Larisa was sitting in the kitchen, scrolling through her phone, when Roman burst in with news. Her husband looked agitated, his face flushed from walking quickly.
“Mom transferred the apartment to my sister,” Roman blurted out, dropping into the chair across from her.
Larisa looked up from the screen. Tatiana Lvovna had decided to give the apartment to her daughter? Strange, but understandable in principle. Her mother-in-law had always trusted her daughter more than her son.
“So what?” Larisa asked calmly. “That’s her decision.”
Roman rubbed his face with his palms and sighed.
“My sister threw her out. The very next day after the transfer. She said the apartment was hers now and Mom needed to look for somewhere else to live.”
Larisa put her phone aside and leaned back in her chair. Well, that was a twist. Tatiana Lvovna had always been proud of her daughter and considered her a model of decency. And this was the result.
“Seriously?” Larisa asked.
“Absolutely,” Roman nodded. “Mom is in shock. She doesn’t know where to go. I told her she could stay with us.”
Larisa felt something tighten inside her. With us. In her apartment. A two-room apartment she had bought before the marriage with her own money.
“Roman, this is my apartment,” his wife said slowly. “You could have discussed it with me first.”
Her husband waved his hand as if brushing away a fly.
“Oh, come on, it’s only temporary. Until Mom finds something for herself. She can’t sleep out on the street, can she?”
Larisa bit her lip. Arguing now was pointless. Tatiana Lvovna really had been left without a home. Refusing to help would be cruel. But something told her this “temporary” arrangement would stretch out for a long time.
“All right,” Larisa agreed. “But not for long. Let her look for options.”
Roman beamed and jumped up from his chair.
“Thank you, sweetheart! I knew you wouldn’t refuse!”
Tatiana Lvovna moved in two days later. She brought three huge suitcases, boxes of dishes, houseplants, and even an old armchair. Larisa looked at the mountain of things and felt her anxiety growing.
“Mom, why so much?” Roman asked, helping carry in another box.
“Romochka, these are the essentials,” his mother said, casting a critical eye around the apartment. “I can’t live without my own things. I’m used to a certain level of comfort.”
Larisa silently watched as Tatiana Lvovna began settling into the living room. Her mother-in-law hung her own curtains, arranged figurines, and spread her own cover over the sofa. The room was transformed. It became foreign.
The first week passed relatively peacefully. Tatiana Lvovna stayed in her room and only appeared in the kitchen at mealtimes. But then it began.
Larisa came home from work and discovered that the furniture in the living room had been rearranged. The armchair stood against another wall, the coffee table had been moved to the window, and the television was turned at a new angle.
“What happened here?” Larisa asked, frozen in the doorway.
Tatiana Lvovna came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a towel.
“Oh, Larisa, you’re home. I just refreshed the layout a little. According to feng shui. The energy circulates better this way.”
The wife looked at her husband, who was sitting in the armchair with his phone. Roman did not even lift his head.
“Roman,” Larisa called. “Do you think this is normal?”
“Hm?” her husband finally looked up from the screen. “Oh, yes. Mom tried hard. It looks nice.”
Larisa clenched her fists. Nice. In her apartment, they had rearranged the furniture without her knowledge, and her husband thought it was normal.
“Tatiana Lvovna,” Larisa said to her mother-in-law, trying to speak calmly, “next time, please ask permission. This is still my apartment.”
Her mother-in-law pursed her lips, displeasure flashing in her eyes.
“Well, forgive me, generous mistress of the house. I only wanted to make things better. But if you’re against improvements…”
“I’m not against improvements,” Larisa interrupted. “I’m against not being asked.”
Tatiana Lvovna snorted, turned around, and went back to her room. Roman sighed and looked at his wife reproachfully.
“Why did you upset her? Mom tried hard.”
Larisa did not answer. She went into the bedroom and closed the door. Anger was boiling inside her, but showing it was useless. Roman would side with his mother anyway.
With each passing day, the situation worsened. Tatiana Lvovna criticized Larisa’s cleaning, finding dust in the most unexpected places. She complained about the cooking, claiming the soup was too salty and the cutlets were dry. She interfered in every little thing, from the choice of laundry detergent to the time the rooms should be aired.
