My sister-in-law is 30 years old this year, unemployed for three years, all she does is hang around her house in Quezon City, surfing the internet, cutting and pasting pictures of K-pop idols, and livestreaming to discuss her idols. At first, I thought it was okay, everyone has a passion, just know when to stop. But who would have thought…

One evening, while I was cooking adobo in the kitchen, I heard an argument in the living room. My sister-in-law looked angry:

– “Kuya, ikaw naman eh! (Brother, you’re really stingy!) I asked for 25,000 pesos/month to pursue an idol, what’s the big deal? People are spending hundreds of thousands of pesos!”

I almost dropped the pot of soup when I heard that. 25,000 pesos? A month? To… “follow an idol”? While the whole family was saving every penny, I had to work the night shift at the office to have enough money to pay off the apartment!

My husband tried to explain:
– “You’re 30 years old, hindi puwede na puro idol na lang araw-araw (you can’t just be an idol all day long). I’m already stressed enough with raising a wife and children, I don’t have any left over to give you unreasonable money.”

But my brother-in-law wouldn’t listen. He glared at me, his voice bitter:

– “What does Ate know! You married my brother and get his salary, so why can’t I, your younger brother, get it? Don’t think you’re better than me!”

That sentence was like a slap in the face. All the resentment from the past had piled up. I stood up, calm but cold:
– “Kung gusto mong mag-idol, magtrabaho ka. (If you want to be an idol, go do it yourself). No one has the obligation to pay for an irresponsible hobby.”

Unexpectedly, my brother-in-law burst into tears and immediately called my mother-in-law in Cavite. Ten minutes later, her husband’s phone rang, and she shouted:

“Anak, kapatid mo ‘yan! (She’s your sister!) If you don’t help her, who will? Give her 25,000 pesos a month, consider it as helping her live happily, and she can repay you later!”

I was speechless. My husband scratched his head. On one side was family, on the other side was reason. As for me… I clearly saw that if my husband softened, my life would fall into the abyss.

That night, I tossed and turned, with only one question in my head: “If he chooses to indulge his sister, should I continue this marriage?”

The next day, before I could go to work, I saw my sister-in-law lying in the living room, tears streaming down her face:

“If you don’t give me money, I’ll die for you to see! My whole life has only one joy, which is idols, and you dare to take it away.”

My husband was confused, and I felt a chill down my spine. But it didn’t stop there, she also took a knife and lightly cut her hand, blood oozed out. I was startled and was about to run back when she shouted:

– “Here, I’ll show you! Ate wants to destroy this family, he’s so evil!”

At that moment, my mother-in-law appeared. She rushed to hug her daughter, turned to me with resentment:

– “It’s all because of ikaw! My daughter is normal and happy, but since you entered this house, she’s been suffering like this! Who would die if I gave her 25,000 pesos a month? You’re even more wasteful than that!”

I choked up. I didn’t spend anything wasteful? For years, every penny I earned was spent on paying off debts and raising my children. But my mother-in-law believed her daughter’s words and saw me as an enemy.

That night, my husband said:
– “Honey, why don’t we give it to him first this month, consider it a settlement, then we’ll figure it out…”

I was stunned:
– “How long do you plan to pamper him? One concession means a lifetime of dependence. If you do that, don’t blame me for rethinking this marriage.”

My husband was silent, his face tense. But I knew, this war was not over.

Just a few days later, my brother-in-law suddenly posted a long status on Facebook, complaining that he was “abandoned” by his brother and sister-in-law, “did not love his biological brother”, “forbidden to have his only joy”. The idol fan community immediately rushed to defend us, scolding us terribly. Some even inboxed to threaten us.

I shuddered. From a family matter, my brother-in-law turned it into a public “drama”. And this time, not only the family’s honor but also my career was affected.

I realized: this is not just about money, but a battle for survival between reason and blind dependence.

After the “drama” on social media, I thought my sister-in-law would get bored, but a few weeks later she dropped another “bomb”.

One night, the whole family was eating sinigang when my sister-in-law threw the ultrasound paper on the table, her voice choked but her eyes flashed with defiance:

– “I’m pregnant. My boyfriend left. You have to take care of me and the baby. At least 30,000 pesos a month, not to mention the cost of childbirth!”

The whole family was stunned. The mother-in-law was stunned for a moment, then burst into tears, hugging her daughter:

– “Diyos no! My daughter is suffering like this, if you don’t love her, what conscience do you have left?”

I looked at the ultrasound paper, feeling strange. The hospital name was blurred, the letters were italicized. I was suspicious, so I quietly took a picture and asked my doctor friend to check it. Sure enough, it was a fake paper, bought online for only a few hundred pesos.

