“I Won’t Let Anyone Else in Your Family Live Off Me. Let’s See How They Like That,” Lika Declared
Lika stared at the laptop screen. The numbers in the bank account formed a picture that made absolutely no sense. That very morning, their joint balance had contained a substantial amount of money they had saved to renovate the country house. Now, it was practically empty.
In the transaction history, there was a transfer to the account of Antonina Pavlovna, Slava’s mother. The money had been sent in two installments, and there was no payment description.
The room was silent. Slava was staying late at work, even though he usually came home early on Fridays. Lika slowly scrolled down the page. It turned out that during the past six months, small but regular transfers to her husband’s relatives had become routine.
Marina, Slava’s sister, received money every week. Sometimes it was for new boots for her children, sometimes for extracurricular activities, and sometimes for no apparent reason at all.
Lika earned several times more than her husband. She was the head of the procurement department at a large food distribution center. Slava worked as a logistics manager at a small company and always claimed that his entire salary went toward utilities and gasoline.
Lika had believed him without checking the receipts. They had a joint budget, and she considered that the right arrangement for a strong marriage.
The front door slammed shut. Slava walked into the hallway, his footsteps heavy. He spent a long time taking off his shoes before going into the bathroom.
Lika closed the banking page and opened a work spreadsheet. Her face remained expressionless. She had stopped throwing tantrums or starting arguments a long time ago. Emotions only interfered with clear thinking.
Slava entered the room. He looked tired, but his eyes were darting around suspiciously.
“Good evening,” he said, sitting down on the couch. “I’m unbelievably exhausted today. The traffic was terrible.”
“Hi,” Lika replied evenly. “How was your day?”
“The same as always. Management expects the impossible, and the clients keep complaining. Why do you look so serious?”
Lika looked at her husband.
They had been married for ten years. During that time, they had furnished the apartment Lika had inherited from her grandfather. Slava had always been there. He had helped with the renovations and chosen the wallpaper.
But over the past two years, his family had begun demanding far too much attention and money. Antonina Pavlovna constantly complained that she did not have enough to live on, while Marina, who had two children and a succession of ever-changing husbands, treated her brother like a personal ATM.
“I was reviewing our finances,” Lika said without taking her eyes off his face. “All our savings are gone.”
Slava visibly tensed. He looked away and began nervously twisting a button on his shirt.
“There’s something I need to explain,” he began, carefully choosing his words. “Mom urgently needed help. Marina had a problem with housing. The landlord of her rental apartment asked her to move out. We had to find another place quickly. Then we came across an excellent country house in the suburbs.”
“And you decided to buy them a house with our joint money?” Lika asked calmly.
“Not exactly. The money in our account wasn’t enough to buy it, so I took out a loan. I put it in my name so you wouldn’t have to get involved. The house was registered in Mom’s name. It’s safer that way. You know what Marina is like. She’s unreliable. Anything could happen. This way, the property will stay in the family.”
Lika felt something inside her tighten with icy calmness.
He had taken out a large loan while they were married. Legally, the debt could be considered joint unless proven otherwise. Yet the purchased property had been registered in his mother’s name, which meant it would not be divided between the spouses.
Slava had provided his relatives with a home while placing a multimillion-ruble debt on their household budget. He had done it behind his wife’s back, certain that Lika would forgive him and continue financing their comfortable lives.
“How much is the loan?” she asked.
Slava named the amount. It was equal to the price of a decent one-bedroom apartment. The monthly payment was larger than Slava’s entire salary.
“And how exactly are you planning to repay it?”
“Well, we’re a family,” he said, trying to smile. “We’ll manage together. Besides, they promised me a bonus at the end of the quarter. Marina said she would get a job and help with the payments.”
“Marina hasn’t worked in eight years.”
“She’ll change. She’s willing to do anything for her children. You just never give her a chance.”
Lika said nothing. She turned back to the screen and pretended to study the spreadsheet.
Slava interpreted her silence as agreement and exhaled with relief. He went to the kitchen to heat up dinner, confident that he had gotten away with it.
For the next several weeks, Lika followed a strict plan.
She did not start arguments or accuse her husband. She simply began taking action.
