Oksana had bought the apartment before she got married. It was a two-room apartment on the second floor of a brick building. She had taken out a mortgage and paid it off for six years. When she married Maxim, only a small amount of the debt remained—just one year until it was fully paid off. Her husband moved in with her and helped with the payments, but the apartment remained Oksana’s property. They had agreed on that from the very beginning.
Their daughter Dasha was born. She was small, noisy, and curious. Maxim worked as a long-haul driver and often left for several days at a time. Oksana managed the child, the home, and her job at a beauty salon on her own. She got tired, but she held on.
Her younger sister Vika often came over to help. She was twenty-three and worked as a manager in a clothing store. She lived with their parents in a neighboring district, but she tried to visit Oksana at least once a week. She came with treats, played with her niece, and helped around the house. Oksana valued that support—with her sister, everything always felt easy and cheerful.
Her mother-in-law, Raisa Petrovna, rarely visited. She lived in her own house on the outskirts of the city and helped raise the grandchildren from her eldest daughter. She treated Oksana coolly—not rudely, but without warmth either. She came on holidays, gave Dasha toys, stayed for an hour or two, and then left. Maxim explained that his mother was busy, tired, and found it difficult to travel so far. Oksana did not insist on frequent visits. The less often her mother-in-law appeared, the calmer the atmosphere at home was.
One autumn Saturday morning, Vika came over to help with cleaning. Oksana was making lunch, and her sister was washing the floors in the living room. Dasha ran between them, asking endless questions and demanding attention. Maxim sat on the sofa, watching television.
“Oksana, how about we make a casserole?” Vika suggested, walking into the kitchen with a bucket. “Do you have cottage cheese?”
“I do. In the fridge. Good idea. Dasha loves it.”
Her sister took out the cottage cheese, eggs, and sugar. She started mixing the batter. Oksana chopped vegetables for soup, keeping an eye on her daughter, who was trying to climb onto the windowsill.
“Dasha, get down from there!” Oksana called.
“Mom, I want to look at the birds!”
“You can look later. Right now go to Aunt Vika and help her.”
The little girl jumped down from the windowsill and ran to Vika. Her aunt gave her a spoon and let her stir the batter. Dasha moved the spoon with serious concentration, the tip of her tongue sticking out.
Oksana smiled and continued cooking. Outside the window, rain drizzled, and the wind drove yellow leaves across the asphalt. October was in full swing—cold and gray, but inside the apartment it was warm and cozy.
Vika poured the batter into molds and put them in the oven. She wiped her hands and took the cup of tea that Oksana had poured for her earlier.
“Thanks for coming,” Oksana said. “I wouldn’t have managed alone.”
“Oh, come on. It’s nothing. I’m always happy to. Besides, Dashka missed me.”
“She did,” Oksana confirmed. “All evening yesterday she kept asking when Aunt Vika would come.”
The sisters laughed and continued cooking. Vika peeled potatoes, and Oksana cut up the chicken. They worked smoothly, almost without words—they understood each other with half a glance.
The doorbell rang. Sharply, insistently. Oksana wiped her hands and went to open the door. Raisa Petrovna stood on the threshold with a large bag and a dissatisfied expression on her face.
“Hello, Raisa Petrovna,” Oksana said, stepping aside to let her mother-in-law in.
“Hello,” her mother-in-law muttered, walking into the hallway.
She took off her coat and hung it on a hook. Then she shoved the bag at Oksana.
“Here. I brought apples. From the dacha.”
“Thank you.”
Raisa Petrovna walked into the kitchen and stopped in the doorway. She saw Vika by the stove and frowned.
“And who is this?”
“My sister, Vika. You know each other,” Oksana replied, placing the bag of apples on the table.
“I know her,” her mother-in-law said, looking Vika up and down appraisingly. “What is she doing here?”
“She’s helping me. We’re making lunch together.”
Raisa Petrovna stepped farther inside, looked into the pot on the stove, opened the oven, and examined the casserole.
