— Lyudmila Petrovna, it’s not up to you to decide who will live in my apartment. Stop giving orders to everyone! — the daughter-in-law snapped.
— Have you lost your mind, Lyudmila Petrovna? Olya is already living like she’s on a garbage heap, and now she’s going to take my apartment too?
Marina could not believe her ears. She and Sergey were having dinner, while her mother-in-law, Lyudmila Petrovna, with the face of a prosecutor, was laying out her plan.
— Olya needs support. She needs a place to start her life with this Anton, and you…
— What does my apartment have to do with you, Lyudmila Petrovna?
— Olya will live in yours. No objections! — the mother-in-law declared.
Marina clenched her teeth. Her apartment, inherited from her grandmother, was being rented out to help Sergey pay off the mortgage.
— I rent it out so we can pay off Seryozha’s mortgage. Did you even think about that?
— That rental money is nothing. Sergey earns well enough. But poor Olechka needs help.
Marina shifted her gaze to Sergey. As always, he was trying not to get involved.
— Lyudmila Petrovna, this is my apartment, — Marina said coldly. — I decide what to do with it.
— Well, Sergey, explain to your wife how important it is to help your family. Olya is your sister!
Sergey fidgeted awkwardly.
— Mom, maybe we can find another option?
— Exactly! That is why they need support! Olya and Anton will move into your apartment next week. Leave the keys with the concierge. End of discussion.
— Excuse me, I need to make a call, ” Marina said sharply and went into the bedroom.
— Do you seriously think I’m going to give my apartment to Olya? — she later asked her husband.
Sergey spread his hands.
— Not give it away, just let her live there for a while. Not for long. Mom is worried.
— And who is worried about us? A few months without rental income means thirty thousand less per month. Where are you going to get that money?
— If you put it that way…
— I’m putting it exactly as it is! If you keep insisting, I’ll file for divorce.
Lyudmila Petrovna entered the room without knocking.
— Well, have you agreed? When can Olechka move in?
— Never, — Marina replied.
— Sergey! — the mother-in-law shrieked. — Are you really going to let her talk to me like that?
Sergey looked as if he wanted the ground to swallow him.
The next day, Marina met with a friend to vent.
— Let him choose, — her friend shrugged. — He married you, not his mother. It’s time he started making adult decisions.
That evening, Sergey came home from work looking darker than a storm cloud.
— Mom called. She lectured me for two hours. She says I betrayed the family.
— Which family? The one you and I have, or the one you used to have?
Sergey turned to her.
— You don’t understand. Mom was always everything to me and Olya.
— And that doesn’t give her the right to control our lives.
— She’s not controlling anything! She’s just asking for help.
— Sergey, that is not a request. That is an ultimatum.
Soon Sergey received a call from his uncle, Viktor Petrovich.
— I heard you’re having a little war with Lyudmila over there. You know what I’ll tell you? You’re right. Lyudmila always loved giving orders. I’ll talk to her and to Sergey. It’s time she understood that the children have grown up.
That evening, Sergey was unusually composed.
— Uncle Viktor called. I’m sorry I acted like a little boy. You were right. It’s your apartment.
— Thank you. It matters to me that you understand that.
— I called Mom. I told her Olya would not be living in your apartment. Mom… got angry.
— I can imagine.
A month passed. Lyudmila Petrovna did not call. But one day Anton, Olya’s boyfriend, called Sergey and asked to meet.
— Listen, I didn’t know what I was getting myself into, — he said at the café. — At first Olya seemed so… carefree. Then I found out she doesn’t really work anywhere, and her mother gives her money. And then this story with the apartment happened… She said she had an apartment and that we could move there. Then it turned out the apartment belonged to your wife.
— And what now?
— I’m breaking up with her. But I’m afraid of her reaction. And your mother’s reaction.
— Welcome to the club. You’re doing the right thing.
Two days later, Olya called her brother, shouting and accusing him.
— It was you! You ruined everything! You turned Anton against me!
— Olya, I didn’t turn him against you. We simply talked about the fact that adults should be responsible for their own decisions.
— Oh, really? You’ll regret this!
That evening, Marina asked her husband:
— Do you think they’ll ever calm down?
Sergey shrugged.
— I don’t know. But I don’t want to waste my strength on this anymore. You and I have our own life.
— Don’t you feel sorry for them?
— I do. But I feel even sorrier for the relationships we could have had if they had respected other people’s interests.
A year passed. Marina and Sergey lived peacefully, rented out the apartment, and slowly paid off the mortgage.
— Do you regret it? — Marina once asked.
Sergey looked at her, and his answer was simple but firm:
— Not for a second. I didn’t just choose you. I chose a normal life without manipulation.