First, Lika opened a new account at another bank and transferred her salary there. She canceled all automatic payments connected to her cards, including utilities, internet service, and Slava’s subscriptions.
Then she gathered every relevant document: statements from their old accounts, Slava’s loan agreement, which she found in his desk, and records of the transfers to Antonina Pavlovna.
She contacted a competent lawyer who specialized in family law. The situation was complicated, but it could be resolved.
The lawyer prepared a claim requesting the division of debt obligations. Their main argument was that the loan money had not been spent on the needs of the married couple, but had been transferred to third parties without the wife’s consent.
The evidence included bank records showing that on the very day the loan was issued, Slava had transferred the money directly to his mother’s account.
Lika was in no hurry. She needed the trap to close perfectly.
Meanwhile, Slava continued living his normal life. He went to work, came home, and ate the dinners Lika now prepared using only the simplest and cheapest ingredients: pasta, buckwheat, and boiled chicken.
There were no delicacies or expensive cheeses, which he had grown accustomed to. Whenever Slava asked why the meals had become so modest, Lika replied that payments were being delayed at work.
At the beginning of the following month, Slava approached her with a confused expression.
“Listen, for some reason the apartment payment didn’t go through. And the internet has been disconnected. Could you check your card?”
“My cards are empty,” Lika replied without looking up from her book. “I transferred all my money to a secure account. From now on, each of us will pay our own expenses.”
Slava stared at her in disbelief.
“What do you mean? We have a joint budget. I have to make the loan payment tomorrow. I only have what’s left of my salary on my card. It won’t even cover half the installment. And we still need groceries.”
“That’s your problem, Slava. You took out a loan for your mother and sister. Let them help you repay it. None of my money will be going toward it.”
“Are you joking? Marina has only just started settling into the new house. She needs to buy furniture. Mom is retired. Where are they supposed to get the money?”
Lika closed her book and looked her husband directly in the eyes.
“Where am I supposed to get it? I work ten hours a day, not so I can support able-bodied adults who have decided to live at my expense.”
“We’re married. You’re supposed to support me.”
“I supported you for ten years. In return, I got a secret loan and complete disregard for my opinion. You bought them a house, registered it in your mother’s name, and expected me to pay for it. Well, that plan has failed.”
Slava first tried to appeal to her sympathy. Then he raised his voice and demanded that she return the money to their joint account.
Lika did not change her mind. She simply stood up and walked into another room.
The next day, the payment was due. Slava did not have enough money.
He called his mother and begged his sister to lend him something, but they only made excuses. Antonina Pavlovna claimed that the news was making her blood pressure rise. Marina said that her children needed new jackets and that it was Slava’s problem because he had promised to take care of everything.
On Sunday, Antonina Pavlovna and Marina arrived at Lika’s apartment without an invitation.
They walked into the living room as though they owned the place. Slava fussed around them, offering water and cookies.
Lika emerged from the bedroom and calmly watched the procession.
“Lika, aren’t you ashamed of yourself?” Antonina Pavlovna began the moment she saw her. “The boy is trying so hard for his family, and you’re putting obstacles in his way. We’re one family. We have to help one another.”
“Who exactly am I supposed to help?” Lika asked, sitting down in an armchair. “Marina, who refuses to work? Or you, Antonina Pavlovna, so you can brag about your new country house to the neighbors?”
Marina flushed with anger.
“I’m raising two children. That’s hard work. Slava is my brother, and he has a duty to help me. You’re just a greedy woman. You have no shame and no conscience.”
“I won’t let anyone else in your family live off me,” Lika declared, looking directly at her husband’s sister. “Let’s see how they like that. From now on, my money will be spent only on me.”
Antonina Pavlovna clutched her chest.
“You have no right to speak to us that way. You’re married. All income is joint property. Slava can take you to court, and they’ll force you to pay.”
Lika smirked. She took a copy of a document from a folder on the table and placed it in front of her mother-in-law.
“I’ve already filed a lawsuit. This is a copy of the claim requesting that the loan be recognized as Slava’s personal debt. I have all the bank statements. The money was transferred to you, Antonina Pavlovna, on the same day the loan was issued. I gave neither written nor verbal consent to the transaction. My lawyer is confident the court will rule in my favor. Every last penny of the debt will remain Slava’s responsibility.”