“Casserole? Maxim doesn’t like casserole.”
“It’s for Dasha,” Oksana explained.
“For Dasha…” her mother-in-law shook her head. “And what are you making for Maxim?”
“Chicken soup. His favorite.”
“Soup… Well, fine.”
Raisa Petrovna went into the living room, where Maxim was sitting. Her son stood up and hugged his mother.
“Hi, Mom. I wasn’t expecting you.”
“I decided to check on you. I haven’t been here in a while.”
“Come in, sit down. Do you want tea?”
“Later.”
Her mother-in-law sat on the sofa and looked around the room. Her gaze stopped on the children’s toys scattered across the floor.
“What a mess,” Raisa Petrovna stated.
“Mom, she’s a child. She’s playing,” Maxim shrugged.
“A child, a child… I had three children, and there was never a mess.”
Maxim said nothing. Oksana heard her mother-in-law’s remark from the kitchen and pressed her lips together. There was no mess—they had just cleaned with Vika. It was just that Dasha had been playing an hour earlier and they hadn’t had time to pick up the toys again.
Vika gave her sister an understanding look. Oksana shook her head—don’t pay attention.
Raisa Petrovna returned to the kitchen. She stood by the door, arms crossed over her chest.
“Oksana, why is it cold in the house?”
“It isn’t cold, Raisa Petrovna. The radiators are hot.”
“I’m cold. Maxim, aren’t you cold?” her mother-in-law raised her voice, addressing her son.
“It’s fine, Mom,” came his voice from the living room.
Raisa Petrovna pursed her lips. She looked again at Vika, who was trying hard to pretend she was busy cooking.
“And how long is this one going to sit here?” her mother-in-law asked, nodding toward Vika.
Oksana lifted her head from the cutting board.
“Vika? Until evening. She’ll help with lunch, and then we were planning to go to the store.”
“To the store… With her…” her mother-in-law smirked. “And you don’t want to spend time with your husband?”
“Maxim is home. He can come with us if he wants.”
“Maxim is tired! He spent a week on the road! He needs to rest, not be dragged around shops!”
Oksana put down the knife and turned to her mother-in-law.
“Raisa Petrovna, no one is forcing Maxim to go. He’s resting at home.”
“Resting! While strangers are wandering around here!”
Vika froze by the stove. Oksana took a step forward.
“Vika is not a stranger. She’s my sister.”
“Sister or not… What is this parasite doing here? Get out!”
Silence fell. Even Dasha, who had been playing with a doll in the corner, went quiet and looked at her grandmother.
Vika turned pale. She placed the spoon she had been using to stir the soup on the counter. Her hands began to tremble.
Oksana did not find words immediately. Blood rushed to her face, and her heart began pounding.
“What did you say?”
“I said let her get out. Strangers have no business roaming around here!” Raisa Petrovna raised her voice, looking straight at Vika.
Vika stepped back toward the wall, blinking. She did not know where to go. She wanted to say something, but her voice stuck in her throat.
Oksana stepped between her mother-in-law and her sister.
“Raisa Petrovna, this is my apartment. Mine. And I invite whoever I want here.”
“Your apartment!” her mother-in-law snorted. “My son lives here! He has a say!”
“Maxim,” Oksana called without turning around. “Do you hear this?”
Silence came from the living room. Then the sofa creaked—her husband stood up and came into the hallway. He stopped in the kitchen doorway and looked at his mother, his wife, and Vika.
“What happened?”
“Your mother insulted my sister! In my home!” Oksana’s voice trembled.
“Mom, why did you do that?” Maxim frowned, but his tone remained calm.
“Maxim, I’m protecting your interests! Strangers are hanging around here, and your wife doesn’t give you any attention!”
“Vika isn’t a stranger,” Maxim said. “She comes here often. She helps Oksana.”
“Helps!” Raisa Petrovna threw up her hands. “And who will help the husband? Who keeps the home running? The wife is going shopping, and what about the husband?”
“Mom, enough. Don’t start a scandal.”
