“Real marriage means putting the apartment in both our names,” her husband insisted, conveniently forgetting that he had not contributed a single penny toward it.
“With our salaries, we can’t afford a mortgage,” Alexey said, sorting through documents on the kitchen table. “See for yourself.”
Anna looked at the papers. The numbers spoke for themselves. The banks were offering them far too small a loan.
Her husband continued:
“That’s why I think we should move in with Mom. She has a three-room apartment. We wouldn’t have to pay rent.”
“With your mother?” Anna repeated, putting the document aside. “Lesha, are you serious?”
“Completely serious,” he nodded. “Think about it. We could save money. Do renovations, make the place comfortable. Put money aside for vacations.”
Anna shook her head. Memories of her rare meetings with her mother-in-law came flooding back.
“Lesha, your mother can’t stand me,” she objected. “You remember what our meetings were like.”
“Why do you say she can’t stand you?” Alexey asked in surprise. “Mom is just worried about us.”
“Worried?” Anna got up from the table. “She called me a bad daughter-in-law! She said I don’t even know how to cook borscht!”
“Anya, you react too strongly to everything,” her husband sighed. “Mom didn’t mean anything by it.”
“Didn’t mean anything?” Anna’s voice rose. “And when she said I was a bad wife? Did I misunderstand that too?”
Alexey put the documents aside and looked carefully at his wife.
“Mom wants you to be happy. She just has her own ideas about family life.”
Anna folded her arms across her chest.
“Her own ideas? Lesha, she taught me how to wash your shirts! She said I iron them incorrectly!”
“And what’s wrong with that?” Alexey shrugged. “Mom has a lot of experience running a household.”
Anna stared at her husband in disbelief. He genuinely did not understand her objections.
“Lesha, I am not going to live with your mother. That’s my final decision.”
Her husband began to get irritated.
“Then we’ll spend our whole lives living in rented apartments. We could be living comfortably in our own place.”
“In her apartment, you mean,” Anna corrected him.
“In our apartment,” Alexey insisted. “Mom doesn’t mind. On the contrary, she’ll be happy.”
Anna turned around and headed out of the kitchen.
“Where are you going?” her husband asked.
Over her shoulder, she replied:
“I need to think.”
A tense silence settled over the apartment. The spouses spoke only about everyday matters. Alexey continued insisting that they move. Anna tried to avoid him.
In the evenings, her husband attempted to bring up the subject again.
“Anya, let’s discuss it one more time,” he would begin.
“There’s nothing to discuss,” she would answer.
“But it’s a sensible solution,” Alexey refused to give up. “We would save a huge amount of money.”
“At the expense of my peace of mind,” Anna snapped.
Her husband would sigh and leave for another room. The conflict dragged on.
On the fourth day of their cold silence, a notary called.
“Anna Petrova?” a voice asked over the phone.
“Yes, that’s me,” Anna replied.
“You need to come to my office. You are entitled to an inheritance.”
Anna was surprised. What inheritance could he possibly be talking about?
“From whom?” she asked.
“From Elena Mikhailovna Kravtsova. She was your second cousin aunt.”
Anna remembered her. Aunt Lena was her father’s cousin. She lived alone and had no children. They had rarely been in touch.
“She left all of her property to you,” the notary continued. “Please come with your documents.”
At the notary’s office, Anna learned the details. Her aunt had left her a large sum of money—around ten million rubles.
The notary smiled.
“You’re fortunate. Your aunt was a very wealthy woman.”
Anna stared at the documents, unable to believe it. That amount of money changed all of their plans.
She returned home in a state of shock. Alexey met her in the hallway.
“Where were you?” he asked. “I was worried.”
“At the notary’s office,” Anna replied, walking into the living room.
“At the notary’s? Why?”
Anna sat down on the sofa and handed her husband the documents.
“Aunt Lena left me an inheritance,” she said quietly.
Alexey took the papers and began to read them. His eyes gradually widened.
“Ten million?” he asked again. “Is this real?”
“It’s real,” Anna nodded. “The money will be transferred to my account soon.”
Her husband sat down next to her on the sofa. He remained silent for several minutes.
“Anya, do you understand what this means?” he finally said.
“What exactly?” she asked.
“We can buy an apartment!” Alexey exclaimed. “And a new car! And go on vacation!”
Anna looked at her husband. His eyes were glowing with excitement.
“Yes, we can,” she agreed.
“Now we definitely don’t need to move in with Mom,” he continued. “We have every opportunity now!”
Anna nodded. The inheritance really did solve their housing problem. But something about her husband’s behavior made her uneasy.
As soon as Anna officially received the inheritance, everything changed.
One morning Alexey announced:
“Anya, we need to buy an apartment as soon as possible. The money is just sitting in your account.”
Anna poured herself a cup of coffee.
“I know. But I want to find a good option.”
“Let’s look for something downtown,” her husband suggested. “With a view of a park or the river.”
Anna nodded. She also dreamed of having a beautiful apartment. But she did not want to rush.
The phone rang. Her mother-in-law had been calling every day ever since Anna received the inheritance.
“Anya dear, how is the apartment search going?” she asked. “Have you found anything yet?”
“We’re still looking,” Anna replied.
“Don’t take too long, dear,” her mother-in-law advised. “Good properties are snapped up quickly.”
