Larisa opened her banking app and froze. The coveted number lit up on the screen—three million rubles. She ran her finger across the screen, as if making sure she wasn’t dreaming. Every single ruble had been hard-earned.
“Lara, where are you?” came Andrey’s voice from the hallway.
“In the kitchen!” she called back, quickly hiding her phone in her pocket.
Her husband stepped into the doorway, rumpled after work. His tie was askew, and his shirt creased. He plopped down on the chair across from her.
“How’s it going?” he asked, though his gaze was distant.
“Fine. And you?”
“Same as always,” Andrey rubbed his temples. “Hey, we talked about savings…”
Larisa grew cautious. This topic had come up more and more in the past weeks.
“About what exactly?”
“Well, you remember, we agreed to save separately.”
“I remember. So?”
“So, how much have you managed to put aside?” Andrey’s voice sounded deliberately casual.
Larisa studied her husband more carefully. She saw a hint of cunning in his eyes.
“Andrey, we agreed. Each of us saves for our own goals.”
“I’m just curious, that’s all,” he tried to smile, but it looked forced.
“Just curious?” Larisa smelled a trap. “And how about your savings?”
Andrey looked away.
“Well… not great at the moment. Expenses are high, you know.”
And she really did know. A new iPhone just last month. Expensive sneakers last week. Constant trips out with friends to cafes.
“Then why are you asking about my money?”
“Lara, we’re family!” Andrey suddenly snapped. “What do you mean, ‘your’ money?”
“The very same money I’ve been putting aside. Do you remember our agreement?”
“What agreement?” he waved his hand. “Back then, we didn’t really know what was what.”
Larisa leaned back in her chair. So that’s how it is.
“So now you want to change the rules of the game?”
“What rules?” Andrey pretended not to understand. “Normal families just have a shared budget.”
“Yeah. And we’ll spend my savings on the things you want.”
“What do you mean ‘things I want’?” her husband’s voice got sharper. “We need a car!”
“We?” Larisa raised her eyebrow. “I don’t even drive.”
“So what? The family could use it!”
“The family could use an apartment. That’s what I’m saving for.”
Andrey fell silent, drumming his fingers on the table. Larisa could see him thinking, searching for new arguments.
“You know what,” he finally said, “let’s talk about this later. I’m tired.”
He got up and headed for the door, but turned around at the threshold.
“Still, how much do you have in there?”
“Andrey, that’s enough.”
“I’m not asking you to give it! I’m just curious.”
“I’m not telling you.”
Her husband’s face darkened.
“Really? So you’re keeping secrets from your husband now?”
“Not secrets. It’s just my money for my goal.”
“I see,” Andrey said through clenched teeth, and walked out.
Larisa stayed sitting in the kitchen, listening to the sounds from the living room. The TV was on, louder than usual—a clear sign he was upset.
She took out her phone and checked her balance again. Years of saving on everything. Homemade lunches instead of going out. Clothes from sales. Skipping movies and restaurants. Every thousand rubles was hard-earned.
“Lara!” Andrey shouted from the living room. “Mom’s calling! She wants to talk to you.”
She sighed and went to the phone. Her husband was bringing in the heavy artillery.
“Larisa, my dear!” her mother-in-law’s voice oozed sweetness. “How are things with you two?”
“We’re fine, Galina Petrovna.”
“Andryusha told me you had a little misunderstanding. You know, I wanted to share my experience…”
“What kind of experience?”
“Well, your father and I always managed our money together. That’s the foundation of a strong family!”
“We have a different arrangement.”
“What kind of arrangement can a husband and wife have?” her tone grew stricter. “That’s just not right!”
Larisa was starting to boil.
“Galina Petrovna, we’re adults. We’ll handle it ourselves.”
“Of course, of course,” her mother-in-law softened her tone. “I’m just worried. Andryusha is so upset…”
“Why is he upset?”
“Well, isn’t it obvious? His wife is hiding something from him. That’s just not right!”
“I’m not hiding anything. We have an agreement.”
