My partner found out I rent out the house my dad gave me and wants half of the rent money.

Everything seemed fine when my boyfriend moved in until he found out I owned the house. I didn’t think it would make a difference, but his response caused a fight that neither of us saw coming.

When I was 18, my dad gave me the keys to my own house. The family had owned the old two-story building for many years. I loved his gift very much. Not even close to being rich.

I knew what an honor it was for my dad to have bought the house from the cousin of his grandmother for a low price. I felt thankful every time I walked through the front door.

There were some strange things about the house. With its own entrance, kitchen, and bathroom, each floor felt like an apartment. I lived on the second floor and rented the first floor to a nice woman named Maggie.

She paid $500 a month, which was less than what most places would charge, but I wasn’t interested in the money. The rent only paid for basic upkeep. I took care of everything by myself, which made me feel a little free.

Kevin, my boyfriend, moved in with me three months ago. It made sense since we had been together for six months. His lease was up, and the room was available at my place. It was also nice to work together on something.

We split the groceries 50/50, which worked for both of us because he wasn’t too fussy about most things. We never really talked about anything other than day-to-day cash flow issues, though.

He didn’t ask about rent, and I didn’t say that I owned the place. There was no reason for me to hide it; it just never seemed important.

As we watched the news one night, there was an item about rent prices going up. Jake moaned, “Man, landlords are the worst.” It’s all about the cash. They don’t seem to care that people can’t afford a place to live.

I kept quiet and thought about my tea because I didn’t know what to say. There were times when I didn’t know how to explain that I was a landlord. I wasn’t like the people he was talking about, though. I charged a fair rent. I didn’t try to get my tenant to pay me every dime.

He went on while shaking his head. “You know, it’s just messed up.” Simple things like housing shouldn’t bring in money for people.

As soon as I could, I changed the subject and nodded. Not much changed about the rest of the night, but what he said stuck with me. He knows I rent out part of the house, what would he think? I didn’t want to stress things out between us, so I didn’t say anything.

After a few days, I was cleaning the kitchen when the doorbell rang. I used a towel to wipe my hands and opened the door to see Maggie standing there. She looked worried.

“Hey, Maggie, everything okay?” I asked.

She made a face. It stopped working in my freezer. It’s just dead, no matter what I did.

“Oh no,” I said as I left the room. “Let me take a look.”

I went down with her to her apartment. Of course, the freezer was warm, and nothing seemed to work. I let out a sigh because I knew it was probably time to get a new one.

I said, “I’ll pay for a new one.” “Just send me the receipt, and I’ll reimburse you.”

Maggie smiled, feeling better. “Thank you so much, I really appreciate it. Tomorrow I’ll go shopping for one.”

“No problem,” I answered. “I’ll make sure you get the money back right away.”

As I went back upstairs, I realized that Jason had probably heard everything. When I walked in, he was sitting on the couch and looked a little lost.

He asked, “Is Maggie doing okay?”

I said, “Yeah, her freezer broke, but I told her I’d pay for it.”

Jason put up an eyebrow. “Why do you pay so much for her freezer?” “Why would you do that?”

I didn’t know what to say next, so I paused. “Well, the freezer was here when she moved in, so it’s kind of my responsibility.”

He made a face. “I don’t get it.” What makes you think that’s your job?”

I could feel the stress building up. “Because… it’s my house.” I rent it to her.”

Jason looked at me and changed his face as he thought about what I said.

“You own this place?” His voice was sharp, and I was surprised by how surprised he was.

I spoke slowly and said, “Yeah, I thought you knew.”

“No, I didn’t know,” he said, his voice getting colder. “You never told me.”

“Well, it never came up,” I said. “It’s not like I was trying to keep it a secret.”

Jason stood up and shook his head. “Just… “This is crazy.”

To try to make sense of everything, he walked over to the window and looked out.

I didn’t say anything because I didn’t know what to say next.

Things got tense after Jason found out I owned the house. Not like before, when we’d laugh together while cooking or watch TV in the evenings. Something was off about him; he seemed farther away and quieter. I gave him space because I didn’t want to push him. I hoped things would go back to normal. That did not happen.

He walked in while I was cleaning up the kitchen one night. He crossed his arms and leaned against the counter to watch me.

“Still can’t believe you never told me,” he said almost behind his back.

