When Elena heard the sound of keys in the lock, her heart sank. She knew that authoritative clatter of heels in the hallway better than the beat of her own pulse. Eight months pregnant, every movement was already painful, and now she had to face the one she feared more than labor itself. The door flew open, and into the apartment burst a storm of criticism and discontent—Galina Petrovna.
“What is this supposed to be!” her mother-in-law exclaimed instead of greeting. “Why does my daughter-in-law have such a gloomy face?”
The last thing Elena wanted at that moment was Igor’s mother showing up. She had planned to rest after lunch—the burden under her heart required constant pauses. Even simple household chores had become a test of endurance. Finally taking maternity leave had allowed her at least a little relief, but her plans were shattered in an instant.
“Welcome, Galina Petrovna,” Elena said submissively, stepping aside.
“And where’s my little Igor?” the mother immediately began looking for her son with her eyes.
“Earning money,” Elena answered calmly. “Working for our family and the baby.”
“Can’t you take care of yourself?” Galina Petrovna dropped her unexpectedly heavy suitcases and majestically swept deeper into the apartment, almost knocking the pregnant woman off her feet. “You’re an adult already, soon to be a mother—time to grow up!”
Once inside, the mother-in-law began inspecting every corner as if she were conducting an inspection. Elena grew uneasy.
“Did you come for a special reason?” she asked cautiously. “To pick something up?”
“Hm?” Galina Petrovna turned in surprise. “I’ll be living here now.”
Elena’s knees buckled.
“But how…” she stammered.
“I got fed up with that boor I was renting with,” her mother-in-law explained dismissively, with obvious irritation. “I won’t tolerate him anymore. I left right away. The apartment is in my husband’s name, and finding a new one is difficult, so I’ll stay with you for now.”
The explanation only deepened Elena’s distress. Yes, their home was spacious, but did that give her mother-in-law the right to invade and demand housing? She wanted to object, but pregnancy had drained her strength, and exhausted, she simply went to the bedroom to wait for her husband.
Unfortunately, Igor’s return changed little—he pitied his mother. Despite her quarrelsome nature, she had raised him, and he couldn’t abandon her. Elena submitted, hoping maybe she’d at least get some help around the house.
Her hopes were quickly shattered. Within two days, Galina Petrovna had seized complete control of household life. Igor was always at work, so it was up to the pregnant Elena to adapt to his mother—and adapting was nearly impossible. Every little thing she did drew criticism. The floors weren’t clean enough, crumbs were left on the table, a single dirty cup was unforgivable.
“Galina Petrovna,” Elena said one day, her voice filled with exhaustion, “please understand—my belly is in the way, I feel unwell, my back aches, my legs hurt…”
“Oh, spare me, your back hurts?” her mother-in-law folded her arms, as always. “Women have carried the burden of the household for centuries! So what if you’re carrying a child? That’s your duty! It doesn’t free you from housework! I raised a son, I know best. You still have much to learn!”
Elena found no words in reply. She couldn’t allow herself stress, so she tried not to start a fight.
One weekday, while Igor was still at work, they ran out of food, and Elena had no choice but to go shopping.
“All right, I’ll go with you,” her mother-in-law agreed arrogantly when Elena asked for help. “Otherwise you’ll mess something up. I’ll keep an eye on you.”
“Thank you…” Elena would have preferred to go alone, but she knew she couldn’t handle it.
The trip to the market went fine, aside from the constant grumbling. But as they prepared to leave—
“Well, what are you dawdling for?” her mother-in-law snapped. “Grab the bags and let’s go. Enough strolling around.”
Elena froze. What did she mean, grab the bags?
“Galina Petrovna,” she murmured nervously, “aren’t you going to help me? You know I’m not supposed to strain myself…”
“Oh, don’t exaggerate!” the older woman mocked her. “It’s nothing, you can handle it yourself!”
Elena didn’t argue and obediently took the bags. But after only a few meters, she grew faint. The load was too heavy.
“Oh…” she groaned, “I don’t feel well…”
“What now?” Galina Petrovna didn’t even blink, though something was clearly wrong. “Can’t even carry groceries without making a fuss?”
But Elena no longer heard her—her ears were ringing.
“Miss! Miss!” a stranger rushed up and caught her before she fell. “Are you all right? Should I call a doctor?”
“No, no, it’ll pass…” she waved him off weakly.
