“Either I live with you, or my son will divorce you!” — my mother-in-law forced me to make a difficult choice
Anna stood by the stove, stirring the soup. The day after tomorrow would be her and Volodya’s fourth wedding anniversary. But there was no joy in her heart. Only heaviness and exhaustion from the constant tension.
“Anya, Mom was asking if she could come over tomorrow to congratulate us early,” Vladimir called from the living room.
“Of course,” Anna replied, trying to hide the irritation in her voice.
“She wants to give us something special. She says she’s been preparing the surprise for three months.”
Anna gripped the ladle more tightly. Memories of Galina Petrovna’s “surprises” surfaced one after another. Each one had left a painful mark on Anya’s heart. Like the time her mother-in-law rearranged all the furniture in their bedroom without asking. Or when she threw away Anya’s favorite shoes, declaring that they were “inappropriate for a married woman.” And the recent incident involving her documents had shaken Anna completely.
“Volodya, we need to talk,” Anna said, turning off the stove and walking into the living room.
“About what, darling?” Her husband didn’t take his eyes off the television.
“About your mother. About the way she behaves in our home.”
Vladimir finally turned toward his wife. Confusion and mild irritation appeared on his face.
“What happened now? Mom is just trying to take care of us.”
“Take care of us?” Anna sat down opposite him. “Volodya, she goes through my personal belongings. Last week I caught her in our bedroom reading my documents.”
“So what? We’re family. We shouldn’t have secrets from each other.”
Anya’s heart tightened with hurt. How could he not understand? These were basic boundaries of personal privacy. Yet Volodya looked at her as though she were complaining about insignificant things.
“And do you remember when she threw away my cosmetics?” Anna continued. “She said expensive creams ruin women.”
“Mom was right. Why waste so much money on nonsense?”
“Volodya, it wasn’t nonsense!” Anya’s voice trembled with anger. “It was a birthday present from my sister!”
Her husband waved his hand as if brushing away an annoying fly.
“Anya, there’s no need to get so upset. Mom didn’t mean any harm.”
Tears rose in Anna’s eyes. She remembered how, six months earlier, Galina Petrovna had come over without warning and walked in while Anya was taking a bath. Instead of apologizing, her mother-in-law had lectured her about how “decent women don’t take baths in the middle of the day.” Anna had tried to explain to Volodya how humiliating it had been, but he had only shrugged.
“Volodya, I can’t live like this anymore,” Anna said quietly. “Your mother doesn’t respect me. And you always take her side.”
“What are you talking about?” Vladimir jumped up from the sofa. “Mom loves you like her own daughter!”
“Loves me?” Anna stood up as well. “Does she call her own daughter selfish because she wants to work? Does she tell the neighbors that her own daughter is a bad wife?”
“Mom is simply worried about our happiness.”
Despair washed over Anna. How could she explain something that seemed so obvious? How could she make him understand that she was suffocating under the constant control and judgment? Every visit from Galina Petrovna became a test of endurance.
“Do you remember what she said about my dress at your birthday party?” Anna tried again. “She told all the guests that I dressed like…”
“Enough!” Vladimir cut her off sharply. “Mom has a right to her opinion. Besides, she’s older and more experienced than we are.”
“But it’s my dress! My life!” Anna shouted.
“Our life,” her husband corrected her. “And Mom is part of our family.”
Anya sank back onto the sofa. Her strength was leaving her. For almost four years, she had tried to find a compromise. She had endured humiliation and interference. And Volodya still saw no problem. To him, his mother was sacred and beyond criticism.
Anna remembered the horrible day Galina Petrovna had found her pills. The scandal had been enormous. Her mother-in-law accused Anna of “deceiving her son and refusing to give him children.” Volodya had not defended his wife then either.
Anna whispered:
“Volodya. I just want you to hear me.”
“I hear you. I just don’t understand why you’re so upset.”
The next morning, Anna was cleaning the apartment when a sharp ring at the door interrupted her. She glanced at the clock. Who could possibly be coming at this hour?
Anna went to open the door.
What she saw made her heart drop.
Galina Petrovna stood on the doorstep with two enormous suitcases and a travel bag.
“Hello, Anechka,” her mother-in-law said with a strained smile. “I hope you don’t mind that I came to congratulate you?”
Anna’s gaze moved from the suitcases to her mother-in-law’s satisfied face. A sense of approaching disaster tightened inside her. No one brought that much luggage for a one-day visit.
Anna automatically stepped aside to let her in.
Galina Petrovna energetically dragged in the first suitcase, then the second, as though she were already the rightful mistress of the apartment.
Then she turned toward Anna. There was something predatory and triumphant in her eyes. Anna knew that look. It never meant anything good.
“Anechka, I need to have a serious conversation with you,” her mother-in-law said, taking off her coat. “While Volodya isn’t listening.”
“About what?” Anna asked uncertainly.
“About your behavior. About the way you treat my son.”
What had she supposedly done wrong this time? What new accusations had Galina Petrovna prepared? Anna’s thoughts tangled together as the feeling of impending trouble grew stronger.
