He took me to meet his parents a week ago, and when it got to the point where he had to tell his parents who I was, these are the things he enumerated:

"She’s a very good cook. I will let her cook our lunch tomorrow so you can see for yourself how great her dishes taste."

"She likes keeping the home in order. Anytime she comes around, she leaves my place so clean, I wonder what I would have done without her."

"She supports my dreams. She would go to every length to keep me on track, and she’s never scared to call a spade a spade."

"Have I told you already that she’s a great cook?" His mother responded, "Eiii, you and food. Your stomach is very important to you ooo."

"And she’s very forgiving. Even when I’m at fault, she’s calm about it and wouldn’t mind apologising to restore peace."

In the car going home, I had a different perspective on our relationship. "Is he with me because of what I do for him and not who I am?"

I have two master’s degrees. I have a business I’ve been running for over five years - before he started his. The organisation I work with recently promoted me to a senior role, and this comes with many benefits and recognition for my hard work. There are so many parts of me he could have highlighted so his parents would know that, regardless of everything I do for him, I have a pedigree - but he didn’t.

To me, this opens a door to his heart and a window to his mind, allowing me to see what he thinks about our relationship. So I asked him, "If one day I’m not able to do all that you’ve mentioned in front of your parents, then what happens to our relationship?"

He answered, "What would happen to you to take all that away? Let’s not think about it because it won’t happen."

A nail in the coffin - that’s how I saw his comment.

I want out of this relationship. I want more than a man who sees me as a source of servitude and nothing else. All the things he said I do for him - I also need a man who will do all that for me. Am I going too far?