“I was just tidying up your closets. You leave things lying all over the place,” her mother-in-law retorted, her voice ringing with fake hurt.
“I have my own system. Now I won’t be able to find my work documents,” Polina sighed deeply, trying to calm herself.
“Oh, look how sensitive we are! I thought I was helping my daughter-in-law, and she’s unhappy. I’ll tell Andrey how you talk to his mother!”
Polina hung up and tossed the phone on the bed. Once again, that woman had meddled in her life! Even living apart, she still managed to make comments about everything big and small.
Throwing on her coat, Polina dashed out of the apartment. The workday promised to be a long one. At the office, she was greeted by Natasha from accounting.
“What happened? You look like you’ve just seen a storm,” Natasha handed her friend a cup of coffee.
“Mother-in-law is at it again. She came over yesterday, while Andrey and I weren’t home, and rifled through all our closets.”
“Wait, does she have keys?”
“Of course! My dear husband gave her a set—just in case of a fire or flood,” Polina rolled her eyes. “Now I’ll spend the whole evening looking for the financial report I put together for my presentation.”
The week dragged on endlessly. Galina Pavlovna called every day, complaining about her health and blood pressure, asking Polina to bring groceries. A dull irritation kept growing inside.
On Friday, Andrey came home earlier than usual. His face was clouded, shoulders slumped. Polina instantly knew something was wrong.
“Mom’s having issues with her apartment,” Andrey sat down on the couch, not even taking off his jacket. “Her landlord raised the rent. Doubled it. She can’t afford it.”
“And?” Polina tensed up, sensing trouble was ahead.
“She’ll stay with us. Just temporarily,” Andrey avoided looking his wife in the eye.
“No way!” Polina jumped up. “Absolutely not!”
“Polina, she’s my mother!” Andrey raised his voice. “Do you want her to end up on the street?”
— Don’t twist my words! There are plenty of options. We can rent her a room, help pay for it. But she’s not moving into our apartment!
— What’s the problem? — Andrey spread his arms. — It’s a three-room apartment. There’s enough space for everyone.
— It’s not about the square footage! You know she’s always intruding in my life. Criticizing, telling me how I should live!
— You’re just imagining it, — Andrey waved her off. — She just cares about us.
— Caring? — Polina let out a bitter laugh. — Rummaging through my things is caring? Commenting on my every move is caring?
The argument dragged on until midnight. Polina listed dozens of reasons why living with her mother-in-law was a bad idea. Andrey wouldn’t budge.
— I won’t abandon my mother, — he said firmly. — It’s your choice: either we help her together as a family, or I’ll move out and help her alone.
Polina gave in. Not because of the ultimatum—but because she was exhausted and knew there really was no choice. But she set one condition:
— She must pay her share. For utilities, groceries, and other expenses.
— Of course, — Andrey agreed quickly. — She even suggested it herself.
Galina Pavlovna moved in two days later. She brought five huge suitcases. Polina gave her a separate room and set the ground rules right away:
— Don’t enter our bedroom. Don’t touch my things. Your shelf in the fridge is the top one.
— Don’t worry, dear, — Galina Pavlovna smiled sweetly. — I understand perfectly.
The first two months were relatively peaceful. Her mother-in-law paid the utility bills on time and even bought groceries. But then the problems started.
— Galina Pavlovna, you forgot about the utility payments, — Polina reminded her at the start of the third month.
— Oh, darling, it completely slipped my mind! — Her mother-in-law threw up her hands theatrically. — My pension is delayed. Next month I’ll pay for both months at once.
But the same story happened again the next month. And the month after that too.
— Andrey, talk to your mother, — Polina finally lost her patience after four months. — She’s filled half our apartment with her things, eats our groceries, and doesn’t pay a single cent!
— Why are you picking on an old woman? — her husband winced. — Her pension isn’t much.
— When she moved in, her pension was enough to cover her fair share!
Polina felt cornered. At home, her mother-in-law greeted her with constant nitpicking, critiques of her cooking, endless remarks. Andrey dismissed every complaint: “You’re exaggerating.”
And then Galina Pavlovna broke Polina’s favorite vase—the housewarming gift from her parents.
— Oh, it just fell! I was only dusting it! — the mother-in-law said in her defense, not even trying to hide her triumphant smile.
That same evening she burned Polina’s new blouse while ironing her own clothes.
— It’s not a big deal, you’ll buy a new one, — Galina Pavlovna shrugged. — That one was too bright for your age anyway.
Polina endured it. For her husband, for her family, for her own sanity. But every day, something inside her began to break. Her space, her rules, her peace were disappearing.
After six months of this life, coming home from work earlier than usual, Polina found her mother-in-law trying on her new dress. The very one she bought for their wedding anniversary.
— What are you doing? — Polina froze in the bedroom doorway.
“I’m just trying it on. What’s the big deal?” Galina Pavlovna didn’t even look embarrassed. “Wanted to see if it suits me. We’re almost the same size, you know.”
Polina clenched her fists so tightly that her nails dug into her palms.
“Take it off. Right now.”
“You’re so mean, Polina,” Galina Pavlovna said as she slowly took off the dress. “And greedy. I wouldn’t have denied this to my own daughter.”
