Lena was calculating the month’s expenses when the doorbell rang, followed by a familiar voice. Her heart sank — Marina again. Monday morning. As if she could sense when her husband was home and when he was at work.
“Andryusha, where are you?” Marina called from the hallway, barely bothering to say hello. “I need to talk to you.”
Andrey came out of the kitchen with a cup of coffee in his hand and smiled at his sister.
“Hi, Marinka. How are things? How’s Artyom?”
“Everything’s fine,” Marina said, pulling off her raincoat and carelessly throwing it over a chair. “Listen, I need to talk to you. Seriously.”
Lena greeted her through clenched teeth and went back to the papers. Over the past three months, ever since Marina had returned to the city, these “serious talks” had been happening regularly. First she needed twenty thousand for the deposit on a rented apartment. Then another ten for initial expenses. Andrey would take out his wallet without a second thought, while Lena stayed silent, gritting her teeth.
“Andrey,” Marina said, sitting across from her brother and folding her hands on the table. “I need your help. Again.”
“What happened?” he frowned. “Problems at work?”
“No, work is fine. Thanks for getting me a job at your company.” Marina glanced toward Lena. “It’s something else. Artyom needs a break. He’s taking the divorce and the move very hard. His psychologist says he absolutely needs a change of scenery.”
Lena raised an eyebrow. A psychologist. Of course. Marina always had an expert opinion for everything.
“And what does the psychologist suggest?” Andrey asked cautiously.
“The sea. At least two weeks. Turkey or Greece.” Marina took out her phone and showed him a travel website. “I’ve already calculated everything. Two hundred thousand for the two of us. That includes flights, hotel, and meals.”
Lena felt the blood rush to her face. Two hundred thousand. Last year, they had spent one hundred and fifty on their own vacation, and even then they had saved on everything.
“Marinka,” Andrey said, putting down his cup and rubbing his forehead, “that’s a serious amount of money. Things are difficult with the company right now. Loans, taxes…”
“Andrey,” Marina’s voice hardened, “I’m not asking for a gift. I’ll pay it back. When I get back on my feet, I’ll return everything with interest.”
“When are you going to get back on your feet?” Lena couldn’t hold back. “You’re thirty-five years old. You have an education. You’re perfectly healthy. How long can you keep living at someone else’s expense?”
Marina slowly turned toward her.
“Excuse me, but what does this have to do with you? I’m talking to my brother.”
“It has everything to do with me, because this is our family money. Mine and Andrey’s.”
“Lena, please,” her husband tried to intervene.
“No, Andrey,” Lena said, standing up and gathering the papers. “Let your sister explain why her child is more important than our future. We wanted to renovate the bedroom this year. We were saving money. And now what — everything goes to Artyom’s resorts?”
Marina turned pale.
“How dare you? We’re talking about a child! A traumatized child!”
“We’re talking about a spoiled teenager whose mother taught him to demand things,” Lena snapped.
“Enough!” Andrey stood between them. “Lena, you’re crossing the line. Marina, calm down.”
But his sister was no longer listening. Her eyes glittered with tears, but not from sadness — from rage.
“I understand,” she said slowly, nodding. “I understand who’s in charge here. Fine.” Marina straightened and looked directly at her brother. “Then I’ll put it another way. Either you pay for your nephew’s seaside vacation, or we move in with you.”
Silence fell. Andrey opened his mouth, but no words came out.
“What?” Lena whispered.
“You heard me perfectly,” Marina said, picking up her jacket. “My lease is ending soon. Either you help us go away and relax, and then we look for new housing in a calm state of mind, or we move in with you. I have the right by law. Andrey is my brother, and this apartment was bought during marriage, which means it belongs to our family.”
“Marinka, what are you saying?” Andrey said, confused.
“Either you pay for your nephew’s trip to the sea, or we move in with you,” the shameless sister declared her ultimatum. “Decide.”
Lena sank into a chair. Everything went dark before her eyes. Living with Marina and Artyom in the same apartment? In their cozy two-room home, where every corner had been arranged with love? Listening every day to those complaints, whims, and demands?
“Fine,” Andrey said quietly. “Fine, I’ll give you the money for the trip.”
Marina beamed.
“Andryushechka, thank you! I knew you’d understand. Artyom will be so happy!”
“Only…” he licked his lips, “I don’t have the cash. I’ll pay by card, okay?”
“Of course!” Marina took out her phone. “Let’s do it right now before the last-minute deals are gone.”
Andrey silently took a credit card from his wallet. Lena looked at him and didn’t recognize him. Where was her husband? The man with whom she had planned renovations, dreamed of children, and saved for their own house? This stranger was nervously entering his card number, obediently fulfilling his sister’s whims.
“Excellent!” Marina snapped her phone shut. “The payment went through. We fly out on Saturday.” She kissed her brother on the cheek. “You’re the best! Artyom will be thrilled.”
After she left, the spouses sat in silence. Andrey stared at the floor. Lena stared at the wall.
“Two hundred thousand,” she finally said. “Two hundred thousand rubles.”