Larisa endured it. She kept telling herself it was temporary. Tatiana Lvovna would soon find a place and move out. But her mother-in-law did not even try to look for options. She settled into Larisa’s apartment as if it were her own home and clearly had no intention of leaving.
And then disaster struck.
Roman came home earlier than usual one evening. Larisa immediately understood that something bad had happened. Her husband looked crushed, his shoulders slumped, his eyes dull.
“I was fired,” Roman said, sinking onto the sofa. “Staff cuts. They gave me two months’ severance pay, and that’s it.”
Larisa sat down beside him. Fired. Roman had worked as a sales manager, and his salary had been decent. Now Larisa’s income was the only one left.
“It’s okay,” his wife tried to encourage him. “You’ll find a new job. The main thing is to start looking right away.”
Roman nodded, but uncertainly.
“Of course. Only I think… maybe I should take a short break? Rest, think about what I want to do next. Find myself.”
Larisa frowned. Find himself. At thirty-eight, sitting without income with a non-working mother on his neck.
“Roman, we have expenses,” his wife reminded him. “Utilities, food, your mother. We need money.”
“You have a salary,” her husband shrugged. “It’ll be enough for now. And I’m really tired. I want to reflect on life.”
Larisa looked at her husband for a long moment. Reflect on life. While she worked herself to exhaustion for two people, Roman would philosophize on the sofa.
“All right,” Larisa said curtly and went to the kitchen.
A month passed. Roman really did not look for work. He spent his days at home, watching television and reading self-development books. Tatiana Lvovna supported her son, saying that a man needed time to regain his strength. And Larisa worked, came home tired, cooked dinner for three, and listened to her mother-in-law’s complaints about the quality of the food.
Then the spending began.
Larisa discovered the first purchase by accident. She went into the bathroom and saw a set of expensive French cosmetics on the shelf. Creams, serums, masks. The price tags were still attached — more than twenty thousand rubles for everything.
“Tatiana Lvovna,” Larisa called her mother-in-law. “Where did this come from?”
Her mother-in-law came out of the room and looked at the cosmetics.
“Oh, I bought that. Skin at my age requires care. You can’t save money on yourself.”
“With what money?” Larisa asked.
“Romochka gave it to me,” Tatiana Lvovna answered calmly. “From his severance pay. He said his mother should look dignified.”
Larisa closed her eyes. Severance pay. Money that was supposed to go toward family expenses while Roman looked for work. Twenty thousand for cosmetics.
His wife found her husband in the living room.
“Roman, did you give your mother twenty thousand for cosmetics?”
Her husband nodded without taking his eyes off the television.
“Yes. Mom asked. She needed it.”
“Needed it?” Larisa repeated. “Roman, that is severance pay. It should be used for necessary expenses, not expensive creams!”
“Mom is important too,” her husband objected. “What, do you want her to walk around looking shabby?”
Larisa turned around and left. Talking was pointless.
But that was only the beginning. A week later, Tatiana Lvovna dragged home new curtains for fifteen thousand. A few days after that, a set of dishes for ten thousand. Then jewelry, paintings, figurines. Money flowed away like water.
Larisa checked the joint account. The savings she and Roman had been building had been cut in half. Two hundred thousand had simply evaporated in two months.
“Roman, we need to talk,” Larisa said that evening after her mother-in-law had gone to her room.
Her husband looked up from his book.
“About what?”
“About money,” Larisa sat opposite him. “Do you know how much your mother has spent in the last two months?”
Roman shrugged.
“Well… not much. Mom needed things.”
“Two hundred thousand,” Larisa said clearly. “Two hundred thousand rubles on cosmetics, dishes, jewelry, and other nonsense. That is half of our savings, Roman.”
Her husband put the book aside and frowned.
“Mom has the right to spend money on herself. It’s hard for her after what my sister did.”
“She is spending our money?” Larisa raised her voice. “Roman, those were savings. We saved for three years! Our safety cushion.”
“So what?” her husband snapped. “You have a salary. We’ll save up again.”
