— Hold on, my dear. And why exactly do you think your own sister is going to live with us now? Let her go stay in the dorms.
“Alright, Mom, I got it! Of course, I won’t leave Angela in the dorm! She’s my sister!” Lesha promised his mother while speaking to her on the phone. “It’s just that I don’t know how Oksana will react… She and Angela don’t really get along!”
“What could they possibly have to fight about? Just let Angela stay in the living room and let her live there! She’s not going to go rummaging through your stuff, she doesn’t drink, she doesn’t smoke, she’s actually a really good girl…”
“I know that, but for some reason Oksana has had it out for her since our wedding!”
“It’s been four years! I really don’t think she can stay mad about something for that long, Lesha!” his mother replied, not believing him. “Just talk to your wife, explain to her that it’ll give me peace of mind knowing Angela is looked after and not living with some group of teenage junkies, but in a home environment!”
“I’ll do everything!”
“That’s my smart boy!” his mother said joyfully. “By the way, you’re going to give her money for transport, lunch, and anything else she might need, right? You’ll take care of that, Lesha?”
“Well, Mom… I’ll need to talk that over with Oksana too…” he replied uncertainly.
“Talk that over too? What kind of family do you have that you can only help your own sister if your wife agrees? That’s just not right, son!” his mother said, clearly annoyed. “Do you have to discuss every expense with Oksana? Don’t you realize how ridiculous that sounds coming from a grown man?”
“Mom, it’s just that we share everything…everything is together…”
“What does it matter? She’s your sister! Your own little sister! You’re supposed to help your parents, and you should set an example for her too!”
“I understand, Mom! I’ll try to work everything out!”
“Not ‘try to,’ you make sure you actually do, Lesha! And today!” his mother demanded firmly, then hung up.
Lesha felt stuck between two closing walls. On one side, his mother insisted he take in his younger sister to live with him and his wife. On the other, his wife could not stand Angela, because even back when Oksana and Lesha were just dating, Angela used to torment Oksana every time they visited his parents. She’d steal cash from her purse. One time, she even took her phone, but Oksana got a notification on her watch that the phone was out of range. Lesha always tried to smooth things over, and it worked for a while—until their next visit. Four years ago, at their wedding, Angela poured red paint on his bride’s wedding dress. Luckily, this was after the registry office, so Oksana just changed into a more comfortable white dress, but the fact of Angela’s nastiness was undeniable. Since then, Lesha’s wife didn’t even want to hear about the trouble-making teenager. Just hearing the name “Angela” would make Oksana fume and start yelling—everything would fly out of her hands.
But while Lyosha’s sister was still living at home with their parents, moments like this hardly ever happened. Now, though, she’s enrolled in a technical school in the same city where her brother and his wife live. That’s because Angela’s mother had made it clear ahead of time: her daughter would study either in their hometown or in her brother’s city—nowhere else. After all, Angela is only seventeen, and her mom wasn’t about to worry constantly or let her be unsupervised.
But nobody had actually discussed this with Oksana in advance. Her mother-in-law figured there was no need. When Angela applied, she simply informed her son that his sister had chosen their city and would be living with him and Oksana.
When Angela first arrived in the city, Lyosha met her but didn’t take her home. Instead, he drove his sister to her dormitory. No matter how much his little sister complained, he wanted to talk things over with his wife first. And since he’d known for six months exactly where his sister would be moving but hadn’t said a word to Oksana, he knew he needed to fix things quickly.
Angela immediately started threatening to call their mother and spill everything, knowing just how much her older brother dreaded getting on their mom’s bad side.
He had to promise his sister it would just be for a couple of days, until he figured things out with Oksana. Besides, Angela had been given a spot in the dorm since she was from out of town and got a free place because she scored a budget spot. But she didn’t get the scholarship because she was particularly smart—this year, there were so few applicants that there were even free budget spots left in her course.
Lyosha got home before his wife that day. She usually worked until nine in the evening, and sometimes there would be meetings or planning sessions after that—the kind management loves to call for the sake of «productivity,» though in reality, it was just exhausting. Oksana would come home from these get-togethers completely drained and in no mood or shape to do anything. That night was just one of those nights.
“I’m home!” his wife called out as she walked into their apartment and immediately collapsed onto the little ottoman she’d left by the front door—the same one she’d randomly placed there when they first moved in.
But it turned out to be just what she needed, especially after workdays like this.