“I’m not starting a scandal! I’m telling the truth!”
Vika said quietly:
“Oksana, maybe I should go.”
“You’re not going anywhere,” Oksana answered firmly. “This is my home, and you are a welcome guest here.”
Raisa Petrovna turned to Oksana.
“Oh, a welcome guest! And what am I? Unwelcome?”
“The way you are behaving right now, it makes me not want to have you as a guest.”
Her mother-in-law opened her mouth, closed it, then opened it again. Maxim stood silently, shifting from one foot to the other.
“Maxim! Do you hear how your wife is speaking to me?!”
Her husband sighed.
“Oksana, Mom didn’t mean any harm. She’s just worried.”
“Worried?” Oksana turned to her husband. “Maxim, your mother called my sister a parasite and a goat. In my apartment. Do you think that’s normal?”
“Well… Mom got carried away.”
“Got carried away,” Oksana repeated slowly. “And you’re not going to say anything?”
“I already said—enough of this scandal.”
“Enough of this scandal…” Oksana gave a bitter smile. “Maxim, your mother insulted a person who came here to help. Someone who regularly helps your wife and your daughter. And you’re just standing there watching.”
“Oksana, don’t blow this up.”
“Don’t blow this up,” Oksana said, shaking her head. “Fine.”
She turned to her sister.
“Vika, go into the room. We’ll finish cooking later.”
Vika nodded and quickly walked past the mother-in-law and Maxim. She shut herself in the bedroom. Oksana heard muffled sobs.
Raisa Petrovna stood in the middle of the kitchen with her arms crossed. She looked pleased, as though she had achieved what she wanted.
Oksana walked to the stove and turned off the burners. She covered the pot with a lid and took the casserole out of the oven. She placed it on the counter. She did everything slowly, methodically. Her mind was working quickly, but her hands moved calmly.
“Raisa Petrovna,” Oksana said without turning around. “Leave my kitchen.”
“What?!” her mother-in-law leaned forward.
“Leave. Immediately.”
“Are you throwing me out?!”
“I am asking you to leave the kitchen. This is my apartment, and I decide who is here.”
“Maxim! Do you hear this?!”
Her husband stood in the doorway, motionless. His face was tense, his eyes darting.
“Oksana, let’s not get emotional.”
“Not get emotional?” Oksana turned and looked him in the eye. “Your mother insulted my sister. She drove the girl to tears. In my apartment. And you suggest I not get emotional?”
“Well, Mom didn’t do it on purpose…”
“She did, Maxim. Very much on purpose. Raisa Petrovna came here with the intention of causing a scandal.”
“You’re the one causing a scandal!” her mother-in-law shrieked. “You’re throwing your mother-in-law out of the house!”
“Out of my house. The one I bought. With my own money. Before marriage.”
“My son lives here!”
“He does. But I am the owner. And I decide who is a welcome guest here and who is not.”
Raisa Petrovna grabbed her bag and put on her coat right there in the kitchen.
“Maxim, let’s go!”
Her husband froze.
“Mom, I live here…”
“Let’s go, I said! You’re not going to stay with this…” Her mother-in-law pointed a finger toward Oksana.
“Mom, calm down.”
“I will not calm down! Let’s go!”
Maxim looked at Oksana. His wife stood by the stove, arms crossed over her chest. Her face was calm, but her eyes were cold.
“Maxim, decide,” Oksana said quietly. “Either your mother apologizes to Vika, or you both leave.”
Her mother-in-law choked with outrage.
“Me?! Apologize?! To that girl?!”
“To my sister. The one you insulted.”
“Never!”
“Then leave.”
Raisa Petrovna grabbed her son by the arm.
“Maxim, I’ll wait for you in the car. If you stay here, consider yourself without a mother.”
She turned and left the apartment. The door slammed. Maxim remained standing in the hallway, looking first at the door, then at Oksana.
“Oksana…”
“What, Maxim?”
“Maybe it really wasn’t worth being so harsh?”
