My Brother's Furious Call: 'Why You Miss My Wedding!' - But There's More to It... — Transcript

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1. 0:00My name is Lily. I live with Emily, who
2. 0:02I now consider like a real sister for
3. 0:04certain reasons. My parents passed away
4. 0:07in an accident right after I started
5. 0:09high school. Since then, I've been
6. 0:11living with my brother Owen. To be
7. 0:14honest, I've always hated Owen. Ever
8. 0:16since we were kids, he would bully me,
9. 0:18pulling my hair, messing it up, and even
10. 0:21breaking my cherished toys. He'd laugh
11. 0:23when I cried. Violence was the norm, and
12. 0:26I had to endure his constant snide
13. 0:28remarks. If Owen ever needed my help in
14. 0:30the future, I'd probably abandon him.
15. 0:33He's selfish, always thinking he's the
16. 0:35best and hating to lose, hurting others
17. 0:37for his own benefit. After we lost our
18. 0:40parents, an uncle offered to take us in,
19. 0:42but Owen refused. I was hesitant to
20. 0:45leave our home and live with a relative
21. 0:47I barely knew. We both thought we could
22. 0:49manage on our own. Living alone was
23. 0:51tough, but we managed. However, Owen and
24. 0:55I stopped talking. He started going out
25. 0:57at night and hanging out with rough
26. 0:59people. My hatred for Owen only grew. A
27. 1:02few years after Owen graduated from
28. 1:04college and started working, he suddenly
29. 1:07brought home a girlfriend. Her name is
30. 1:09Emily, and she's incredibly beautiful
31. 1:11and elegant. I wondered where Owen met
32. 1:13such a beautiful woman and why she was
33. 1:15dating someone as terrible as him. I
34. 1:17didn't think they were a good match, but
35. 1:19it wasn't my place to say. Emily said
36. 1:22she'd be moving in with us. I thought it
37. 1:24was a bit too sudden and wondered if
38. 1:26Emily was really okay with it. "I'm fine
39. 1:28with it, but are you sure you're okay,
40. 1:30Emily?" I asked. "We had a little
41. 1:33disagreement with my dad, but my mom
42. 1:35said it's an experience. If her dad
43. 1:37thinks it's reasonable and they've all
44. 1:39agreed, then I have nothing more to
45. 1:40say," she replied. And so, a beautiful
46. 1:44woman named Emily moved into our home.
47. 1:46After living with her for a few months,
48. 1:48I realized she's an amazing person. She
49. 1:50took over all the household chores I had
50. 1:52been doing. At that time, I had
51. 1:54graduated high school but hadn't gone to
52. 1:56college. I had no ambitions and was used
53. 1:59to doing housework. Above all, I didn't
54. 2:02have the confidence to manage housework
55. 2:04while going to university. But Emily
56. 2:06encouraged me to find my passion saying
57. 2:08it's never too late.
58. 2:10Ever since my parents passed away, my
59. 2:12life had been a cycle of chores and
60. 2:14school. I'd wake up, make breakfast, do
61. 2:16laundry, go to school, and then come
62. 2:18straight home to clean and make dinner.
63. 2:20I didn't have time for friends or
64. 2:22part-time jobs. I was living like a mom
65. 2:24during what should have been an exciting
66. 2:26time in highschool. I didn't even have a
67. 2:28boyfriend. Not that I was interested
68. 2:30until Emily pointed it out. I hadn't
69. 2:32realized I had no hobbies or passions.
70. 2:34Looking back at my highschool life, I
71. 2:36felt a bit lonely. I remember talking
72. 2:38with friends in middle school about
73. 2:40wanting to get part-time jobs and
74. 2:42boyfriends in highschool.
75. 2:44I decided to reconsider my future. I
76. 2:46thought I'd start with a part-time job,
77. 2:48but I didn't want to leave all the
78. 2:49housework to Emily, so I helped her
79. 2:51whenever I could. One day, it hit me, is
80. 2:54Emily actually amazing? I was pretty
81. 2:57confident in my cooking skills since I'd
82. 2:59been doing it ever since we lost our
83. 3:00parents. I'd also often looked at books.
84. 3:03I initially thought Emily, with her
85. 3:05elegant demeanor, wouldn't have much
86. 3:07experience with housework. I was wrong.
