Mom, wait! I asked you not to touch my documents!” — Marina burst into the study, but it was already too late.
Galina Petrovna was standing by the open safe, holding a folder, her face frozen in shock. In her trembling fingers, she gripped a notarized document — the will of Marina’s late grandmother, which no one in the Kuznetsov family had known about.
“So that’s why you took the news about selling the house so calmly…” Galina Petrovna’s voice trembled with barely restrained fury. “You knew all along! You knew and kept silent!”
Marina froze in the doorway. For three years she had kept this secret, lived with the heavy knowledge that could shatter her husband’s fragile family world. And now, in an instant, it all fell apart because of her mother-in-law’s curiosity — again poking where she wasn’t asked.
It all began five years ago when Marina married Pavel. The Kuznetsov family welcomed her with open arms — or so it seemed at first glance. Galina Petrovna, a domineering woman of about fifty-five, ruled the family clan with an iron fist. Her word was law for everyone: for her husband Viktor Ivanovich, a quiet retired accountant; for her youngest daughter Svetlana; and, of course, for her beloved son Pavel.
Marina quickly understood the rules of the game in this family. Her mother-in-law controlled everything: from the dinner menu to the choice of curtains in the young couple’s bedroom. At first, Marina tried to assert her boundaries, but Pavel always sided with his mother.
“Mom has worked her whole life for us,” he would say. “Is it really so hard to give in to her on little things?”
But the little things kept piling up. Galina Petrovna would enter their apartment without knocking, using spare keys. She rearranged furniture, threw out Marina’s things that she considered “tasteless,” gave unsolicited advice on everything — from their intimate life to career choices.
“Daughter-in-law, when will you give us grandchildren?” This question was asked at every meeting. “You’re already thirty; the clock is ticking!”
Marina gritted her teeth and stayed silent. She couldn’t tell her mother-in-law the truth — that she and Pavel had been trying unsuccessfully for a year to have a child, that she had undergone medical examinations and everything was fine with her, but Pavel categorically refused to see a doctor.
“That’s humiliating,” he said. “All the men in our family are healthy. The problem is you.”
And, of course, Galina Petrovna supported her son. Endless advice about folk remedies, herbal collections, and holy springs followed. Marina obediently drank bitter decoctions, visited monasteries, and endured the sideways glances of the entire Kuznetsov clan.
Everything changed three years ago when Marina’s grandmother, Anna Mikhailovna, died. The old woman lived in another city; they rarely saw each other, but there was always a special bond between them. It was the grandmother who once told young Marina:
“Remember, my dear granddaughter: a woman must have her own support. Not in a husband, not in children — in herself. And may you always have something that no one can take away.”
Marina went to the funeral alone — Pavel cited important work, and Galina Petrovna declared that “attending strangers’ funerals is a bad omen for those expecting children.”
So imagine Marina’s surprise when a week later a notary called her from her grandmother’s city. It turned out Anna Mikhailovna had left her a legacy — a large house in the city center and a substantial sum in a bank account. But there was one condition: Marina had to keep it secret until she herself decided to reveal the truth.
“Your grandmother was a wise woman,” the notary said, handing over the documents. “She worried a lot about you. She said she felt you would need this support.”
Marina thought long and hard about whether to tell her husband. But her intuition said: keep silent. And she did. She rented out the house through an agency, the money accumulated in a separate account. It was her secret refuge, her backup airfield.
Meanwhile, life with the Kuznetsovs was becoming unbearable. Galina Petrovna crossed all boundaries. She would come to their home when the young couple was out, rummage through their things, read Marina’s personal notes.
“I’m a mother; I have the right to know what’s going on in my son’s family!” she declared whenever Marina tried to object.
Pavel, as always, defended his mother:
“She’s just worried about us. What’s it to you? You have no secrets from the family, right?”
Oh, if only he knew…
The climax came a year ago. Galina Petrovna learned from an acquaintance that Marina had been seen leaving a reproductive clinic. The scandal was huge.
“So that’s where you’re spending the family money!” the mother-in-law shouted. “On charlatans! You’d better go to the priest and confess your sins!”
“These are my personal funds from my salary,” Marina tried to defend herself.
“What personal funds? Everything in the family is shared!” Galina Petrovna turned to her son. “Pasha, did you know about this?”
Pavel shook his head, looking at his wife reproachfully.
