She has been with her boyfriend for almost seven years. He is financially stable, has savings, and generally has no problem spending money. However, there has always been one issue that bothers her. He tends to focus heavily on his own thoughts and rarely notices how the people around him feel.
According to XUAN解忧树洞, last month, the couple travelled to Japan together. Since they were unfamiliar with the local train system, they took a few wrong turns and eventually decided to take a taxi.
Neither of them had a clear idea of how much the taxi would cost. A ride that lasted around 20 minutes ended up costing more than RM100.
Throughout the journey, he kept watching the fare increase on the meter and complaining about the price. Once they arrived, his mood became even worse. He barely spoke to her, walked ahead on his own, and continued to show his anger.
What confused her most was that he had paid for most of the trip. She was mainly responsible for planning the itinerary. He could easily spend thousands of ringgit on a piece of clothing without thinking twice, yet a taxi fare of just over RM100 could ruin his entire mood.
Even after they returned to the hotel, he continued complaining about the fare and eventually gave her the silent treatment.
She understands that the money belongs to him and that he has every right to decide how he spends it. The real problem is not the RM100 taxi fare. It is the way he reacts when something does not go according to his expectations.
Whenever he is unhappy, he can become easily irritated. His views on many things can also be quite extreme, as if situations are always either right or wrong. He rarely seems willing to look at things from another person's perspective.
After almost seven years together, these little incidents have slowly become heavier for her. What once seemed like small personality differences are now making her wonder what life together would be like in the future.
She is not trying to accuse him of being stingy or say that he should spend his money differently. He works hard for what he has, and his money is his own.
What hurts is feeling like his emotions are always allowed to take up all the space in the relationship, while her feelings are left somewhere in the background.
Perhaps the taxi ride was only a small incident. But sometimes, a small incident can reveal problems that have been quietly building for years.
Jovy Jing (ndreagoh@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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