“Women these days are so fragile…” her mother-in-law sighed gloomily. “Utterly useless…”
Fortunately, Elena recovered within minutes, and they didn’t need to call an ambulance. Galina Petrovna reluctantly took some of the bags, and they made it home.
When Igor learned what had happened, he rushed home at once.
“My dear Lena,” he said, stroking her hand, “forgive me! I should have helped. Why didn’t you wait for me? I’d have gone myself!”
“I thought I could manage,” she whispered. “You work all day, I wanted to spare you…”
“Why didn’t you ask my mother for help?”
Elena closed her eyes briefly, then sighed.
“I didn’t want to tell you… but it was Galina Petrovna who made me carry the bags.”
Her husband froze in disbelief, his hand stilling.
“Mother?…” he whispered.
“And when I felt faint…” Elena’s shoulders shook as tears welled. “She just dismissed it…”
Silence fell. Elena wept quietly.
“I’ll handle it,” Igor said firmly. “Don’t worry. Rest, my love.” He stood and marched to confront his mother.
Though Elena couldn’t hear everything, their voices were raised. She could only hope her mother-in-law would relent—or at least ease her cruelty.
Time passed, and Elena rejoiced as she held their tiny daughter in her arms. Igor was so moved he cried, which touched her deeply. It seemed like a new, brighter life had begun.
But reality proved harsher. Motherhood was grueling. Almost every night the baby cried, and Elena barely slept. The infant fussed constantly, and no matter how long she rocked her, she often wouldn’t calm down.
“And you call yourself a mother!” Galina Petrovna still found reasons to scold her, even after the granddaughter’s birth.
Elena felt the situation had only worsened since Igor’s confrontation with his mother. Her criticisms grew sharper, while she still refused to actually help. She would nag Elena until she was in tears, then simply leave her alone with the baby.
The hardships piled up. One evening, after finally putting the baby down and sitting in the kitchen to eat, Igor came home. Uncharacteristically silent, he went straight to the bedroom and shut the door. Elena knew instantly something was wrong. When he finally joined her, he sat heavily, his eyes dark.
“I was fired,” he said flatly, unable to meet her gaze.
Her shoulders slumped. They sat in silence, the weight of life pressing down even harder. Then the baby’s cry pierced the air, and Elena forced herself up, knowing she couldn’t collapse.
“I’ll figure something out,” Igor tried to reassure her.
“I know,” she smiled faintly and kissed him before going to the child.
The next day they discussed their options seriously. But Galina Petrovna intruded again.
“I heard your little plans,” she scoffed. “Why make my son the breadwinner? Why don’t you work instead?”
Elena stared at her in disbelief. Igor was stunned too.
“What do you mean?” Elena asked weakly.
“What’s unclear?” her mother-in-law snapped, arms crossed. “Let Igor take leave. You go to work!”
Elena’s heart sank. She had a newborn in her arms, was utterly exhausted, surviving on scraps of sleep—and yet her mother-in-law dared to say such cruel words. Tears threatened to spill, but Igor finally snapped.
“Mother, how can you say that?” his voice thundered. “How can you treat Elena this way?”
“Are you defending her?” Galina Petrovna gasped. “Don’t you see? She’s living off you! Doesn’t earn a thing, barely does anything at all!”
“She’s raising my daughter!” Igor shot back. “She works as hard as I do—harder! She keeps the house, cooks, cleans, and cares for the baby! And you—you do nothing but torment her!”
He drew a steadying breath.
“You know what? Start looking for an apartment. You won’t live with us forever.”
His mother gaped, then scowled.
“So that’s how you treat your own mother? Fine! I was going to leave anyway. Living with you is unbearable!”
“Good. Then we agree,” Igor said curtly.
Over the next days, Galina Petrovna searched for a place, but not without continuing her attacks. Igor shielded Elena now, never letting his mother’s poison reach her.
“I can’t stay here!” she finally shrieked. “Better to crawl back to that scoundrel than live like this!”
“No one’s holding you, Mother,” Igor replied. “Leave quickly. We want peace.”
“Ungrateful!” she snapped one last time.
The next day she packed and left without a word.
At last, the young family breathed freely. Igor found a new job, Elena grew more confident with their daughter, and her husband helped whenever he could. From then on, neither of them saw or spoke with Galina Petrovna again. She nursed her grudge in silence, as if they no longer existed. But Elena and Igor didn’t care. They knew it was better for everyone—especially their little girl. Better she grow up without a grandmother than endure the torment her mother had.