To be honest, Felipe wasn't my type. I had planned to finish college and then think about dating only once I had a stable job.
But I couldn't resist his relentless romantic pursuit, and just like that, we ended up together.
It was because of my lack of dating experience that I was completely deceived by him later, becoming his cash cow kept in the dark.
We were together for over a year smoothly until my senior year when I graduated.
Felipe, on the other hand, couldn't balance his part-time jobs with his studies and failed some courses, so he stayed behind at school.
With the rising cost of living in Portland and stagnant part-time wages, Felipe grew discouraged and wanted to drop out of school for work.
I comforted him for a long time, telling him how precious the opportunity to go to college was, and that I would find a way to cover his tuition so he could focus on his studies.
Felipe agreed and promised to study hard and repay me once he graduated.
A year later, he finally got his diploma. I thought everything would fall into place, and we would live an ordinary yet happy life together like everyone else.
But I had forgotten that once the novelty wore off, I became nothing more than a woman he got bored.
After Felipe graduated, he moved into my rental apartment.
He stayed for over half a year.
The dozen resumes he sent out were all rejected, and from then on, he became completely disheartened, spending his days gaming in the apartment.
A year later, Felipe suddenly asked to borrow fifty thousand dollars from me, saying his father, who was back in his hometown, had broken his leg while working, and they couldn't afford the medical bills.
I scraped together four thousand dollars by borrowing from my parents, relatives, and friends, and added my savings to make up the full amount.
I hoped this incident would motivate Felipe to pull himself together, but day after day passed, and he still didn't have a job. Fortunately, I had a job that paid over ten thousand dollars a month, which was enough to support both of us.
Since then, our conversations have been limited to transfers. I often received messages from Felipe after work, telling me he was spending the night at an internet cafe and wouldn't be coming home.
I thought for a moment. When did Felipe start cheating on me? Was it after I graduated and left campus, or when he got hooked on gaming and started spending nights out?