“Pack your things! My apartment, my rules — not your ATM”
Olga carefully placed the shopping bags on the kitchen table, measuring each movement as if with a ruler so as not to reveal the tension inside her. From the living room came Marina Petrovna’s familiar voice, sharp as a blade scraping across glass.
“Well, Olenka, I see you stopped by one of those fancy stores,” came the voice from behind her. “And I was shopping at the discount market again today. Pension money, you know, doesn’t stretch.”
Olga froze for a moment, then continued unpacking the groceries as if she hadn’t heard. But her mother-in-law was already beside her, peering into the bags with the air of a customs officer inspecting contraband.
“That’s my choice, Marina Petrovna,” Olga replied shortly, without even turning around.
“Of course, those who can afford it get to choose. And poor little pensioners like me have to make do with whatever’s on sale,” Marina Petrovna remarked, reaching for a jar of coffee. “Wow, that’s expensive! I drink instant coffee. And nothing — I’m still alive!”
Olga exhaled slowly, trying to keep her composure.
“Would you like me to buy you some good coffee?”
“Oh, no!” her mother-in-law cried, throwing up her hands and shaking her head theatrically. “Such an expensive gift! I wouldn’t dare. But if you just gave me some money… well, I’d figure out for myself what I need.”
Olga’s hand, holding a jar of olives, froze in midair.
“Excuse me?” A faint metallic edge entered her voice.
“Well, what’s the problem?” Marina Petrovna sat down at the table, settling in comfortably as if she were in her own kitchen. “You’re part of our family now. And in a family, as you know, people help each other.”
“Help?” Olga began counting on her fingers. “I paid your utility bills, bought your medicine, groceries…”
“That’s all small stuff!” her mother-in-law waved a hand as if they were talking about candy. “I mean real help. Thirty thousand a month — now that would be family support. That’s pocket change for you, isn’t it?”
Olga felt her fingers tighten around the edge of the countertop.
“Marina Petrovna, I have my own expenses. The apartment, the car…”
“Oh, so the car is more important than me?” her mother-in-law threw up her hands as if shielding herself from a blow. “I’m your husband’s mother! Doesn’t that mean anything?”
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Pack Your Things! My Apartment, My Rules — Not Your ATM
Olga carefully placed the shopping bags on the kitchen table, measuring each movement as if with a ruler so as not to reveal her inner tension. From the living room came Marina Petrovna’s familiar voice, sounding like a blade scraping against glass.
“Olga dear, I see you stopped by an upscale store,” came the voice from behind her. “And today I was shopping at the discount store again. You know, a pension doesn’t stretch forever.”
Olga froze for a moment, then continued unpacking the groceries as if she hadn’t heard. But her mother-in-law was already beside her, peering into the bags with the look of a customs inspector checking the contents of a refrigerator.
Gifts for the home
“That’s my choice, Marina Petrovna,” Olga replied shortly, without even turning around.
“Of course, those who can afford it get to choose. But I, a poor pensioner, have to make do with whatever is on sale,” Marina Petrovna remarked, reaching for a jar of coffee. “Oh my, how expensive! I drink instant coffee. And look at me, I’m still alive!”
Olga slowly exhaled, trying to keep her composure.
“Would you like me to buy you some good coffee?”
“Oh, no!” her mother-in-law exclaimed, throwing up her hands and theatrically shaking her head. “Such an expensive gift! I wouldn’t dare. But if you just gave me some money… well, I could figure out for myself what I need.”
Olga’s hand, holding a jar of olives, froze in midair.
“Excuse me, what?” A faint metallic note appeared in her voice.
“Well, what’s wrong with that?” Marina Petrovna sat down at the table, making herself comfortable as if she were in her own kitchen. “You’re part of our family now. And in a family, as you know, people help each other.”
“Help?” Olga began counting on her fingers. “I paid your utility bills, bought your medicine, groceries…”
“That’s all small stuff!” her mother-in-law waved a hand as though they were talking about candy. “I mean real help. Thirty thousand a month — that would be family-style. That’s pocket change for you, isn’t it?”
Olga felt her fingers tighten around the countertop.
“Marina Petrovna, I have my own expenses. An apartment, a car…”
“Oh, so the car matters more than me?” her mother-in-law threw up her hands as if shielding herself from a blow. “I’m your husband’s mother! Doesn’t that mean anything?”
Gifts for the home
At that moment, the front door slammed, and Andrey came into the kitchen.
