Yulia stood by the window and looked out at the evening city. The streetlights reflected on the wet asphalt, and people hurried home after work. A three-room apartment in the very center of the city was any city dweller’s dream. She had bought the place five years ago, before she even met Andrey. Back then, she had worked as a manager at a large company, saved every kopeck, and taken out a loan. She had spent eight years paying it off, denying herself everything. But now the apartment was entirely hers. The documents were in the name of Yulia Alexandrovna Sokolova. No debts. No encumbrances.
She had married a year ago. Andrey worked at the same company. Yulia had noticed him at a corporate party. He was good-looking, calm, and had no bad habits. His parents also seemed normal, at least at first. His father had died long ago, and his mother, Galina Sergeyevna, lived alone in a two-room apartment on the outskirts. She was a pensioner, sixty-two years old, a former accountant.
Her mother-in-law visited often. Three times a week, at least. At first, Yulia did not object. She thought it was normal for a woman to want to see her son. Galina Sergeyevna brought pies, helped with the cleaning, and chatted about little things. She seemed like a sweet elderly lady.
But gradually, Yulia began noticing odd things. Her mother-in-law inspected the apartment too carefully. She looked into the rooms, opened wardrobes, touched the furniture. She asked questions about the square footage, the layout, and how much the utilities cost.
“What a spacious apartment you have,” Galina Sergeyevna remarked once again as she walked down the hallway. “Seventy square meters, right?”
“Seventy-five,” Yulia corrected her, slicing salad in the kitchen.
“Seventy-five!” her mother-in-law whistled. “And in the center! Do you know how much you could get for an apartment like this?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, if you rented it out. To a young couple, for example. Or to newcomers.”
Yulia stopped. The knife froze above the cutting board.
“Galina Sergeyevna, I am not planning to rent out the apartment.”
“Why not?” her mother-in-law sat down at the table and leaned on the countertop. “Yulia, just think about it. A three-room place in the center would easily go for fifty thousand. Maybe even more. Every month! That is good money.”
“I have a job. My salary is decent.”
“But this would be additional income!” Galina Sergeyevna became animated. “You rent out the apartment, get the money, and you and Andrey could live with me. I have enough room. It is a two-room apartment, after all.”
Yulia slowly put the knife down.
“Galina Sergeyevna, this is my apartment. I live here. I am not moving anywhere.”
“Oh, come on,” her mother-in-law waved her hand. “So you move. Big deal. But think how much money you would get!”
“No,” Yulia said firmly. “This is not up for discussion.”
Her mother-in-law pursed her lips but said nothing. The evening passed tensely. Galina Sergeyevna left earlier than usual, saying goodbye dryly.
But the subject did not disappear. Her mother-in-law returned to it again and again.
“Yulia, yesterday I was talking to my neighbor Tamara Ivanovna,” Galina Sergeyevna began during another visit. “Her son rents out his apartment. Can you imagine? He gets sixty thousand a month! Sixty!”
“Good for him,” Yulia replied without looking up from her book.
“You do not understand! That is free money! You do nothing, and it just keeps coming in!”
“Galina Sergeyevna, how many times do I have to say it? I do not want to rent out the apartment.”
“But why?” her mother-in-law almost shouted in outrage. “Explain to me why you are refusing such income!”
“Because this is my home,” Yulia closed the book. “I renovated it for myself. It is my fortress. I rest here, I live here. I do not want strangers inside.”
“Strangers!” Galina Sergeyevna mocked her. “We will find good people! Neat people! You will not have to worry about your property!”
“No.”
“How stubborn you are,” her mother-in-law shook her head. “Andryusha, talk to your wife. Explain it to her.”
Andrey was sitting on the sofa, scrolling through his phone. He looked up.
“Mama, it is Yulia’s decision. The apartment is hers.”
“But you are husband and wife! You should decide together!”
“We have decided together,” Yulia said. “We are not renting out the apartment.”