“Len…”
“Don’t say anything.” Lena stood up and walked to the window. “Do you understand that she’s going to demand more? And more? And if you don’t give it to her, she’ll move in with us? With a teenager who listens to loud music and talks back?”
“She’s my sister.”
“And who am I?” Lena turned around. “Some random woman? A stranger who just happens to live in your apartment?”
“Of course not…”
“Then why does my opinion mean nothing? Why didn’t you consult me?”
Andrey raised his head.
“What could I do? You heard her — they’ll move in with us!”
“So what?” Lena came closer. “Let them move in for a week. For a month. She’ll realize it’s inconvenient and start looking for a better job or cheaper housing. But now she knows that whenever she wants, she can squeeze any amount of money out of you.”
“You don’t understand. Artyom is my nephew. He’s suffering because of his parents’ divorce…”
“And what about us?” Lena’s voice broke. “Don’t we suffer? Don’t we get tired? Don’t we want to rest? Don’t we dream about children, about our own house?”
Andrey said nothing.
The next day, Lena called the bank.
“Hello,” she said into the phone. “I’d like to cancel a transaction made on a credit card. A large amount was charged yesterday without my consent.”
“One moment,” the operator replied. “I’m checking… Yes, the transaction for two hundred thousand rubles is still being processed. Do you confirm the cancellation?”
“I confirm.”
That evening, Andrey came home looking darker than a storm cloud.
“Marina called,” he said without even greeting her. “The payment for the trip didn’t go through.”
“Imagine that.”
“Lena, what have you done? They already bought the tickets!”
“Then let them return them. Or fly at their own expense.”
“They don’t have the money!”
“Then they shouldn’t fly.” Lena didn’t lift her head from the dinner she was preparing. “There are plenty of people in the world who can’t afford resorts. Somehow they manage to live.”
“Lena…”
“Andrey,” she turned around, “I am your wife. We are a family. Either that means something, or it doesn’t. There is no third option.”
The phone rang. Marina. Andrey reluctantly picked up.
“Hello?”
Lena could hear only fragments, but it was clear: his sister was furious. Her voice sounded hysterical, words pouring out in a stream.
“Marina, calm down…” Andrey muttered. “Yes, I understand… No, it wasn’t on purpose…”
The conversation lasted half an hour. Lena listened to her husband’s excuses, his attempts to explain something, to negotiate, to find a compromise. And with every minute, she understood more clearly: she was married to a man who didn’t know how to say no. A man who was ready to give away his last penny just so no one would scold him.
“She won’t talk to me anymore,” Andrey announced, putting down the phone.
“Good.”
“Lena! She’s my sister!”
“So what?” Lena placed a plate in front of him. “What has changed? She still works at your company. She still lives on the money you already gave her. Now she simply won’t be demanding resorts.”
“You don’t understand… She’s in a difficult situation…”
“Everyone has difficult situations,” Lena said wearily. “Your parents had a difficult situation when they were raising you. My parents had a difficult situation. We have a difficult situation — we’re saving for the future, planning children, dreaming of a bigger apartment. But for some reason, everyone else endures, while your sister has the right to demand?”
For three days, they spoke only in fragments. Andrey grew gloomier by the day — his sister ignored his calls, and at work she was pointedly formal with him. Lena saw how he suffered, but she did not give in.
On Thursday, she couldn’t take it anymore.
“You know what?” she said, entering the room with packed suitcases. “Go to your sister. Have a heart-to-heart talk. Make peace.”
“Lena, what are you doing?”
“Packing my things. I’m going on vacation.” She zipped up the suitcase. “To Turkey. For two weeks. With the money that was supposed to be spent on Artyom’s holiday.”
“Are you serious?”
“More than serious.” Lena took out a printed ticket. “The flight is tomorrow at seven in the morning.”
Andrey stared at her, bewildered.
“And what about me?”
“You decide,” Lena said. “Who do you want to live with — me or your sister? But know this: if you choose your sister, I won’t be here anymore.”
“Lena, don’t give me ultimatums…”
“This isn’t an ultimatum,” she answered calmly. “It’s just a fact. I’m tired of being the third wheel in my own family.”
In the morning, as she was getting ready to leave for the airport, Lena looked around the apartment. Their apartment. The one they had arranged together, where they had planned to live happily for many years. Andrey was sleeping, hugging a pillow — they had talked all night, but had not reached an agreement.
On the dresser lay a note: “If you want to save our family, think about who matters most in it. If your sister is more important than your wife, I wish you happiness. Lena.”
On the plane, she finally relaxed. Two weeks without family quarrels, without Marina’s demands, without Andrey’s wavering between two women. Two weeks to understand whether it was worth coming back.
Her phone vibrated. A message from her husband: “Lena, forgive me. I understand everything now. I’m waiting for you at home. I love you.”
She turned off the phone and looked out the window. Ahead of her waited the sea — endless, free, indifferent to human passions. Maybe everything would change when she returned. Maybe not. For now, only one thing mattered: she had learned to say no. And that was already a victory.