I brought the evidence to my husband. But when he was about to question his sister, his mother-in-law stood in his way:

“Whether it’s fake or real, she needs money to live. Anak, if you don’t take care of it, who will? Or let the world laugh at our family?”

I was so angry that I trembled. My sister-in-law was still sitting there, rubbing her stomach, pretending to be tired, glancing at me defiantly, as if to say: “What can you do to me?”

That night, my husband and I had a big argument. I threw my phone in front of him, pointed at the abusive messages from his sister’s fans, and choked up:

“Look! Honor, work, family, everything is being destroyed because of this blind indulgence. If you don’t make up your mind, I will make the decision myself.”

My husband was silent for a long time. Then he sighed, tired:

“I will try once… push her to the end, see how long she can endure.”

I looked at him, not knowing if it was hope or despair. Because I understood that, to break this vicious cycle, perhaps my family would soon have to face an even bigger storm…

Part 2 – The Truth Revealed, Tragedy Exploded

In the following days, the atmosphere in the house in Quezon City was as heavy as if a storm was about to break out. Her sister-in-law – Clarisse – was still lying in her room, pretending to be sick, occasionally livestreaming to her “fandom” to hear that she was “suffering because her biological family abandoned her”. Below, thousands of comments were cursing my husband and I without mercy.

I knew that things could not continue. I made an appointment with my husband to meet a lawyer friend to discuss how to handle it if Clarisse really lied about being pregnant to blackmail her family. But what shocked me the most was the information my lawyer friend provided:

“Clarisse used to borrow money online from a credit card. The debt is now up to nearly 200,000 pesos. All of it was spent by her to buy lightsticks, albums, and online concert tickets for her idol.”

I was stunned. It turned out that the screaming and lying around were just a cover. Not only did she “follow her idol” but she also fell deeply into debt, now trying to get money from her brother.

I gave my husband the debt paper. He clenched his trembling hands. In his eyes, I saw both pain and disappointment.

The fateful night

That night, the whole family was having dinner when suddenly there was a loud knock on the door. A group of strangers, dressed shabbily, stood outside the gate.

– “Where is Clarisse? When will we pay back our debt?”

The mother-in-law turned pale and hugged her daughter. Clarisse ran out frantically, but still tried to keep her voice loud:

– “You guys are wrong! I didn’t borrow anything!”

The other man pulled out a piece of paper with Clarisse’s name, home address, and debt printed on it. There was no way to deny it.

The atmosphere exploded.

The mother-in-law shouted:

– “Clarisse! You… what are you doing?”

Clarisse burst into tears, falling to her knees:
– “I didn’t mean to… I just wanted to follow my idol, just wanted to go to a concert in Manila once. But I don’t have money… I thought Kuya would pay for me… I didn’t expect…”

My whole body went cold. My husband sat motionless, his face turned to stone.

The heated confrontation

– “Honey,” my husband growled, “I can endure it as long as I want, but you dare to fake a pregnancy, dare to drag the whole fandom into defaming the family, dare to deceive your mother… Do you know you just ruined everything?”

Clarisse cried:
– “I’m scared… I don’t want to go to jail… I just thought if I said I was pregnant, my mother would love me, you would soften…”

My mother-in-law turned to me again, her eyes confused:
– “It’s all your fault! If you hadn’t forced me, my daughter wouldn’t have been so reckless…”

I jumped up, for the first time not holding back:
– “Nanay, I’m sorry, but the truth is right here! I didn’t force anyone to borrow money, I didn’t force anyone to fake a pregnancy. If you keep blindly defending me, this family will fall even deeper into the abyss.”

The room erupted into arguments, crying, and banging on the table. My son hugged me tightly in fear. In his eyes, I saw a deep wound – the scene of a broken family that he would never forget.

Turning Point

The lender threatened that if we didn’t pay the full amount within 7 days, they would humiliate the whole family on social media, and send a debt note to my husband’s office.

My husband put his head in his hands, choking:
– “I was wrong to think that if I gave in once, things would be fine. Now, not only our family, but also our career and our son are being threatened.”

I squeezed his hand:
– “If you hesitate, we will lose everything. This is the time to choose: protect our little family, or continue to pamper someone who doesn’t want to grow up.”

He raised his head, his eyes blazing with determination. I knew that at that moment, a new chapter was about to open.

End of Part 2 – Opening the Tragedy

That night, my husband declared in front of the whole family:
– “Clarisse, from now on, I will no longer pay for you. If you continue to make up lies, and entice the fandom to harm my wife and child, I will report to the police. I would rather be ashamed than see my family fall apart.”

Clarisse collapsed, her mother-in-law cried, and I trembled. I knew that decision would spark an even more fierce war – but it was also the only way to save my home.