Larisa stood up and walked around the room. Her hands were shaking with anger.
“I will not save money while you sit at home and don’t look for work! And I will not allow your mother to spend our last money on meaningless purchases!”
Roman stood up too, his face turning red.
“Don’t you dare speak about my mother in that tone! She lived through her daughter’s betrayal. She needs support!”
“Support is not two hundred thousand for jewelry!” Larisa shouted. “Support means helping her find housing, moral support! Not wasting family money!”
Tatiana Lvovna came out of the room. Her mother-in-law stood in the doorway, arms crossed over her chest.
“I heard everything,” Tatiana Lvovna said coldly. “Larisa, you are an incredibly greedy woman. To begrudge money to a mother-in-law who was left without a home.”
Larisa turned to her mother-in-law, fury flashing in her eyes.
“Greedy? I’m greedy because I don’t want our savings wasted on your whims?”
“Whims?” Tatiana Lvovna was indignant. “These are necessary things!”
“French cosmetics for twenty thousand are a necessity?” Larisa smirked. “Gold earrings for thirty thousand are a necessity?”
Her mother-in-law pursed her lips and came closer.
“You simply don’t understand what it means to be a woman of a certain age. I need to look dignified.”
“With my money?” Larisa crossed her arms over her chest. “Tatiana Lvovna, this is my apartment, my savings. Roman has not worked for three months. I am carrying the whole family alone. And I have the right to decide what money is spent on.”
Roman stepped between his wife and his mother.
“Enough! Larisa, you’re crossing the line! This is my mother, and I decide whether to help her or not!”
“With what money?” Larisa asked. “You don’t have any money, Roman! You don’t work! Everything that exists is mine!”
Her husband clenched his fists, his face twisted with anger.
“We’re family! What’s yours is ours!”
“No,” Larisa cut him off. “Not in this case. I will not let you and your mother parasitize off me.”
The scandal truly erupted. Roman shouted about family values. Tatiana Lvovna lamented about ingratitude. Larisa stood with her jaw clenched and felt everything boiling inside her.
Finally, his wife waved her hand tiredly.
“That’s it. I’ve had enough. Tomorrow, Roman, you start looking for a job. Seriously, not just for show. And you, Tatiana Lvovna, stop spending money on nonsense. Otherwise I will throw both of you out.”
Her mother-in-law gasped and clutched her heart.
“Romochka, did you hear that? She’s threatening to throw your mother out!”
Roman put his arm around Tatiana Lvovna’s shoulders and looked at his wife reproachfully.
“Larisa, you’ve gone too far.”
His wife did not answer. She turned and went into the bedroom. She slammed the door and leaned her back against it. That was it. Her patience had run out.
In the morning, Larisa woke up to a phone call. An unknown number. The woman reluctantly answered.
“Hello?”
“Good afternoon. This is notary Anna Petrovna Smirnova. You need to come to our office to receive an inheritance.”
Larisa sat up in bed. An inheritance?
“Excuse me, what inheritance?”
“From your second cousin, Elena Ivanovna,” the notary explained. “She left you money in her will. Please come today at two o’clock.”
Larisa hung up and stared into space. Aunt Elena. They had seen each other only a couple of times when Larisa was a child. The woman lived in another city and barely communicated with the relatives. And now she had left her money.
At two o’clock, Larisa was sitting in the notary’s office. Anna Petrovna handed her the documents.
“Elena Ivanovna left you three million rubles. The money will be transferred to your account within a week as soon as you complete the paperwork.”
Three million. Larisa looked at the papers and could not believe it. Three million rubles. A whole fortune.
That evening, his wife returned home in a good mood. Roman was sitting on the sofa, and Tatiana Lvovna was in the kitchen cooking dinner. Larisa went into the living room and sat in the armchair.
“I have news,” the woman said.
Roman looked up from his phone.
“What news?”
“I received an inheritance. Three million rubles.”
Her husband froze, staring at her. From the kitchen came a crash — Tatiana Lvovna had dropped something.
“How much?” Roman asked again.
“Three million,” Larisa repeated. “From my second cousin.”
