“Give Us Your Money — Buying an Apartment Can Wait!” My Husband’s Family Shocked Us With Their Demand
“Galya!” Mara, my husband’s sister, screamed into the phone. “You can’t even imagine what’s happened here!”
“What happened? Is everyone alive?” Galina asked in alarm. She had just put the children to bed and was about to lie down herself.
“They’re alive, yes, but what difference does it make? Edik got himself into such a mess with money, it’s a nightmare! Honestly, we might as well hang ourselves!”
“First calm down and explain properly what happened,” Galya said quietly, knowing how emotional her sister-in-law could be. She stepped out of the children’s room.
“Oh, I can’t! I don’t know what to do!” Mara kept wailing so loudly that the children, who had barely fallen asleep, began to stir.
“Wait, I’ll call you back.”
Galina closed the bedroom door tightly and went into the kitchen, where her husband, Kirill, was watching another football match.
“Are they asleep?” he asked, looking at his wife.
“They are. Something happened with Marina and Edik. I’m trying to figure it out.”
“Oh, it’s always the same story with them. What could be new? Edik probably cheated again, and my sister is throwing another tantrum.”
And honestly, he was not far from the truth. Something was always happening in that family. Her husband’s younger sister was, without exaggeration, a walking disaster. Even before she got married, she was constantly getting involved in shady situations. Her poor parents were exhausted from rescuing her from one mess after another. Sometimes it was the police, sometimes suspicious friends, sometimes loans they had to pay off for her.
When Mara, as everyone in the family called her, married Eduard, the whole family breathed a sigh of relief. At first, things even seemed to be going well. Their son was born, and Mara seemed to settle down after becoming a mother. But her husband turned out to be just like her — reckless and irresponsible. With her character, perhaps she could not have chosen anyone else.
Edik regularly got involved in financial schemes that never brought the promised profit. At least none of them had landed him in prison yet.
He also had a weakness for women. More than once, their marriage had almost ended in divorce. Mara was wildly jealous and often accused him of cheating. But Eduard always managed to talk his way out of it, and the marriage somehow survived.
Galina was afraid to even imagine what had happened in that chaotic household this time.
What irritated her most was that her husband’s sister always came to her with her problems, not to her own brother. It was always Galina who had to reconcile Mara with her husband, and sometimes even with her mother when they quarreled. Galina had found doctors for Mara’s child, lent her money when everyone else had refused, and, to be honest, she was tired of helping.
“So, what happened?” Galya asked when she called her sister-in-law back.
“We’re in trouble. We burned down a bathhouse!”
“You did what? Repeat that!” Galina could not believe what she had heard.
“What did they do?” Kirill asked with interest.
“I don’t know. I think your sister has either lost her mind or is drunk. She’s talking nonsense,” Galya said to her husband, covering the phone with her hand.
“I’m telling you, the bathhouse burned down!” Marina shouted again.
“What bathhouse? Have you both gone completely crazy?” Galina snapped, knowing perfectly well that her sister-in-law and her husband did not own any bathhouse.
“Galya, don’t be angry. Please just listen.”
“I am listening, but you’re talking nonsense. What bathhouse? You live in a rented one-room apartment!”
“The thing is, Edik and I decided to celebrate Christmas out of town with some friends. Edik bragged that we had bought a house. He wanted to show off in front of his friend and his wife. You know how my fool loves to impress people,” Mara explained.
“And then?” Galina asked impatiently.
“We found a nice house online that was rented out by the day. Edik specifically looked for one that looked rich — with a bathhouse and a barbecue area.”
“Oh, Marina…” Galina began to understand what her sister-in-law was saying. “Did you start a fire there?”
“Not in the house, thank God! Only the bathhouse burned. But completely. To the ground.”
“How could that happen?” Galina asked, stunned.
“What?” Kirill asked, watching his wife’s reaction.
“They burned down a bathhouse. Someone else’s.”
Meanwhile, Mara continued her story.
“We prepared in advance. Bought food, meat for barbecue, alcohol. We told our friends the house was ours. You know, like we had bought it recently and hadn’t moved everything there yet.
Then we started celebrating. It was so much fun! Of course, everyone got completely drunk. We drank to the new house, to Edik’s success, to good luck smiling on him. And to something else too…”
“Oh, spare me the details! I don’t need to hear how you were drinking yourselves senseless. What happened next?” Galya interrupted.
“No, Galya, you don’t understand. Edik and I felt so amazing. We almost believed ourselves that the house was really ours. Such an incredible feeling — being the owners of a big country house! You and Kirill should try it sometime. You’ll like it!”
“Yes, of course. Fortunately, our heads still work properly.”
“Then we went to the bathhouse. Heated it up properly and took turns steaming all night. First the men went, then us girls. When we finally went to sleep, it was already almost morning. And then, for some reason, the bathhouse caught fire.”
“Terrible,” Galya managed to say. “And now what?”
“Now the owner is demanding two million for the damage. Otherwise, prison.”
“You really got yourselves into trouble. When will you and your ridiculous Edik finally grow up? You behave like children, honestly!”
“What did we do that was so awful? We just wanted to relax like normal people. We were simply unlucky,” Mara said, still refusing to admit any fault.
“You should drink less! Relax like normal people, she says. Some relaxation that turned out to be. Where are you going to get the money? Did your parents promise to help?”