“Hi, honey! How was your day? How was work?” Lyosha asked, coming out of the living room.
“Don’t even ask,” Oksana replied with a frown. “I’d barely set foot at work this morning when the boss started sending voice messages in our group chat, saying we have no brains, threatening to fire us all and hire more competent staff…”
“Wow! What happened? Why’s he upset now?”
“Someone sold his new girlfriend Parker cartridges for a Manzoni pen yesterday! I have no idea who did it, but everyone got chewed out! Now he’s decided to quiz us all on luxury pens—today he handed out printouts with their specs and told us to memorize them by tomorrow!”
“Is there a lot to learn?”
«I’m not even going to watch that, Lyosha! When I first started working at this store, I got so many lectures about all this stuff that I remember it better than the lyrics of my favorite song to this day!» Oksana declared. «The boss doesn’t even know half of what I do! Let him focus on the new hires and give them all those tests! They got rid of the senior sales positions, so now there’s nobody to train anyone, but somehow, it’s still fine to take it out on us! And I told him exactly that when the staff meeting ended! continued in the comments
«And what did he say?»
«He said if I ever talk to him like that again, I might as well start looking for a new job! But honestly, I probably will! I’ve had enough of this grind already!»
Kicking off her shoes, Oksana went to wash up and change before her husband could bombard her with more questions. Meanwhile, Lyosha just stood by the hallway entrance to the living room, lost in thought.
«How was your day?» she asked, noticing how hesitant her husband looked.
«Oh… Fine! Nothing special!»
«Then why do you look like you’ve done something wrong and are scared to admit it?» Oksana asked, a little tense.
«No, not at all! It’s just…»
«Just what, Lyosha?» she asked, waiting for an answer.
«Nothing! Honestly!»
«Well, something tells me you’re lying…»
«Oksana…» he started, trying to muster his courage. «It’s just that… my mom called, said that Angela got accepted here and…»
«Don’t even start talking about that brat right now!» Oksana immediately snapped, not letting her husband finish.
«I know you two had a rocky relationship before, but she…»
«A ‘rocky relationship’?! She’s a thief, a vandal, and a whole lot more! Your sister ruined my wedding dress!!!»
«But it was an accident, honey… She told me…»
«Accident? How about I pour a whole pot of soup on your head and say it was an accident! Then I’ll upload your photos all over social media! How’s that sound? Shall I?»
«She’s grown up now, she’s smarter!»
«Now that I’ll never believe! That girl is a manipulator—she’s been pulling your strings and your dad’s ever since I can remember! Only your mom never fell for her tricks, from what I recall!»
«She’s eighteen now! Back then she was just jealous because I was paying more attention to you! That’s all! Things are totally different now!»
«NOT A CHANCE!» his wife replied loudly and firmly.
«Believe what you want, but Mom asked if Angela could stay with us for a while, and I agreed!»
«Agreed? Without even talking to me first?» Oksana quietly asked, but her tone sent a chill down Lyosha’s spine.
«Y-yes!» he stammered a bit in reply. «Because it’s my apartment too, and I have just as much right to decide who can live here as you do! You’re not the only one who gets to make decisions, Oksana!» Lyosha added, sounding a little more confident.
«Is that so? Well in that case, if your sister shows up here even once while I’m around, you can both start looking for a new place to live!»
— Oh, really? So anyone can come over whenever they want, but Angela is too much, is that it?
— When has just anyone ever come over to visit me?
— Your parents! Don’t you remember? They were here getting on my nerves for an entire week!
— And your parents visited too, and also stayed with us for a whole week. I had to entertain them in every possible way, go for walks, cook, clean up—and I never complained to you about it! And if I come again, it’s perfectly normal! But I never talked about your family the way you’re talking about mine right now!
— But you definitely thought it!
— That’s not the point, Lyosha!
— Right, the point is that it’s fine for my parents to visit, but not my sister! Is that so? I just don’t get how she’s so different from mom and dad.
— For one thing, your parents never stole from me! And they didn’t try to ruin our wedding!
— Oh come on, those were just pranks, Oksana! She was only fourteen…
— Fourteen is definitely old enough to get into trouble, in case you didn’t know! And your little sister already has! But she always gets away with it, because you keep defending her…
— Of course! How else am I supposed to act? – Lyosha was surprised at her claim.
— Enough! This is the last time I’m telling you—she is not going to live here! If you want her to visit, fine! But only when I’m not at home, and only with your full supervision, because if anything goes missing in the house…
— We’ll see about that! Acting like you’re in charge here! – Lyosha interrupted his wife.