“See? She hides things from her husband! And wonders why God won’t give her children. A sinner!”
That evening, Marina seriously considered divorce for the first time. But she was scared. Despite everything, she loved Pavel. She believed he would grow up someday, separate psychologically from his mother. Besides, she was thirty-three — starting over seemed frightening.
And now, when it seemed things couldn’t get worse, thunder struck. Galina Petrovna discovered the will.
“So you have a house! A whole house! And money!” the mother-in-law waved the documents. “And here we are, the whole family, saving money to help Svetlana get an apartment! How could you do this to us?”
“This is my personal inheritance from my grandmother,” Marina tried to speak calmly. “It has nothing to do with Pavel’s family.”
“Nothing to do with us?” Galina Petrovna flushed with anger. “You’re part of our family! What’s yours is ours! Pasha! Come here, see what your wife has been hiding from us!”
Pavel appeared at the study door. Seeing the documents in his mother’s hands and his wife’s pale face, he understood everything immediately.
“Marina… Is it true? You have a house?”
“Yes,” she raised her head and looked her husband in the eyes. “Grandmother left me an inheritance three years ago.”
“Three years…” Pavel shook his head. “You lied to me for three years.”
“I didn’t lie. I just didn’t tell you.”
“That’s the same thing!” he exploded. “We are husband and wife! We shouldn’t have secrets!”
“Exactly!” Galina Petrovna agreed. “And right now we’re going to the notary to transfer everything to Pasha. No secrets in the family!”
“What?” Marina couldn’t believe her ears. “Transfer it to Pavel? This is my inheritance!”
“In a family everything is shared,” the mother-in-law cut in. “If, of course, you consider yourself part of the family.”
Marina looked at her husband, expecting him to intervene, to tell his mother she was overstepping. But Pavel was silent, looking at her with hurt and reproach.
“Mom’s right,” he finally said. “If I got an inheritance, I’d tell you right away. We’d decide together what to do with it. But you… You don’t trust me.”
“I don’t trust you?” Marina felt a wave of anger rising inside her. “I don’t trust you? Your mother rummages through my things, reads my private notes, enters our home without asking! And you’re always on her side! Always!”
“Don’t you dare speak like that about my mother!” Pavel raised his voice. “She does everything for us!”
“For you!” Marina also shouted. “For you, not for me! She does only one thing for me — turns my life into hell!”
“How dare you, you ungrateful wretch!” Galina Petrovna screeched. “We accepted you into the family, loved you, cared for you!”
“Loved?” Marina laughed through tears. “You used me! Like free help, like an incubator for grandchildren I can’t give you because your precious son refuses to admit the problem is with him!”
Silence fell. Pavel went pale, his mother opened her mouth, but no words came.
“What did you say?” Galina Petrovna finally hissed.
“What is,” Marina straightened up. “I am healthy. Completely. But Pavel doesn’t even want to get checked. Because in your perfect family there can be no flaws, right?”
“You lie!” the mother-in-law lunged at her daughter-in-law, but Pavel held her back. “Let me go! She lies! All the men in our family are healthy!”
“Mom, calm down,” Pavel tried to seat his mother. “Marina is just upset…”
“I’m not upset,” Marina cut him off. “I’m looking at things clearly. And you know what? Enough. I’m tired of pretending everything is fine. Tired of enduring humiliation and control. Tired of being blamed for all your family’s troubles.”
She turned to her husband:
“Pavel, I loved you. Truly loved you. But you never became a man. You remained your mother’s boy who can’t make a decision without her approval. And I no longer want to be the third wheel in your and her family.”
“Marina, let’s talk calmly…” Pavel began, but she raised her hand, stopping him.
“No. Enough talk. I’m filing for divorce.”
“Divorce?” Galina Petrovna jumped up from the chair. “How dare you! After everything we’ve done for you!”
“And what have you done for me?” Marina turned to her mother-in-law. “Turned my life into a branch of your home? Deprived me of the right to privacy? Accused me of every sin?”
“We gave you a family!”
“No,” Marina shook her head. “You gave me a cage. Maybe a golden one, but a cage. And I want to be free.”
She passed the stunned Kuznetsovs and headed for the door. At the doorway, she turned around:
“And yes, I won’t sell the house. It will remain mine — just as grandmother wanted. She knew I would need a place where I could start a new life. Without you.”
“You’ll regret it!” Galina Petrovna shouted after her. “Who needs you at your age? Childless, with a temper!”
