My Husband Gave Away Our House

Synopsis

I saw Emily Hughes's name on the transfer documents for our marital home. It was on my third wedding anniversary with Andrew Hughes. Early that morning, my mother-in-law, Maria Hughes, called me and said there was some paperwork for the house that needed an additional signature. She told me to hurry to the Housing Authority and not delay her because she had an engagement party that afternoon and needed to go taste the food. I assumed there was some problem with the mortgage paperwork. But the moment I sat down, the staff member slid the documents across the desk. One glance at the top line, and I froze. Under recipient was the name Emily Hughes. Emily was Andrew's younger sister. Yet my name, despite the fact that I had been making mortgage payments on the house alongside my husband, didn't even appear on the first page. "Grace, hurry up and sign." Maria stood beside me. She beamed and spoke to the unfamiliar middle-aged couple sitting across from us. "Don't worry. The house has already been transferred to Emily. It'll definitely be taken care of before the wedding. Our family always keeps its word." I slowly raised my head and looked at the couple. They were the parents of Emily's boyfriend. In other words, the marital home that Andrew and I had spent three years paying a mortgage on, the same house my mother had put up 130 grand for as the down payment, had now become Emily's bargaining chip for her marriage. I flipped through the document to the final page and pointed at the signature section. "Why isn't my name here?" I asked the staff member. The staff member glanced at me, then at Maria. His tone was hesitant. "This property was acquired after the marriage. Technically, both spouses are required to be present to sign." "She's here now, isn't she?" Maria said with a laugh, not even guilty at all. "We're family. It's just a signature." I didn't look at her. Instead, I looked toward Andrew, who had just walked in. He was wearing a neatly pressed shirt, his phone still pressed to his ear. He had obviously rushed over from the office. When he saw me sitting there, he froze for a moment, as if he'd finally realized there was no way to keep this a secret anymore. He ended the call and walked over, lowering his voice. "Why are you here?" I almost laughed. "Wasn't it your mother who told me to come and sign the paperwork?" His brows twitched. He glanced at his mother, then at me. And in the end, he resorted to the same tactic he had always used whenever things got difficult. He tried to smooth everything over. "Emily's wedding is being rushed, so we're putting the house under her name for appearances. Once she's married, we'll transfer it back," he said. I stared at him. "What are you talking about?"