Oksana silently walked past her husband and opened the bedroom door. Vika was sitting on the bed, wiping away tears.
“Vik, everything is all right. Go wash your face, then we’ll continue cooking.”
Her sister nodded, got up, and went to the bathroom. Oksana returned to the kitchen. Maxim was still standing by the door.
“Your mother is waiting for you in the car,” Oksana said.
“I’m not going.”
“As you wish.”
“Oksana, let’s talk normally.”
“What is there to talk about, Maxim? Your mother insulted my sister. You kept silent. That says everything.”
“I didn’t keep silent! I said enough with the scandal!”
“You said that to me. Not to your mother, who started the scandal.”
Her husband rubbed his face with his hands.
“She’s my mother, Oksana. I can’t throw her out.”
“I’m not asking you to throw her out. I’m asking you to protect my family. My sister. From insults.”
“Well, if Mom had apologized, that would have been it.”
“Your mother refused to apologize.”
“Because you cornered her!”
Oksana looked at her husband for a long moment.
“I see.”
“What do you see?”
“Everything, Maxim. Everything is clear.”
She turned and went to the bedroom. Maxim remained alone in the kitchen.
Oksana closed the bedroom door behind her and leaned against the frame. She breathed deeply and evenly. Her hands were trembling, but she kept herself under control. Vika came out of the bathroom with red eyes.
“Oksana, I’m sorry. This scandal happened because of me.”
“Not because of you. Because of Raisa Petrovna. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Maybe I really should leave?”
“You’re not going anywhere. This is my home, and you are welcome here.”
Vika sat on the bed and wrapped her arms around her knees. Oksana came over and hugged her sister around the shoulders.
“Vik, don’t pay attention. Raisa Petrovna is like that. She needed a reason for a scandal, so she picked on you.”
“But she was so rude… Parasite, goat… I didn’t do anything bad.”
“Of course you didn’t. My mother-in-law just isn’t used to the fact that I’m the one in charge in this home, not my husband. That’s why she’s furious.”
Vika wiped her tears and looked at her sister.
“And Maxim? Why was he silent?”
Oksana sighed.
“I don’t know. Maybe he fears his mother more than he respects his wife.”
“Oksana, what will happen now?”
“I don’t know, Vik. We’ll see.”
They left the bedroom together. Maxim was standing in the kitchen, looking out the window. Hearing footsteps, he turned around.
“Oksana, let’s talk.”
“Talk.”
“Mom is offended. It’s hard for her.”
“It’s hard for her?” Oksana tilted her head to the side. “And what about Vika?”
“Well… Mom didn’t mean harm.”
“Maxim, your mother called my sister a parasite and a goat. Whether she meant harm or not, it was an insult.”
“I understand. But she’s my mother. I can’t fight with her.”
“Then go to her.”
“What?”
“Go to your mother. Since she matters more to you than respect for my family.”
Maxim frowned.
“Oksana, don’t start.”
“I’m not starting. I’m ending it. Nothing like this will happen in my home again.”
“Nothing like this? Oksana, you’re exaggerating!”
“Exaggerating?” Oksana stepped closer and looked directly into his eyes. “Maxim, if you think insulting someone in my home is an exaggeration, then we really have nothing to talk about.”
Her husband looked away. He was silent. Oksana turned and went back to the kitchen. She turned on the stove and continued cooking lunch as if nothing had happened. Vika stood beside her and started helping. They worked in silence; only the bubbling of the soup and the hiss of oil in the frying pan could be heard.
Maxim stood in the hallway for a little longer, then went into the living room. He turned on the television, but kept the volume low. Dasha ran to her father and climbed onto his lap. Her husband hugged his daughter and buried his face in her hair.
They made lunch in silence. Oksana set the table and called Maxim and Dasha. They ate quietly, without conversation. Vika sat with her eyes lowered to her plate. Maxim chewed without lifting his head. Dasha swung her legs and talked about a cartoon, but no one listened.
After lunch, Vika said quietly:
“Oksana, I think I’ll go. I’ll help Mom.”