87. 3:10Emily was perfect at cleaning, laundry,
88. 3:12and especially cooking. Her cooking was
89. 3:14so good she could be a pro and it made
90. 3:16me wonder again why she was with Owen
91. 3:19who has such a terrible personality.
92. 3:21I started to admire Emily and thought of
93. 3:23her as a real sister. She said she felt
94. 3:25the same way about me. We even started
95. 3:28going out for meals and hanging out. But
96. 3:30Owen didn't seem to like that Emily and
97. 3:32I were getting along so well.
98. 3:34Years later, Owen found himself at the
99. 3:36center of a major incident. One day,
100. 3:38after several years had passed, I got a
101. 3:41call. By this time, I had already moved
102. 3:43out and was living on my own. The call
103. 3:45was from Owen. For some reason, he was
104. 3:48furious and yelled over the phone. "What
105. 3:50are you doing on the day of the
106. 3:51ceremony? You better not miss it.
107. 3:54I responded, "What ceremony? I haven't
108. 3:57received an invitation." Owen sounded
109. 3:59puzzled and said, "Huh?"
110. 4:01But I decided to tell him the truth. Why
111. 4:03Owen thought he could get married after
112. 4:05doing what he did was beyond me. Let's
113. 4:07rewind to the time when Emily started
114. 4:09living with us. After Emily moved in,
115. 4:12the bullying had mostly stopped, but
116. 4:13there was a day when Owen became
117. 4:15physically violent toward me. It started
118. 4:17because Owen was angry at Emily. Owen
119. 4:20would take a lunch box to work that
120. 4:21Emily prepared for him, but one day
121. 4:24Emily overslept and couldn't make his
122. 4:26lunch. Owen was furious about it. To me,
123. 4:29it seemed like a minor issue. When Owen
124. 4:31got home that day, I talked to him about
125. 4:33the morning incident. "Why get so mad
126. 4:36over a missed lunch? Nobody's perfect.
127. 4:38People oversleep sometimes, you know." I
128. 4:41didn't mean anything deep by it, but
129. 4:43Owen didn't like what I said and
130. 4:44suddenly became enraged. "A woman who's
131. 4:47going to be my wife should be perfect at
132. 4:48everything. It's your fault for being
133. 4:50around and influencing her," he said.
134. 4:53According to him, my presence was a bad
135. 4:55influence on Emily. Of course, I argued
136. 4:58back. I used to cry a lot as a kid, but
137. 5:00now I speak my mind. We got into a
138. 5:03heated argument and suddenly Owen shoved
139. 5:06me. Then he started kicking me. Just
140. 5:08then, Emily returned from shopping and
141. 5:10intervened. She was angry at Owen, but
142. 5:13Owen didn't calm down. And then I saw
143. 5:15something unbelievable. Owen slapped
144. 5:17Emily. He then left the house and
145. 5:19disappeared. I was left stunned and
146. 5:22couldn't move for a while. Emily was
147. 5:24also frozen, holding her slapped cheek.
148. 5:27Snapping back to reality, she burst into
149. 5:29tears. I approached Emily and asked,
150. 5:32"Emily, are you okay?" She replied, "I'm
151. 5:35fine," but tears were spilling from her
152. 5:37eyes. She said sorry and retreated to
153. 5:39her room. From that day on, Owen became
154. 5:42increasingly aggressive toward Emily.
155. 5:44One day, I decided to talk to her. I was
156. 5:47worried because she was losing her usual
157. 5:49brightness. Thinking a change of scenery
158. 5:51might help, I took her outside and she
159. 5:54ended up confiding in me. She was unsure
160. 5:56whether to go through with marrying
161. 5:58Owen. I immediately said she should
162. 6:00break it off and that there was someone
163. 6:02better out there for her. Emily seemed a
164. 6:04bit surprised but talking to me seemed
165. 6:06to lift her spirits a bit. On the way
166. 6:08home, I said to Emily, "I'll always be
167. 6:10on your side, Emily." Emily cracked a
168. 6:12small, somewhat sad smile.
169. 6:15One day, I overheard Emily arguing with
170. 6:17Owen, which was unusual for her.