“Mom!” he said happily. “You’re in town today?”
“I decided to stop by and check on you,” Marina Petrovna smiled. “And discuss something important.”
Olga tensed warily. Every time her mother-in-law used that phrase, the conversation turned into a battlefield.
“Andryusha,” Marina Petrovna began with mild reproach, “your wife doesn’t want to help the family. And I’ve done so much for you!”
Andrey looked at Olga in confusion.
“Olya, what’s going on?”
“Your mother wants me to transfer thirty thousand to her every month,” Olga said calmly, but with clear emphasis.
“So what?” Andrey shrugged. “You have a good salary.”
Olga stared at her husband as though seeing him for the first time.
“You’re serious?”
“Of course,” Marina Petrovna cut in. “Andryusha understands perfectly. In a family, people are supposed to share!”
“Share?” Olga let out a bitter, tired smile. “And why am I the only one who has to share? Why don’t you ask Andrey for money?”
“His salary is smaller,” her mother-in-law explained, as though this were obvious. “And you’re so successful: apartment, car…”
“My parents helped me buy the apartment,” Olga snapped. “And I’m not going to…”
“There!” Marina Petrovna interrupted. “Your parents helped you, but you don’t want to help your husband’s mother! Andryusha, tell her!”
Andrey shifted from foot to foot, not knowing where to put himself.
“Olya, maybe you really should help? Mom’s not a stranger…”
The silence hanging over the kitchen was heavier than lead. Olga lowered her eyes to the countertop, counting seconds so she wouldn’t lose control.
Kitchen and dining room
Olga stared at her husband for a long time, trying to grasp the meaning of his words, as if he had suddenly started speaking a foreign language.
“You’re serious?” Her voice was quiet, almost a whisper, but the cold in it was unmistakable. “You’re suggesting I give your mother a third of my salary?”
Andrey shrugged, trying to soften the tension.
“Well, not necessarily a third… Maybe twenty thousand to start?”
Olga took a step back, as though retreating from something dangerous. Her head rang with emptiness.
“The boy is right,” Marina Petrovna chimed in from her seat, as if it were a rehearsed exchange. “We’ll start small. Then we’ll see.”
“We’ll see?” Olga shifted her gaze to her mother-in-law, and something icy flashed in her eyes. “See what? How much more money you can squeeze out of me?”
“Olya!” Andrey frowned, as he always did when the conversation turned to his mother. “Don’t talk like that!”
“How should I talk?” Olga crossed her arms over her chest, making no attempt to hide the challenge in her voice. “You both think it’s normal to demand money from me?”
“No one is demanding anything,” Andrey turned away, looking off to the side. “We just… asked.”
“Asked?” Olga laughed bitterly, like a cornered person. “Twenty thousand every month is a request, in your opinion?”
“What’s the problem?” Marina Petrovna cut in, leaning on the table. “You have a good job, an apartment, a car…”
“The apartment is mortgaged!” Olga’s voice rose. “And I’m still paying off the car loan too!”
Marina Petrovna pressed her lips together disapprovingly.
“Well then, why buy such an expensive car? You could have bought a cheaper one, and then there would have been money left to help your mother-in-law.”
Olga looked at her husband, searching his face for at least a trace of support. But Andrey remained silent, as if he had suddenly found himself in a room where none of this concerned him.
A week later, the situation repeated itself. The morning began with the loud ringing of the phone.
“Olenka, help me out!” Marina Petrovna’s voice sounded tense.
“What happened?” Olga, not even fully awake yet, felt a wave of anxiety rising in her.
“There’s a sale at the store! A Samsung TV! Huge, with smart features, and only fifty thousand!”
Olga closed her eyes, as if trying to shut out reality.
“But you already have a TV,” she replied evenly.
“A small old one!” her mother-in-law protested indignantly. “I want a modern one, so I can watch my soap operas like I’m in a movie theater!”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t afford expenses like that.”
“What?!” the voice on the phone jumped an octave. “That’s how you talk to your mother-in-law? Just wait, I’m calling Andryusha right now!”
That evening Andrey came home looking grim.
“We need to talk,” he said from the doorway.
“About the TV?” Olga guessed.
“Yes,” Andrey nodded. “Mom is right. She needs a new TV.”
“No.”
“What do you mean, ‘no’?” irritation was already audible in his voice. “You didn’t even listen…”
“I’m not going to buy a TV for fifty thousand,” Olga said firmly. “We have a mortgage, loans…”
“You do!” Andrey interrupted. “You have a mortgage and loans! And Mom only asked for a TV!”
