When my dad passed away last year, he left me his house and some savings. It was bittersweet — I was heartbroken over losing him, yet deeply grateful that he’d made sure I would be okay. My partner of three years (32M) had always been somewhat careless with money, but the moment he found out about the inheritance, his entire attitude shifted.
Suddenly, he began dropping hints about marriage — talking about “our future,” “our home,” and how “we” could finally live comfortably. He even suggested that I sell the house so we could split the profit and “start fresh together.”
The problem was that the will couldn’t have been clearer: everything had been left to me. We weren’t married, didn’t share finances, and for most of our relationship, I had already been the one covering the majority of the rent and bills. I told him that I intended to keep the house, save the money, and finally build some stability for myself.
That’s when he got angry. He called me “selfish,” said a “real partner” would share, and accused me of not being serious about our relationship. He even went as far as implying that my dad would’ve wanted me to use the inheritance to build “our life together.” Those words cut deep.
Still, I stood my ground and told him, “It’s not yours, and marriage isn’t some shortcut to claim it.”
Within a few weeks, he packed his things and left. It hurt, of course — but as the days passed, I realized something important. If the only reason he wanted to marry me was tied to money and property, then I hadn’t lost a partner at all. I had dodged a bullet.
Even now, I sometimes wonder: did I do something wrong? Was I truly selfish?
Source: brightside.me
