Yana strode up the stairs, skipping several steps at a time. Her day had started as usual: the morning rush, getting ready for work, her husband’s kiss. Only, upon reaching the door, she remembered she had forgotten her wallet. «Always rushing!» she thought, heading back into the apartment. The key turned silently in the lock. In the hall, Yana froze: muffled voices were coming from the bedroom—her husband and her mother-in-law.
«Here again at dawn…» she thought, irritated. But the next sentence chilled her blood.
«My dear, look at yourself: she doesn’t love you. She uses you like a cash register! And the little one…» the mother-in-law whispered softly, «I’m sure she’s not yours.»
Yana clung to the wall, her legs weak. Her heart pounded relentlessly. She expected a protest, a defense for her and their daughter… But all she heard was a timid:
— «Mom, stop…»
— «Stop?» the mother retorted. «I’m your mother: I see clearly! Look at the little one’s face: not one of your features! And her character: exactly like her mother’s. Stubborn, capricious…»
Yana couldn’t listen anymore. On tiptoe, she slipped back to the front door, opened it just a crack, then slammed it so hard it sounded like thunder:
— «Darling! I forgot my wallet!»
A leaden silence fell in the bedroom. When Yana entered, the scene seemed almost idyllic: her mother-in-law claimed to have «just dropped by» to check on her son, who was pretending to get ready for work.
— «Oh, my Yanochka!» Ludmila Petrovna chirped. «I just wanted to see how you were doing…» «Perfectly fine,» Yana thought, forcing a polite smile. «I’m going to give you a little paternity test you’ll remember.»
The day at the office seemed to last an eternity. Yana typed on her keyboard, answering emails mechanically, while her mind replayed the morning scene and her mother-in-law’s treacherous words. «Twenty years living together,» she kept repeating to herself, «and she never stops her insinuations.»
At lunchtime, she locked herself in the restroom and burst into tears: not from sorrow, but from anger. She remembered Machenka’s birth, her husband’s hand gripping hers, the tears he shed upon seeing their daughter. And now: he let her talk, sow her doubts?
— «No way,» Yana murmured to her reflection. «I won’t let this happen.» That evening, she stayed a little longer at work. She waited for her mother-in-law to leave—she always came after six o’clock «to see her granddaughter.» Back home, Yana was strikingly reserved. Her husband gave her worried glances, but didn’t dare bring up the subject.
— «Are you tired?» he finally asked.
— «A little,» she replied. «I’ve been thinking… Maybe we should renovate Machenka’s room? She’s growing up, she needs more space to work.»
He opened his mouth to object:
— «It’s not the best time for expenses…»
but stopped short under her gaze.
— «Of course,» she continued, with a hint of irony, «your mother is right: all I do is spend your money.» He paled.
— «What do you mean?»
— «Nothing, my heart. Absolutely nothing.»
That night, while he slept, Yana took out an old box of documents: marriage certificate, their daughter’s birth certificate, medical records… And finally: the request for paternity establishment, signed by her hand.
«Let’s see…» she thought, photographing the document, «who plays the best card.»
The next day, Yana took a day off. She went to the notary to certify the copies, then made a quick trip to the bank: her account statement revealed all her contributions to the family budget over the past five years—not insignificant amounts. That evening, she called Ludmila Petrovna:
— «Ludmila Petrovna, come for dinner tomorrow night. We have important things to discuss. As a family.» She spent the next day preparing the dinner like a decisive operation: her famous borscht—to make her mother-in-law choke a little—, a family-secret apple pie that no one else could replicate, and the porcelain set Ludmila Petrovna had gifted them for their wedding.
Machenka ran around her, setting the plates:
— «Mom, why is Grandma coming today? It’s not her birthday.»
— «Sometimes, darling, adults need to talk.»
— «Are we going to argue again?» the little girl sighed. Yana hugged her:
— «No, my dear. We’re just going to dot all the ‘i’s.»
At six o’clock, the doorbell rang. The mother-in-law arrived, impeccable in her new suit, a superior smile on her lips.
— «My Yanochka, what a delicious fragrance!» she chirped upon entering. «I hope it’s not frozen food… You’re always rushing around!»