“Only?” Olga jumped up from her chair. “And twenty thousand a month is also ‘only’?”
“You’re my wife!” Andrey shouted, slamming his fist on the table. “And you’re obligated to help my mother!”
Home setting
“Obligated?” Olga felt everything inside her boil. “Where is that written? In what law?”
“What does the law have to do with it?!” Andrey stepped closer, his voice trembling with anger. “This is family! In a family, everyone helps each other!”
“Really?” Olga gave a cold smile. “Then why am I the only one who has to help? Why don’t you buy your mother the TV yourself?”
“My salary is small!” Andrey shot back, again avoiding her eyes.
“But mine is big, right?” sarcasm cut through her voice. “And that means I’m supposed to support your mother?”
“Not support — help!” Andrey sprang to his feet, but no longer looked at Olga.
“And my parents?” Her voice trembled. “The ones who helped me with the down payment on the apartment? The ones who saved their whole lives for my education? They don’t deserve a single penny, then?”
But Andrey said nothing. To Olga, that silence was louder than any words.
Andrey waved his hand irritably, as if swatting away an annoying fly.
“What do your parents have to do with this? We’re talking about my mother right now!”
Olga looked at him for a long time, as though studying his face, trying to find something familiar in it. But all she saw was a cold, чужое expression. And at some point, everything inside her seemed to snap at once.
“You know what?” Her voice was soft, almost gentle. “Pack your things and leave.”
Andrey froze, his eyes widening.
“What?”
“Pack your things,” she repeated calmly, heading for the bedroom. “This is my apartment. And I don’t want to see here anymore a man who doesn’t respect me or my family.”
Family
“Olya, what are you doing?” Andrey rushed after her. “Wait, let’s talk this through!”
But Olga had already opened the closet, taking out his shirts and laying them on the bed.
“There’s nothing to discuss. Everything is perfectly clear. What matters to you is pleasing your mother, even if that means turning me into an ATM.”
“No one is turning you into an ATM!” Andrey tried to protest, but his voice sounded weaker than usual. “Mom just asked for a little help…”
“A little?” She glanced at him sharply, her eyes full of exhaustion. “Twenty thousand a month, a TV for fifty thousand… that’s ‘a little’?”
“She’s my mother,” he muttered.
“And I’m your wife. Or I was,” her voice hardened. “But you don’t see me as a partner. You only see me as a source of money.”
She kept folding his things methodically, as though this wasn’t an argument but an ordinary chore. Andrey tried to embrace her, but she pulled away.
“We’re not a family anymore. Family means support and respect, not exploitation.”
An hour later, Andrey stood at the door with a suitcase, confused and incredulous.
“Maybe you’ll think it over?” he asked. “We can find a compromise…”
“What compromise, Andrey?” Olga leaned against the doorframe, her face calm. “You think it’s normal to demand money from me for your mother’s whims. And you yourself aren’t willing to do anything for her.”
“My salary is small…” he began defensively.
“It’s not about the money,” Olga cut him off. “It’s about the fact that you don’t see how unfair this is.”
She closed the door, and silence fell over the apartment. Olga slowly slid down the wall, feeling a strange relief. Inside, she felt empty, but that emptiness felt like freedom.
The next few days passed like a dream. Andrey called, first begging for forgiveness, then switching to reproaches and threats. Marina Petrovna didn’t let up either, telling mutual acquaintances about her “ungrateful” daughter-in-law.
Olga listened to all of it, but for the first time felt calm. She no longer owed anyone anything. Her apartment had become a quiet haven where she could live for herself.
One day, a friend came over. They sat in the kitchen drinking tea.
“Did you really decide this for good?” her friend asked, peering into her eyes.
“Yes,” Olga smiled thoughtfully. “Only now do I understand how wrong it was to live the way I was living.”
“But you loved him, didn’t you?” her friend asked carefully.
“I did,” Olga nodded. “But I love myself more. And I will never again let anyone turn me into a wallet.”
A month passed. Andrey still tried to pressure her through acquaintances, but Olga remained firm. For the first time in a long while, she could freely control her time, her money, and her thoughts.
“I realized the most important thing,” she told her parents when they came to visit. “It’s important not only to know how to earn money, but also to know how to protect yourself. No one has the right to violate your boundaries.”
Now that the past was behind her, Olga could finally dream about the future. And for the first time, those dreams belonged only to her.
