“Since you’re doing so well now, help your brother buy an apartment,” Artyom declared brazenly, deciding he could improve his life at my expense.
“Alyonka, are you listening to me?” her mother’s voice sounded demanding. “Artyom urgently needs to pay off his loan.”
Alena looked around at the cracked walls of her rented one-room apartment. The wallpaper was peeling in places, and the linoleum near the door had been worn down almost completely.
“Mom, I’m struggling financially myself,” Alena replied quietly, rubbing her temples. “Utilities, food…”
“Don’t make things up!” her mother interrupted. “You have a job! Artyom urgently needs help!”
Alena closed her eyes. Her brother was in debt again. And once again, everyone around him was expected to rescue him.
“How much does he need?” she asked wearily.
“Twenty-five thousand. Preferably by tomorrow.”
Alena opened her banking app. There were twenty-three thousand rubles in her account. That was everything she had left until payday.
“I only have twenty thousand. I can’t give any more,” she admitted.
“What do you mean, you can’t?” her mother snapped. “Are you really that greedy? You can’t even help your own brother?”
“Mom, that really is all the money I have.”
“Then transfer that. At least it’s something,” her mother grumbled before hanging up. As a final remark, she added, “Why do you live so poorly? Normal people know how to earn money.”
Two months passed.
Alena was lying at home with a fever. Her head was splitting, and her throat burned. She had already been unable to work for a week.
Her phone rang. It was her boss.
“Alena Viktorovna,” he said coldly, “we are forced to terminate our working relationship with you.”
“But I’m sick! I have a doctor’s certificate!”
“We need employees who are capable of working. Come collect your documents tomorrow.”
Alena was left without an income. Her landlady had already called to remind her that the rent was due.
With trembling fingers, she dialed her mother’s number.
“Mom… I need help. I was fired. I don’t have money for rent.”
“What does that have to do with me?” came the indifferent reply. “You’re an adult. Deal with it yourself.”
“Mom, I helped Artyom. I gave him the last of my money…”
“The situation was different then. We’re having difficulties ourselves now.”
“Maybe Artyom could help me? I…”
“Don’t even think about it!” her mother interrupted. “He has children! He already has enough problems!”
“And you think I don’t?” Alena’s voice broke.
“That’s your problem. Deal with it however you want.”
The call ended. Her mother had hung up.
Alena lowered the hand holding her phone. The room seemed to close in around her. There was suddenly not enough air.
She had given them everything she had. And now, no one cared what happened to her.
The family she had always supported had turned its back on her.
When her health improved, Alena opened her laptop and began looking for work. She spent several hours browsing vacancies.
One advertisement caught her attention. The salary was high, but the conditions were strange: regular weekend shifts and an unpredictable schedule.
“It looks like a scam…” she muttered. “But I don’t have a choice.”
She signed up for an interview.
The office turned out to be ordinary, and the manager was a man of about forty wearing a simple suit.
“The job isn’t easy,” he warned her. “The hours are irregular, and days off are rare. Can you handle it?”
“Is the salary really as high as the advertisement says?” Alena asked cautiously.
“Yes. But you’ll have to work extremely hard for it.”
“I’m ready,” she said with a nod.
“You start tomorrow. The probationary period is three months.”
The job was exhausting. She worked from early morning until late at night. Holidays and weekends became ordinary working days.
But the money made the effort worthwhile. For the first time in a long while, Alena had a real income.
She rented a tiny room and saved on everything. Every spare coin went into her savings.
A year later, she had saved enough for a mortgage down payment. The bank approved her application for a modest one-room apartment.
Another year passed, and Alena was sitting in her own kitchen. It was small, but it belonged to her. No one could throw her out of this home.
Her phone remained silent. Neither her mother nor her brother called her anymore.
And Alena did not miss them. She had learned to rely only on herself.
Her job still required enormous effort. But now she had a goal: stability, a roof over her head, and freedom.
