“Ten thousand rubles, Elena! Just ten thousand!” Andrei’s voice rang with indignation as he paced around the living room, waving his hands. “My parents needed that money, and what did you do? You refused to help them!”
Elena stood by the window, holding a cup of tea that had already gone cold. Two-year-old Maksim was playing with building blocks on the floor, paying no attention to his parents’ raised voices.
“Andrei, I didn’t spend three years saving every kopeck just so I could waste it on another one of your parents’ whims,” she said evenly without turning toward her husband. “Last time they needed money for a new television. Before that, it was for a trip to visit your aunt. When is this going to end?”
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“They’re not whims!” Andrei exploded. “They really needed the money for my father’s medication!”
Elena spun around sharply, a flash of anger appearing in her eyes.
“Medication? Seriously? Then why was your mother bragging to her neighbor yesterday about a new handbag that cost eight thousand rubles? Did you think I wouldn’t find out?”
“How did you…” Andrei faltered, realizing he had been caught.
“Your Aunt Sveta told me. She was shocked by the purchase.” Elena set the cup on the windowsill so abruptly that tea splashed against the glass. “I grew up in a family where we counted every ruble. My mother and I barely had enough to eat, and I started working part-time when I was fourteen just to help somehow. My children will never have to live like that!”
“So my family means nothing to you?” Andrei’s voice became quieter, but somehow even more threatening.
“Your family needs to learn to live within their means instead of relying on my savings,” Elena replied sharply. “Yes, I’m a programmer, and I earn good money. But that money is for our children—for their future, their education, and emergencies.”
“You’re selfish,” Andrei hissed through clenched teeth.
“Maybe I am. But I’m a selfish woman who thinks about her children’s future instead of worrying about how to please your parents.”
After that conversation, something in their relationship broke.
Without saying a word to her husband, Elena opened a separate account at another bank. Andrei had no idea it existed. Every ruble she saved on groceries, every bonus, every extra freelance payment—all of it went into that account.
A year and a half passed in a tense atmosphere. Andrei’s parents periodically hinted that they needed financial help, but Elena had become an iron wall. Every request for money was met with a firm refusal.
“I need to buy a new coat,” her mother-in-law, Tamara Nikolaevna, said one day when they happened to meet at a store.
“Then buy one,” Elena replied indifferently, placing groceries into her basket.
“But it’s expensive…”
“Then choose a cheaper one.”
Maksim grew older and started kindergarten, allowing Elena to return to full-time work. Her income increased, and so did the amount of money in her secret account. When her daughter, Sofia, was born, Elena continued saving with the same determination.
“You’ve changed,” Andrei told her one day as he rocked their newborn daughter in his arms. “You’ve become so hard.”
“I’ve become realistic,” Elena replied without looking away from her laptop. “Someone has to think about tomorrow.”
But the peace didn’t last long.
One spring evening, after the children had gone to sleep, the doorbell rang. Andrei’s parents—Tamara Nikolaevna and Viktor Petrovich—stood outside with grim expressions.
Elena sighed. Andrei wasn’t home, which meant she would have to deal with his parents herself.
“We need to talk,” her mother-in-law announced as she walked into the apartment without waiting to be invited.
“Sit down,” Elena said, gesturing toward the sofa, already sensing trouble.
“Stop pretending you’re some kind of saint!” Tamara Nikolaevna began sharply. “We know you have money. A lot of money. And you’re hiding it from the family!”
“I’m not hiding anything. I’m saving for my children’s future.”
“Children?” her mother-in-law snorted contemptuously. “You’re just greedy! Andrei told us how much you earn. And we, two elderly people, are supposed to live in poverty?”
Viktor Petrovich remained silent, but his expression was filled with silent reproach.
“Listen to me carefully,” Tamara Nikolaevna said, her voice suddenly cold and precise. “If you don’t start helping us financially, I’ll make sure my son divorces you. And don’t think I’m making empty threats.”
Elena slowly rose from the armchair and crossed her arms over her chest. There was no fear in her eyes—only cold composure.
“And what exactly are you planning to do, Tamara Nikolaevna? Blackmail me with your own son?”
“I’ll explain to Andrei what a selfish wife you are,” her mother-in-law said, leaning forward. “I’ll tell him how you refuse to help his sick parents and how you hide money!”
“Sick?” Elena gave a short laugh. “Viktor Petrovich, are you actually ill? Or is your wife inventing stories again so she can get money?”
Her father-in-law shifted awkwardly on the sofa, avoiding her gaze.
“I… I have high blood pressure…” he muttered.
“Lots of people have high blood pressure. That doesn’t give you the right to demand money from your daughter-in-law,” Elena said sharply. “Especially when your pension is more than enough to live normally if you don’t buy eight-thousand-ruble handbags.”
Tamara Nikolaevna flushed.
“How do you know about the handbag? Have you been spying on us?”
“Your own sister told me. She was shocked you spent that much.”