“Vik, stay. We wanted to go to the store.”
“Another time. Really. I’m tired.”
Oksana hugged her sister goodbye.
“Vik, don’t take it to heart. Raisa Petrovna is just a mean woman.”
“I know. But it still hurts.”
“Call me when you get there.”
“All right.”
Vika got dressed and left the apartment. Oksana watched her go and closed the door. She returned to the kitchen and started washing dishes. Maxim sat in the living room, watching television. Dasha played with her dolls.
Two hours passed. Oksana finished cleaning and sat on the sofa with a book. Maxim got up, walked around the room, and stopped by the window.
“Oksana, maybe you should call Mom after all? Apologize?”
Oksana lifted her head from the book.
“What should I apologize for?”
“Well, you threw her out.”
“I didn’t throw her out. I asked her to apologize to Vika. Your mother refused and left on her own.”
“You know what Mom is like. Proud. She won’t apologize.”
“Then let her not come here.”
“Oksana, she’s my mother!”
“And Vika is my sister. And in my home, my rules apply.”
Maxim clenched his fists, turned, and left the room. The bedroom door slammed. Oksana continued reading, although the letters blurred before her eyes.
That evening, Raisa Petrovna called. Her number appeared on Oksana’s phone. Oksana answered.
“I’m listening.”
“Oksana, it’s me. Raisa Petrovna.”
“Hello.”
“What are you doing? You’re turning my son against his mother!”
“Raisa Petrovna, I’m not doing anything. You came into my home and insulted my sister.”
“Your sister! Everything is yours, yours! Have you thought about the family?”
“I have. My family is my husband, my daughter, my sister, and my parents. You were part of the family too, until you crossed boundaries.”
“What boundaries?! I’m the mother-in-law! I have the right!”
“The right to what? To insult people in my apartment?”
“I have the right to raise my son!”
“Maxim is an adult. He decides how to live for himself.”
“Himself! You manipulate him!”
“Raisa Petrovna, this conversation is over. Goodbye.”
Oksana ended the call and blocked her mother-in-law’s number. She placed the phone on the table. Her hands were trembling, but her face remained calm.
Maxim came out of the bedroom.
“Who called?”
“Your mother.”
“And?”
“Nothing. There’s nothing to discuss.”
“Oksana, let’s behave like adults…”
“Maxim, I am an adult. And I am behaving like one. I’m protecting my family and my home. If your mother wants to come here, let her learn respect. If not, she is no longer welcome.”
“Are you forbidding me from communicating with my mother?!”
“I am forbidding your mother from insulting people in my apartment. Communicate with your mother wherever you want—at her place, outside, in a café. Just not here.”
Her husband opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again. He said nothing. He turned and went back to the bedroom. The door slammed.
Oksana sat on the sofa. Dasha crawled over to her mother and climbed onto her lap.
“Mom, why is Daddy sad?”
“He’s tired, sweetheart.”
“And why was Grandma shouting?”
“Grandma behaved badly.”
“And Aunt Vika cried.”
“She did. But everything is all right now.”
Dasha wrapped her arms around her mother’s neck and pressed her nose into her shoulder. Oksana stroked her daughter’s head and closed her eyes. It had been a hard day.
The following days passed in tense silence. Maxim barely spoke, answered in single words, and avoided her gaze. Oksana did not insist on conversations—she had said everything that needed to be said. Now it was her husband’s turn to decide whose side he stood on.
Raisa Petrovna did not call again. Maxim went to visit his mother by himself, without Oksana and Dasha. He returned gloomy and silent. Oksana did not ask what they had talked about. It was none of her business.
Vika came over a week later. She called in advance and asked whether she could stop by. Oksana was happy.
“Of course! Come over. Maxim won’t be here; he’s on a trip.”
“I definitely won’t be in the way?”
“Not in the slightest.”
Her sister arrived with a cake and flowers. Oksana greeted her and hugged her.
“Vik, how are you?”