“I heard that you’ve been making scenes for Volodya again,” her mother-in-law continued, walking into the living room. “Demanding impossible things from him.”
“What impossible things?” Anna followed her.
“That he choose between his wife and his mother. It’s absurd!”
Indignation rose in Anna’s chest. How could she distort everything so completely? Anna had never demanded that Volodya choose. She had only wanted her opinion to matter in their family too.
“Galina Petrovna, I never…”
“Don’t interrupt your elders!” her mother-in-law snapped. “Have you completely forgotten how a woman is supposed to behave toward her husband’s parents?”
“But I’m trying to explain…”
“Explain? What is there to explain? You’re selfish, Anna. You only think about yourself.”
Anna stood in the middle of the living room, not knowing how to defend herself against the stream of accusations. Every word Galina Petrovna spoke was soaked in venom and contempt.
“Remember when you refused to cook borscht according to my recipe?” her mother-in-law continued her attack. “Or when you refused to rearrange the furniture the way I advised you?”
“This is our apartment!” Anna finally snapped. “I have the right to my own opinion!”
“A right? To an opinion?” Galina Petrovna laughed contemptuously. “Darling, rights have to be earned.”
How could anyone speak to another person like that? Did she really have no right to a voice in her own home? Tears tightened Anna’s throat, but she forced them back.
“And you make Volodya work overtime,” her mother-in-law continued. “The poor boy is completely exhausted!”
“He chose that job himself!”
“Because you demand expensive things! You’re constantly dissatisfied!”
Every accusation hurt more than the last. Anna understood that arguing was pointless. Galina Petrovna had formed her opinion of Anna long ago and had no intention of changing it. In her eyes, Anna would always be a bad wife, unworthy of her son.
“But I’m willing to forgive all your mistakes,” Galina Petrovna suddenly said, changing her tone. “On one condition.”
“What condition?” Anna asked cautiously.
“I’m going to live here. With you. Permanently.”
Anna froze, unable to believe what she had heard.
Live together?
In the same apartment?
Permanently?
It was worse than any nightmare. Just imagining seeing that hostile face every single day, listening to endless criticism and unwanted advice, made her feel sick.
“No,” she said firmly. “That is not going to happen.”
“It isn’t?” Galina Petrovna narrowed her eyes. “Are you sure?”
“Absolutely. I don’t need your forgiveness.”
Let her mother-in-law think whatever she wanted. Anna would not allow her own home to be turned into hell. Home was supposed to be the one place where she could rest from endless judgment.
“Listen carefully,” Galina Petrovna said, her voice turning icy. “Either I live with you, or my son will divorce you!”
The words sounded like a sentence being handed down.
Had things really come to open blackmail?
Galina Petrovna stood in front of her with a triumphant expression, as though she were already savoring her victory.
Anna’s thoughts raced.
What should she do?
She loved Volodya, but living under the same roof as his mother was beyond what she could endure. Every day would become torture. And Galina Petrovna would certainly get what she wanted sooner or later—she would push Anna until she had a nervous breakdown.
“Think carefully,” her mother-in-law added. “You have until tomorrow.”
At that moment, the front door slammed.
Volodya had returned from the store carrying bags of groceries.
“What are those suitcases doing in the hallway?” he asked in surprise as he entered the living room.
“They’re mine, son,” Galina Petrovna said with a smile. “I decided to stay with you for a while.”
“Really?” Vladimir’s face lit up with joy. “Mom, that’s a great idea!”
Anna stared at her husband as though she didn’t recognize him.
How could he be happy about this?
She had complained to him so many times about his mother’s behavior. She had explained how difficult everything was for her.
Did he remember none of it?
“Volodya, we haven’t even discussed this…”
“What is there to discuss?” her husband interrupted. “Mom wants to be closer to us. That’s wonderful!”
“You see, Anechka?” Galina Petrovna said smugly. “Volodya understands that family should stay together.”
It was as if a veil had suddenly been lifted from Anna’s eyes.
She looked at her husband and understood everything clearly.
He would always choose his mother.
Her opinion, her pain, her requests—none of it truly mattered to him.
Galina Petrovna had been right about one thing.
Volodya really would have to choose.
And his choice was obvious.
“You know what?” Anna said quietly. “You’re right. A decision has to be made.”
“So you agree?” her mother-in-law asked in surprise.
“No. I’m leaving.”
Anna headed toward the bedroom.
Inside her, there was a strange emptiness. No anger. No resentment. Only exhaustion and relief now that the decision had finally been made.
“Anya, where are you going?” Volodya called after her, confused.
“To pack my things,” she answered without turning around. “You two can live the way you wanted.”
“But we can talk everything through!”
“There’s nothing left to discuss, Volodya. You made your choice. Now I’m making mine.”
Anna closed the bedroom door behind her.
Tomorrow, she would file for divorce.
Four years of marriage had ended in a single moment.
But for the first time in a very long time, she was free.