Polina stood by the window, gazing at the black BMW parked in the yard. The car hadn’t come easy – they had to take out a loan that she and Artem were still paying off. Or rather, only Polina was paying it off – her husband hadn’t worked for the past three years.

“Are you staring out the window again?” Artem said, sprawled on the couch while scrolling through his phone feed. “Admiring our beauty?”

“Our beauty?” Polina turned away from the window. “I’m the one paying the loan.”

“But I’m the one behind the wheel,” Artem grinned. “Or do you think you could handle driving such a car? Your driver’s license is practically covered in cobwebs.”

Polina fell silent. After five years of marriage, she had grown accustomed to her husband’s barbs. At first, she attributed everything to his difficult temperament, then to his temporary work problems. But now it was clear – Artem had simply been using her.

“By the way, I arranged with the guys to go fishing,” her husband casually announced.

“On the weekend?”

“Yeah. About three days.”

“And where will you get the money?”

“Well, you wouldn’t say no to your beloved husband, would you?” Artem flashed an endearing smile.

Polina wearily rubbed her temples. Every month it was the same – fishing trips, meetings with friends, a new phone needed. And somehow, she always ended up paying.

“No, Artem. I won’t give you any more money.”

“What do you mean – you won’t give?” Artem abruptly sat up. “You are obligated to support me!”

“Obligated?” Polina turned toward him. “Why is that?”

“Because you’re a wife! And a wife is supposed to support her husband.”

“I’ve been supporting you for five years. Enough is enough.”

Artem jumped off the couch. “How dare you? I, by the way, contribute to the family too! We bought the car…”

“With my money!”

“But it’s registered in my name,” Artem said with a smirk. “Actually – in my mother’s name.”

Polina froze. “What do you mean – in your mother’s name?”

“Literally. I transferred it to her a month ago, so you wouldn’t lay claim to it.”

“What have you done?”

“Did you really think I was that stupid?” Artem beamed triumphantly. “I can see you’re hinting at divorce. So I made sure.”

Polina slowly sank into her chair. The car was worth four million. They had taken out a three-year loan, half of which had already been repaid. And all this time…

“How could you?”

“Very simply,” Artem headed for the door. “Mother gave her consent, and I handled everything. Now the car is ours with her, not yours.”

“So, did Nina Petrovna know?”

“Of course!” In the doorway appeared her mother-in-law herself. “What did you think? That we’d let you profit from the divorce?”

Polina shifted her gaze from her husband to her mother-in-law. Nina Petrovna looked unusually pleased.

“Artyom, you did the right thing,” the mother-in-law continued. “A car is more essential to a man. Otherwise, she might have divorced and driven off into the sunset.”

“You think you’re the smartest?” Polina asked quietly.

“Oh, indeed!” Artem theatrically bowed. “Learn while I’m still around.”

“So the car is now yours?”

“Exactly,” Nina Petrovna said proudly, tilting her head. “And don’t even think about taking any action. Everything is legally in order.”

Polina silently retrieved her phone.

“Who are you calling?” Artem asked warily.

“My lawyer.”

“Useless!” Nina Petrovna laughed. “The deed is perfectly drawn up. You could call every lawyer in the city.”

Polina dialed a number. “Good afternoon, Mikhail Sergeyevich. Do you remember I told you about my husband’s manipulations? Well, he transferred the car to his mother…”

Artem stopped smiling. “What manipulations? What are you talking about?”

“Now listen carefully,” Polina said as she put away the phone. “I’d long suspected you were up to something. That’s why I collected evidence for the past six months…”

Polina walked over to the cabinet and retrieved a thick folder. Inside were neatly stapled documents: the bill of sale, the loan payment schedule, and bank statements.

“Look,” Polina spread the papers out on the table. “Here are the monthly payments – all made from my account, because the loan was in my name. Throughout this time, Artem hasn’t contributed a penny.”

“So what?” Nina Petrovna snorted. “The car is now mine; according to the documents, everything’s in order.”

“Really?” Polina produced another sheet. “And here’s a copy of my divorce application. The submission date is the fifteenth, and the deed was executed on the seventeenth.”

Artem paled. “How did you know the date of the deed?”

“I told you – I did my research,” Polina continued as she laid out the documents. “Here’s testimony from the car dealership staff confirming that I chose and paid for the car. Here’s a certificate of my income. And here’s information showing that you, Artem, haven’t worked for three years.”

“Maybe not even ten!” Nina Petrovna interjected. “The deed is legal!”

“It’s fraudulent,” Polina replied calmly. “It was drawn up in order to avoid dividing our marital property upon divorce.”

The next day, Polina visited her lawyer. Mikhail Sergeyevich carefully studied the documents.

“This is undoubtedly a sham transaction,” he concluded. “The court will annul it. Moreover, such fraud carries penalties.”

“What penalties exactly?”

“Given the amount, very serious ones,” Mikhail Sergeyevich began to make notes. “Plus, you could claim compensation for moral damages. I would advise filing a lawsuit immediately.”

That same day, Polina prepared a statement for the court. She acted quietly, without warning her husband or her mother-in-law.

Artem learned of everything only a week later when he received a court summons. He burst into the apartment, waving a paper in his hand. “What are you doing? You think you’re so smart?”