I let out a sigh and put down the dish towel. “Jason, I wasn’t trying to hide it. It didn’t seem important at all. You didn’t ask.”

“Important?” He laughed, but it wasn’t a good sound. “You rent out apartments. That is very important. Do you not believe I had the right to know?”

I was about to answer, but he cut me off.

“I thought we were on the same page the whole time.” I believed we had the same view of the world, but now I’m not sure. Renters are just scum; they take advantage of people. He wouldn’t look at me and his voice was rough.

“I’m not like that!” I said as I stepped closer. “Maggie pays a fair rent, and I fix things that break.” “I’m not that shady landlord you see on the news.”

He turned his head away. “But you’re still making money off someone else’s need for a home.”

I could feel my anger rising. “I believe you don’t know what I do. I’m not making anyone sick. Maggie pays me a lot less than what the market rate is. I take care of it. I’m not a business landlord who wants to run people off.

“But it’s still yours.” You still make money from her.

“Yes, so the house doesn’t fall apart!” David, I’m not getting rich from this. “You already know that.”

He got up from the couch and shook his head. “There’s no difference. It has to do with power. She needs something from you, but you charge her for it.

Things got worse the next morning. Maggie and I were on the phone, making sure she knew she bought the new freezer and that I would pay her back. As I was ending the call, Jason walked in.

It was clear that he was joking when he asked, “So, you’re paying for that?”

“Yes,” I said in a calm voice. “The fridge was in the apartment when she moved in.” It’s my job to do it.”

He just stared at me, his anger boiling over. “Unbelievable.”

I tried to stay calm and said, “Jason, I don’t know what you want from me.” “What do you expect me to do?”

His face was hard, and his arms were cross. “I want you to stop making things worse. Either take away the rent or split the money you make with me. If you’re going to be a landlord, you should at least split the money you make.

I was dumbfounded as I looked at him. “Can we split the money?” Jared, I’m not here to run a business. Just barely enough rent to cover the costs.”

“I don’t care,” he said quickly. “Either you’re with me or you’re not.” “I deserve my share too if you’re going to keep making money off of people like that.”

That’s when something in me broke. “I’m not giving you half of anything.” I’ve put in a lot of work to keep this house running. You’re crazy to think that I’ll start giving you money because you don’t like how I handle its management.

He grabbed the keys from the coffee table and threw them across the room before I could answer. They made a loud noise when they hit the wall, and the next thing I knew, he swung his fist at the drywall. The blow wasn’t strong enough to go through, but the thud resounded throughout the room and made me shake.

He took a step back and yelled, “Fine!” It was red on his face and he was breathing hard. “Enough.” I’m not going to stay here or with you.

As I reached for my phone, my hand shook. “Stop, Jason,” I yelled, my voice shaking. “Just calm down.”

He was already moving toward the door, though. I quickly texted my dad, “Please come now.”

When Jason slammed the door behind him as he stormed out, he didn’t look back. All of a sudden, the house felt too big and too empty and quiet. I stood there, shaking, and listened to the sound of his steps going down the driveway.

I could hear my dad’s car pulling up in a few minutes. Seeing me on the porch with my arms around myself, he didn’t ask me anything. It was just him giving me a tight hug while I tried to catch my breath.

“He’s gone,” I whispered, still shocked at how quickly everything had gone wrong.

There was a quiet knock on my door the next morning when I woke up. Even though it was the next day, I still felt numb and could hear Jason’s angry words. I finally got to the door and opened it. Maggie was standing there with a basket of warm muffins in her hand.

She said in a soft voice, “Hey, I heard what happened.” “I’m really sorry.”

I forced a weak smile because I was shocked that she knew so quickly. “Thank you, Maggie. “I’m fine.”

The basket was given to me. “I only meant to bring these up. “It’s not much, but I thought you might like something sweet.”

I took the basket and felt warm in a way I hadn’t since Jason had yelled at me. “That wasn’t necessary. “Thanks.”

Maggie took a deep breath and smiled softly. “I just wanted to say…” Over the years, I’ve had a lot of landlords. Some bad and some worse. But you? You’re a good person. I’ve always liked that about you: “You really care.”

I just stood there and watched her go back downstairs for a moment. It felt a little less empty and a little more like home again. I felt like I was going to be okay for the first time in days.