171. 6:19Curious, I asked what was going on. It
172. 6:21turns out Owen had gone ahead and set a
173. 6:24wedding date without consulting her. No
174. 6:26wonder Emily was upset, but what shocked
175. 6:28me even more was this. Don't set a
176. 6:31wedding date without even having a
177. 6:32family meeting first. Apparently, Owen
178. 6:35hadn't even met with Emily's parents
179. 6:37yet. This was just beyond rude and I was
180. 6:39shocked he hadn't even taken the basic
181. 6:41step. I immediately suggested that we go
182. 6:44meet Emily's parents. Owen told me to
183. 6:46mind my own business, but this was no
184. 6:48time for that.
185. 6:49Emily quickly explained the situation to
186. 6:51her parents and they both went to visit
187. 6:53them. Her face looked both exhausted and
188. 6:56tired, which worried me. That day, only
189. 6:59Owen returned home. I had a hunch about
190. 7:01what happened and sent Emily a text.
191. 7:03After a while, she replied and we met up
192. 7:06at a nearby cafe to discuss what had
193. 7:08transpired. Long story short, her
194. 7:10parents had objected to the marriage. I
195. 7:12continued listening to her story
196. 7:14thinking it must be so. She explained
197. 7:16that Owen had set the wedding date
198. 7:17without meeting them and had been
199. 7:19treating her poorly recently, so they
200. 7:21couldn't allow their daughter to marry
201. 7:22him. Yet, Owen had already informed his
202. 7:25workplace about the wedding date and
203. 7:26even booked the venue, so he was in a
204. 7:28tight spot now. I felt embarrassed for
205. 7:30him. Emily's parents obviously didn't
206. 7:33have a good impression of Owen. For the
207. 7:35time being, Emily decided to stay at her
208. 7:37parents' home to think things over. She
209. 7:39said she wanted to think alone for a
210. 7:41while. Owen objected, of course, but he
211. 7:44was persuaded by her parents and
212. 7:45returned home alone. I asked Emily if I
213. 7:48could meet her parents. She was puzzled,
214. 7:50but agreed since I insisted. Later, I
215. 7:53met with Emily's parents and apologized
216. 7:55for Owen's rudeness. They were quite
217. 7:57surprised, not just by the apology, but
218. 7:59that someone as considerate as me could
219. 8:01be related to Owen. I then shared
220. 8:03everything about Owen, about Emily, and
221. 8:05about how Owen had been treating her. I
222. 8:08asked Emily again, "Do you still want to
223. 8:10marry Owen?"
224. 8:11Emily responded, "I'm not sure."
225. 8:14I suggested she should have a serious
226. 8:16talk with Owen. She agreed, but when she
227. 8:18tried to contact Owen to talk, he wasn't
228. 8:21interested in discussing anything.
229. 8:23Worse, he was still moving forward with
230. 8:25the wedding plans. He even sent Emily a
231. 8:27list asking her to prepare the
232. 8:29invitations. At this point, Emily had
233. 8:31had enough and finally decided to break
234. 8:34up with Owen. She tried multiple times
235. 8:36to discuss the matter with Owen, but it
236. 8:38seemed like they could never have a real
237. 8:40conversation. Every time she reached
238. 8:42out, Owen would dominate the
239. 8:44conversation and end it abruptly. She
240. 8:46even texted him about breaking up, but
241. 8:49Owen dismissed it saying, "Enough with
242. 8:51the jokes. Just prepare for the
243. 8:53wedding." And so, the day Owen
244. 8:55unilaterally decided would be their
245. 8:57wedding day arrived, and Emily contacted
246. 8:59me in a fury.
247. 9:01I couldn't help but marvel at how well
248. 9:03Owen had planned the wedding without
249. 9:04considering Emily's feelings.
250. 9:07I gave him a piece of my mind. "You
251. 9:09never took your conversations with Emily
252. 9:11seriously, and honestly, I can't fathom
253. 9:13why you think you can get married. No
254. 9:15one's coming to this wedding.
255. 9:17Plus, you quit your job without telling
256. 9:19anyone. You've lost all credibility."
257. 9:22With that, I hung up the phone. That's
258. 9:24right.
259. 9:25Owen had quit his job without telling
260. 9:27anyone. Emily found out about this
261. 9:29during an incident when Owen contacted
262. 9:31her. Emily and I were together at the
263. 9:33time expecting his call because I
264. 9:36thought I would definitely get a call.
265. 9:38What's going on? Why aren't you coming?