The following weeks were spent viewing apartments. Alexey insisted on expensive properties in prestigious neighborhoods.
“Look at those ceilings!” he exclaimed admiringly in yet another apartment. “And the layout!”
“It’s too expensive,” Anna objected. “And too far from the subway.”
“But it’s downtown!” her husband insisted. “It’s prestigious to live here!”
Anna shook her head. She did not like those apartments. They felt too pompous and uncomfortable.
In the end, she chose a three-room apartment on the third floor. It was in a quiet residential neighborhood, close to the subway. The layout was practical, and the price was reasonable.
“Seriously?” Alexey asked in surprise. “It’s just an ordinary apartment.”
“But it’s cozy,” Anna replied. “And it’s convenient for getting to work.”
The paperwork took two weeks. When they were signing the contract, Alexey frowned.
“Why is the apartment registered only in your name?” he asked.
“It’s my money,” Anna shrugged. “It came from my inheritance.”
“But we’re a family,” her husband objected.
“Of course we’re a family,” Anna agreed. “But legally, I’m the buyer.”
The move went quickly. Anna happily began arranging the new home, choosing furniture, curtains, and dishes.
A month later, her mother-in-law came over for dinner. She carefully inspected the apartment.
“It’s a nice apartment,” she praised. “Spacious and bright.”
“Thank you,” Anna smiled.
“The only downside,” her mother-in-law continued, “is that it belongs only to you, daughter-in-law.”
Anna froze with a plate in her hands. Her mother-in-law’s tone had changed.
“The apartment was bought with money from my inheritance,” Anna reminded her. “Those are my personal funds.”
“Personal?” her mother-in-law said indignantly. “What about your husband? What about the family?”
“What does the family have to do with it?” Anna asked, confused.
“It has everything to do with it! You don’t care about your husband!” her mother-in-law exclaimed. “You don’t care about your family! You only care about yourself!”
Alexey silently listened to his mother. Anna noticed him nodding in agreement with her words.
“You could at least have registered part of the apartment in my son’s name,” her mother-in-law complained. “But no! You grabbed everything for yourself!”
“Mom is right,” Alexey suddenly said. “We are a family.”
Anna looked at her husband in surprise. Did he really think that too?
Over the next few days, Alexey constantly brought up the idea of transferring part of the apartment into his name.
“Anya, at least give me a share,” he pleaded.
“Why?” she asked.
“Just to make things proper,” her husband replied. “We live here together.”
The conversations became increasingly tense. Anna could not understand why everything had suddenly changed.
By Saturday evening, a major argument was brewing. Alexey came home looking gloomy.
“Anya, we need to have a serious talk.”
Anna did not even look up from her book.
“About what?”
“About the apartment. About our marriage.”
Anna put the book aside and looked at her husband. Determination burned in his eyes.
“Real marriage means putting the apartment in both our names,” he declared.
“What do you mean?” Anna asked.
“I mean you don’t trust me,” Alexey continued. “You treat me like a stranger.”
“Where did you get that idea?” Anna asked in surprise.
“Mom explained it to me,” her husband replied. “A normal wife always shares property with her husband.”
Anna got up from the sofa. Anger began boiling inside her.
“Is your mother interfering in our affairs again?” she asked.
“She’s worried about us!” Alexey objected. “Unlike you!”
“Unlike me?” Anna’s voice rose. “What exactly do you mean?”
“You’re selfish!” her husband blurted out. “You got money and forgot about your family!”
Anna could not believe what she was hearing. This was the man who had sworn his love to her three years earlier.
“Lesha, I inherited that money,” she explained.
“But we bought the apartment while we were married!” Alexey refused to give up.
“With my money!” Anna reminded him.
“With our money!” her husband shouted. “We are a family! Everything we have should belong to both of us!”
Anna looked at Alexey. A stranger seemed to be standing in front of her—greedy and demanding.
“You know what, Lesha,” she said quietly. “If you don’t like things here, you can leave.”
“What?” her husband stared at her in shock.
“You’re nobody here,” Anna continued. “You’re not the owner. You’re not the master of this apartment. And your mother will always take you in.”
Alexey remained silent for several seconds. Then he abruptly turned around and headed for the door.
“Fine!” he threw over his shoulder. “You’ll see what comes of this!”
The door slammed shut. Anna was left alone in the silence of the apartment.
A week later, she received a court summons. Alexey was demanding half of the apartment, claiming it was marital property acquired during their marriage.
Anna hired a lawyer. The case turned out to be straightforward. The apartment had been purchased with funds from her inheritance.
“Your former husband has no rights to the apartment,” the lawyer explained. “Inherited property is not divided.”
The court proceedings lasted a month. Alexey brought in witnesses and tried to prove that they had both contributed financially. But the documents spoke for themselves.
“The claim is denied,” the judge announced. “The apartment remains the property of the defendant.”
Anna left the courtroom feeling relieved. At last, everything was over.
That evening, she sat on the balcony of her apartment. The large three-room home now belonged solely to her. No one could take away her peace anymore.
Her phone remained silent. Alexey no longer called. Her mother-in-law had disappeared from her life as well.
Anna smiled as she watched the sunset. A new life was ahead of her—without pressure, without manipulation. Just her and her own home.
Aunt Lena’s inheritance had done more than give Anna a roof over her head. It had revealed the true faces of the people closest to her.
And that turned out to be the most valuable gift of all.