Have you ever broken up with somebody and had them bafflingly claim, "I can't believe you would just leave me like that! After everything I've done for you!"

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Or did you once refuse to do a favor for somebody for what seemed like a good reason (say, you couldn't help them move because you had work that day), only to see them get really, really pissed off? Almost to the point that they're acting like you were paid for the work in advance and then didn't follow through? Like they thought you owed it to them?

Or maybe the other person has suddenly stopped speaking to you, making it clear that you've wronged them somehow and thus "owe" them an apology or some other form of restitution. This may even cause you to think they should apologize to you for overreacting, creating a stalemate that lasts until the day one of you refuses to attend the other's funeral.

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So What's the Problem?

There's a really good chance that the last person who got annoyed with you for seemingly no reason at all did it because you failed to pay a debt you didn't even know you owed. There's this weird thing where in most relationships, and maybe in every relationship at one point or another, both parties think the other side is in debt to them.

Most bad marriages work that way. The wife thinks, "This guy was a lonely mess before I came along, who knows where he'd be if it wasn't for me rescuing him! Probably dead!" Meanwhile, the guy thinks, "I'm the breadwinner, I gave her this nice house, if not for me she could have wound up with some scumbag who beats her! Probably to death!" Both of them think they're the martyr in the relationship, selflessly sacrificing while the other does nothing but take. Each is shocked and pissed off when they find out that the other person is working from a different balance sheet.