“Maryash, what exactly did you see in your Arthur?” Sveta asked suddenly, looking up from her work. “You keep saying he’s perfect in every way, but he’s the definition of a mama’s boy. Haven’t you noticed how he acts whenever his mother comes by? She practically still wipes his nose for him.”
Maryana glanced at her colleague and gave a small shake of her head. Was there really anything wrong with a son being that close to his mother? Maryana herself had grown up in an orphanage. She had no idea what a mother’s love felt like, no idea what it meant to truly be someone’s daughter. She was glad that the man she loved had been raised in warmth and affection. He had no father—his father had left years ago for another family—but his mother had devoted herself completely to her son. And thanks to her efforts, Arthur had become caring, attentive, and proper.
Arthur had caught Maryana’s attention not just because he was handsome—though he definitely was. No, it was something deeper than that. Some people might have called it a meeting of souls. Around him, Maryana seemed to come alive. They had so much in common. Sometimes one of them could finish the other’s sentence. The same taste in music, the same favorite foods, the same love for certain books and films—they could talk for hours without running out of things to say. Arthur was talented in almost everything. He played several musical instruments, was an excellent specialist in his field, and kept himself in shape. Back in school, he had often taken first place in academic competitions and had earned plenty of medals and awards. Arthur always said that trust, loyalty, and sincerity were the most important things in a relationship. He could never forgive betrayal, lies, or infidelity. It was as if he were speaking Maryana’s own thoughts out loud. In her mind, this was exactly what the perfect groom looked like, and she could hardly believe her luck. It felt as though fate had finally handed her a winning ticket, and now all she had to do was hold on to the man she had been given.
After several months together, Arthur and Maryana had not had a single real disagreement, not even a playful one. Their feelings only grew stronger, unfolding like bright peonies in bloom. Every day they spent together seemed better than the last.
“I’m serious about you,” Arthur told her one day as they walked through the park. “I want us to become a family. I want us to have children.”
“I want that too,” Maryana replied with a smile.
She looked at the man she loved and could not understand why people called him a mama’s boy. Maybe her coworkers were just jealous. After all, many of them had once wished they could be in her place and catch the eye of the attractive man who had risen so quickly to a managerial position in their department.
“Then let’s not drag this out,” Arthur continued. “First, you should meet my mother. I’m sure she’ll like you. She’s always said she dreamed of having a daughter-in-law who truly understood me and shared my interests.”
Maryana had seen Klara Alfredovna a few times in passing. The woman sometimes brought Arthur lunch at the office, and sometimes extra warm clothes if the weather changed unexpectedly. But that was not the same as a proper introduction. This was something she would have to prepare for.
“My mother is very kind,” Arthur assured her. “She’ll welcome you like family. Don’t worry.”
And Maryana truly tried not to worry. She wanted to get along with her future mother-in-law. More than that—she wanted to find, in the older woman’s eyes, even a tiny reflection of the maternal affection and care she had gone without all her life.
“Of course I’d be glad to meet your mother. It was bound to happen sooner or later. There’s no point in putting it off.”
“Good. I’ll ask when it would be convenient for her to have you over. I really hope the two of you become close and that we’ll be one big, happy family.”
Maryana wanted that too. She had heard enough stories to know that mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law often clashed, sometimes bitterly. She wanted Klara Alfredovna to accept her.
Klara Alfredovna was a proud woman. Her father had been a scientist from Germany, and her mother had been a teacher sent to Berlin on an academic exchange to improve her language skills. Klara took immense pride in her lineage. She believed she came from an интеллигентная family and deserved only the very best in life. When she turned twenty, her parents unexpectedly divorced. Her mother took her back to Russia, but Klara never stopped glorifying her bloodline, even though she had barely remained in touch with her father.
“And what is so special about your family line?” a neighbor would sometimes scoff. “So your father was a scientist. It’s not as if he changed the world.”
Klara never listened.
“Maybe he didn’t,” she would reply, “but the important thing is the genes. My son is destined for greatness. He will achieve enormous success. He’ll become famous.”
So when Arthur told her he was seeing someone and was in love, Klara Alfredovna immediately began imagining the brilliant, elegant young woman he would one day bring home. Whenever she asked about Maryana’s family, Arthur answered vaguely, saying only that once his mother met her, she would understand for herself that this girl was the best possible match for him.
At last, the long-awaited day arrived. Klara Alfredovna prepared refined dishes, dressed elegantly, and arranged the living room like an exhibition of her son’s achievements, eager to impress the future bride with Arthur’s medals and awards.
But the moment Maryana crossed the threshold, the woman’s fantasies crumbled.
Looking at this plain, ordinary girl—one who seemed in no way different from countless others—Klara Alfredovna felt a sharp stab in her chest. There was no sophistication, no special grace, nothing that set her apart. And this was the girl her son had chosen?
Still, she decided not to rush to judgment. She welcomed Maryana with a polite smile and invited her to the table. Maryana behaved sincerely. She had no intention of hiding anything, convinced that only honesty and openness could help her win over her future mother-in-law.
“What do your parents do?” Klara Alfredovna asked at last.
She had been putting off the question, though it was the one she had wanted answered from the very beginning. She needed to know whether there was anything at all in Maryana’s background that could make her worth considering.
“I don’t have parents,” Maryana replied. “Or rather, everyone has parents, of course, but I don’t know mine. I grew up in an orphanage. I have no idea who the people were who brought me into the world.”
