“My Sister Is Going on Vacation Even If I Have to Sell Your Country House! Get That Through Your Head,” Her Husband Said — and His Wife Taught Him a Harsh Lesson
Tatiana was dusting the dresser in the living room when she heard the familiar sound of keys turning in the lock. Her husband had come home from work an hour earlier than usual, and that could mean only one thing — more news about his sister Marina.
“Tanechka,” Igor called from the hallway, “we’re going to have a guest. Marina is coming the day after tomorrow.”
Tatiana froze, still holding the dust cloth. The last time her husband’s sister had stayed with them was three years ago, and those two weeks had remained in her memory as one of the most stressful periods of their married life.
“For how long?” she asked cautiously.
“Mom wants us to help her get settled in the city. Marina is already twenty-seven, but she still hasn’t managed to find her place in life. I think a big city will give her more opportunities.”
Tatiana sighed. She remembered Marina — a tall blonde with a pouty expression and a habit of treating everyone around her like servants. The young woman had never worked and lived with her mother in a small town, where her mother supported her with her pension and the money her son sent her.
“All right,” Tatiana said, realizing she had little choice. “I’ll make up the sofa bed for her in the living room.”
Marina arrived on Thursday morning with two enormous suitcases and a bag stuffed with cosmetics. She looked just as striking as before, but her eyes showed weariness with provincial life and an eagerness for change.
“Igorek!” she exclaimed happily, throwing her arms around her brother. “I’ve missed real civilization so much!”
Tatiana silently watched the siblings reunite. Marina barely nodded to her in greeting, as though her brother’s wife were simply another piece of furniture.
“Show me my room,” Marina said. “I’m exhausted from the trip. And is there anything to eat? I didn’t have breakfast.”
Over the next few days, a certain routine developed. Marina would wake up around noon, spend a long time getting ready, and then demand breakfast. Tatiana, who worked remotely from home, was forced to interrupt her work to prepare food for their guest.
“Tanechka, don’t you have any better coffee? This one tastes kind of sour,” Marina complained, grimacing.
“Tanechka, could you wash my blouse? I want to go downtown today.”
“Tanechka, do you have an iron? My dress is completely wrinkled.”
Igor could see how tense his wife was becoming, but he preferred to ignore it. What was more, every day he gave his sister spending money — for taxis, lunches at cafés, or shopping at malls.
“Igor,” Tatiana began cautiously one evening when Marina had gone out to meet some new acquaintances, “maybe you should talk to her about finding a job? She’s already been here for two weeks, and all she does is entertain herself.”
“Give her time to adjust,” her husband dismissed the concern. “She’s lived in a small town all her life. Let her get to know our city first and figure out what suits her.”
Tatiana said nothing, but inside she was boiling. She watched their household budget shrink before her eyes and their home turn into a hotel for a spoiled young woman who could hardly even say thank you.
A week later, Marina came home in an unusually cheerful mood. She had run into two old school friends, Alyona and Sveta, at a shopping mall. Both had married well and were now living comfortably.
“Can you imagine?” she told her brother excitedly. “Alyona married a businessman, and they have an apartment in an upscale neighborhood. And Sveta married a doctor who opened his own private clinic. They travel somewhere every year — Turkey, Greece…”
“That’s wonderful,” Igor replied absentmindedly, scrolling through the news on his tablet.
“They invited me to go with them!” Marina blurted out. “To Cyprus! They say it’s beautiful there right now, and it’s not as hot as in summer. We can buy a twelve-day package tour.”
Igor looked up from the screen. Silence filled the room.
“Marina,” he said slowly, “you don’t have money for a trip like that.”
“Igorek,” Marina said, sitting beside her brother and taking his hand, “you understand what kind of position I’ll be in if I tell my friends I can’t afford to go, don’t you? They’ll think I’m poor. And then they’ll spread the story all over our hometown.”
“Marina, that’s a lot of money. A trip to Cyprus, plus spending money…”
“But you’re my brother!” Tears appeared in Marina’s voice. “There’s nobody else I can ask. Mom already gave me all her savings so I could move here. And I… I was really hoping to start a new life.”
Tatiana could hear the conversation from the kitchen, where she was washing dishes. Her hands trembled with indignation. She understood perfectly well where this was heading.
“How much will it cost?” Igor asked.
“The tour is about eighty thousand. And maybe another twenty thousand for spending money. I can’t show up there empty-handed when my friends have all the best things.”
One hundred thousand rubles.
Tatiana knew that was exactly how much they had in their savings account. They had been putting the money aside to renovate the country house she had inherited from her grandmother.
“All right,” Igor sighed. “I’ll help you.”
When Marina happily ran off to call her friends, Tatiana came out of the kitchen. Her face was pale with anger.
“Igor, have you lost your mind?” she said quietly but clearly. “One hundred thousand rubles for your sister’s whims?”
“Tanechka, you can see what condition she’s in. Who else is going to help her besides me? If I refuse, she’ll throw a fit and go home. Then all our efforts will have been for nothing.”
“What efforts? She isn’t even looking for work! She’s turned our house into a hotel and me into her servant!”
“Don’t exaggerate,” Igor said with a frown. “She just needs time to get used to a new place.”
“Get used to it? It’s already been three weeks! Igor, we saved that money for the country house. The roof leaks and the veranda is falling apart.”
“The country house can wait. Marina may never get another chance to start a new life. She needs connections that could help her find a good job.”
“A new life?” Tatiana felt a lump forming in her throat. “Igor, do you hear yourself? We’re going to spend all our savings so she can spend two weeks pretending to be a rich woman in front of her friends!”
