Ninochka, you know… I would have never thought that your son would choose some unknown girl to marry!” said Polina Anatolyevna, taking a sip of fragrant jasmine tea.
“Don’t rub salt in my wounds. This wedding will not happen! My son will realize how wrong he is and will cancel everything,” Nina Vasilyevna declared confidently, raising her chin proudly. “It’s a pity about the wasted money, but that’s a small matter. I already have a plan. Your daughter is much more suitable for my Pasha. We’ll steer him in the right direction, he will fall in love and marry her. And this… she will disappear from his life like a bad dream.”
“They say she’s already pregnant with your son’s child. What will you do? Will you let the baby grow up with her? Or will you take him away?”
“Ugh, what nonsense! I don’t want such a grandson or granddaughter at all! This poor girl won’t even give my son a child!” Nina Vasilyevna squinted slyly, took out a third cup, and filled it with tea. “I have a little trick. Everything will change today.”
Svetlana felt her heart tighten in her chest. She had overheard this conversation while hiding behind the bushes in the garden. Her gaze was drawn to Nina Vasilyevna’s strange gesture: she took a small glass jar from her pocket, poured its contents into one of the cups, and stirred it carefully. Poison? But why? What had this woman done to deserve it?
Svetlana had fallen in love with Pavel from their very first meeting, not even knowing who he really was. She was doing an internship at a company where the man worked. One day they bumped into each other in the hallway, and Pavel introduced himself as a simple programmer. They started meeting more often, talking, until one day he confessed that from the first glance, he was enchanted by her beauty and character. That was why he arranged these “accidental” meetings, presenting himself as just a regular employee.
Pavel’s money and status had never concerned Svetlana. She fell in love with his kind brown eyes framed with thick lashes, his sincere smile. Later, she learned about the generous and caring person hidden behind his appearance. He helped the needy, cared for his employees, and sometimes sacrificed his own well-being for others. He was exactly the person she had been looking for all her life. And she loved him with all her heart.
But Nina Vasilyevna immediately showed her clear dislike. The woman hoped that once Svetlana learned about Pavel’s real situation, her interest in him would fade. However, upon hearing about the upcoming wedding and her daughter-in-law’s pregnancy, the mother-in-law began to act more decisively. She started making snide remarks, trying to turn Svetlana into a housekeeper by making her do all the household chores. The girl didn’t complain—she felt happy and even found joy in cleaning the house. But that wasn’t enough for Nina Vasilyevna.
On this day, Svetlana was walking in the garden when she accidentally overheard the conversation between her mother-in-law and her friend. What she heard shocked her.
“Svetlana!” Nina Vasilyevna’s loud voice suddenly rang out, making the girl flinch. “Come over here, have some tea!”
Not wanting to arouse suspicion, Svetlana quickly hid behind the trees and pretended to come from the other side of the garden. Her legs were shaking, but she had to stay calm and smile, though inside, she was trembling with fear and anxiety.
“Did you call me?” the girl asked, trying to hide the tremble in her voice. It was important not to reveal that she had overheard everything.
“Of course, I did! Come join us for tea. What were you doing in the sun? Tell me, how are you settling in with us? Is my son treating you well?” Nina Vasilyevna spoke kindly, but there was a flicker of worry in her eyes.
“Everything is wonderful. Pasha loves me very much, and I love him. Thank you so much for the tea. If you don’t mind, I’ll drink it in my room? I feel a little dizzy, and I’d like to lie down.”
Nina Vasilyevna turned pale, and her face twisted with anger.
“What’s this! You must drink it here, with me. I went through so much trouble to make this tea! Refusing would be rude to me. Come on, try it, see how delicious it is!”
Svetlana understood that refusing might raise suspicions, so she pretended to drink it. In reality, she only lightly touched her lips to the cup and then faked enjoyment.
“Just wonderful! Very pleasant taste. I’ll definitely finish it in my room. Thank you for your care. I’ll drink it and lie down to rest.”
“That’s right. I’ll check later,” Nina Vasilyevna hissed.
Svetlana nodded, her hands trembling as she held the cup, and hurried to her room. There, she had to find a way to secretly dispose of its contents. Throwing it out of the window would be easy—the heat would quickly evaporate any traces—but the girl decided that the tea should be sent for analysis. She didn’t want to believe the worst. Perhaps her mother-in-law had just added something harmless, wanting to show off in front of her friend? But fear grew inside her: what if it was truly something dangerous?
She placed the empty cup on the nightstand, lay down on the bed, and pretended to be asleep. After a while, she heard Nina Vasilyevna enter, check the cup, and grumble with displeasure. But even this malicious whisper didn’t dispel Svetlana’s hope—maybe everything wasn’t as bad as it seemed?
As soon as Pavel returned from work, Svetlana couldn’t stay silent any longer. She told him everything she had overheard.
“Are you sure? Maybe you overheated in the sun?” Pavel asked worriedly.
“Yes, I’m absolutely sure. My eyes and ears didn’t deceive me. But I still don’t want to believe that your mother could do such a thing. Could you send this tea for analysis? At least we’ll find out what was mixed in it.”
Pavel agreed. He called his trusted person, and together they sent the drink to a special laboratory. When the results came back, the young man was shocked. The tea contained a substance that was strictly prohibited for pregnant women. It was used in hospitals for early-term abortions. His head spun. How could his own mother stoop so low? How could she take such a cruel step? Pavel didn’t want to believe it, but the facts spoke for themselves. He remembered how Svetlana had told him about the strange little jar Nina Vasilyevna had hastily put into her pocket. While his mother was away, he searched her room and clothes and found what he was looking for.
