Tell the truth

You pause, unsure how to explain your situation. You take a deep breath, and decide to just tell him the truth.

"I've... I've started doing porn", you say. As of just now, your landlord is the very first person in your personal life that you have told about your new career. You really hope you won't have to regret it. You cautiously look at him to gauge his reaction.

The landlord stares at you, a shocked expression appearing on his face. "Why are you doing porn?", he asks. His gentle, caring expression has all but faded, and he takes a step back to look you up and down. You assume he's suddenly seeing you in a whole new light, but it's hard to read his exact thoughts. He's either really shocked or pretending to be.

"Because I really need the money", you admit, still desperately trying to sound sad about this revelation. "I started yesterday, because I need to support myself."

"You're an adult", he answers, gesturing towards you. "You should be able to do that just fine with any other job".

You briefly clench your teeth in the knowledge that he's likely right. But you accidentally stumbled into the porn industry, only to find that have no desire to quit already. You feel like you can't admit this to him, however. It would certainly ruin your whole 'sob story' act, likely ruining your chances of gaining his sympathy. "It's not like I'm the only one in this situation", you tell him, quickly thinking of an excuse. "Most people my age have trouble finding jobs. Honestly, if I had a choice I would do something different. But I need to pay you right now", you add, hoping to offhandedly guilt trip him the slightest bit.

Your landlord exhales sharply. He closes his eyes for a moment, nodding in understanding. "Alright", he says, and it seems like he has made up his mind. "I will let your late rent slide. But I do have one condition". He opens his eyes and smiles at you, and you almost instinctively take a step back before you realize his expression looks genuinely sympathetic.

"What do you mean?", you ask, surprised by the success of your own acting.

"You will help me clean around the house. Do the dishes, that kind of stuff", he tells you. He scratches his chin as he keeps looking at you. "I'm not as young as I used to be, and I could really use some help. We could make a temporary arrangement; If you drop by once a week to help me out, we can forget about your late rent. The coming month too. It will give you the time to find a proper job.".

You blink at him, thrown off-guard by his seemingly reasonable offer. You never expected him to be capable of such kindness. You think it over briefly; just being a maid once a week didn't sound so bad if it truly meant you didn't have to pay the rent for two whole months.

Is he actually trying to help you?