Her mother-in-law flew into the living room, her face flushed.
“Three million? Lord, what luck! Romochka, we’re saved!”
Larisa frowned. We’re saved?
Roman jumped up from the sofa and approached his wife.
“That’s wonderful! Now we can relax and not worry about money!”
“I can relax,” Larisa corrected him. “This is my inheritance.”
Tatiana Lvovna sat across from her, her gaze turning sly.
“Larisa, but you are family. Of course the money is shared. It needs to be distributed properly.”
His wife leaned back in the armchair and looked at her mother-in-law.
“Distributed? In what way?”
“Well, for example,” Tatiana Lvovna began speaking faster, “you could transfer part of the apartment to Romochka. For fairness. Or open a joint account. You understand, a husband must feel equal.”
Larisa smirked. So that was it. She had barely received the money, and the claims had already begun.
“Tatiana Lvovna, the apartment was bought by me before marriage. It is legally mine. And the money is mine too. An inheritance is personal property.”
Her mother-in-law pursed her lips, anger flashing in her eyes.
“How can you say that? Roman is your husband! You must share!”
“Must?” Larisa repeated. “Why must I? Roman hasn’t worked for three months. You have been living at my expense for three months. I alone provide for this family. And now you want my inheritance too?”
Roman stepped toward his wife, his face tense.
“Larisa, we are family. Of course the money should be shared.”
His wife rose from the armchair and looked her husband straight in the eyes.
“No, Roman. This is my inheritance. My apartment. My savings. Everything is mine. Because I earn, and you and your mother spend.”
Tatiana Lvovna jumped up and waved her hands.
“What injustice! Romochka, do you hear that? She refuses to help the family!”
“Help?” Larisa laughed. “I have supported both of you for three months! I pay for the apartment, food, utilities! And you spend the last savings on cosmetics and jewelry! And I’m the one who should help?”
Her mother-in-law came closer and pointed her finger at Larisa.
“You’re greedy! A heartless egoist! How can you be like this… You have three million, and not a kopeck for your family.”
Larisa felt something snap inside her. That was it. Enough. She was tired of enduring it.
“Stop living at my expense!” Larisa shouted. “I won’t transfer the apartment, I won’t give you the money, and you can take your mommy and support her yourself!”
Silence fell. Roman and Tatiana Lvovna froze, staring at his wife.
“What?” her husband asked.
“You heard me,” Larisa crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m tired of both of you. Roman, you have been sitting at home for three months, finding yourself. Your mother spends the last money on nonsense. And I’m supposed to tolerate all of this? No. Enough.”
Tatiana Lvovna clutched her heart and sank onto the sofa.
“Romochka, protect your mother! She’s insulting me!”
Roman stepped toward his wife, his face twisted with anger.
“How dare you speak to my mother like that?”
“Very easily,” Larisa cut him off. “Tatiana Lvovna, pack your things. Tomorrow I want to see you outside my apartment.”
Her mother-in-law gasped and covered her face with her hands.
“She’s throwing me out! God, what cruelty!”
Roman came right up to his wife and clenched his fists.
“You have no right to throw my mother out!”
“I do,” Larisa answered calmly. “This is my apartment. I decide who lives here. And you, Roman, can pack your things too. I’m filing for divorce.”
Her husband recoiled as if he had been slapped.
“Divorce? Because of money?”
“Not because of money,” Larisa objected. “Because you don’t respect me. You let your mother command in my apartment. You don’t work yourself and demand that I share my inheritance. This isn’t a family, Roman. It’s parasitism.”
Tatiana Lvovna sobbed and looked at her son.
“Romochka, she’s throwing us out! What are we going to do?”
Roman turned to his mother, then back to his wife.
“Larisa, you can’t do this! We’re husband and wife!”
“We were,” Larisa corrected him. “Tomorrow I’m filing the petition. And you and Tatiana Lvovna can look for a new place to live. You have twenty-four hours.”
His wife turned and went into the bedroom. She closed the door and leaned against it. Her hands were trembling, her heart pounding. But the relief was enormous. At last, she had said what had been building up for months.
