– Valya, have you sent the mortgage payment yet? Today is the deadline, – Denis didn’t even look up from his phone, continuing to scroll through the news feed.
– Yes, as usual. Ninety-two thousand. And, as always, from my card, – Valentina answered, putting a cup of coffee in front of him and sitting down opposite him. – You know, I was thinking… Maybe we should look at the documents for the apartment? We’ve been paying for two years now, and I’ve never seen the purchase and sale agreement.
Denis finally looked up from the screen, and for a moment something like alarm flashed in his eyes.
– Why? The bank accepted our apartment as collateral, which means everything is in order with the documents.
“I just want to take a look. This is our common property,” Valentina watched his reaction carefully.
– Well… the documents are with my mother. I’ll ask her to find them, – Denis answered reluctantly, burying his face in his phone again.
– Your mother? Why her? – Valentina felt an anxious premonition growing inside.
– She keeps important papers better. Remember how I lost the car contract?
Valentina nodded, but her inner unrest only grew stronger.
April rain was pounding the windows when Valentina arrived to see her mother-in-law. Denis was not there – another urgent business matter. Nina greeted her with her usual reserved smile.
– Come in, Valechka. Denis said you want to look at the documents for the apartment? Alexey has everything ready, they are in the living room.
The father-in-law sat in a chair, sorting through a stack of papers.
– Ah, Valentina! – he stood up and handed her a folder. – Here, all the documents for your apartment. We keep them in a separate folder.
Valentina sat down at the table and opened the folder. The purchase and sale agreement, the technical passport, the extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate… She began to look through the documents and suddenly froze.
– Alexey Ivanovich, there’s some kind of mistake here, – her voice trembled slightly. – You and Nina Petrovna are listed as the owners. Denis and I should be here.
The mother-in-law and father-in-law exchanged glances.
– Valya, it’s not a mistake, – Nina Petrovna said softly. – The apartment is registered in our name, but it’s a formality. You and Denis live there.
– A formality? – Valentina felt the room begin to spin. – And the mortgage is registered in my name! I’m paying for an apartment that belongs to you?
– Denis didn’t explain it to you? – Alexey Ivanovich looked surprised. – It was his decision. He has a business, risks. He wanted to protect his property in case of problems with creditors.
– Because I’m paying off the loan for your property? – Valentina felt anger boiling inside.
– Valya, don’t be dramatic, – Nina Petrovna sat down next to him. – This is a family. What difference does it make who the apartment is registered to? The main thing is that you live in it.
Valentina stood up, collecting the documents back into the folder.
– There is a big difference, Nina Petrovna. A very big one.
– You deceived me! – Valentina threw the folder with documents on the table as soon as Denis entered the apartment. – For two years I have been paying for the apartment that belongs to your parents!
Denis sighed, as if he had been expecting this conversation.
– Please sit down. I will explain everything.
– Explain what? Why did you register the apartment in my parents’ name and put the mortgage on me?
– That’s not true, – Denis sat down on the edge of the sofa. – Look, I have a business. Do you know what times are like now? One bad contract, and I’m bankrupt. I wanted to protect us.
– Protect us? – Valentina smiled bitterly. – You protected yourself and your parents! And if something happens, I’ll be left without an apartment, but with a debt of twelve million!
“That won’t happen,” Denis tried to take her hand, but she pulled away. “The parents would never lay claim to the apartment. It’s just a legal formality.”
“A legal formality,” Valentina echoed. “So you don’t see a problem with the fact that you deceived me? That you pulled off this… scheme behind my back?”
“I wanted the best,” Denis’s voice took on a note of irritation. “And don’t be dramatic, it’s not a lie. I just didn’t go into details because I knew you’d start to panic.”
– Panic? – Valentina shook her head. – No, Denis. I’m not panicking. I just see the situation as it is. I’m paying for someone else’s apartment.
Marina Viktorovna put a cup of tea in front of her daughter and sat down opposite her.
“Darling, I’m so sorry,” she took Valentina’s hand. “But you did the right thing by coming to me.”
– Mom, I don’t know what to do, – Valentina looked exhausted, as if she hadn’t slept for several nights. – Denis says that it’s to protect our property. But it turns out that it’s not my property at all!
– Of course, it’s not yours, – Marina Viktorovna shook her head. – And believe me, this is not an accidental oversight. This is a well-thought-out plan.
– A plan? Do you think Denis planned this from the very beginning?
– Not just Denis. I saw his parents at your wedding, – Marina Viktorovna winced. – Especially his mother. Have you noticed how she always says “my son” instead of “your husband”? They were never going to let him go. And now they have an apartment that you pay for.
“But what should I do?” Valentina’s voice sounded desperate.
– First of all, talk to a lawyer. Your friend Irina, I think, works in this field?