“My sister is going on vacation even if I have to sell your country house! Get that through your head!” Igor snapped in the heat of the moment, immediately realizing he had gone too far.
Tatiana stared at him with wide eyes. She could not believe that the man she had been married to for five years could say something like that.
“I see,” she said quietly. “So my country house is just something you can trade away for your sister. Now everything is clear.”
She turned and went into the bedroom. Igor tried to stop her, but she closed the door behind her.
Tatiana did not sleep all night. She lay awake thinking about how her husband had been ready, without hesitation, to sacrifice her property for his sister’s whims.
The next morning, after Igor left for work and Marina was still asleep, Tatiana sat down at the computer.
She opened a popular classified ads website and posted an advertisement for Igor’s car — a black Škoda he had bought two years earlier. She listed it at a very attractive price, significantly below market value. In the description, she wrote that the car was in excellent condition, that the sale was urgent, and she provided her husband’s phone number. Confirming the number while he slept had not been difficult. She knew the password to his phone.
The first call came at seven in the morning. Then another at eight thirty. By lunchtime, Igor’s phone would not stop ringing.
“Hello, are you the one selling the Škoda? I’m calling about the ad,” potential buyers asked.
“What ad?” Igor replied, confused. “I’m not selling my car.”
“But there’s an ad online with your phone number.”
“There must be some mistake.”
By evening, Igor was exhausted. He had counted more than thirty calls from potential buyers.
When he got home, his wife was calmly preparing dinner. Marina sat at the kitchen table, enthusiastically talking about her plans for the trip.
“Tanechka,” Igor said to his wife, “people have been calling me all day about selling my car. Do you know anything about that?”
“Yes,” Tatiana replied calmly, without looking up from the frying pan. “I posted an advertisement to sell your car.”
“What?!” Igor turned pale. “Have you gone crazy?”
“Not at all. I’m helping you raise money for Marina. Your sister is more important than your car. You can take the bus to work.”
Marina stopped chewing and looked closely at her brother.
“Tanechka, this isn’t funny,” Igor said.
“I’m not laughing,” his wife replied, turning toward him. “Yesterday you said you were ready to sell my country house to pay for Marina’s vacation. I figured it made sense to start with your own property.”
“I lost my temper. I didn’t mean it.”
“No, Igor. That is exactly what you meant. You’re ready to sacrifice anything for your sister’s whims. So sacrifice your car.”
Marina realized that she had become the cause of a family argument and tried to intervene.
“Igorek, maybe you shouldn’t fight over this?”
“No, Marina,” Tatiana said firmly. “Your brother believes your vacation is so important that he’s ready to sell my country house. That means he can part with his car too.”
“Take the ad down,” Igor asked. “People won’t stop calling.”
“I’ll take it down when you apologize to me and give up this insane vacation idea.”
“But I already promised Marina!”
“And you promised me that you would love and respect me. Where is that respect when you’re ready to sell my property?”
Igor looked helplessly at his sister, then at his wife.
For the first time in weeks, he saw the situation from the outside. His sister really had turned into a spoiled freeloader who thought about nothing except her own pleasure. And in trying to help her, he had nearly destroyed his relationship with his wife.
“Marina,” he said quietly, “I won’t be able to give you the money for the trip.”
“What?” Marina jumped to her feet. “But you promised! I already told the girls I was going! They’re already buying the tickets!”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t spend all our savings on your vacation.”
“You’re a traitor!” Marina shouted. “I never thought my own brother could do this to me! Mom is going to be shocked!”
“Mom will understand,” Igor replied calmly. “She always said family is the most important thing. And my family is Tatiana and me.”
“I’m not staying in this house!” Marina ran toward her room. “I’m going home tomorrow!”
The door slammed behind her.
Tatiana turned off the stove and looked at her husband.
“I’m sorry,” Igor said quietly. “I fell for her manipulation and almost destroyed everything we have. Please take the ad down.”
“I’m already doing it.”
The next day, Marina packed her suitcases and dramatically called a taxi. She did not say goodbye to Tatiana, merely giving her brother a cold nod.
“Don’t think I’ll forget this,” she said before leaving. “Mom will hear about how you treated me.”
“Tell Mom I love her,” Igor replied. “And tell her I’m always willing to help family. But only within reason.”
When the taxi disappeared around the corner, Tatiana took her husband’s hand.
“Do you regret it?” she asked.
“No,” Igor shook his head. “I realized I almost lost the most precious thing in my life for someone who didn’t appreciate any of it.”
That evening, as they sat in the kitchen drinking tea, Igor said:
“I will never again let anyone, even relatives, dictate how we spend our money.”
“Family is important,” Tatiana said gently. “But our family is you and me. Everyone else is a relative.”
“Exactly,” Igor agreed. “And I swear I’ll never confuse the two again.”
A week later, they received a message from Igor’s mother. She apologized for her daughter’s behavior and asked them not to be too angry with her. Marina had told the story in her own way, but their mother was not as naive as the young woman had assumed.
“I know my daughter,” she wrote. “She’s used to everyone around her fulfilling her wishes. Thank you for trying to help her. Maybe this lesson will do her some good.”
Their savings remained untouched.
That summer, Igor and Tatiana renovated the country house, and afterward they could comfortably spend their weekends there.
As for Marina, rumor had it that she eventually found a job as a sales assistant in a clothing store in her hometown and rented a room of her own. Perhaps life really had taught her to appreciate what she had.
But most importantly, Igor understood that a real family begins with respecting your spouse, not indulging the whims of spoiled relatives.
And he would never again put his marriage at risk for someone else’s desires — even if those desires came from his own sister.