Marina stopped, slowly turned:
“You know, Galina Petrovna, I’d rather be alone and free than married and enslaved. And about my age… I’m thirty-three. Life is ahead of me. A life where I will make my own decisions.”
The front door slammed. Galina Petrovna turned to her son:
“Pasha! Chase after her! Stop her!”
But Pavel sat on the chair, head in his hands.
“Mom… What if she’s right?”
“Right about what?” the mother-in-law was outraged.
“About everything. That I… that I never grew up. That I always choose you over my wife. That I’m even afraid to go to the doctor because…”
“Shut up!” Galina Petrovna ordered. “That wretch has poisoned your mind! She’ll live alone for a while, come to her senses, crawl back.”
But Pavel shook his head:
“No, Mom. She won’t crawl back. You don’t know Marina. She’s proud. And strong. Stronger than me.”
Two months passed. The divorce went quickly — Marina did not claim Pavel’s property, and he had no rights to her inheritance. Galina Petrovna tried to persuade her son to a “fair division,” but the lawyer explained that inheritance received during the marriage is not subject to division.
Marina moved into her grandmother’s house. The first time was difficult — the habit of living with an eye on her mother-in-law’s opinion showed itself. She caught herself thinking when choosing curtains: “What would Galina Petrovna say?” But gradually these thoughts faded.
The house seemed to heal her. Everything in it breathed the memory of her grandmother — a wise woman who had preserved her independence and dignity. Marina found her grandmother’s diaries and read them in the evenings. In one was an entry:
“I saw little Marina today with her husband and his mother. My heart ached — I see how my girl is withering next to that woman. But I said nothing — everyone must go their own way. I only hope that when the time comes, my gift will help her find freedom.”
Marina cried over those lines. Grandmother saw everything, understood everything. And prepared a lifeline for her.
Gradually life got better. Marina found a new job — in her own city, closer to home. She got a dog — a dream that Galina Petrovna strictly forbade (“Dogs bring dirt and hair!”). She started dancing — another hobby mocked by her mother-in-law (“Shaking your body at your age is improper!”).
And six months later, something unexpected happened. Pavel called her.
“Marina… Can we meet? Talk?”
They met in a café. Pavel looked haggard, lost weight. He told her that after the divorce he went to the doctor. The diagnosis confirmed the worst fears — the problem was with him. Treatment is possible but long and without guarantees.
“Forgive me,” he said. “For everything. For not protecting you from my mother. For blaming you. For being a coward.”
Marina looked at the man she once loved and felt only sadness. Not anger, not resentment — just sadness.
“I bear no grudge, Pavel. It’s just… We both changed. And there’s no going back.”
“I know,” he lowered his head. “Mom still thinks you’ll come back. She asks every day if you called.”
“And you?”
“And I… I started living separately. Renting an apartment. Trying to learn to be independent. Maybe too late, but…”
“It’s never too late to start living your own life,” Marina said softly.
They parted peacefully. Pavel promised not to bother her anymore, and he kept his word. Marina returned to her house — a house where she was the mistress of her own fate.
In the evening, sitting on the veranda with a cup of tea and her beloved dog at her feet, she thought about how strange life is. Galina Petrovna called her ungrateful, said she would regret it. But Marina didn’t regret it. Not for a minute.
Yes, she was alone. Yes, she was already over thirty. Yes, maybe she would never have children. But she was free. Free to make decisions, to make plans, to live as she wanted, not as someone else demanded.
The phone rang. An unknown number appeared on the screen. Marina answered.
“Good evening,” she heard a female voice. “Is this Marina? My name is Elena, I’m the lawyer for Galina Petrovna Kuznetsova. My client requests to arrange a meeting to discuss the issue of unfair division of property during your divorce…”
Marina smiled and hung up. Some people never change. But that was no longer her problem.
The dog rested her head on Marina’s lap, and Marina stroked her. Warm light shone in the house, dinner awaited in the kitchen, cooked to her taste, and ahead was an evening she would spend however she wished.
And that was true happiness. The happiness of freedom. The happiness of being herself. The happiness worth any price.
Thank you, grandmother, Marina silently said, looking at the starry sky. Thank you for the house. But most of all — thank you for the lesson. For understanding that a woman must have her own support. Not in a husband, not in children — in herself.
And now, no one would ever take that support away from her. Never.