“Valya, the situation is worse than you think,” Irina laid out the documents in front of her in the small cafe where they met during their lunch break.
“Worse? How much worse could it get?” Valentina tried to joke, but her voice trembled.
– Much worse, – Irina was serious. – You are a co-borrower on the mortgage, but not the owner. This means that legally you are paying the loan for someone else’s property. If Denis divorces you, the apartment will remain with his parents, and you will continue to pay the mortgage.
– This simply cannot be! The bank could not agree to such a scheme!
– He could, – Irina pointed to the contract. – The bank doesn’t care who owns the collateral. The main thing is that there is a borrower with a good credit history and a stable income, that is, you. If you pay, they have no problems. And if you stop paying, they will take the apartment from Denis’s parents and sell it to cover the debt.
– What about me? – Valentina felt a lump rise in her throat.
“The consequences are most serious for you,” Irina squeezed her hand. “If Denis’s parents decide to sell the apartment, they have every right to do so. The bank will get its money from the proceeds of the sale, the mortgage will be closed, and the remaining funds will go to them as the owners.”
– And me? And all the payments I’ve already made?
– At best, you can try to claim compensation through the court as a spouse. But this is a long process, and success is not guaranteed.
– What should I do?
“First, stop making payments,” Irina said confidently. “Then talk to your husband and his parents and demand either a re-registration of the property or a legally binding agreement that will protect your rights.”
Valentina sat in the office, staring blankly at the monitor. The numbers in the report blurred before her eyes.
– Val, are you okay? – Andrey from the neighboring department sat down on the edge of her desk. – You look bad.
“It’s okay,” she tried to smile. “Just domestic problems.”
Andrey looked back and lowered his voice:
– Listen, I accidentally found out something. I’m not sure if I should tell you…
– Tell me, what happened? – Valentina immediately became wary.
– Yesterday I met Oleg, your husband’s brother. We go to the same gym.
– And what?
– He said that Denis has big problems with his business. He owes a large sum to his partners. That is why the apartment is registered to his parents – so that creditors cannot take it away.
Valentina felt the blood drain from her face.
– You are sure?
– Oleg said it himself. He mentioned that his parents know, but Denis is afraid to tell you – he thinks that you will stop paying the mortgage if you find out.
The following evening, Valentina arrived at Denis’s parents’ house unannounced. Fortunately, there were guests there, including her mother-in-law’s sister, Alla, whom Valentina had never met before.
The apartment was noisy. Valentina apologized and was about to leave, but Nina Petrovna insisted that she stay for dinner.
Valentina was silent at the table, only half-listening to the conversations. Suddenly, her mother-in-law’s phrase made her shudder.
– …so, Allochka, soon we will sell the apartment and buy a house outside the city. Do you know that cottage village in Sosnovka? They are building such beautiful houses there! Denis will move with us, and Olezhka too, if he wants.
“And the daughter-in-law?” asked Alla.
– Oh, come on, – the mother-in-law lowered her voice, but Valentina still heard. – She’ll stay with her apartment. She has a job in the city, her mother is nearby. And she and Denis aren’t really a family, to be honest. They just live together…
Valentina squeezed the fork until her fingers hurt.
Later, at home, she greeted Denis with icy silence.
“What happened?” He looked worried.
– When did you plan to tell me about your debts? And that your parents were going to sell our apartment?
Denis turned pale.
– Who told you?
– This is true?
– Valya, listen, – he tried to take her hands, but she pulled away. – I have temporary difficulties with business. I can handle it, it’s okay.
– What about your parents’ plans to sell the apartment?
“Mom just dreams of a country house,” he smiled uncertainly. “She’s been talking about it for a long time.”
“Of course, you’ll move there, and I’ll be left with a mortgage for the sold apartment,” Valentina said bitterly.
– What nonsense! – Denis was indignant. – No one will sell anything!
– You know what, – Valentina stood up. – Starting tomorrow, I will no longer pay the mortgage. Let your parents, as the owners, solve this problem themselves.
“Mikhail Borisovich, thank you for your time,” Valentina sat in the lawyer’s office, nervously fiddling with her purse.
“Irina explained the situation,” the lawyer nodded. “Let’s look at the documents.”
He studied the papers carefully, making notes.
“The situation is really complicated,” he said finally. “You are a co-borrower on the mortgage, but you are not the owner of the property. This can be seen as an abuse of rights on the part of your husband and his parents.
– What should I do? Irina advises to stop payments.
“It’s risky,” Mikhail Borisovich shook his head. “You are still responsible to the bank. The best option is to officially demand the re-registration of the property or the conclusion of an agreement that will protect your interests.”
– And if they refuse?
– Then we will file a lawsuit to invalidate the transaction and collect all your payments. Plus moral damages. But the court is an extreme measure.