Galina Sergeyevna brought the subject up several more times. She gave examples of acquaintances who had become rich by renting out housing. She showed online ads where people were looking for apartments and offering huge sums. She told stories about students from wealthy families who were ready to pay any amount for comfortable housing in the center.
Yulia stood her ground. She categorically refused even to discuss the possibility of renting out the apartment. Andrey supported his wife, although silently. He simply did not object when Yulia rejected his mother’s suggestions.
About two months later, Galina Sergeyevna arrived with news.
“Kids, I have decided to renovate!” her mother-in-law announced as soon as she stepped over the threshold.
“What kind of renovation?” Andrey asked.
“A major one! I am redoing the whole apartment!” Galina Sergeyevna’s eyes burned with enthusiasm. “I have already chosen the wallpaper, tiles for the kitchen, laminate flooring. I found a designer. She showed me sketches. It is going to be beautiful!”
“Mama, that is expensive,” Andrey frowned.
“Expensive, but beautiful!” his mother took out her phone and began showing photographs. “Look at this wallpaper! Italian! And the tiles are Spanish, marble-effect! For the kitchen and dining area.”
Yulia looked at the photos and calculated in her head. Italian wallpaper, Spanish tiles, a designer. This would cost a pretty penny. She wondered where a pensioner had gotten the money.
“Galina Sergeyevna, how much is all this going to cost?” Yulia asked carefully.
“Oh, I have not counted exactly,” her mother-in-law brushed it off. “Three or four hundred thousand, probably. Maybe five hundred.”
“Five hundred thousand?” Yulia almost choked on her tea. “That is an enormous amount of money!”
“So what? I want to live beautifully!” Galina Sergeyevna put away her phone. “I spent my whole life working for others and denying myself things. Now it is time to treat myself!”
“Mama, where did the money come from?” Andrey asked.
“I saved it,” his mother answered curtly.
Yulia said nothing, but she did not believe it. Galina Sergeyevna’s pension was about twenty thousand. Saving half a million on that pension? It would take years of denying herself everything. And her mother-in-law regularly bought expensive cosmetics, went to beauty salons, and traveled to sanatoriums. Where had the money come from?
That evening, Yulia asked Andrey:
“Listen, does your mother really have that kind of money for renovations?”
“I do not know,” her husband shrugged. “Mama has never complained about being short on money.”
“But five hundred thousand! That is not pocket change!”
“Maybe she took out a loan. Or borrowed from someone.”
“From whom? She did not ask us.”
“From friends, probably. Or from a bank.”
Yulia frowned but dropped the subject. After all, it was none of her business where her mother-in-law got her money.
The renovation began. Galina Sergeyevna regularly reported on the progress. She showed photos of walls stripped of wallpaper, floors without covering, and a kitchen covered in construction dust. She talked about the workers, the materials, and the design choices.
“Look what kind of chandelier I bought!” her mother-in-law enthusiastically showed off another purchase. “Czech crystal! It cost twenty-five thousand!”
“It is beautiful,” Yulia agreed politely.
“And have you seen the bathtub? Acrylic, with hydromassage! I paid forty thousand, but it is worth it!”
Yulia listened and wondered. A chandelier for twenty-five thousand, a bathtub for forty, tiles, wallpaper, laminate, furniture. The total grew with each passing day. Where did a pensioner get that much money?
A month passed. The renovation was in full swing. Galina Sergeyevna glowed with happiness as she showed the intermediate results. The walls had been leveled and covered with expensive wallpaper. The floors were laid with laminate. Spanish tiles had been installed in the kitchen. New plumbing had been fitted in the bathroom.
“When will you finish?” Andrey asked.
“In about two weeks,” his mother replied. “All that is left is to put in the furniture and hang the curtains.”
Then one evening, Galina Sergeyevna appeared at the door with a serious face. She came in, took off her coat, sat down at the table, and looked at her son and daughter-in-law.
“We need to talk,” her mother-in-law said.
“About what?” Yulia asked warily.
“About your move.”
“What move?” Yulia did not understand.
“To my place. You need to move in with me.”
Yulia froze. Andrey also looked at his mother in confusion.
