Can one find happiness if their childhood was spent within the walls of an orphanage? This question haunts many…
Sveta was only thirteen when fate struck a terrible blow—her parents died in a car accident. Relatives? They just turned away. But the girl… She was special: smart, beautiful, well-mannered, and healthy. It’s no wonder that one of the nannies at the orphanage immediately took notice of her.
Then, on Sveta’s eighteenth birthday, something happened that changed her life forever. The nanny—Anna Pavlovna—literally ‘married off’ the girl to her adult son, Oleg.
What a cynical calculation! Sveta’s state apartment was quickly registered in their name. And her opinion? Who cared about it…
‘You should thank us day and night for accepting you into the family!’—these words from her mother-in-law became familiar to Sveta.
Life in the new ‘family’ turned out to be a real nightmare—worse than in the orphanage! There was no talk of studying after school. Where to? To wash dishes, of course! The ‘caring’ mother-in-law had connections everywhere. Salary? Straight into Anna Pavlovna’s pocket. And clothes… Wearing her mother-in-law and her friends’ hand-me-downs—that was Sveta’s fate.
‘Why, oh why is this happening to me?!’—the girl thought, listening to endless reproaches: ‘Lazy! Worthless! Freeloader! Ugly as a horse!’
Only acquaintances, seeing her plight, secretly brought her clothes and shoes…
But fate presented another ‘gift’—little Alina was born. And again, dissatisfaction in the family. Every goddamn day, as Anna Pavlovna sent Sveta to work, she lamented:
‘Not a single bit like my handsome son—what a monster of a child!’
And Sveta… She continued to wash dishes. Nearby, in a stroller, slept her little one. And only colleagues, kind souls, happily took care of the baby when the mother was busy…
‘What am I to do?!’—lamented the mother-in-law left and right. ‘This ungrateful woman! Takes the child everywhere with her… She doesn’t trust us at all! But it’s my granddaughter—why can’t I spend time with her?’
Fate sometimes presents unexpected turns… Yevgenia from accounting was preparing to go on maternity leave. But before leaving the café, she decisively approached Sveta:
‘Enough! Stop torturing yourself and the little one! Leave everything—and come to us! There’s plenty of room: my husband, his mother, and I in the main house, and you—guesthouse. All amenities, your own kitchen… Don’t be afraid, you won’t be alone!’
Tears betrayed Sveta…
‘Yevgenia Mikhailovna… I can’t do that. You already have a big family. And we, with Alinka… just extra mouths.’
‘Yes, the family is not small,’ smiled Yevgenia. ‘But it’s hard for mom to manage alone. You’ll be a helper! And we’ll start paying well…’
Sveta was torn for a long time. It was scary to change life! But… seeing her little one in rags, with other people’s worn-out toys—her heart bled. And she decided!
The packing was quick—what was there to gather? Baby clothes, diapers, toys… The main thing—leave before the mother-in-law returns!
In the new home, they were received as family. Yevgenia’s children couldn’t leave little Alina alone. And the little house… It became a true sanctuary.
But the mother-in-law and husband… They were seriously scared! What if Sveta demanded her share of the apartment? Or something worse?
And then Anna Pavlovna decided on something terrible—to separate the mother from the daughter. She showed up to the guardians with wild stories: supposedly, Sveta in a drunken frenzy took the child, doesn’t feed her, beats her… And ‘witnesses’ were found! She was a cruel woman, terrifying in her malice. Hired a lawyer…
Even Yevgenia’s connections were powerless against this machine of evil. But one day… Everything changed on a beautiful day…
A knock at the door… Insistent, demanding! Yevgenia’s mother opened and froze—on the doorstep stood a dignified elderly gentleman. Tall, in an expensive jacket, with a leather briefcase.
‘Does Svetlana Pyiltsova live here?’
‘Who are you?’—the woman tensed up. Perhaps another mercenary of that serpent-mother-in-law?
‘I need… I urgently need to talk to her!’
Something in his voice made them let the stranger in. At that time, Sveta was busy in the garden beds, and the kids were watching little Alina.
‘Hello, Svetlana… I… I’m Sergey…’—the man’s voice trembled, and suddenly… tears rolled down his cheeks.
Incredible! This man turned out to be Sveta’s biological father! The story was like a novel… A holiday romance with her mother, a letter about the pregnancy that his domineering mother intercepted and hid. And now, sorting through her things after her departure, Sergey stumbled upon this fateful message…
So many years of searching! And here she was—his daughter, standing before him…
For wealthy Sergey, it was no trouble to settle all legal matters. Divorce? Rights to the granddaughter? Everything was resolved quickly. He took them to another city, to a spacious mansion, surrounded them with care and love.
And the ex-husband? When the whole truth reached him, he tried to beg for forgiveness. But… Too late. Sveta changed her number and never returned to the city of her suffering…
Such is the story… With a happy ending!