Chapter 13
“Ben, give me your bank account number.”
In the end, I said that without even thinking.
He paused for a moment.
Then, without hesitation, he gave it to me.
HEAFT
I wrote it down and quickly tapped a few things on my phone.
“I’m returning the 300 thousand to you. It’s from your brother. I don’t feel right keeping it. From now on, let’s have no more ties-”
“So the money was the tie?” he suddenly interrupted me.
Then, my phone started buzzing with message alerts.
He was transferring money to me, each transaction for 300 thousand.
As he continued, he asked, “And what about these? Is this enough? Do you need more? We have so many ties…”
It wasn’t until he got an alert about the transaction limit that he looked up. His eyes had a hint of red, almost manic, and there was a touch of desperation in his voice as he asked softly, “Is this enough for you to marry me?”
I was speechless.
Ben had that way about him–he could pull you down with him, making you feel an unbearable sadness, a sense of helplessness that made you want to care for him.
But what right did I have to care for him?
“I don’t want your money!”
That was my only defense, but he asked, “Then, what do you want? Whatever you want, I’ll give it to you. Is that okay?”
I was left at a loss for words.
When Ben was cognitively challenged, he was clingy in a way that was hard to ignore. But now, it was even worse.