“I’m fine. I’ve calmed down already. It was just unpleasant.”
“I understand. But you didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I know. Oksana, are things all right between you and Maxim?”
“I don’t know. He’s offended that I didn’t let his mother in. He’s not speaking.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
“And how are you?”
“Calm. I said my piece. I have no intention of tolerating rudeness in my home anymore.”
Vika hugged her sister.
“That’s right. Oksana, this is your apartment. Your home. And no one has the right to dictate who can be here.”
The sisters drank tea, talked, and laughed. Dasha spun around nearby, showing off her new toys and asking Vika to read her a book. Vika gladly read to her niece, changing voices and acting out the characters. Dasha laughed and clapped her hands.
Oksana looked at her sister and daughter and smiled. This was real. Warmth, care, love. Not shouting, insults, and demands.
In the evening, Vika left. Oksana stayed alone with Dasha. She put her daughter to bed, tidied the kitchen, and sat by the window with a cup of tea. She looked out at the dark courtyard, the scattered streetlights, and passing cars.
She thought about Maxim. About how her husband had behaved that Saturday. He had stayed silent when his mother insulted Vika. He had defended his mother, not his wife. He had been offended that Oksana had not allowed her mother-in-law to be rude in her own home.
That meant his mother mattered more to Maxim. More than his wife, more than respect, more than family. Oksana understood it clearly.
Maxim returned from a trip three days later. He came in tired and silent. He greeted Oksana, kissed Dasha, and went to shower. Then he sat down to dinner. He ate in silence, without raising his eyes.
“Maxim, we need to talk,” Oksana said when he finished eating.
“About what?”
“About what happened with your mother.”
“Oksana, we already discussed everything.”
“No. We didn’t. I want to hear one thing from you. Do you think your mother had the right to insult my sister?”
Maxim was silent for a while.
“No. She didn’t.”
“Good. Then why did you stay silent?”
“I didn’t stay silent. I told everyone to calm down.”
“You said that to me. Not to your mother, who started the scandal.”
“Oksana, what could I do? She’s my mother.”
“You could have stood by your wife. You could have demanded an apology from your mother. You could have defended Vika. But you didn’t.”
Maxim rubbed his face with his hands.
“Oksana, it’s hard for me to be between you.”
“It’s hard for you?” Oksana gave a bitter smile. “And is it easy for me? Your mother comes into my home and insults my sister. You keep silent. Then you get offended because I didn’t let your mother come back. And that’s easy for me?”
“I didn’t want conflict.”
“Your mother started the conflict. Not me.”
Maxim got up from the table.
“Oksana, I’m tired. I don’t want to fight.”
“We’re not fighting. We’re talking.”
“I don’t see the difference.”
Her husband went into the bedroom. Oksana remained sitting in the kitchen. The conversation had failed. Maxim did not understand. Or did not want to understand.
A week later, Raisa Petrovna called Maxim. Her husband spoke quietly, but Oksana heard fragments.
“Mom, I can’t… No, Oksana won’t let you… Mom, what can I do?..”
He hung up and came into the kitchen.
“Mom wants to come. For Dasha’s birthday.”
“When is the birthday?”
“In two weeks.”
“I see.”
“Oksana, let’s let her come. For Dasha’s sake.”
Oksana looked at her husband.
“Maxim, has your mother apologized to Vika?”
“No.”
“Then no.”
“Oksana, it’s the child’s birthday!”
“Exactly. My child’s birthday. In my home. And I don’t want a woman there who insults my family.”
“But Dasha wants to see her grandmother!”
“Let Raisa Petrovna visit Dasha another day. She can invite her to her own house. I’m not against that. Just not here.”
Maxim clenched his jaw.
“You’re taking revenge.”
“I’m protecting my home.”
“That’s the same thing.”
“No, Maxim. It is absolutely not the same thing.”
Her husband turned and left. That evening, he packed a bag and said he was going to his mother’s for a couple of days. Oksana did not object.