“I’m not your daughter.”
“And thank goodness for that!” her mother-in-law snorted. “My daughter would have better manners.”
Without a word, Polina walked out of the room and dialed her husband’s number.
“Talk to your mother about the money today,” she said, skipping any greeting. “Otherwise, I can’t be responsible for what I might do.”
“What happened?” There was irritation in Andrei’s voice.
“She tried on my new dress. Goes into our bedroom. Hasn’t paid a single dime for six months. Either she follows the rules, or she has to move out.”
“We’ll talk about it tonight,” Andrei grumbled and hung up.
But that evening, there was no conversation. Andrei came home late and went straight to bed. In the morning, he rushed off to work without even having breakfast. Polina realized her husband was avoiding the conflict.
On Saturday, when everyone was home, Polina called a family meeting. She laid out utility bills, store receipts, and her calculations on the table.
“Galina Pavlovna, you owe us thirty-two thousand for the past six months,” Polina tried to keep her tone even. “That’s just your share for utilities and food. It doesn’t even cover the things you damaged.”
“My goodness, how petty!” Galina Pavlovna threw her hands up. “Andrei, do you hear what your wife has sunk to? Counting every penny spent on your own mother!”
“Mom, but you promised to pay,” Andrei began hesitantly.
“And I will! As soon as they raise my pension,” Galina Pavlovna retorted. “Meanwhile, you should help an old woman. I raised you, by the way! And I’m helping out around the house now.”
“That’s enough,” Polina said quietly. “You need to move out. Right now.”
“What?” Galina Pavlovna pressed her hand to her heart in a dramatic gesture. “You’re kicking me out?”
“Yes. You broke every agreement. You’re not paying. You touch my stuff. You ruin it. I can’t do this anymore.”
“So what if I haven’t paid for six months! You wouldn’t kick your husband’s own mother out, would you?” the mother-in-law sneered, turning to her son.
It was as if she was sure she was right. She knew her son would side with her.
Something snapped inside Polina. Years of patience, compromise, trying to build a relationship—all of it collapsed in a single moment.
“That’s exactly what I’m doing,” Polina stood up. “You broke my new coffee maker. Smashed the china set my grandmother left me. Ruined my documents when you ‘accidentally’ spilled tea. You criticize me constantly. And you’ve been living here for six months without contributing a thing!”
“Polina!” Andrei jumped up from his chair. “You can’t talk to my mother like that!”
“Yes, I can,” Polina looked him straight in the eye. “I tolerated this for six months. No more. Either she moves out today, or you both start packing.”
“Andryusha, did you hear that?” Galina Pavlovna began to cry theatrically. “She’s throwing us out onto the street! Your own mother!”
“It’s your decision,” Polina crossed her arms over her chest.
Andrei rushed to his mother and put his arm around her shoulders.
“Mom, don’t cry. We’ll figure something out.”
“You don’t need to make up anything,” Polina said calmly. “Start packing. You have three hours.”
“This is my home!” Andrei erupted. “You can’t kick us out!”
“It’s my home,” Polina corrected him. “I spent all my savings on it. But I refuse to live under the same roof with your mother anymore. You can rent an apartment nearby. I’d love to have you over as a guest. Without her.”
“So this is the path you’ve chosen,” Andrei shook his head. “You’re destroying our family.”
“No. You destroyed our family when you put your mother above your wife. When you let her cross boundaries and break promises. Three hours, Andrei.”
Polina left the kitchen. Behind her, she could hear her mother-in-law’s wailing and Andrei’s soothing voice.
Two hours later, there was a knock at the bedroom door.
“We’re leaving,” Andrei’s voice sounded broken. “You’ll regret this.”
“Maybe,” Polina opened the door. “But probably not as much as I’ve regretted the last six months of hell.”
The front door slammed shut. Polina was alone in the empty apartment. Strangely, instead of grief, she felt relief. As if a massive weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
She dialed her friend’s number.
“Natasha, you won’t believe what I just did.”
“Kicked out your mother-in-law?” her friend laughed.
“And my husband, too,” Polina laughed as well—for the first time in months.
Andrei’s relatives kept calling. Polina turned off her phone and made herself some tea. Tomorrow would be a new day. No more criticism, no more constant tension, no more other people’s things in her space.
Time passed quietly.
A warm breeze played in Polina’s hair. She squinted against the sun, lounging in a deckchair on the Sochi beach. Three months had gone by since she shut the door on her husband and mother-in-law.
The divorce was quick. They only had a small savings account to split. Polina gave her ex-husband back the money for the appliances.
“Your drink,” the waiter said, setting a dewy glass on the table beside her chair.
“Thank you,” Polina smiled.
Her phone buzzed. A message from Andrei: “Can we talk?”
Polina put her phone on silent and tucked it into her bag. Maybe later. Maybe never. Right now, all she cared about was the sea, the sound of the waves, and the freedom from other people’s expectations.
She took off her wedding ring—she’d kept it on all this time for some reason—and slipped it into her makeup bag. It was time to truly let go of the past. A new life awaited. Her life. On her own terms.
Polina took a sip of her drink and smiled. Sometimes you have to lose something familiar to find your true self.