— We will see! – Oksana shot back and went to have dinner.
She saw no point in continuing the conversation, but she’d made her feelings clear to her husband. If he chooses not to listen to his wife’s opinion, he’ll only have himself to blame later…
The next day, Oksana didn’t have any meetings scheduled, so she got home on time—something that almost never happened. She saw her husband’s car parked outside their building and thought, «Hopefully Lyosha isn’t going to start up about his stupid sister again.» But when she walked in, she was in for a big surprise…
— I’m home! – she shouted, as usual, when she stepped into the apartment.
— We’re in the kitchen! – she heard her husband’s voice and immediately tensed up.
— We? – Oksana slipped off her shoes and headed for the kitchen.
— Hi, Oksana! – Angela greeted her with a nasty smirk while Lyosha pulled Angela’s freshly heated dinner out of the microwave.
— Hi… — his wife stammered, a bit thrown off. – Lyosha! Can I talk to you for a second?
— No! You can’t! If you have something to say, say it in front of Angela! She already knows you’re against her living with us! – her husband declared.
— Living? You said it was just for a while…
— Yes! Angela will live with us while she’s studying! That’s what I meant by «for a while»!
— Hold it right there, sweetheart! What makes you think your sister is going to live here? She can go stay in the dorms! – Oksana warned in a stern voice.
— Mom doesn’t want me living there. She feels better knowing I’m here! – Angela kept grinning wickedly, clearly enjoying the fight she was causing between her brother and his wife.
«And why should I care what your mom wants, huh?» Oksana raised her voice.
«You don’t have to care, but I do! I promised my mom, and that means I’m not sending my own sister to live in a dorm, Oksana! Just accept it, and everything will be fine!»
«Accept it? Oh sure, right now! I’ll accept it only when she gets out of our house!»
«Then why don’t you just leave?!» Angela snapped. «I don’t want to see your sour face for the next three years! And I have classes tomorrow!»
«Perfect, you’ll be on your way by morning!» Oksana shot back and lunged at Angela.
She grabbed her husband’s sister by the hair and tried to drag her out of the kitchen, but Lesha rushed in just in time.
«Have you lost your mind at work or what, Oksana?!» he yelled, pushing his wife away from his sister. «Touch her again and seriously, you’ll be the one leaving!»
«Oh really? And I was just supposed to swallow what she said to me? Right? And you…»
«Angela is my sister, and you need to treat her with respect!»
«Sure, I’ll respect her the moment I run her over with my car!»
«She’s insane, Lesha! Just look at this! She broke two of my fingernails and tore out part of my extensions!» Angela complained.
«You’re going to pay for everything you just ruined, my dear!» Lesha said, turning back to his wife.
«Yeah! But only after she returns everything she stole from me, and the cost of the wedding dress with interest for these four years!»
Angela laughed at the memories, and just like that, her anger about her ruined appearance vanished—especially since her brother was on her side.
«Sit down and have some dinner, Angela! We’re going to the living room! Okay?» Lesha said to his sister, not taking his eyes off his wife. Then he grabbed Oksana by the arm and pulled her along. She tried to break free, making it worse for herself. But, of course, that didn’t stop her from swearing or kicking her husband several times.
«You’re going to accept that my sister will live here!» Lesha ordered, dragging Oksana into the living room and shutting the door behind them.
«No!»
«Then go somewhere else! Live on your own for a while! Maybe you’ll finally calm down and realize that I get the final say here—not your constant bans!»
«Leave?» she repeated, realizing Lesha had clearly been influenced by his mom and sister. «Okay!»
«Seriously? Just like that? No more tantrums or fights?»
«No! Why would I? I don’t have nerves to spare!»
Lesha didn’t quite believe his wife, but she really did pack a few things, grabbed her documents, and went to spend the night at a friend’s place—leaving her husband alone with his sister.
The next day, before work, she went to court to file for divorce and property division.
For Lesha, this news was absolutely shocking. He never imagined that Oksana would do anything like this. But she did. Afraid of losing his apartment, car, and wife, he sent his sister back to the dormitory. For this, he got an earful of insults from his sister and his mother. After that, he rushed after his wife to ask for forgiveness and invite her to come back home. But Oksana didn’t want to come back. She was no longer interested, because she didn’t want to spend the rest of her life fearing more surprises from the man she loved…
continued in the comments
