Where is the thin line between a friendship and a romantic relationship? Thousands of books have been written about this, hundreds of films have been made - and humanity is still as far from understanding as it was in the time of Shakespeare, Dante or Ovid. In other words, no one has yet answered this question, and is unlikely to ever answer it.
Perhaps if someday a mind-reading device is invented, then it will be possible to understand whether the other person wants your friendship to grow into something more, or the friend zone is the maximum. Although, what kind of mind reading can we talk about when people sometimes can’t figure out their own feelings?
A great example of such a situation is this post on the AITA Reddit community, which has received over 12.4K upvotes and around 9.2K different comments to date. The Original Poster is trying to explain her feelings and her actions, but it seems that these explanations clearly did not please people in the comments.
More info: Reddit
The Original Poster offered her jobless friend and his little daughter a room at her place while he was searching for a new job
Image credits: Nicu Buculei (not the actual image)
So, the Original Poster was upset that her friend and coworker Jayden was laid off at work, so he didn't have the money to pay the rent for himself and his little daughter Lia. The OP admits that she and Jayden have worked together for three years and were always on great terms, so she suggested that they move into her apartment, especially since her roommate was just moving out.
Image credits: u/aita3726
The OP enjoyed living together with Jayden as he turned out to be a great cook and a wonderful person
While Jayden was looking for a job, they agreed that he would not pay rent, but would instead cook and clean the house. It's been like this for several months and the OP says she was very comfortable - firstly, she got along great with Jayden and his daughter, and secondly, Jayden turned out to be a great cook and she liked his meals.
Image credits: u/aita3726
They have spent almost all their free time together and become practically best friends, although, as the OP herself admits, there was no romantic feeling between them. Over time, Jayden found a small side job so he could partially pay for the shared housing, and the OP again took over part of the household chores.
Image credits: Damian Bakarcic (not the actual image)
One day the OP discovered that Jayden kissed her best friend, so she felt extremely upset with that
Sometimes the OP's friends came to visit her. They also got to know Jayden and Lia and hit it off, because the father and daughter were really wonderful people. And so, one day, according to the OP, Lia secretly told her that she saw Jayden kissing the OP's best friend.
Image credits: u/aita3726
The OP admits that she felt literally deceived by her roommate. She claims that she did so much for Jayden and his daughter, and he dared to kiss her best friend behind her back! The OP talked to the man, but he said that it was, firstly, a fleeting kiss, and secondly, that this was his own personal life.
Image credits: u/aita3726
In the heat of the moment, the OP told Jayden and his daughter to get out of her place
The OP was literally outraged. First, she talked to her friend and, as she herself admits, she agreed to back off. Then the woman again attacked her roommate with reproaches, and in the heat of a quarrel, she stated that Jayden had taken advantage of her kindness and threatened that she would kick him and his daughter out of her apartment.
Image credits: u/aita3726
The OP wrote that she felt literally betrayed by Jayden
The OP says that Jayden was very cold to her after that. He told her that as soon as he had the opportunity, he and Lia would move out of the OP's house. The woman was even more upset - because, as she says, she was so comfortable living with them. On the other hand, she claims to feel betrayed, but this is by no means jealousy.
Image credits: Timo Newton-Syms (not the actual image)
Commenters almost unanimously backed Jayden and told the OP that her behavior was in fact borderline financial abuse
However, people in the comments were not fooled. They literally attacked the OP with criticism, arguing that, firstly, she looks selfish, and secondly, in fact, her behavior is borderline financial abuse. No one actually believed that Jayden was not her crush, and the man is not to blame, as people write in the comments, for not being able to read other people's thoughts.
In addition, according to some commenters, Jayden does not owe the OP anything, since, although he did not pay rent, he still faithfully fulfilled his part of their agreement. And, of course, the OP has no right to control his personal life, since, as she claims, there is and was nothing romantic between them.
Unfortunately, such stories with entitled people are far from rare in this world. For example, you can also read this post about how a woman tried to literally impose her own inappropriate opinion about education and motherhood on her future SIL. And of course, we kindly expect you to share your opinion about this story in the comments.
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