“What is this?” Pavel asked coldly, showing the item he found to his mother. “First time I’ve seen this. Or are you trying to pretend you don’t know anything about it?”
Nina Vasilyevna lifted her chin, maintaining an air of calm.
“How dare you?! This must be some kind of mistake. Did your Svetlana decide to frame me? I never thought she was such a snake! And I had just begun to get used to her. What a disgusting person! And you’re going to marry someone like this? After all this? Think carefully, who benefits from all of this… Your Svetlana wants to completely win you over, make you believe that I’m a bad mother so she can possess you entirely.”
“She tried to justify you. That’s why she asked for the analysis. She saw you mixing something into the tea, but she still hoped she was wrong. You’re too cruel, Mom. I didn’t expect such a betrayal from you. And I don’t know how to react to this. I won’t go to the police, but…”
Nina Vasilyevna grabbed her heart, slowly sank onto the couch, and burst into bitter tears.
“How dare you say that? How can you doubt my words? It’s all her, your fiancée! She’s trying to separate us. From the very beginning, she planned to come between us. And I thought I was being kind to her, the future wife.”
Pavel felt crushed. He believed Svetlana, he knew how his mother had treated his chosen one from day one. But it still seemed incredible that his own mother could go this far. Yet Svetlana had no reason to lie. Why would she? His head was spinning, his thoughts confused, tormenting him from the inside.
“Do you mind if I call your friend? Polina Anatolyevna. Her testimony might confirm or deny your innocence.”
“Call her, for God’s sake!” Nina Vasilyevna sneered. “Of course, call her. Let her say I had nothing to do with it. I just wanted to take care of my daughter-in-law, and she decided I wanted to destroy her. I hope you throw her out of the house today!”
Svetlana had stayed in the room the whole time, not daring to come out. It was hard for her to watch her fiancé hesitate, unable to make a decision. She kept wondering why her mother-in-law had taken such an extreme step, but couldn’t find any justification for her actions. How could anyone justify something like this? The girl decided: if Pavel sided with his mother, she would just leave. She wouldn’t interfere with their relationship and live in constant fear of further attempts to harm her.
Polina Anatolyevna arrived almost immediately after the call. Nina Vasilyevna immediately surrounded her with attention, began wailing, and complaining about being slandered.
“Tell him, Polinka! Confirm that I’m right and that this girl is trying to frame me!”
Polina Anatolyevna calmly smiled and turned her gaze to Pavel.
“What do you think? Do you believe your mother could do this?”
“I believe my fiancée has no reason to lie, since the truth is easy to verify… This substance is very rare. It can only be obtained with a prescription or through connections… By the way, your daughter works in the pharmaceutical field… And my mom always wanted to connect us with her. Maybe you’d like to explain something?”
“So you dragged my daughter into this!” Polina Anatolyevna exclaimed angrily. “What kind of friend are you after this? No, I won’t stay silent. I didn’t know about this, and now I’ll have a serious talk with my daughter. And Nina really has been trying to ruin your fiancée’s life, complaining that she’s been feeling worse since Svetlana arrived. Why should I stay silent if you want to know the truth? Svetlana hasn’t lied to you. We had that conversation! And I thought that Nina had completely lost her humanity.”
“You thought so, but why didn’t you stop her?” Pavel asked with disgust.
He didn’t have precise knowledge of the availability of the drug, but he instinctively understood that Polina Anatolyevna’s daughter’s business was related to pharmaceuticals. And by guessing correctly, he got all the answers to his questions.
“How could I stop her? If she decided something… is that even possible?” Polina Anatolyevna replied.
“Ah, you traitor!” Nina Vasilyevna flared up, lunging at her friend. “I’ve always been kind to you! I thought of you like a sister! And this is how you treat me?!”
Pavel quickly pulled his mother away from her friend and firmly demanded that Polina leave. He didn’t want their quarrel to hurt Svetlana any more than it already had.
“You pack your things too. You have your own apartment, so go back there. This house was left to me by my father, whom you hated all your life, so you don’t belong here. And remember, Mom: if even a single hair falls from Svetlana’s head because of you, I’ll forget we’re related by blood, and I’ll send you to jail. I have more than enough evidence to do this right now.”
“So this is how you choose? You’re swapping your own mother for some unknown girl?”
“And who were you before you married my father? But even then, you couldn’t get rid of your rotten essence. I always wondered why my father left the family, even blamed him… Now I understand that he was just saving himself from the poison you had been soaking our lives with for years. Your words are as sharp as the venom of a rattlesnake. At least my father managed to live happily. But I won’t let you destroy my future family. From now on, I want nothing to do with you. You’ve forgotten your place, Mom. And most importantly—you didn’t even think about the consequences of your actions. From now on, I have no mother.”
Nina Vasilyevna tried to seek forgiveness, cried, admitted her mistakes, but Pavel was unyielding. Breaking trust and killing the warmth inside a person is too easy. Restoring it is incredibly difficult, and sometimes impossible.
When his mother finally left, Pavel went to Svetlana and apologized for doubting her truthfulness for a moment. He promised that he would never again allow himself to question her words, for she had become the meaning of his life.