Klara Alfredovna bit her tongue to keep from showing her feelings too openly. Dark red blotches spread across her face. She glanced at her son in disbelief, wondering how it had even occurred to him to choose a girl like this. Still, she understood she had to be tactful. If she pushed too hard, she might alienate Arthur. So she kept her tone gentle and asked the young couple about their plans for the future. But when she heard Arthur say that he intended to marry Maryana, she nearly choked on a sip of mineral water.
“Well,” she said at last, “if you’ve already made up your minds, then so be it. You don’t need to worry about the wedding. Maryana, I’ll choose the very best dress for you and arrange everything myself. You won’t need to think about a thing.”
Arthur smiled with satisfaction.
Maryana did not share his enthusiasm.
The wedding was the one dream she had truly let herself imagine. She had wanted to choose her own dress, her own jewelry, every beautiful detail. She wanted the day to feel magical—the kind of memory she would carry forever.
“You really don’t have to trouble yourself,” Maryana said carefully, trying to keep her voice steady. “This will be Arthur’s and my wedding. I want to choose my dress and accessories myself. I already have a few ideas.”
“How do you mean, yourself?” Klara Alfredovna snapped. “No. That will not do. My son is getting married once in his life, and as his mother, it is my duty to take care of everything. That is not up for discussion.”
“But—”
Arthur gently nudged Maryana and shook his head, silently warning her not to argue.
As he walked her to the bus stop afterward, he looked at her sternly. For the first time in all the months they had been together, there was judgment in his eyes.
“Did I do something wrong?” Maryana asked, feeling the tension pressing between them.
“Do you really not understand?” Arthur replied. “It was foolish of you to argue with my mother. We decided long ago that she would choose every detail of my wedding. That’s completely normal. Why make a fuss over something so small?”
“But why should it be her decision?” Maryana asked. “It’s not just your wedding. It’s mine too. I want to choose my own wedding dress. Your mother was right about one thing—a wedding happens once in a lifetime. Even if she wants to handle everything else, the dress should be my choice.”
“Don’t you dare go against my mother!” Arthur suddenly shouted, raising his voice at her for the first time. “I will always take her side. If she wants to pick your dress, then let her pick it. If you can’t even yield on little things like this, how do you expect to build a good relationship with her?”
The words struck Maryana so sharply that she almost let out a cry of pain.
“That isn’t fair,” she whispered.
“It is what it is,” Arthur said coldly. “My mother will always be the most important woman in my life. If you really want to become my wife, you’ll have to accept that.”
Looking at Arthur in that moment, Maryana suddenly felt as though she were staring at a stranger. If he had already chosen his mother’s side over something this small, what would happen later? In his home, she would turn into a servant, a shadow to be ordered around by his mother. The hurt in her heart began to grow into doubt. Snatches of old conversations with her coworkers flashed through her mind. Maybe they had been right all along. Arthur was far too dependent on his mother’s opinion. There was room in his life for only one woman, and any second one would be expected to fade quietly into the background.
No. That was not the life Maryana wanted.
She loved Arthur, but she could not sacrifice her own mind, her own voice, her own desires just to be with him. If she lost herself in that marriage, she might lose all sense of who she was. You could not hand over your entire being to a relationship that might one day collapse and leave only bitterness behind.
Thinking about the future, Maryana decided she needed one serious conversation with Arthur. She did not want to force him to choose between her and his mother. She only wanted him to understand that in a healthy relationship, two people make room for each other, compromise, and value one another’s opinions equally.
“I don’t want to hear any more about this,” Arthur cut her off. “I’ve already said what I think. My mother must become an authority for you. Only then can we have a strong relationship. Only then can we be happy together.”
“And if I can’t do that?”
“Then there’s no point in talking about marriage. Until you agree to accept my mother and her opinion as the only right one, we’d better postpone the wedding. We can keep dating the way we have been.”
“No,” Maryana said firmly. “We won’t.”
Arthur stared at her.
“I don’t see the point in wasting my youth on a relationship that is doomed to fall apart sooner or later.”
“What are you saying?” Arthur flared up. He reached toward her as if to grab her, but Maryana stepped back and looked at him as if he were a complete stranger.
“It’s over, Arthur. If I can never matter to you the way your mother does, and if you are only willing to listen to her and never to me, then our paths end here. Right now.”
Arthur had no choice but to let her go.
Klara Alfredovna, meanwhile, could not have been happier. This was exactly the result she had hoped for when she imposed her condition. If she had openly pressured her son or shown too much disapproval of his choice, things might have turned out differently. But this way, Arthur saw for himself that he and Maryana were not meant for each other.
After the breakup, it was difficult for them to keep working in the same company, pretending they were nothing to each other. But they managed. Maryana had no intention of giving up her position at a prestigious firm because of a failed romance.
Arthur, on the other hand, remained convinced he was right. He believed that one day he would prove it to her, and she would come back.
But she never did.
A year and a half later, Maryana began a new relationship with a former university classmate who had returned from abroad. She felt truly happy again. This time, her happiness was not laced with false notes or quiet dread. His parents welcomed her warmly, and whenever disagreements arose, they treated her fairly and supported her instead of trying to silence her.
Arthur found it much harder to come to terms with losing her. He had always been so sure of himself. He had assumed Maryana would never go far and would eventually return. But she didn’t.
Only then did he begin to understand how skillfully his mother had manipulated him, all in the name of preserving what she imagined were “perfect genes.” After losing the woman he loved, he agreed to let Klara Alfredovna choose a bride for him. And she rejoiced, imagining the flawless grandchildren she would one day have.
What she failed to understand was something simple but essential:
her son was not a pedigreed animal meant for breeding.
And after losing his chance at real love, he was unlikely ever to be truly happy again.