266. 9:40Why isn't anyone coming?
267. 9:42Emily finally told Alan everything. I've
268. 9:45told you multiple times that I want to
269. 9:47break up. You never listened. You even
270. 9:49went ahead and planned a wedding, so I
271. 9:51thought you might as well go ahead with
272. 9:53it. Emily explained that she hadn't sent
273. 9:55out invitations because she didn't want
274. 9:57to get married, but he had told people
275. 9:59at work about the date, so she contacted
276. 10:01them to cancel the wedding to avoid
277. 10:03causing them any inconvenience. That's
278. 10:06when she first heard that Alan had quit
279. 10:07his job. She intended to talk to Alan
280. 10:10again, but given his usual attitude, she
281. 10:12decided to let it go, saying goodbye and
282. 10:15hanging up. After hanging up, Emily
283. 10:17looked relieved and refreshed. She
284. 10:19apologized to me, but I was more than
285. 10:21satisfied with the outcome. In the end,
286. 10:24Alan had brought this upon himself. He
287. 10:26never took his relationship with Emily
288. 10:28seriously and made all the decisions on
289. 10:30his own. If he had taken the time to
290. 10:32have a serious conversation with Emily,
291. 10:34things might have turned out
292. 10:35differently. But that's neither here nor
293. 10:38there now. Emily was worried about
294. 10:40living alone, but I had anticipated this
295. 10:43and had already decided to move out and
296. 10:45live on my own. I had even finalized the
297. 10:47lease and just needed to move. Later,
298. 10:49after moving, Emily and I continued to
299. 10:51be as close as best friends. I told her
300. 10:54I would miss her as if she were my
301. 10:55sister, but she assured me there was no
302. 10:57need to part ways. Since then, we've
303. 10:59gone out for meals, hung out, and even
304. 11:01traveled together. I spent my days
305. 11:04working part-time, trying to find what I
306. 11:06really wanted to do. Emily, being the
307. 11:08incredibly capable and thoughtful person
308. 11:10she is, also started a part-time job
309. 11:12where I worked. Emily is the whole
310. 11:14package, beautiful, talented, and
311. 11:17incredibly considerate. She quickly
312. 11:19became popular at work.
313. 11:21One day, Emily mentioned she might be
314. 11:23getting stalked by someone. Given how
315. 11:25amazing she is, it wasn't surprising.
316. 11:28Worried, I decided to accompany her home
317. 11:30whenever possible. Then one day, it
318. 11:32happened. Emily was attacked on her way
319. 11:34home. I couldn't be with her that day
320. 11:36because I was sick. I thought the
321. 11:38stalker had given up, but it turns out
322. 11:40they were just waiting for Emily to be
323. 11:42alone. She was almost dragged into an
324. 11:44alley, but a passerby happened to rescue
325. 11:46her.
326. 11:47Emily was surprised to see the person
327. 11:49attacking her. It turned out to be my
328. 11:51older brother, Owen. Owen was arrested.
329. 11:54I heard about it the next day during
330. 11:55police questioning. Owen admitted he had
331. 11:58been stalking Emily, waiting for an
332. 12:00opportunity. He acted because I wasn't
333. 12:02there to protect her. Hearing this broke
334. 12:04my heart. As much as I despise Owen, I
335. 12:07never thought someone from our own
336. 12:09family would commit a crime. Emily was
337. 12:11shocked, of course, but I was even more
338. 12:13devastated. I apologized to Emily and
339. 12:15her parents and thanked the person who
340. 12:17saved her. Emily's parents were very
341. 12:19kind to me. "If you don't mind, would
342. 12:21you like to live with me?" Emily's
343. 12:23mother offered. But, I decided to move
344. 12:26out for now and return to my parents'
345. 12:27house. It was empty now that Owen was
346. 12:30arrested, but I couldn't bear to leave a
347. 12:32house filled with memories of my parents
348. 12:34and childhood. Emily suggested we could
349. 12:36live there together. After some thought,
350. 12:38I accepted her offer. So, here we are,
351. 12:41living together in my old home. Today,
352. 12:43we're visiting my parents' graves. Emily
353. 12:46came with me. In front of my parents'
354. 12:48tombstones, I silently apologized for
355. 12:50Owen's crime and my failure to stop him,
356. 12:53all because I couldn't stand him.