They celebrated Dasha’s birthday without her mother-in-law. Oksana’s parents came, as did Vika and several friends with children. It was noisy and fun. Dasha rejoiced over her gifts, blew out the candles on the cake, and played with the guests. Maxim came in the evening, congratulated his daughter, and gave her a doll. He sat silently and gloomily. Oksana’s parents exchanged glances, but asked nothing.
After the celebration, Maxim left for his mother’s again. He returned three days later.
“Oksana, we have to decide.”
“Decide what?”
“How we’re going to live from now on.”
Oksana put down her book and looked at her husband.
“Explain.”
“I can’t live without communicating with my mother.”
“No one is forbidding you from communicating with her.”
“Not letting her into the house is forbidding it.”
“Maxim, I will not let a person who insults my family into my home. If your mother wants to come here, let her apologize to Vika. If not, let her stay at her own place.”
“She won’t apologize.”
“That’s her choice.”
“And what now?”
“We live as we live.”
Maxim shook his head.
“That doesn’t work for me.”
“Then what works for you?”
“That my mother can come into the house where I live.”
“This is my house, Maxim. I bought it before marriage. And I decide who comes here.”
“So I’m nobody here?”
“You are my husband. The father of my child. But the apartment is mine.”
Maxim stood up and paced the room.
“I see. So I’m a tenant to you.”
“Don’t twist my words.”
“I’m not twisting anything. You said it yourself—the apartment is yours. That means I live here with your permission.”
“Maxim, don’t create drama. This isn’t about the apartment. This is about your mother insulting my sister. And not apologizing.”
“And you won’t forgive her.”
“I will. When she apologizes.”
Her husband stopped by the window and looked into the courtyard.
“I’ll leave.”
“Where?”
“To my mother’s. Temporarily. Until we figure things out.”
Oksana nodded.
“Fine.”
“Fine? That’s all?”
“What else?”
Maxim looked at his wife for a long moment. Then he went into the bedroom and started packing. Oksana remained sitting in the living room. She listened as her husband folded clothes into a bag, opened the closet, and took out shoes.
Maxim came out with two bags. He placed them by the door.
“I’ll take the rest later.”
“Fine.”
“Will you tell Dasha?”
“I will.”
“Oksana… maybe you’ll still think about it?”
“What is there to think about, Maxim? You chose your mother’s side. I chose my family’s side.”
“I am your family.”
“You were. Until you took the side of the woman who insulted my sister.”
Her husband picked up the bags and opened the door. He turned around.
“You’ll regret this.”
“I don’t think so.”
Maxim left. The door closed quietly. Oksana remained sitting in the living room, listening to the silence. Strangely, there was no heaviness in her soul. Only calm.
She got up and went to the kitchen. She put the kettle on and took out her favorite cup. She brewed tea and sat by the window. She watched the first snowflakes falling behind the glass. November. Winter was coming soon.
Dasha was sleeping in her room. In the morning, she would ask where Daddy was. Oksana would explain simply: Daddy had gone to Grandma’s to live there for a while. Dasha would understand. Children always understand more than adults think.
Her phone vibrated. A message from Vika.
“Oksana, how are you?”
“I’m fine. Maxim left for his mother’s.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes. He decided himself.”
“Oksana, I’m sorry. Because of me…”
“Vik, not because of you. Because my husband couldn’t protect my family. Don’t blame yourself.”
“Are you sure you did the right thing?”
“I’m sure. No one will ever dare insult the people I love in my home again.”
“I’m proud of you, sis.”
“Thank you, Vik.”
Oksana finished her tea, washed the cup, and dried it with a towel. She went into the bedroom and lay down. For a long time, she stared at the ceiling and thought. Maxim had left. Perhaps he would return, perhaps not. But that was his choice now.
The main thing was that the apartment was calm again. No insults, no shouting, no attempts to dictate who was in charge here. There was only Oksana, Dasha, a warm home, and the right to decide who was welcome there and who was not.
And that was right. Because a home should be a fortress, where you protect your own—not let in those who cause pain