The flat was bought by my son: declared my mother-in-law
I first met my wife while we were both at university in London. We were both 20 at the time, full of dreams and plans for the future as students. She caught my eye straight awayshe stood out with her strength, her intelligence, but most of all, her kindness. We started as friends, but before long it became clear to me that my feelings ran much deeper.
After a few months, we became a couple. I still remember those days fondly; university life truly was some of the happiest of times. Within a year, I proposed to Emily and soon after, we got married. We couldnt afford anything extravagant, so we celebrated our wedding with just our closest family membersa simple gathering but a memorable one.
By our second year, I had just begun working. At first, we lived in a university flat, and having a place of our own seemed such a distant dream, but we were sure wed manage it eventually. And so it happened. When my grandmother passed away, I was left £100,000 in inheritance. Id also managed to save a modest sum. That was enough for us to put down a deposit and take out a mortgage on a two-bedroom flat, as we were hoping to start a family soon.
Wed been married for ten years, but children hadnt come. A few years ago, I ran into a spot of trouble at work. The company hit hard times, and the owner blamed mebeing the head accountantfor both the debts and the state of the books. After a bitter court case, I was wrongfully sent to prison for four years.
I wanted only the best for her
We fought hard, looked for every possible solicitor, but it was all for nothing. The paperwork had been arranged so that I was made the scapegoat, even though Id only ever followed my bosss instructions.
It was a desperate time, and I did everything I could to support my wife, but after a year, she realised she needed support herself
One day, my mother-in-law came round and told her that she could no longer live in the flat. She blamed my wife for everything that had happened to me and insisted that Id bought the flat entirely with my own money, and therefore my wife had no right to it. My wife was stunnedshed never expected such ruthlessness from her own mother-in-law.
It turned out that, before the court case, Id given my mother power of attorney, and using this, shed drawn up a bank statement showing that the mortgage payments had all come from my account. My mother-in-law claims this is enough evidence for the courts to prove my wife was never involved in buying the property.
Now, Im completely at a loss, and unsure where to turnEmily refused to surrender. In those darkest months, she poured over paperwork, tracked every transfer, and built her own evidence. She told me, during our brief phone calls, that she had two things left: her name and her resolve.
By the time I came homefree, my record expunged after the company owner finally confessedour flat was empty of all but Emily and the sunlight she had carried through every hardship. She had faced down my mother, who could not reconcile that kindness was stronger than stubbornness. When the case finally came to court, Emily stood on her own. She presented every receipt, every deposit slip, every memory of the flat we had chosen together. The judge saw what I had always seenthe love woven through those walls, paid in more than just money.
We kept our home.
The day we moved our furniture back in, with the neighbours dropping in with flowers and hugs, I realised just how much we had survived. Emily grinned at me across the hallway, her hands on her hips, her eyes bright with a resilience that made my heart ache.
We built this together, she said quietly, running her hand along the doorframe. And no one can ever take that from us.
Later, as we sat on the floor eating takeaway, still surrounded by boxes, she reached for my hand. The afternoon sun spilled over her hair and I understood: the flat was not just brick and mortar or a figure in a ledgerit was the story of refusing to yield, of love chosen daily, even against the greatest odds.
And that, at last, was truly ours.