“Mama, what are you talking about?” her husband asked.
“Exactly what I said. You are moving in with me. Start packing today or tomorrow.”
“Wait, I do not understand,” Yulia stood up from the table. “Why should we suddenly move?”
“Because I need your apartment,” Galina Sergeyevna explained calmly.
“Why do you need it?”
“I am going to rent it out. To students. Or whoever comes along.”
Silence fell. Yulia stared at her mother-in-law, unable to believe what she had heard.
“Are you joking?”
“Not at all,” Galina Sergeyevna crossed her arms over her chest. “I took out a loan for the renovation. Half a million. It has to be paid back, and I have no money. The only way out is to rent out your apartment. It will easily go for fifty thousand a month.”
“Wait,” Yulia felt herself beginning to boil. “You took out a loan for your renovation, and now you want me to hand over my apartment to pay off your debt?”
“Exactly,” her mother-in-law nodded. “I have no other option. You will help me out, will you not?”
“Galina Sergeyevna,” Yulia spoke slowly, trying not to break into a shout, “this is my apartment. Bought with my money. Before I married your son.”
“So what? Now you are family. You should help each other.”
“Helping is one thing. Handing my apartment over to strangers is something completely different!”
“Not handing it over, renting it out!” her mother-in-law raised her voice. “Temporarily! Until I pay off the loan!”
“How long will you be paying off this loan?”
“About three years, probably.”
“Three years?” Yulia felt her hands begin to tremble. “You want me to live with you for three years while my apartment is rented out to strangers?”
“What is so terrible about that? My apartment is nice, especially after the renovation. You will like it.”
“I like it here!” Yulia was almost shouting now. “This is my home! I bought it, I live here, and I am not moving anywhere!”
“Yulenka, do not get worked up,” Galina Sergeyevna stood up. “I have already decided everything. Tomorrow, students are coming to view the apartment. I posted an ad.”
“What ad?” Yulia stepped toward her mother-in-law. “You posted an ad to rent out my apartment without my consent?”
“What else was I supposed to do? I need money! I have to pay the loan!”
“That is your problem! You should not have taken out a half-million loan!”
“I thought you would understand!” Galina Sergeyevna raised her voice too. “I was not doing it for myself! I was doing it for Andryusha! So he would have somewhere beautiful to visit!”
“I never asked for that,” Andrey muttered.
“Be quiet!” his mother barked at him. “Adults are talking!”
“Galina Sergeyevna,” Yulia clenched her fists, “I am saying this for the last time. I will not give my apartment to anyone. Not students, not anyone else. This is my property.”
“Property!” her mother-in-law mocked her. “You are greedy, Yulka! That is what I will tell you! Too greedy to help your mother-in-law!”
“I am not greedy! I simply do not want to pay for your debts!”
“My debts?” Galina Sergeyevna turned red with anger. “They are family debts! Andryusha is my son! And you are his wife! That means you must help!”
“Help, yes! But not give up my apartment!”
“Enough arguing!” her mother-in-law stepped toward Yulia. “Tomorrow you start packing! In three days, the tenants move in! I have already taken a deposit!”
“You took a deposit?” Yulia turned pale. “For my apartment?”
“For our apartment! The family apartment!”
“This is not a family apartment! It is mine! Mine alone!”
“Stop clinging to the walls!” Galina Sergeyevna screamed, grabbing Yulia by the arm and pulling her toward the door. “Leave, and everyone will be better off!”
Yulia yanked her arm free.
“Do not touch me!”
“Leave, I said!” her mother-in-law shoved her daughter-in-law toward the hallway. “I am sick of your whims! I will rent out the apartment, get the money, and pay off the loan!”
“Andrey!” Yulia turned to her husband. “Are you just going to sit there silently?”
Andrey sat on the sofa, staring at the floor. Silent.
“Andrey!” Yulia repeated. “Say something!”
Her husband slowly stood up. He went into the bedroom. Returned with a bag. Began packing his things.