“Larisa, dear, but the most important thing is trust! And in this case…”
“The fact is, I’ve been saving money for three years, just like we agreed.”
“But family is more important! If Andrey needs a car…”
“Then let him save for it himself.”
There was a pause on the other end of the line.
“Larisa, you understand, it’s harder for men to save. They think differently!”
“How exactly?”
“Well… they’re more impulsive. They need support from their wives!”
Larisa glanced toward the living room, where Andrey was demonstratively flipping through channels.
“Galina Petrovna, I understand your position. But the decision is ours to make.”
“Alright, alright,” her mother-in-law sighed. “Just think about it, dear. Family is about compromise.”
After the call, Larisa sat down across from her husband. He was watching the news, eyes fixed on the screen.
“Good talk with mom?” he finally asked.
“Wonderful. She’s very worried about your car.”
“And you’re not worried?”
“No.”
Finally, Andrey looked at her.
“Seriously? You really don’t care?”
“If you want a car, save up for it. That’s what we agreed on.”
“Lara, but how much longer do I have to save? It’ll take years!”
“As long as it takes.”
“But you already have money!”
“That’s for my apartment. My own goal.”
An awkward silence filled the room. Andrey turned off the TV.
“So you’re not going to help me?”
“I’m not going to break our agreement.”
He got up and walked toward the door.
“Then we’ll talk tomorrow. Maybe you’ll change your mind.”
Larisa was left alone in the living room after Andrey’s words about talking tomorrow. She could hear him moving around the apartment, packing his things. Then the front door slammed shut.
Silence. Finally.
She turned on the kettle and sat at the kitchen table. Pieces of today’s conversations kept replaying in her head. Andrey clearly wasn’t going to give up. His mother getting involved was no coincidence.
Her phone vibrated. A message from her husband:
“I’m staying at my mom’s tonight. Think about what I said.”
Larisa scoffed. So, he’s off to complain to his mom again about his mean wife. Tomorrow they’ll definitely team up against her.
She picked up her phone and checked her balance again. Three million. And now they want to take that money from her.
In the morning, Larisa was woken up by a call. On the screen—her mother-in-law’s name. She ignored it. A minute later, the phone rang again.
“Larisa, sweetheart!” Galina Petrovna’s voice was saccharine sweet. “Did you sleep well?”
“Fine. And you?”
“Not well, dear. Andryusha came home so upset. He didn’t sleep all night.”
“That’s a shame,” Larisa replied dryly.
“We talked. You understand, he’s really worried.”
“About what?”
“Why, because of your secrets! It’s not right!”
Larisa rolled her eyes. Here we go.
“Galina Petrovna, there are no secrets. We have an agreement. I told you about that yesterday!”
“What kind of agreement between husband and wife?” her tone became stricter. “A family is meant to be one unit!”
“We agreed to save separately.”
“Nonsense! In normal families, there’s a shared budget!”
“Then why didn’t Andrey suggest that right after the wedding?”
There was a pause. Galina Petrovna was clearly caught off guard.
“He… he thought you’d understand on your own. That it’s natural.”
“Alright. I have to get ready for work.”
“Larisa, wait! Let’s meet today. All three of us can have a proper talk.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not? We’re a family!”
“Exactly.”
Larisa ended the call and headed for the shower. It was hard to focus at work. Andrey kept texting her every hour. First apologizing, then asking to meet, and then accusing her of being selfish.
By the end of the day, Larisa turned her phone off. At home, she was met with a surprise. A bouquet of roses was on the kitchen table. Andrey sat beside them, looking quite pleased with himself.
“Hi, darling!” he got up and tried to hug her.
Larisa pulled away.
“Beautiful flowers. How much did they cost?”
“Oh, not much. About fifteen hundred.”
“Fifteen hundred for flowers?”
“Lara, stop counting every penny!” Andrey grimaced. “We need to enjoy life!”
“At whose expense? Are we going to celebrate using my personal savings now?”
“Ours!” her husband’s voice grew louder. “What personal savings? Everything belongs to both of us!”