“No, I’m simply restoring justice,” Polina replied calmly.

“What justice?” Artem paced nervously. “I have the right to dispose of the property!”

“Someone else’s? The one you didn’t even pay for?”

“I’m the husband! It was our joint property…”

“It was joint property until you decided to pull off a scheme with the deed.”

“You won’t prove anything!” Artem shouted.

“I already have. All the documents are with the lawyer.”

Artem dashed out of the apartment. Less than an hour later, Nina Petrovna arrived in a rush.

“What are you doing?” the mother-in-law practically trembled with anger. “Do you want to leave Artem without a car?”

“Without a car that he didn’t earn?”

“We’re not annulling this deed!” Nina Petrovna raised her voice. “I have connections. I’ll find the right people…”

“Are you threatening me?” Polina took out her phone and turned on the voice recorder.

The mother-in-law froze. “I… I was just warning you.”

“Good,” Polina nodded. “Because threats are also recorded.”

That evening, Artem called. His voice no longer sounded so confident:

“Maybe we can come to an agreement? I’ll return part of the money…”

“No, now only through the courts.”

“You’re making everything complicated!” – the sound of shattering glass was heard in the background – apparently, Artem had broken something. “Do you think I’ll let this go easily?”

“And what are you going to do?” Polina asked calmly. “Come up with another deed?”

“You’ll regret it!” Artem growled before hanging up.

Polina approached the window. The black BMW stood in its usual spot. The setting sun cast gleaming highlights on its hood. Somewhere on the back seat lay a folder with documents – a copy of the one Polina had given to her lawyer.

A doorbell rang. At the threshold stood Artem and Nina Petrovna. Their faces showed that a difficult conversation was imminent…

The first court hearing began promptly at ten in the morning. Polina sat next to Mikhail Sergeyevich, calmly observing as Artem nervously fiddled with his tie. Nina Petrovna took a seat in the front row, looking every bit the dignified figure.

“Please pay attention to the documents provided,” Mikhail Sergeyevich began, rising. “All payments for the car were made from my client’s personal account. The deed was executed two days after the divorce application was filed, which clearly indicates an attempt to conceal jointly acquired property.”

The judge examined the papers carefully.

“Furthermore,” the lawyer continued, “an investigation revealed that the defendant had accumulated fines totaling more than one hundred thousand rubles. All the violations were recorded on camera.”

Artem twitched. “What fines?”

“For speeding, driving on the wrong side of the road, and parking in unauthorized spots,” the judge read from a list. “The total sum is one hundred and twenty-seven thousand rubles.”

Nina Petrovna paled. “This is a mistake!” she shouted. “But the car is in my name!”

“Exactly,” the judge nodded. “Therefore, all fines are now your responsibility.”

After a two-hour trial, the court rendered its decision: the deed was to be declared invalid, the car returned to joint ownership of the spouses, and Nina Petrovna was ordered to pay all the fines.

“Maybe we can reach an agreement?” Artem caught up with Polina in the corridor. “Why are you being like this? Let’s just split the car in half.”

Polina smirked and pulled out the keys. “Here, take it. You can have it entirely, but only after you pay the fines, next year’s tax, and the remaining loan.”

“What money? I don’t have that!”

“Those are your problems,” Polina turned to her ex-husband. “You wanted the car, so take it.”

Artem abruptly turned to his mother. “Mom, you said everything would be fine! That the deed wouldn’t be annulled!”

Nina Petrovna, looking distraught, spread her arms. “I thought…”

“What did you think? That you could simply take and claim someone else’s property?”

“Artyom, I meant well…”

“What do you mean, ‘meant well’?” Artem clutched his head. “Now we have a debt of several hundred thousand!”

Polina silently watched the scene. A week later, they met at the notary to arrange the division of property documents. Artem looked dejected.

“Polina, maybe you’ll come back?” he asked quietly when they were alone. “I’ve realized everything…”

“Really?” Polina raised an eyebrow. “And what have you realized?”

“That I was wrong. That I should have simply worked instead of…”

“Cheated? Deceived? Hid property?”

Artem lowered his head. “I miss you,” he murmured. “Without you, everything is different.”

“Of course it is different,” Polina nodded. “There’s no one to pay for your whims.”

“It’s not about the money!”

“Then what is it about? Love?” Polina smirked. “The love that ended the moment I mentioned divorce?”

“I just got scared…”

“And decided to deceive me. Together with your mother.”

Artem fell silent. In the parking lot, the black BMW now officially belonged to Polina. Nina Petrovna had paid the fines by selling her jewelry.

“You know,” Polina said as she reached for the door handle, “I’m even grateful to you.”

“For what?”

“For showing me your true colors. Now I know for sure – you can’t build a relationship with someone who’s willing to betray for profit.”

“Polina!”

“Don’t call me again,” she said as she sat behind the wheel. “I’ve gone too far to look back.”

Polina started the engine. In the rearview mirror, she saw the bewildered faces of Artem and Nina Petrovna. Now they understood: cunning isn’t always an ace, especially when your opponent can think two moves ahead.

A month later, Artem sent a message: “Let’s try again from the start?” Polina didn’t answer. She was busy choosing a destination for her summer vacation. And she was certain: this trip wouldn’t be paid for by someone else.