Roman and Tatiana Lvovna tried to pressure Larisa all night. They knocked on the bedroom door, begged her to reconsider, accused her of greed and heartlessness. But his wife was unshakable. In the morning, she came out of the bedroom, walked past her tearful mother-in-law and gloomy husband, gathered her documents, and went to work.
On the way, she stopped by a legal consultation office. The lawyer listened to the situation and nodded.
“The apartment was bought before marriage — it is your property. The inheritance is also personal property and is not subject to division. Your husband has no rights to it. Only jointly acquired savings are divided.”
Larisa nodded, feeling the tension ease. Everything was correct. The law was on her side.
That evening, when the woman returned home, she discovered that Roman and Tatiana Lvovna had not gone anywhere. They were sitting in the living room, their faces gloomy.
“Here, take your share and get out. I don’t want anything to do with you.”
“We’re not leaving,” Roman declared. “You have no right to throw us out.”
Larisa took out her phone and dialed a number.
“Hello, police? I need help. There are people in my apartment whom I have asked to leave the premises.”
Roman turned pale and jumped up from the sofa.
“You’re calling the police?!”
“Yes,” Larisa nodded. “This is my apartment, and I have the right to decide who is here.”
Tatiana Lvovna burst into tears and clutched her heart. Roman paced the room, not knowing what to do. Half an hour later, the police arrived. They listened to both sides and checked the apartment documents.
“The property belongs to citizen Larisa,” the senior sergeant stated. “You are required to leave the apartment.”
Roman and Tatiana Lvovna packed their things under police supervision. Her mother-in-law sobbed, and her husband remained silent with his jaw clenched. Finally, they left, dragging their suitcases. Larisa closed the door behind them.
Silence. The woman walked into the living room and sank onto the sofa. That was it. They were gone. The apartment belonged only to her again.
The divorce was finalized a month later. Roman tried to sue for part of the money and the apartment. He hired a lawyer and filed a claim. He claimed he had invested in renovations and helped financially. But there was no proof. The apartment had been bought before the marriage, and all receipts and documents were in Larisa’s name. The inheritance was personal property and not subject to division.
The court ruled in Larisa’s favor. Roman and Tatiana Lvovna were left with nothing. After the hearing, her mother-in-law approached her former daughter-in-law, her face twisted with anger.
“You’ll die of loneliness!” Tatiana Lvovna hissed. “No one will need someone as greedy and cold as you!”
Larisa looked calmly at her mother-in-law.
“Unlikely. But it’s better to be alone than with you.”
She turned and left. She never saw Roman or Tatiana Lvovna again.
Five years passed. Larisa stood on a playground, watching her daughter ride on the swings. Nearby, her husband Andrey was pushing their son on the merry-go-round. A family. A real, happy family.
Larisa smiled, remembering Tatiana Lvovna’s words after the trial. In five years, she had not once regretted divorcing Roman. Life without him and his mother had become easier, calmer, and happier.
With the inheritance, Larisa bought a three-room apartment in a good neighborhood. She married Andrey and had two children. She worked, built her career, and enjoyed life. Without reproaches, without parasites on her neck, without constant demands to share.
Andrey came over and put his arm around his wife’s shoulders.
“What are you thinking about?”
“Nothing much,” Larisa leaned against her husband. “I remembered the past.”
“Do you regret anything?”
The woman looked at her children, then at her husband. She shook her head.
“No. I don’t regret anything.”
And that was the truth. The decision to throw Roman and Tatiana Lvovna out had been the best one of her life. It had made room for real happiness, a real family, real love. Without manipulation, without parasitism, without endless demands to give away the last of what she had for someone else’s whims.
Her daughter jumped down from the swing and ran to her parents.
“Mom, can we go home? I’m hungry!”
Larisa took her daughter’s hand and smiled.
“Of course, sweetheart. Let’s go.”
The family headed home. To their home, where it was warm, cozy, and peaceful. Where no one invaded personal boundaries, demanded the impossible, or accused anyone of greed for wanting to keep what belonged to them. Where there was love, respect, and support. A real family.