Valentina organized a family gathering in their apartment. She invited her parents, Denis and his parents. Oleg, Denis’s brother, showed up uninvited, saying he “wanted to support his brother.”
When everyone had gathered in the living room, Valentina took the floor:
“I gathered you here to discuss the situation with our apartment,” she tried to speak calmly. “As it turns out, it’s registered to Alexey Ivanovich and Nina Petrovna, although I’m the one paying the mortgage.”
“Valya, we’ve already discussed this,” Denis began.
– No, Denis, we didn’t discuss it, – she said firmly. – You just said it was to protect yourself from creditors. But you didn’t mention that you already have these creditors! And especially didn’t say that your parents are planning to sell the apartment!
– What nonsense! – Nina Petrovna was indignant. – We are not going to sell anything!
– No need, Mom, – Oleg suddenly intervened. – I saw the documents on your desk. You already consulted with a realtor about the sale.
An oppressive silence reigned in the room.
“We don’t have any specific plans,” Alexey Ivanovich finally said. “We’re just exploring options.”
“You are studying options for selling the apartment that I am paying for,” Valentina noted coldly. “And in which Denis and I live.”
“But officially it’s ours,” Nina Petrovna said sharply. “And we have every right to dispose of our property!”
– Mom! – Denis tried to pull her back.
– What’s wrong with that? – Nina Petrovna spread her hands. – It’s true! If necessary, we’ll help you with the down payment on another apartment.
Marina Viktorovna, who had been silent until then, leaned forward:
– So you admit that you originally planned to deceive my daughter? To make her pay for your apartment?
– Nobody deceived anyone! – Alexey Ivanovich raised his voice. – It was a business decision!
“A business decision,” Valentina echoed. “Well, I have a business decision, too. I’m stopping paying the mortgage. Either we transfer the apartment to Denis and me, or I file for divorce and demand all the money I paid back.”
“Valya, you won’t do this,” Denis looked scared.
“I will,” she said firmly. “I have a lawyer’s opinion that your actions may be considered an abuse of rights.”
– What abuse? – Nina Petrovna was indignant. – Denis, tell her!
“Mom, this is really unfair,” Oleg suddenly intervened. “Valentina will pay rent for six years and then be left with nothing? That’s not how things are done.
– Are you on her side now? – Nina Petrovna flared up. – Against her own mother?
“I’m on the side of justice,” Oleg said firmly. “And if you really cared about Denis, you would have helped him solve his business problems instead of hiding his property.”
The room became quiet again.
– So, – Valentina straightened up, – we have two options. First: Denis and I become the owners of the apartment, continue paying the mortgage, and this story is forgotten. Second: I file for divorce and start legal proceedings.
– Valya, wait, – Denis looked confused. – Let’s talk in private.
– There’s nothing to discuss here! – Nina Petrovna snapped. – Denis, don’t let her manipulate you! We bought this apartment, we’re responsible for it!
– Did you buy it? – Valentina said slowly. – In two years, I paid off two million rubles of my own money. And that’s without taking into account the down payment!
– Denis, decide, – Alexey Ivanovich turned to his son. – Either you are with us, or with her. There is no third option.
The room froze in anticipation. Denis looked from his parents to his wife and back.
“I… I can’t do it right away,” he finally muttered.
– It’s all clear, – Valentina smiled bitterly. – Mikhail Borisovich, – she turned to the lawyer, who was silently watching what was happening, – please prepare the documents for filing a lawsuit. And an application for divorce.
A month passed. Valentina was sitting in the lawyer’s office, looking through documents.
– So, the court ruled that the transaction was made in violation of your rights as a spouse, – Mikhail Borisovich looked pleased. – Denis’s parents are obliged to compensate you for all mortgage payments with interest.
– And the apartment itself? – asked Valentina.
– It remains their property, but with the encumbrance of your claim. In fact, they will not be able to sell it until they pay you compensation.
– What about the divorce?
– The application has been accepted for consideration. Considering the absence of children and mutual consent, the procedure will take a minimum of time.
Valentina nodded. It was as if she had lived a new life this month. Denis tried to come back, persuaded, promised to fix everything. But his indecisiveness at the key moment put everything in its place. He would always obey his parents, unable to protect even his wife.
– You know, Mikhail Borisovich, – she smiled for the first time in a long time, – I think I found an apartment that I want to buy. Small, but in a good area.
“I approve,” the lawyer nodded. “Only this time, make it strictly your own.”
“You can be sure,” Valentina answered confidently. “Now I will carefully reread every letter in the contract.”
When she left the office, the April sun was shining brightly, playing with the reflections in the puddles from the recent rain. A new life lay ahead – without Denis, without his manipulations and without the feeling of being used. And this prospect, despite all the trials she had experienced, filled her with nothing but joy.
