Regina had been cleaning the apartment since early morning. A few days earlier, she had returned from the south, where she had been finalizing the paperwork for a small new house by the sea, and as soon as she came home, she had to put the apartment back in order. During the time she had been away, her husband seemed to have done absolutely nothing. The laundry basket was so full the lid would not even close, and the pots and pans were all dirty.
“Well, yes, I rested a little,” Mark admitted. “The dishwasher broke, so I didn’t wash the pots. But all the plates are clean, as you can see.”
“And you couldn’t at least throw the laundry in the washing machine?” Regina spread her hands in disbelief.
“I couldn’t,” Mark smiled. “I didn’t have time. I was preparing a surprise for you.”
“That sounds interesting,” Regina raised her eyebrows. “What kind of surprise?”
“I’ll tell you when I get back from work tonight.”
Mark kissed her on the cheek and hurried out, glancing at his wristwatch. Regina got back to cleaning.
At least she did not have to rush anywhere. She managed her own time. She worked when she wanted and took orders only when she needed to, so in that sense, she considered herself lucky. Now she would restore the apartment to its usual state, and tomorrow she would sit down to work. They were going to need a lot of money soon. She had bought the little house, yes, but it needed a massive renovation. Still, she could already see in her imagination how everything would look afterward, and that inspired her to earn more quickly and go to Anapa to bring her dreams to life. Later, she and Mark could rent the house out and also use it for their own holidays. And if Mark ever agreed to find online work for himself too, they would not be tied to one place at all. They could even live by the sea all year round.
Lost in thoughts that warmed her heart, Regina did not notice how quickly the time passed. The laundry was washed, the dishes sparkled, and there was not a speck of dust left in the apartment. She let out a satisfied breath and began preparing dinner when the doorbell rang.
Looking through the peephole, Regina immediately felt her mood sour. Nelly, Mark’s sister, was standing outside the door and had already lifted her hand to ring again. Regina opened the door sharply.
“Could you be a little more careful?” Nelly snapped from the threshold and stepped into the apartment, pushing past Regina without even greeting her.
“Well, hello to you too,” Regina said with a dry smile. “What brings you here?”
She knew perfectly well that if Nelly had come, it was not without a reason.
“Give me the keys to the house by the sea,” Nelly declared in a commanding tone, without even trying to ease into the subject.
“I beg your pardon?” Regina said slowly, genuinely confused.
“What’s there not to understand? Mark told me you finished all the paperwork and the house is yours now. Give me the keys. We’re going south next week. The children need sea air.”
“Did you ask us before deciding to go there?” Regina felt her cheeks burn with outrage. Of course, she had expected many things from her sister-in-law, but even she had not imagined such nerve.
“Was I supposed to?” Nelly said with such arrogance that Regina was left speechless. “That house doesn’t belong only to you, you know. It belongs to my brother too. Which means I don’t need to ask. I’m in a hurry, so give me the keys.”
Regina took a deep breath, exhaled sharply, and tried to stop herself from trembling. Then, in a calm voice, she said:
“All right, then.”
She took a spare set of keys from the dresser and handed them to Nelly.
“Enjoy your holiday.”
Nelly dropped the keys into her purse and left the apartment without another word. Regina shook her head and returned to the kitchen. Her good mood had vanished completely. She prepared dinner without much enthusiasm, and when Mark came home with a bouquet of her favorite white lilies, she forced a smile.
The moment Mark stepped inside, he immediately sensed that something was wrong. Usually, Regina met him at the door. Not always with great excitement; sometimes she simply smiled, sometimes she casually told him about her day. There was something warm and familiar in it, something homely, something Mark had grown used to and had stopped noticing how much it mattered. But today everything was different.
Regina only glanced at him briefly, took the bouquet from his hands, and silently placed the flowers in a vase. She did not even breathe in their scent, as she always did. She did not smile. She did not say a word. She simply turned away and went back to the stove. Mark became worried.
“What happened?” he asked, his tone now completely different, without his usual lightness.
Regina did not pretend that everything was fine. Nelly’s visit had hurt her too deeply. Since her sister-in-law had left, Regina had tried to calm herself down and told herself not to ruin the evening, but the resentment had only grown. And now, the moment Mark asked, it all flared up inside her again.
She turned off the stove, wiped her hands on a towel, and slowly turned toward her husband.
