her like my own daughter."

With Shelly’s reassurances, my mom had no choice but to drop the issue.

After dinner, I went downstairs to pay the bill, and Victor followed me. I thought he was going to insist on paying, so I was about to tell him I’d take care of it when he said, "Rebecca, can you talk to your parents about skipping the wedding gift?"

I stared at him in disbelief. "Didn't my dad just say that the gift would be ours to keep after the wedding? No matter the amount, it’s still going to you."

"But Rebecca," Victor frowned, "my parents are getting old, and I need to save more money for them. Spending $10,000 on a gift is just ridiculous. Can’t you be more considerate of my parents?"

I was shocked by his words. Victor’s family isn’t struggling financially, and while $10,000 is a lot, it’s hardly enough to break the bank.

Just then, my parents came out, and I didn’t want to argue in front of them, so I quickly paid the bill and got ready to leave.

Once we were in the car, my mom suddenly remembered she’d left her purse in the private room. Before I could offer to go get it, she was already out of the car.

When she got back in, her face was unusually serious. I asked her what was wrong, but she stayed silent.

My mom had been acting strangely for about a week when she suddenly asked, "Rebecca, why hasn't your job called you to start yet?"

Her question jolted me out of my thoughts. She was right—after the announcement, they should've reached out by now. Why had I been waiting so long without hearing anything?

I scoured the company’s website but found nothing. Even the announcement with the list of candidates had vanished, and I had no clue when it was taken down.

Starting to panic, I called the office, and a young woman answered.

She said there was an issue with the candidate list, and they had to make a new announcement. My heart raced as I asked her what was going on.

Sensing my anxiety, she lowered her voice and told me that someone had reported me for accepting a ridiculously expensive pre-wedding gift, and now the company was investigating. She hinted that I might not get the job after all.

My world started to crumble. I had worked so hard for this job—who would do something like this?

My mom’s voice turned icy. "I know who."

I looked at her, and she spoke with a grim expression. "Victor."

I shook my head in disbelief. Victor? No way. We had been together for five years, and he had always treated me like gold. How could he do this?

Mom sighed and told me what happened at the restaurant that day.

Apparently, when she went back to get her purse, she overheard Victor talking to his parents.

His mom was complaining that I didn’t know how to do housework and that marrying me would be a burden for Victor. If it weren’t for my family’s money, she never would have approved of us.

Instead of standing up for me, Victor agreed, saying I was being difficult by asking for such an expensive pre-wedding gift and that he needed to find a way out of it.

Hearing this, I felt a cold chill wash over me.

"Rebecca, do you really think you can marry into a family like that?" my mom asked.

I shook my head firmly. With someone like Victor by my side, how could I ever sleep peacefully at night?

Mom nodded in approval. "That’s my girl. You know what you need to do. It's just one guy—you're incredible, and there are plenty of men out there who would be lucky to have you."

I forced a small smile, but then something else hit me. "But what about my job? I worked so hard to get it."

The thought of all those months of effort going to waste made me so angry I could scream.

Mom shook her head, saying she didn’t know what to do either. I sighed, deciding to go to the company myself to explain and see if there was any way to fix things.

I quickly broke up with Victor and blocked him on everything. After pulling myself together, I headed to the company.

But when I got there, the manager was out of town on a business trip, and a girl at the desk told me to come back next week. I left feeling totally defeated.

As I was about to check out some job listings, a man came running up to me, out of breath. "Rebecca, there you are! I’ve been looking everywhere for you."

It was Victor. What did he want now?