“They promised, but only a little. Altogether, my parents and his parents gathered five hundred thousand. But where we’re supposed to get another one and a half million, I have no idea.”
“Take out a loan. It’s better than going to prison over such stupidity.”
“What loan? We already have two!” Mara snapped, as if Galya were somehow responsible for their problems.
“So what do you want from us? Moral support? That won’t help you.”
“Lend us the money,” her sister-in-law asked.
“Lend you the money? Are you serious? Such a huge amount?” Galina was stunned. “And how are you going to pay it back?”
“Oh, we’ll pay it back! Don’t worry. Edik said he’ll get a second job. And his grandmother in the village recently passed away. She left behind a decent house. My in-laws said that as soon as buyers are found, they’ll give us the money right away,” Mara continued.
The whole family knew that Galya and Kirill were planning to buy a three-room apartment. They had been saving for a long time, denying themselves many things so they would not have to take out a loan. They had already found a good option. All they had to do was sell their one-room apartment and buy the new place.
The couple was exhausted from living with two children in a tiny apartment and could not wait to finally make their dream come true.
“Marina, this is too large a sum. And my husband and I have already found an apartment we want to buy,” Galya refused.
“But you haven’t even sold your apartment yet! While you’re selling it, we’ll have time to return the money!” her sister-in-law insisted. “We have nowhere else to get it.”
“No, this is a bad idea. What if you can’t return the money on time? What are we supposed to do then? And Kirill will be against it.”
“He won’t. I’ll persuade my brother. The main thing is that you agree,” Mara kept pushing.
During the following days, the pressure from her husband’s relatives became endless. Kirill and Galya received calls from his parents, Mara, Edik, and even Edik’s parents. Everyone took turns begging them to help the relatives who had found themselves in trouble.
“You have the money!” some argued. “Lend it for a couple of months. One and a half million is a large amount, and not every bank will approve such a loan.”
“The money is just sitting in your account anyway, waiting for its moment. Let it be useful for now,” others said.
“We’ll return everything on time! As soon as you decide to buy the apartment, we’ll give it back immediately,” promised the ones responsible for the fire.
His mother cried. His sister appealed to pity, saying she was afraid of being left alone with a small child if her husband ended up in prison. Eventually Kirill gave in, although Galya was against it and tried very hard to talk him out of such a reckless step.
“Then have the money transfer officially notarized,” she told her husband firmly.
And she turned out to be right. She had seen exactly what was coming.
Just two weeks later, a buyer was found for their one-room apartment. After selling it, the couple and their children had to move into Galina’s parents’ small house.
The seller of the three-room apartment Galya and Kirill wanted had already called several times and warned them that he had other buyers and would not wait forever.
But Mara was not returning the money. Her excuse was that the village house still had not sold.
“That’s your problem! Take out a loan. Why should we suffer because of you, change our plans, and lose a good apartment?” Kirill shouted angrily.
“Wait a little longer,” Mara insisted.
“What is going on?” he called his parents in outrage. “Weren’t you the ones who persuaded me and promised the money would be returned on time? And what do we have now?”
“Wait a bit more. What’s the problem? You have somewhere to live. There are plenty of apartments for sale. So what if you buy a different one? Kirill, she is your own sister. Try to understand her situation,” his mother answered carelessly.
“I warned you,” Galya said bitterly when she heard what his sister and mother had told him. “I knew this would happen.”
A month later, the situation repeated itself. There was still no money from his sister.
“Are we ever going to get our money back or not? Are you even planning to return it? How long is this going to continue?” Kirill could no longer hold back his anger while talking to his sister and her husband.
“Stop yelling. Maksim is sick, and we’re taking him to hospitals and buying medicine. We don’t have time for your problems right now,” Mara replied shamelessly.
“What? So now these are my problems? They were yours, and now they’re ours — after I helped you. Unbelievable!”
“Then solve your own problems and stop making scandals here,” his sister answered casually, certain that her brother would never take legal action against her.
But she was wrong. That same day, Kirill filed a claim in court, attaching the notarized loan receipt.
As a result, the relatives were furious with him. Everyone — his sister, her husband, and both sets of parents — had to take out loans to pay back the debt.
How much filth Galina and Kirill had to listen to after that! His relatives accused them of being heartless, greedy, and completely indifferent to the problems of their own family.
“I never expected this from you, Galina!” her mother-in-law shouted over the phone. “Couldn’t you have waited a year or two? You suddenly needed a new apartment so badly, did you? My daughter and her husband live in a rented place, and somehow they’re still alive!”
“Yes, and at the same time they manage to destroy other people’s property,” Galya replied, refusing to stay silent. “We are not obligated to wait for anyone. And we didn’t refuse to help, though you have conveniently forgotten that already. People should have a conscience and act according to it. Then everything will be fair.”
“Oh, listen to you! It’s clear now — you were always a stranger to us, and you still are!” her mother-in-law screamed.
“In that case, don’t call me anymore,” Galya replied, then blocked her husband’s mother’s number with great satisfaction.
Her sister-in-law also tried to pour out her resentment over the phone, since she could not say it to their faces. Her number had to be blocked as well.
In the end, the couple did buy their long-awaited apartment and finally moved out of Galina’s parents’ house. But they did not invite anyone from Kirill’s side of the family to the housewarming.
This story is real, and it carries a lesson. There is a saying: do a good deed, and you may be repaid with evil. Sadly, life makes us remember this wisdom far too often. That is just how some people are.