At first, she spoke calmly, but the more she remembered, the stronger the irritation in her voice became. She told him in detail how Nelly had shown up without calling or warning, how she had practically barged into the apartment without even saying hello, and how she had demanded the keys to the house as if it were something that had belonged to her all along. She told him how Nelly had not even thought to ask for permission and had simply announced that she was going there next week with her children.
Mark listened in silence, which was unlike him. Usually, during conversations like this, he tried to insert a joke, soften the mood, or turn everything into something less serious. But now he sat motionless, his face growing darker and darker, a deep crease forming between his brows.
When Regina finished speaking, she tiredly sank onto a chair and added quietly:
“If you want, call her yourself. Explain that it’s impossible to live there right now. The house is in such a state that only builders could stay there. She wouldn’t have listened to me anyway.”
After saying that, Regina was already mentally preparing herself for the usual scenario. Mark would sigh, take his phone, say something like, “Well, you know what Nelly is like,” then try to calm her down, and in the end, perhaps ask Regina herself to be softer. That was how it almost always happened.
But Mark unexpectedly shook his head.
“I’m not calling anyone.”
Regina looked up at him in surprise.
“Why?”
Mark sat down across from her, clasped his fingers together, and said calmly, but with such confidence that Regina was taken aback:
“Because this will be a good lesson for her. Nelly has believed for far too long that she can do whatever she wants. And not only with you — with me too. She’s used to coming over, demanding something, applying pressure, and everyone giving in just to avoid arguing. All because she’s my sister. But this has gone too far.”
Regina said nothing. She had not expected to hear that from him. Especially not so firmly.
Mark leaned back in his chair and continued:
“I’m to blame too. I put up with it for too long. I kept thinking, fine, she’s family, it’s not worth a fight. And she got used to it. She decided she could manage our lives. It’s time she understood that someone else’s house is not a hotel and not a resort available on demand.”
Regina frowned.
“But what about the children? What if they don’t have money for a hotel? Where will they go? What will they do?”
Her conscience still troubled her. After all, the children were not guilty of having a mother who was used to forcing her way through everything.
Mark gave a short laugh.
“Nelly’s husband always has money tucked away somewhere. I know him too well. He’s always complaining that they’re broke, but he keeps something aside just in case. If he has to, he’ll pay. Nothing terrible will happen to them. And in the end, that’s their problem.”
He spoke with such certainty that Regina slowly calmed down. And really, she had not invited anyone. She had not promised comfortable conditions. If Nelly had decided to arrange a holiday at someone else’s expense without asking, that was her own decision.
Her thoughts gradually settled. The tension that had been squeezing her shoulders all evening began to ease.
Then Regina suddenly remembered their conversation from the morning. She looked at her husband differently now.
“Wait… what about the surprise? You promised this morning.”
Mark’s face instantly changed. The seriousness disappeared so quickly it was as if it had never been there. His eyes lit up with the boyish joy Regina loved so much.
“That’s right,” he said, even smacking his forehead with his palm. “I completely forgot.”
Mark moved closer, leaned toward her, and spoke almost in a whisper, as though he were about to reveal a great secret.
“I’ve been offered a remote job.”
Regina blinked, not immediately understanding.
“What do you mean?”
“Remember I told you an acquaintance asked me to help with a project? While you were away, that’s exactly what I was doing in the evenings. At first, I thought it was just a side job. But today they approved everything. They said they want to take me on permanently.”
Regina stared at him, unable to believe it.
“So… you won’t have to go to the office anymore?”
Mark smiled, clearly enjoying her reaction.
“Exactly. No bosses breathing down my neck, no morning traffic, no meetings where they spend half an hour discussing something that could have been written in one message. Just a laptop and the internet. I can work from anywhere. Here in the kitchen, if I want. Or on the veranda of our house by the sea.”
Only half an hour earlier, Regina had thought the day was hopelessly ruined. She had felt as if Nelly’s arrogance had crossed out all her inspiration, all the joy of buying the house, all their future plans. But now that familiar warmth spread inside her again — the same feeling she had brought back from the south. The feeling that life, despite all its small troubles, was still unfolding exactly as it should. Perhaps a completely new chapter was beginning for them, the one she had dreamed about for so long.
“So we’ll be able to go there together?” Regina asked softly, still almost afraid to believe what she had heard. As if she feared that if she allowed herself to be too happy, everything would turn out to be a misunderstanding.
But Mark only smiled and nodded confidently, never looking away.
“Of course. We’ll renovate the place and live there as long as we want. Just imagine it: we wake up in the morning, step out onto the veranda, drink coffee, and hear the sea somewhere in the distance. Then each of us sits down to work, and in the evening we go to the beach. No rush, no fuss. Just us and our house.”