“We have the right to spend our money however we want!” her mother-in-law shouted.
“Of course you do. And I have the right to spend my money however I think is best,” Elena replied after a brief pause. “My salary is not meant to fund your whims. It’s meant to secure my children’s future.”
“How dare you!” Tamara Nikolaevna jumped up from the sofa. “Have you forgotten that we’re family? That my son supports you?”
“Supports me?” Elena laughed coldly. “Tamara Nikolaevna, I earn more than your son does. This apartment belongs to me, not him. I pay the utilities. I buy the groceries. I buy the children’s clothes. So tell me—who exactly is your son supporting?”
“Andrei works! He brings money into the family!”
“Yes, he works. And his salary goes toward his personal expenses, his car, and helping you. Everything else is on me.”
Viktor Petrovich tugged at his wife’s sleeve.
“Tamara, maybe that’s enough? You can see she isn’t going to give us anything.”
“No, it’s not enough!” her mother-in-law snapped, turning toward him. “We’re old, we’re sick, and she’s sitting on a pile of money and refuses to help!”
“You’re neither old nor seriously ill,” Elena said patiently. “You’re both sixty. You’re perfectly capable of working. Viktor Petrovich works part-time as a security guard and earns decent money. You also have a country house that you rent out during the summer. Your income is enough to live on.”
“It isn’t enough!” Tamara Nikolaevna shrieked. “Prices are rising! Utilities are getting more expensive!”
“Then learn to save money.”
Tamara Nikolaevna stormed toward the door.
“That’s it! Andrei is going to find out what kind of woman he’s living with! He’ll learn how greedy you really are!”
“Go ahead and tell him,” Elena replied calmly as she showed them out. “I don’t care anymore.”
When the door closed behind them, Elena understood that this was only the beginning of the confrontation.
Andrei came home late, around eleven. One look at his gloomy expression told Elena that his parents had already spoken to him.
“We need to have a serious conversation,” he said without even greeting her.
“About what exactly?” Elena continued folding the children’s clothes.
“About the things you said to my parents. Mom was crying on the phone.”
“And what upset her? The fact that I refused to finance their lifestyle?”
“Elena!” Andrei raised his voice. “They’re my parents! They raised me! They paid for my education!”
“And supported you?” Elena turned toward him. “You helped them before we even met. After we got married, you moved into my apartment, and the amount of money you spent on them only increased.”
“What’s wrong with that? I help my parents!”
“Nothing is wrong with it. Help them with your own salary, not with my savings.”
“Our savings!” Andrei shouted. “We’re a family! Everything belongs to both of us!”
“No, Andrei. We don’t have anything jointly owned. This apartment belongs to me. The money I saved for the children belongs to me too.”
Andrei sat down on the sofa.
“When did you become so cruel? You weren’t like this before.”
“Before, I didn’t have children whose future I was responsible for,” Elena said, sitting opposite him. “I grew up poor. My mother and I counted every kopeck. I don’t want Maksim and Sofia to experience the same thing.”
“My parents aren’t responsible for your childhood!”
“No, they aren’t. But I’m not obligated to compensate them simply because I became successful.”
“So your husband’s family means nothing to you?”
“Your family needs to learn to live within their means. Your parents have pensions, and your father has extra income from his part-time job. That’s enough.”
“It’s not enough!” Andrei exploded. “You’re just greedy! You hoard money like a miser!”
“I’m securing our children’s future. Maksim will be starting school soon, then eventually university. Sofia will need an education too. Do you want them to start working as children, the way I did?”
“You’re exaggerating everything!” Andrei stood and began pacing around the room. “We’re not talking about giving them all of your savings! We’re talking about helping my parents!”
“We’re talking about the fact that your parents are used to living at someone else’s expense,” Elena replied coldly. “And you encourage them.”
“If you don’t change your attitude toward my family, then we have nothing left to talk about.”
“You’re right. We don’t,” Elena said as she stood up. “You can pack your things.”
“What?” Andrei froze.
“Pack your things. I don’t want you here tomorrow morning.”
“You can’t throw me out! This is our home!”
“No, Andrei. I inherited this apartment from my grandmother. It’s registered in my name. I decide who lives here.”
“What about the children? Are you going to deprive them of their father?”
“The children will stay with me. You’ll be able to see them. But you won’t be living here.”
The next day, Andrei packed his belongings and left.
Elena filed for divorce a week later. The court proceedings were straightforward—there was no jointly owned property, and the apartment belonged solely to her.
Child support was set at one-third of Andrei’s salary for their two children. Elena didn’t ask for more. Her own income was enough.
A year after the divorce, Elena sat working at her computer while the children slept. The amount in her savings account was now enough to pay for each child’s education at some of the best universities.
She did not regret her decision.
Peace had finally returned to the house—no accusations, no demands for money, no attempts to get their hands on her savings.
The children were well fed, properly clothed, and deeply loved.
And their future was safely protected from anyone who believed they had a right to take what Elena had worked so hard to build.
