One day, while searching for some papers, I stumbled upon the documents for our flat—and what I discovered in them completely shocked and upset me, because

Alices parents gave us an extraordinary wedding presenta flat! They officially handed us the keys, telling us it was ours, but since the place was in a brand-new building, theyd bought it unfinished, straight from the developer. My mother-in-law remarked that, since theyd given us the flat, my own parents ought to help with the renovation work. My parents had already given us a hefty sum of money, but they agreed to lend a hand with the refurbishments as well.
After the wedding, we decided to dive straight into the renovation. Luckily, my dad is a builder, so he took care of buying all the supplies, and I became his right-hand man. Sometimes even Alice would roll up her sleeves and lend us a hand.
Now and then, my father-in-law pitched in too. We chose not to rent anywhere else while the work was ongoinghoping to save our penniesso we moved in with Alices parents for the time being.
One foggy afternoon, while searching for some papers, my eyes stumbled across the flats documents. A single sentence leapt out at meit stopped my heart and tripped me up in that strange way dreams doturns out my mother-in-law was the actual owner!
That evening, my father and I were meant to pop out for some bathroom tiles, but I asked to postpone. I told him about my discovery and said I needed to talk it over with the family.
Why is your mum the owner of our flat? Why not Alice? I blurted out as soon as we were all gathered in their lounge, which seemed to stretch on in all directions, its walls hung with clocks, none of which kept the right time.
Oh, dont be daft, youre so naive! said my mother-in-law, sipping tea that tasted of lavender and clouds. Naturally, its to protect our Alice.
Protect her from what?
If you two split up, you might run off with half our flat!
Ours? Is it right for my dad and me to sink all this time and money into renovating, almost as much as half the flats value? And why do you expect us to end up divorced? Weve only just tied the knot!
Mum, I asked you to put the flat in my name, Alice mumbled, her words slipping out and curling up like mist.
So you knew about this trickery too? I asked, my voice sounding hollow, as if spoken into an old well.
No, you misunderstand I knew, but I kept telling Mum to put it under my name.
Oh, Alice, what a splendid start to our married life, with secrets right out of the gate!
Days drifted by in a shoal of rain and worry. I moved back in with my parents, the whole world now smelling faintly of paint and betrayal. Alice kept trying to speak to me, but I needed time to unravel everything. I never dreamed her family could be so sly although, perhaps all parents are like this in some disguised, dreamlike way.
Whats to be done in a place where nothing is as it seems?