Derek Lowe, my ex-boyfriend.
To be precise, he was my ex-fiance, because by the time we broke up, we were already engaged.
He was from a rural family, with a couple of younger siblings, and his family wasn't well off.
A few years ago, when I was still young and naive, I felt like I was under some kind of spell and insisted on marrying him no matter what.
My parents saw how stubborn I was, and they were worried that I would end up suffering in the countryside with him. So, they took the initiative to buy me an apartment in the city, which was the Apartment No. 801 in Lily Gardens.
After buying the apartment, my parents hoped that Derek's family would contribute to the renovation, but he refused. He said, since his name wasn't on the deed, why should he pay for the renovation?
So, I took all my savings from the past two years since graduation and used it to renovate the new house.
After the engagement, Derek suddenly said that his name had to be added to the deed, or the wedding would be called off.
Luckily, my parents were farsighted. The deed was in their names when the house was purchased, so I had no way of changing it on my own.
Derek told me to persuade my parents to change the deed to both our names. Even with my love-struck mind I finally came back to my senses.
"At the time, you refused to contribute to the renovation, and now you want your name on the deed!"
"Laura, why are you so unreasonable? Don't we need money for the wedding feast? Don't the wedding gift of 2,000 dollars and all the jewelry cost money?" said Derek. "You know my parents are farmers. How much money do they make in a year? The renovation costs started at over 20 thousand. Isn't that a bit too much?"
"But you didn't make your family contribute either, and the renovation costs were also paid by me and my parents." I was starting to get annoyed as well. "My parents didn't get their money from out of nowhere. They work hard for it. You didn't contribute a penny, and you still want to claim ownership of the house?"
"Laura, how can you be so materialistic? We're about to get married, and you're still so petty!" Derek threw the blame back on me. "If you really loved me, the deed should have my name alone!"
"Don't you have any shame? It's because you can't afford a house that my parents had to take out their retirement savings to buy us one!" For the first time, I realized how shameless this man was. "If you were capable, you should have bought your own house! My dad said we would both contribute to the down payment and pay the mortgage together, but you refused, saying the pressure was too much! Now that the house is bought, you want to take it for free!"
"Stop causing trouble! The reason I want my name on the deed is because your parents have always been wary of me. I don't feel like I'm treated as part of the family, and that's why I made this request!" Derek looked angry, as if I had exposed his true motives. "Laura, you're so stubborn! You're the only daughter in your family. What if something happens to your parents in the future? The house will all be ours. What's the difference between adding my name now and inheriting it later?"
My parents were in good health, and for him to say something like that made me so furious that I slapped him across the face.
"You're the one whose parents might die early! Derek, I now know what kind of person you really are! You're already scheming for my parents' property before we're even married!"
The result was a huge argument, and I immediately called off the engagement.
My parents were relieved and said I made the right decision. They even told me that even if I never got married, they could still support me.
After breaking up the engagement, Derek kept pestering me several times until I blocked all his contact methods, and only then did I get some peace.