No one could force her to give away the last of her money anymore. No one demanded that she make sacrifices for the sake of “family.”
Alena had built a new life. A life that belonged only to her.
Another six months passed.
One Saturday, she finally had a rare day off. Alena sat drinking coffee and enjoying the silence.
Suddenly, the doorbell rang. She reluctantly got up and looked through the peephole.
Her mother and Artyom were standing outside.
Alena opened the door but left the security chain fastened.
“How did you find my address?” she asked coldly.
“Your neighbor Valentina is a friend of mine,” her mother replied smugly. “We happened to meet and started talking.”
Alena stepped aside. Her relatives entered.
“How beautiful!” her mother exclaimed. “Alyonochka, you’ve done so well! You accomplished all of this by yourself!”
Alena remained silent. Inside, she felt calm and cold.
“The renovation, the furniture…” her mother continued. “So you must be earning good money now?”
Artyom sat down on the sofa and smirked.
“Aren’t you going to offer us coffee?”
Without saying a word, Alena put the kettle on. She did everything mechanically.
“We’ve missed you,” her mother said. “Family is the most important thing!”
“Almost two years without a word,” Alena observed as she served the cups.
“Exactly!” her mother exclaimed cheerfully. “That’s all the more reason for the family to stay close!”
Alena sat down opposite them. She looked at them as though they were strangers.
“Everything is going well for you now,” her mother began cautiously. “But Artyom is having a difficult time. Perhaps you could help him buy an apartment?”
Silence filled the room.
“No,” Alena said calmly.
Artyom jumped to his feet.
“Now that you’ve become successful, you should help me too! Or are you too stingy to help your own brother?”
“Artyom, calm down,” their mother intervened. “Alyonka, you could take out a loan or act as his guarantor…”
Alena placed her cup on the table.
“Are you serious? Did you come here for money?”
“We’re family!” her mother protested. “Family members are supposed to help one another!”
“And where was that ‘family’ when I asked for help?” Alena replied. “Where were you when I was sick and didn’t have a penny to my name?”
“Why are you bringing up the past? That’s all been forgotten already…”
The continuation of the story is in the comments under the post.
“Made Something of Yourself? Then Help Me Buy an Apartment,” My Shameless Brother Decided to Live at My Expense
“Alena, are you listening to me?” her mother’s voice insisted over the phone. “Artyom urgently needs money for his loan.”
Alena looked at the peeling walls of her rented one-room apartment.
“Mom, I barely have enough money myself,” she replied quietly. “Rent, groceries…”
“Don’t make excuses!” her mother interrupted. “You have a job! Artyom urgently needs help!”
“How much does he need?”
“Twenty-five thousand. He needs it by tomorrow.”
Alena opened her banking app. She had only twenty-three thousand rubles left—the money she needed for food and transportation until her next paycheck.
“I only have twenty thousand. I can’t give any more,” Alena admitted.
“What do you mean, you don’t have more?” her mother snapped. “Have you become completely selfish? Your brother is in trouble!”
“Mom, that really is everything I have.”
“Fine,” her mother grumbled unhappily. “Send the twenty thousand. At least it’s something. And why are you living in such poverty anyway? Normal people know how to earn money.”
Two months later, Alena was lying in bed with a high fever. She had been unable to work for a week, and her boss informed her that her employment contract had been terminated.
Alena was left without a job or money, while her landlady was already demanding the rent.
With trembling hands, she dialed her mother’s number.
“Mom, I need help. I’ve been fired, and I don’t have enough money to pay my rent.”
“What does that have to do with me?” her mother replied coldly. “You’re an adult. Figure it out yourself.”
“Mom, I helped Artyom! I gave him the last of my money!”
“That was different. Besides, we don’t have any money ourselves right now.”
“Maybe Artyom could help me? After all, I gave him—”
“Don’t you dare bother your brother!” her mother cut her off sharply. “He has a family and children. Life is difficult for him too.”
