Her Ex Dumped Her Via Text Message After 10 Years - Now He’s Ghosting Her Over $2,000 And Some Books

A decade-long relationship ended with a single text, and now the same ex who ghosted her over a family feud is dodging the money and the books he owes. One minute she’s left on read, the next she’s watching two months turn into a full-blown mess, all because she asked for what was already hers.

OP says she lent her ex small amounts totaling about 150,000 ₹, roughly $2,000, and he borrowed plenty of books from her and her older brother. When he broke up with her over text, he also claimed his family background was a dealbreaker, and she believed he might be struggling. But when she politely asked for the money and the books, he stopped replying.

Now she’s weighing whether to send a legal notice, and Reddit is about to tell her if protecting herself makes her the villain.

The Redditor was left on read after reaching out and politely asking for the money and books back.

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Original Post

TLDR: Ex who broke up after a decade over text owes me family books and $2000. Not responding to my texts now. He's struggling financially I know. Should I legally make my demand or let it go?

Full context: My now ex and I were in a relationship for a decade and he recently broke up with me because his family doesn't approve of my family background (a huge thing here in my country). From what he told me he fought them for a few months but gave in and is likely going to be married soon.He runs a business and during the course of our being a couple I had lent (clearly statedly so) to him in small parts around 150000 ₹ (around $ 2000 but here my monthly earning is 500 $ for scale). He also borrowed a lot of books from me and my elder brother that he holds. Now a month after he broke up with me over text, I asked him to send the money and books in the coming days. He left me on read.It's been 2 months to this. I'm thinking of sending him a legal notice to demand my things. I know he's financially and mentally struggling so even though I think I deserve my stuff back ASAP I'm worried it will be an AH move. What do you guys think?P.S. He lives in a different city so visiting him in Covid times is impossible or I would have gone to see him at his office.

Let’s see how the Reddit community reacted.

MamaJunesBackFat

He owes you.

217liz

His struggles are no longer your concern.

Babsgarcia

Lawyer up!

whitewer

He needs to at least return the books.

snewton_8

You’re entitled to what’s yours.

First-Associate-577

This also echoes a sister’s risky business switch, after she left a stable job, and the family fights that followed.

He doesn’t have good intentions.

Iyan-cat

That’s your stuff!

Deleted user

His struggles aren’t an excuse.

WebbieVanderquack

Deal with it before he gets married.

Piercedbunny

You need to get what you’re owed.

PsychologyAutomatic3

You don’t owe him anything.

PrisonNurseNC

See if he ignores a lawsuit!

0drag

That breakup text came fast, but the “left on read” part took the whole situation from sad to infuriating.

OP is trying to be understanding because she knows he’s dealing with family approval issues and possible wedding plans, but he still owes 150,000 ₹ and the borrowed books.

Every polite follow-up she sends about the money and books gets ignored, while he keeps running his business like nothing happened.

The real twist is that she’s stuck in a different city, so she cannot just show up and grab the books, meaning a paper trail is suddenly on the table.

In the end, the Redditor isn’t questioning whether she deserves her money and books back — she knows she does. What she’s really struggling with is whether protecting herself now makes her heartless, or simply realistic.

After a decade of compromise and a breakup she never saw coming, this might be the final line she has to draw. Sometimes closure isn’t emotional at all — it’s just getting back what was always yours and finally moving forward.

He might be getting ready for a wedding, but he’s still not getting away with OP’s $2,000 and her brother’s books.

For another family blowup, see whether someone was wrong for changing game rules mid-round. Family Game Night Drama: AITA for Changing Rules Mid-Game?