slapped a dollar on the counter, and told his son:“Dance. I paid. So I own you now, right?”Matt was humiliated. Alice moved out that night, helped by the very man who raised him. She left behind the false security of “being taken care of,” and found freedom in a studio apartment filled with her things—on her terms.Matt? He’s back at his parents’,

cooking and cleaning under their roof. Because, as his mom reportedly said, “Whoever pays runs the house.”Alice learned the hard way:Generosity with strings isn’t kindness—it’s control. Love doesn’t come with conditions or contracts.Now, she makes dinner for herself. Or she doesn’t. Either way, the choice is hers.