My Parents Took Back the House Down Payment They Gifted Me, But They Had No Idea It Was All Part of My Plan

My parents gifted me the down payment for a house, a gesture rooted in love but burdened with a secret I couldn’t ignore. I had to return the money without revealing the truth, so I orchestrated a plan—a web of fake renovation dreams and inflated risks—to protect the people who had always protected me.

Standing in the living room, my hands trembled slightly as I handed over the carefully crafted renovation plans. The usual comfort of home—the scent of Mom’s lavender candles and the faint aroma of Dad’s coffee—felt foreign today. I was about to deceive the two people who had given me everything.

Dad sat in his favorite armchair, the leather arms worn from years of family moments. Mom, perched on the sofa’s edge, nervously adjusted her reading glasses as she studied the plans I’d spent sleepless nights creating with my friend Jamie…