“What are you doing?” Yulia could not believe her eyes.
“Packing,” Andrey answered quietly. “If Mama said we need to move, then we need to.”
“What do you mean, need to?” Yulia felt the ground slipping from under her feet. “This is my apartment!”
“Mama is right,” Andrey did not look at his wife. “The loan has to be paid. And there is no money.”
“Let your mother figure out how to pay it! It is her loan!”
“But we are family,” her husband muttered, stuffing shirts into the bag.
“Family?” Yulia burst into laughter. “What family, Andrey? You are packing because your mother ordered you to! Without asking me! Without defending me!”
“Yulia, do not make it complicated,” Andrey zipped the bag. “We will move temporarily. So what?”
“For three years!” Yulia shouted. “Three years, Andrey! While your mother pays off her loan! And my apartment will be rented out to students who will destroy everything here!”
“Well done, Andryusha,” Galina Sergeyevna nodded approvingly. “Pack up. We are going to my place.”
“Stop,” Yulia stood in the middle of the room. “Nobody is going anywhere.”
“What do you mean, nobody is going?” her mother-in-law frowned.
“Exactly that. This is my apartment. And I did not agree to move.”
“Yulenka, do not act childish,” Galina Sergeyevna took a step forward. “Andrey has already agreed. A wife should live with her husband.”
“Andrey may agree to whatever he likes. But the apartment is mine. And I make the decisions here.”
“Did you not hear me?” her mother-in-law narrowed her eyes. “I said you are moving!”
“And I said no,” Yulia crossed her arms over her chest. “Moreover, since things have gone this far, I am filing for divorce.”
Silence. Andrey dropped the bag. Galina Sergeyevna froze with her mouth open.
“What did you say?” her mother-in-law asked again.
“I said I am filing for divorce from your son,” Yulia repeated calmly. “If he cannot protect his wife from his mother’s insolence, why do I need such a husband?”
“Yulia, what are you talking about?” Andrey stepped toward her.
“Exactly what you heard. Divorce. In the divorce, the apartment will remain mine. It was bought before marriage, with my money. You have no rights to it.”
“Yulia, do not say stupid things,” Andrey tried to take his wife’s hand.
Yulia moved away.
“These are not stupid things. This is a decision. You chose your mother. You packed your things without even discussing it with me. You betrayed me. Why do I need a husband who is not on my side?”
“I am on your side!”
“You are lying. If you were on my side, you would be kicking your mother out right now, not packing a bag.”
“She is my mother!”
“And I am your wife!” Yulia shouted. “Your wife, Andrey! I should matter more than your mother!”
“You insolent girl!” Galina Sergeyevna interrupted. “How dare you speak like that?”
“Very easily,” Yulia turned to her mother-in-law. “Galina Sergeyevna, you took out a loan for your own renovation. It is your problem how you repay it. Stay out of my apartment and my life.”
“I will not stay out! Andryusha, let’s go!” his mother grabbed her son by the arm.
“Wait, Mama,” Andrey tried to pull free.
“Let’s go, I said!” Galina Sergeyevna dragged her son toward the exit.
“Andrey, if you leave with her now, consider us divorced,” Yulia said.
Her husband stopped. He looked at his wife, then at his mother. Galina Sergeyevna was pulling him toward the door. Yulia stood in the middle of the room with a stone-cold face.
“Andryusha, let’s go!” Galina Sergeyevna repeated.
Andrey picked up the bag. He went toward the exit.
“So that is how it is,” Yulia said. “Fine. Since you chose your mother, live with her. The apartment is mine. And it will stay mine.”
“We will see about that!” Galina Sergeyevna snapped. “We will take it through the court!”
“Try,” Yulia smirked. “Just hire a good lawyer. Because the apartment was bought with my money before marriage. You have no rights to it.”
“Andryusha lived in it!”
“He did. Now he does not. Get out of my apartment. Both of you.”
“You cannot throw him out!” her mother-in-law stamped her foot.
“I can. And I am. This is my property. Andrey is registered here, but I am the owner. And once we are divorced, my husband loses the right to live here.”