The words sounded so simple, as if he were talking about something completely ordinary. But for Regina, they were proof that her dream had finally stopped being something distant and almost magical. She suddenly saw it all clearly: a bright morning, open windows, curtains moving gently in the breeze.
And she could not hold back. She smiled for real. The way she had not smiled all evening. The tension left over from the conversation about Nelly dissolved completely. Her face came alive, her eyes began to shine, and Mark could not help admiring his wife. He had long noticed that whenever Regina spoke about something that truly mattered to her, she changed. She became not just beautiful — she seemed to glow from within.
“You can’t imagine how beautiful it will be there,” she said quickly, suddenly animated. “I planned everything while I was there. The plot is neglected, yes, but it’s so cozy. If we do it properly, it will be wonderful.”
Regina stood up and began walking around the kitchen, gesturing with her hands as though she were drawing the future garden in the air.
“Look… right under the windows, I’ll plant jasmine. So that in summer, when you open the window, the scent comes in immediately. And next to the house, we’ll definitely build a gazebo. A light wooden one, with carved railings. And there has to be a round table inside. We’ll have dinner there in the summer. And along the path — roses. Lots of roses. I’ve always wanted roses growing right by the house. White ones, pink ones, maybe even deep burgundy. And by the gate…”
Regina turned to Mark and smiled dreamily.
“By the gate, we’ll make an arch. And let grapevines climb over it.”
Mark laughed quietly.
“You’ve already planned everything.”
“Of course,” she admitted with slight embarrassment. “While I was walking around there, I had already arranged it all in my head. Even where to hang the hammock.”
He shook his head, but there was so much warmth in his gaze that Regina understood: he really liked everything she was saying. Not so much the details — the gazebo, the flowers, the arches — but her joy itself. Her excitement. The way she came alive when talking about their future.
From that evening on, it was as if they began living a new life. They had a shared goal now. Not just a dream, but something real, something almost tangible. All they needed was to wait a little, save money, and bring the house into shape.
The following days passed quickly and busily. Regina threw herself into work. She took on several large orders at once, avoided distractions, woke up early, barely had time to drink coffee, and immediately sat down at her laptop. Sometimes Mark joked that she would soon become one with her chair, but Regina only laughed. She worked with pleasure because every completed task brought them closer to the house by the sea.
A week passed.
Regina was sitting at her laptop, focused on finishing another project, when the phone lying nearby suddenly vibrated. She glanced at the screen automatically and immediately tensed.
Nelly.
That one name was enough to make her good mood disappear at once. For a second, Regina even considered not answering, but then she pressed the button anyway. The very next moment, such a piercing scream burst from the speaker that she instinctively moved the phone away from her ear.
“Did you set us up on purpose? That place can’t even be called a house! It’s some kind of ruin! There’s nowhere to sleep, no furniture, no water! Where did you send your husband’s family?”
Irritation flared inside Regina, but this time she had no intention of justifying herself or arguing. On the contrary, unexpectedly even to herself, she felt completely calm. She counted to three and only then answered in an even, indifferent voice.
“First of all, I personally didn’t send anyone anywhere. You went there yourself. Secondly, if you’re so eager to rest there, you can start with the renovation. Bring in furniture, put in beds, make the house livable. Then you can relax there as much as you want.”
There was silence on the other end of the line. It seemed Nelly had not expected such an answer. But then she exploded.
“I don’t want to know you anymore!” she shrieked even louder. “Found something to be proud of, have you? A house, you call it! You should have said right away that you’d bought a shed! To hell with you and your sea! And you’ll compensate me for all the expenses, understand? The gas, the hotel, everything!”
Regina was no longer listening. She ended the call and placed the phone on the table.
She leaned back in her chair, sat silently for a few seconds, and then suddenly smiled. Not maliciously, but with relief.
Finally.
For the first time, Nelly had faced the consequences of her own arrogance. She had not managed to get what she wanted through pressure. She had not succeeded in forcing everyone around her to adjust to her wishes. And most importantly, now she would probably think a hundred times before barging into their life again with another set of orders.
Let Nelly be offended. Let her consider them guilty. Let her tell all the relatives how awful they were. It no longer mattered.
Because Regina and Mark now had the main thing: their small house by the sea, a shared dream, and, most precious of all, peace. No endless demands. No feeling that someone else had the right to control their life.
And for that, Regina thought, looking out into the darkening window, even a scandal like this had been worth enduring.