But trust, I learned too late, can be a fragile thing.

“Chased Out of Trust”

For more than five years, I worked tirelessly at my cousin’s household goods shop—a place that, over time, felt more like a second home than a workplace. We sold everything from kitchenware and bedding to cleaning supplies and small appliances. I knew the inventory by heart, managed deliveries, and often stayed late to reorganize the shelves when no one else would. Customers knew me by name. Many thought I was the owner.

I joined the shop not just as a worker, but as family. When business was slow, I stayed. When it picked up, I doubled my efforts. There were no written contracts—just handshakes, shared meals, and promises. I trusted him because he was blood.

But trust, I learned too late, can be a fragile thing.

One morning, I arrived to open the store and found the locks changed. Confused, I called my cousin. No answer. I waited for hours outside, pacing, embarrassed as familiar customers passed by. Later that day, he finally responded—to tell me coldly by phone that my services were no longer needed. No explanation. No warning. No mention of my unpaid salary for the last two months, or the small loans I’d given him when the shop was struggling.

I begged to at least retrieve my personal belongings—a watch, an old notebook, even a worn-out stool I used behind the counter. He said everything inside now belonged to the business. “You’re not staff anymore,” he said flatly. “Don’t come back.”

I stood outside that shop for the last time, humiliated. People I had served for years passed by, giving me sympathetic glances. Some asked what happened. I had no words. Just a lump in my throat and a hollow feeling in my chest.

What hurt most wasn’t the lost job or unpaid dues. It was the betrayal. Being chased out—not by a stranger—but by someone who once called me “brother.” I was thrown out of a business I helped build, without so much as a thank-you or a final handshake.

In the end, I didn’t just lose a job. I lost trust. And that’s a debt no salary can repay.