“Yulia, let’s talk,” Andrey tried.
“There is nothing to talk about,” Yulia opened the door. “Leave. Now.”
“You will regret this!” Galina Sergeyevna threatened.
“I already do. I regret marrying your mama’s boy.”
Her mother-in-law hissed something, but Yulia did not listen. She simply stood by the open door and waited. Andrey hesitated in the hallway.
“Andryusha, let’s go! There is no place for you here!” his mother commanded.
Her husband stepped out onto the landing. Galina Sergeyevna followed him. Yulia slammed the door and turned the key in the lock.
She leaned back against the door. She breathed deeply, trying to calm the trembling in her hands. Voices could be heard behind the door. Her mother-in-law was shouting something, demanding that she open up. Andrey was persuading his mother to leave.
Yulia closed her eyes. Tears rose, but she held them back. Not now. She would cry later, when she was alone.
The voices faded. Footsteps sounded on the stairs. The entrance door slammed shut. Yulia walked into the room. She sat down on the sofa. She looked around. The apartment seemed empty without Andrey. Although her husband had barely managed to settle in properly during that one year. He had not left many things behind.
Her phone vibrated. A message from Andrey: “Yulia, we will discuss everything. Do not make rash decisions.”
Yulia deleted the message. Blocked his number. Then she blocked Galina Sergeyevna’s number too.
She stood up and walked around the apartment. She put Andrey’s remaining things into a box and placed it by the door. Tomorrow she would take it to his mother. Or throw it away. She would decide later.
She sat down at the computer. Opened a legal consultation website. Found the section on divorce. Began reading.
An apartment bought before marriage with personal funds remains with the buyer in a divorce. The husband has no right to claim a share. Registration is not ownership. After the divorce, a spouse can be removed from registration through the court.
Yulia nodded. Then that was how it would be. She would file for divorce the very next day. She would have Andrey removed from the apartment through the court. The apartment would remain hers.
She closed the laptop. Her phone vibrated again. An unknown number. Yulia answered.
“Yes?”
“Yulia, it is Andrey.”
“What do you want?”
“Let’s meet. Let’s talk properly.”
“There is nothing to talk about.”
“Yulia, please understand. Mama is desperate. She has no money to pay the loan.”
“Let her sell her apartment after the renovation. That should be enough money.”
“She does not want to sell it. She just renovated it.”
“Then let her look for other options. She will not get my apartment.”
“But we are family!”
“We were family,” Yulia corrected him. “Until the moment you packed your bag on your mother’s orders.”
“I wanted to defuse the situation!”
“You did. Now defuse the marriage. I am filing the application tomorrow.”
“Yulia!”
“Goodbye, Andrey.”
Yulia hung up. Blocked the new number. Turned off the sound and put the phone on the table.
She went into the bedroom. Lay down on the bed. Stared at the ceiling.
A year ago, it had seemed like she had found her other half. Andrey had been calm, reliable. He did not make scandals, did not drink, worked steadily. An ideal husband, Yulia had thought. But it turned out he was a mama’s boy. At the first serious conflict, he chose his mother. He packed his things and headed for the door without even trying to defend his wife.
Yulia closed her eyes. The tears came after all. It hurt. It was painful. It was bitter. A year of her life wasted on a person who collapsed at the first test of strength.
But the choice had been made. There was no way back. Tomorrow she would file the application. In a month, there would be a divorce. The apartment would remain Yulia’s. Andrey would be with his mother. Galina Sergeyevna would repay the loan herself. Somehow.
And Yulia would start her life over. Without a spineless husband. Without a manipulative mother-in-law. Just her and her apartment. Her home. Her fortress.
And even if it hurt now, it would pass. Everything passed. But the apartment would remain. The very apartment Yulia had bought herself. The one she had given her last money for. The one she had paid off by denying herself everything.
She would not give this apartment to anyone. Ever. Not to tenants, not to her mother-in-law, not to anyone at all.
Because it was her home.
And hers alone.
