Lana had been dating Ashton for several months before he asked her to move in with him and share the expenses of an apartment. They split everything equally for years until Lana discovered that Ashton had lied all along. “It’ll be great. We’re both recent graduates, so living together makes more sense. We split the bills 50-50, and both of us win,” Ashton told Lana. She wasn’t sure moving in together after eight months of dating was the best idea.
“I don’t know, Ashton. It’s a big commitment. As you said, we both just graduated from school,” Lana said hesitantly. “Well, it’s the only we can move to the city and find jobs together. I have some money already for a deposit and everything. I’ll go find the apartment and handle all that stuff if you let me,” Ashton continued, urging Lana to say yes.
“Ok, I agree. It makes sense because living in the city has become pretty expensive. Once we find jobs, it’ll be fine,” she finally accepted. Ashton moved to the city and found an apartment quicker than Lana expected.
He set everything up, and Lana packed her stuff, moving in with him only a few weeks later. Rent was pretty reasonable, and it was better to split it down the middle. “You can send the rent money to me. I’ll send it from my account to the landlord directly,” Ashton told her when she asked about it. “Does it cover utilities and stuff? What about the Wi-Fi?” Lana wondered. “How about you pay the Wi-Fi from your account?” Ashton suggested. Lana agreed immediately because Ashton had been in charge of so much, but she also wanted to be helpful.
This arrangement worked perfectly for several years until Lana wanted to stop renting and get a house with Ashton. But they needed to talk about the future before that. “Honey, we’ve been living together for several years. Do you see us going further?” she asked one night. “Of course, Lana. But I wasn’t sure you wanted to get married anytime soon,” Ashton said sincerely. “Well…I’ve never been into weddings that much. We could have something simple. But I asked about it because I thought that it might be time to find a house,” Lana explained. “I’m tired of paying rent every month. I would rather use that money towards a mortgage.”
“That sounds like a great idea. But I don’t know if we’ve saved enough for a down payment,” Ashton said, suddenly hesitant. “Oh, I know that. I have some savings, but I just wanted us to start thinking about moving forward together,” Lana finished. “You’re right. Let’s plan it,” Ashton agreed, but whenever Lana brought the subject up again, he distracted her with other things. Maybe he doesn’t want to buy a house together or get married, Lana thought.
One day, Lana cleaned their room while Ashton went to pick up their dinner at their favorite Italian restaurant. They ate there or picked up food every single Saturday since they moved in. It was a lovely little tradition. Suddenly, Lana saw that Ashton left some of his documents in disarray in the closet. She picked them up and started arranging them in his folder. She had never seen what he kept there because that was his business. But then she saw something with their apartment address. Was this our rental contract? Lana wondered. She got curious and looked further. But it wasn’t that kind of contract. Ashton’s name was next to the word “owner.”