Larisa froze. The mask had finally fallen.
“Are you serious?”
“Absolutely!” Andrey exclaimed with enthusiasm. “We’re family! We have a shared budget!”
“Since when do we have a shared budget?”
“Since we got married!”
“Three years ago, we agreed on something different.”
“Forget that silly agreement!” he waved it off. “Normal families don’t live like that!”
Something inside Larisa snapped. Three years of bottled-up frustration burst out.
“Normal families?” she raised her voice. “Normal husbands save money themselves!”
“I do save money!”
“Where? For what?” Larisa was almost shouting. “In three years, you haven’t put aside a single penny!”
“I have expenses!”
“What expenses? A new phone every year? Expensive sneakers? Hangouts with your friends?”
“A man should look good!”
“On my dime?” Larisa’s voice trembled with anger. “For three years I’ve saved on everything! Gave up entertainment! Bought clothes only at sales!”
“No one forced you!”
“The goal did! An apartment! The one you forgot about a month after our wedding!”
Andrey took a step back. He had never seen his wife like this.
“Lara, calm down…”
“I won’t calm down!” she grabbed the bouquet from the table. “Fifteen hundred for flowers! But you have no money for savings!”
“That’s nothing!”
“Nothing?” Larisa threw the bouquet in the trash. “Everything is ‘nothing’ to you! Except for my money!”
“Our money!”
“Mine!” she turned to him. “Earned by me! Saved by me! While you wasted your salary!”
“I’m not a spender!”
“Really? What about the new headphones for twenty thousand? And the jacket for thirty? And all the constant cafés?”
Andrey was silent. He had no arguments left.
“You know what?” Larisa wiped away angry tears. “Go talk to your mom. Let her give you money.”
“What does my mom have to do with this?”
“Because it’s her idea! Shared budget! Family values!”
“Lara…”
“Enough!” she headed for the door. “I’m tired of this circus!”
The bedroom door slammed. Andrey was left alone in the kitchen with a trash can full of roses.
In the morning, Larisa silently packed her things. Suitcase, a bag with documents, her laptop. Only the essentials.
“Where are you going?” Andrey showed up in the doorway of the bedroom.
“I’m moving out.”
“Moving out? Lara, don’t be ridiculous!”
“I’ve made my decision.”
“Over money?” He couldn’t believe what was happening.
“Over you. Over who you’ve turned out to be.”
Andrey tried to block her way.
“Wait! Let’s forget about the money! Let’s go back to how things were!”
“Back to before?” Larisa stopped. “When you spent, and I saved?”
“Well…”
“You don’t get it—there’s no trust between us anymore!”
She grabbed her suitcase and headed for the door. Andrey followed her, shuffling his feet.
“Lara, please don’t leave! We can fix everything!”
“We already made a decision. Yesterday.”
“I won’t ask you for money anymore!”
“You won’t. Because there won’t be any left.”
The door closed. Larisa stood in the stairwell, suitcase in hand. Free.
Six months later, she stood in the developer’s office. A purchase contract for an apartment lay on the table. The manager pointed out the layout of a one-bedroom flat with a large kitchen-living room.
“Corner unit, eighth floor, park view,” he said. “The first payment is three and a half million.”
Larisa nodded. It was exactly the amount she had.
“Are we signing?”
“We’re signing.”
The pen glided easily over the paper. Every letter spelled freedom. Her own apartment. Her own choice. Her own life.
For the first two months, Andrey kept calling. He begged Larisa to come back, promising he would change. Then his mother joined in, threatening to take her to court. But in the end, those threats were just empty words.
The divorce went quietly. There was nothing to split— they rented their apartment, the furniture was cheap, and any savings were kept separately by Larisa.
Now she lived in a small studio, waiting for her new place to be finished. In just two years, she would finally get the keys to her very own apartment. She earned it honestly. Bought it all by herself.
For the first time in ages, Larisa smiled at her reflection in the sales office window. She was a free woman. The master of her own destiny.