Slava turned pale and dropped heavily into a chair. He had not expected his wife to take such drastic action.
Marina snatched the document from her mother’s hands and quickly began reading.
“This is illegal!” she shouted. “You can’t do this. He doesn’t have that kind of money.”
“Then the bank will sue him,” Lika continued calmly. “The bailiffs will come. Since Slava doesn’t own anything except an old car, they’ll seize the money in his accounts. Half of his salary will be withheld for years. But the most interesting part will come after that.”
Lika paused, enjoying the effect her words had produced.
“If Slava can’t make the payments, the bank will start looking for ways to recover the debt. They’ll see that the money was transferred to purchase real estate. The transaction could be declared invalid, or the property could be ordered sold. Your new country house, Antonina Pavlovna, could simply be put up for auction.”
A heavy silence filled the room.
Red blotches appeared on Antonina Pavlovna’s face. Marina looked at her brother with horror and hatred.
“You said everything was under control,” his sister hissed. “You promised the house was ours.”
“I thought she would calm down,” Slava muttered without looking up. “I thought we could come to an agreement.”
“You should have reached an agreement before going to the bank,” Lika said. “Now you’ll solve your problems yourselves. This apartment belonged to me before the marriage. Slava is only temporarily registered here.”
She turned toward her husband.
“If you stop paying your half of the utilities, I’ll cancel your registration. I’m not throwing you out. You can continue living here. But you’ll buy your own food and take care of yourself using whatever remains of your salary after the loan payment.”
Lika stood up and headed toward the door.
“Now I’m asking both of you to leave my apartment. I need to prepare for the workweek.”
Antonina Pavlovna silently stood and walked toward the front door. Marina gave her brother a contemptuous look and followed their mother.
Slava remained sitting in the chair, staring at nothing.
From that day forward, life in the apartment changed.
Lika bought herself a separate refrigerator, placed it in her room, and locked it. She purchased new dishes and forbade Slava from using her belongings.
Every morning, she left for work looking calm and confident.
Slava tried to find additional work, but he was not qualified for well-paying positions, and he considered manual labor beneath him.
A month later, the first court hearing took place.
After reviewing the evidence presented by Lika, the court granted her claim in full. The loan was recognized as her husband’s personal financial obligation.
Slava tried to appeal the decision, but he lost the appeal as well.
His relationship with his family deteriorated completely.
Marina constantly called him demanding money and threatened to forbid him from seeing his nephews. Antonina Pavlovna accused her son of being weak and incapable of controlling his wife.
Slava found himself caught between two sides, without money or support.
One evening, Lika returned home and saw Slava packing his belongings into a duffel bag.
“I’m moving in with Mom,” he said hoarsely. “I can’t live like this anymore. It’s unbearable.”
“That’s your decision,” Lika replied. “Leave the keys on the cabinet.”
Slava slung the bag over his shoulder and stopped in the doorway.
“You destroyed everything. We could have been happy.”
“Happiness isn’t built on lies and using other people, Slava. You chose your own path. Goodbye.”
The door closed.
Lika walked into the kitchen, poured herself a glass of water, and looked out the window. The city glittered with evening lights.
For the first time in a long while, she felt completely light and free.
The divorce process was still ahead, but it was now nothing more than a bureaucratic formality. She had already done the most important thing. She had protected herself and her future.
Slava’s family, meanwhile, was forced to face a harsh new reality.
Marina had to urgently find work as a supermarket cashier just to make ends meet. Antonina Pavlovna was forced to rent out part of her city apartment so she could help her son repay the enormous debt. Otherwise, the bank truly threatened to go after their precious country property.
Slava moved in with his mother, listened to complaints from both sides every day, and worked without taking days off.
Lika did not know all the details, and she no longer cared.
She had learned her lesson forever.
A person could survive almost any situation. The most important thing was to remove the rose-colored glasses in time and start keeping track of one’s own money.
And from then on, no one dared tell her how to live or how to spend the money she had earned.