“And it’s easy for me?” Alena’s voice trembled.
“Those are your problems. Manage however you can.”
The line went dead. Her mother had hung up.
Alena lowered the phone. The family she had always supported had turned its back on her when she needed them most.
When Alena recovered, she found another job. It was exhausting and offered almost no days off, but the salary was high.
She rented a cheap room, saved money on everything, and put aside every spare ruble.
A year later, she had saved enough for the down payment on a mortgage.
Another year passed, and Alena was sitting inside an apartment of her own. It was small, but it belonged to her.
Her phone remained silent.
Her mother did not call. Her brother showed no interest in her life.
Alena learned to rely only on herself.
Home Insurance
Another six months passed.
On one of her rare days off, someone rang the doorbell.
Her mother and Artyom were standing outside.
“It’s beautiful!” her mother exclaimed as she looked around the apartment. “Alenochka, you’ve done so well! You achieved all this by yourself!”
Alena silently put the kettle on.
“Alena, why are you so quiet?” her mother asked, sitting down on the sofa. “We’ve missed you!”
“It’s been almost two years,” Alena replied dryly.
“Exactly! A family should stick together. It’s wonderful that you managed to buy an apartment,” her mother began cautiously. “But life is difficult for Artyom. He has to rent, and he is constantly moving from one place to another. Maybe you could help your brother buy a home too?”
Silence filled the room.
“No,” Alena replied briefly.
Artyom abruptly jumped up from the sofa.
“So you’ve made something of yourself? Now help me buy an apartment!” he shouted. “Or are you too stingy to spend money on your own brother?”
“Alena, think about it,” her mother added. “You could take out another loan or act as a guarantor for your brother.”
Alena slowly placed her cup on the table.
“Are you serious? You came here to ask me for money?”
“We’re family!” her mother exclaimed indignantly. “We’re supposed to help one another!”
“Where was this family two years ago?” Alena stood up. “When I was sick and unemployed? I asked you for help. I begged you to lend me money for the rent.”
“We didn’t have any money at the time,” her mother said defensively.
“And did I have money when I gave my last twenty thousand rubles to Artyom?”
“That was different!” Artyom jumped to his feet. “I had a loan to pay!”
“And I could have been thrown out onto the street! But none of you cared!”
“I did everything myself!” Alena shouted. “Without any help from you! I worked myself to exhaustion for two years!”
“Stop throwing that in our faces!” Artyom protested. “I’m your brother! You’re obligated to help me!”
“Obligated?” Alena shook her head. “And you’re not obligated to help me? What about the twenty thousand rubles I gave you?”
“Alena, why are you so angry?” her mother tried to calm the situation. “We didn’t mean to hurt you back then. We simply couldn’t help.”
“Couldn’t—or didn’t want to? When I asked whether Artyom could help me, you told me to figure it out myself.”
“I never said that!”
“You did. Those were your exact words. And now I’m asking you to leave.”
“What do you mean, leave?” her mother asked indignantly.
“This conversation is over,” Alena said firmly as she opened the front door.
“You’re throwing your own mother out?”
“I’m throwing out the people who betrayed me and then came back to ask for money.”
“We’re not leaving!” Artyom declared. “You have to help us!”
Alena took a thousand-ruble note from her wallet and held it out to her mother.
“For a taxi. And remember this: this is the last time we will ever see each other. Forget my address and my phone number.”
“You’ll regret this!” Artyom shouted. “You’ll end up all alone!”
“I would rather be alone than have relatives like you,” Alena replied calmly.
Her mother and brother reluctantly walked out.
Alena closed the door and turned the key in the lock. Then she leaned her back against the door and closed her eyes.
A strange feeling of peace spread through her.
She had finally done what she had wanted to do for a long time.
She had established boundaries.
She had protected herself.
She had built this life entirely on her own.
And now, no one would be able to destroy it.