— «Of course not, Mom. Everything is homemade, just as you taught me.»
The husband entered last, visibly tense. Yana saw his hand tremble as he poured water.
— «My darling,» she said to Machenka, «go play in your room; we have a real grown-up talk to have.» As soon as the door closed, Yana took out her bundle of documents: Ludmila Petrovna stiffened.
— «What is that?» she asked in a forced voice.
— «Oh, just some papers. You’re right, Ludmila Petrovna: let’s finally clarify the paternity issue.»
— «Paternity?» the mother-in-law stammered, paling, then trying to compose herself: «I always said a test should be done…»
Yana slowly opened the first page:
— «However, don’t we have something more convincing?»
She held up the certified paternity acknowledgment.
— «Here, your son personally recognized Machenka as his daughter. At the maternity ward, on the very day of her birth, without constraint.» — «That proves nothing!» the mother exclaimed.
— «Mom,» the husband suddenly intervened, «shut up. She is my wife and the mother of my child.»
Yana then took out the bank statements:
— «Every month, I contributed as much as he did to the household. So you can keep your insinuations about my supposed idleness to yourself.»
Ludmila Petrovna turned scarlet:
— «How dare you?»
— «No, how DARE you!» Yana exploded. «Twenty years you’ve been trying to destroy our family, sowing doubts and manipulation!»
— «My son, do you hear how she speaks to me?»
— «I hear her, Mom. And I agree with every word.»
A deafening silence fell. For the first time, Yana saw on her mother-in-law’s face not superiority, but confusion and fear.
— «You… you’re betraying your own mother?» she sobbed.
— «No, Mom. I’m saving my family,» he replied, placing his hand on Yana’s shoulder.
— «I should have done this a long time ago. Forgive me, Yana.»
Ludmila Petrovna jumped out of her chair:
— «So, she turned you against me?»
— «Enough!» the son thundered. «It’s you who turned me against my wife and daughter with your insinuations. I was just too cowardly to stop you.»
Machenka’s bedroom door cracked open. The little girl, her eyes shiny with tears, asked:
— «Daddy, is it true we won’t talk to Grandma anymore?»
Yana’s heart ached. Despite everything, the little girl loved her grandmother.
— «Come here, my treasure,» she invited her. «Grandma just needs time to think about her behavior.»
Ludmila Petrovna lowered her eyes, disarmed. For the first time in years, her mask of superiority had dropped, giving way to confused humility.
— «Machenka, my angel,» she murmured, opening her arms. The little girl nestled into them, wiping her grandmother’s tears.
Yana exchanged a look with her husband, relieved to see that he shared her hope for reconciliation.
— «Mom,» he said gently, «we don’t want to break ties, but to transform them. Do you understand?»
Ludmila Petrovna nodded, still trembling.
— «Perhaps…» she began, wiping her cheeks. «Perhaps we could share the meal? Your borscht smells so good…»
Yana smiled:
— «Of course. Machenka, help me set the table.»
Six months later, Yana watched from the window as her mother-in-law taught Machenka the art of making small pastries in the summer kitchen. Ludmila Petrovna explained enthusiastically, while her granddaughter diligently imitated her movements. — «Admiring the scene?» her husband hugged her from behind.
— «Who would have thought such changes were possible?» Yana replied, smiling.
The transformations were spectacular. After that decisive dinner, the mother-in-law seemed reborn. Old habits sometimes returned, but she made a genuine effort: she called before visiting, asked for advice on Machenka’s gifts, and even went to see a psychologist to understand her emotions.
— «You know,» her husband confided, «I’m proud of you. You could have broken everything off, but you chose to give her a chance.»
— «I did it for all of us, and especially for Machenka.»
Outside, laughter could be heard: the grandmother and granddaughter were covered in flour, laughing heartily as they cleaned each other up.
— «Mom, Dad!» Machenka exclaimed. «Come here: Grandma is going to teach us her famous pastries!»
— «Shall we go?» her husband suggested.
— «Of course,» she replied, «we’re finally a real family.»
Stepping out into the yard, Yana thought that sometimes, all it takes is a little courage and truth to mend even the most difficult relationships.
