My Parents Proposed a Trade: Their Flat in Exchange for Our Family’s Child Benefit Fund—But Over Time, My Husband and I Realised We’d Been Deceived

Being an only child, I never felt like the favourite, even though my arrival had been so eagerly awaited. At twenty-three, five months pregnant, I found myself plagued by doubts about whether I was really my parents biological daughter. Both Mum and Dad are now in their seventies, and our financial situation is truly dire. We live in a rented flat and struggle to make ends meet every month. My partner and I are both juggling our studies with part-time jobs, but its simply not enough to cover all our expenses. Twice now, weve come dangerously close to being evicted for falling behind on rent, and weve had to borrow money from friends just to keep the lights on. As a result, were drowning in debt and can barely afford basic groceries, always living on the edge of some new crisis. Now and then, my parents drop off a bag of food to tide us over.

Theyre desperate for us to marry, and without much fuss, my boyfriend and I just went down to the registry office and tied the knot. It was only after that Mum and Dad began to hint and then outright say how much they want grandchildren.

Mum constantly reminds me that I must have a child, lest I end up alone like her. But neither of us felt ready for that kind of responsibility, not when we were already just scraping by as it was. Then my parents proposed something tempting: they offered to give us their savings what they called their family nest egg if I had the baby, so we could buy a little house in the countryside. In return, theyd move out to the village and leave my husband and me with the city flat. We thought this through and realised how much easier life could be without the stress of rent. Wed even have a bit left over for everyday needs. Mum promised to help care for the baby so I could get through my studies.

On top of that, she promised theyd help us get everything we needed for both myself and the new baby. But, now Im seven months along, and none of those promises have materialised. They havent even bought a single packet of nappies. Mum calls often, asking me about the birth preparations, but Im so strapped for cash that I cant even afford a set of baby grows. Her solution is always the same: that my husband takes a third job to make ends meet. Whenever I remind her about their offer to help, she simply denies ever making such a promise and finds new ways to criticise our choices, insisting that were being unreasonable.

When my daughter was finally born, my parents suddenly brought up the nest egg again, but by then my husband and I had made up our minds. We decided to save and buy a flat on our own, finally understanding that, in truth, we couldnt count on my parents support.