Diana put the last plate in the drying rack and turned off the water. The kitchen in their two-room apartment was small but cozy. Viktor was sitting on the couch in the living room, scrolling through news on his phone.
“Vitya, did Inna call?” Diana asked, drying her hands on a towel.
“Yeah, she’ll drop by tomorrow afternoon,” her husband replied without lifting his eyes from the screen.
Diana went into the living room and sat down next to Viktor on the couch. Everything tightened inside at the thought of yet another visit from her sister-in-law. Inna never came for no reason—she always found an excuse to show off her superiority.
“Maybe we should go to a café?” Viktor suggested, setting his phone aside. “We haven’t been in a while.”
“With what money?” Diana gave a bitter smile. “We’ve still got a week till payday, and there are three thousand left in my wallet.”
Viktor nodded silently. Conversations about money had long since become a sore topic in their home. Thirty-five thousand for the mortgage ate up half their combined income; the rest went to groceries and utilities.
The next day Inna showed up at half past two. She flew into the apartment like a hurricane, flaunting a new bag from a famous brand.
“Hello, my dears!” the sister-in-law trilled, kissing Viktor on the cheek. “Diana, how are you? Still working at the school?”
“Yes, same as ever,” Diana answered evenly, taking her guest’s coat.
“Why are you still slaving away at a school for pennies?” Inna walked into the living room and carelessly tossed her bag onto a chair. “Vitya’s such a success, and you drag him down with your teacher’s salary.”
Diana froze in the hallway. Every time it was the same. Every time these barbs wrapped in phony concern. Her lips pressed into a thin line, but she kept silent.
“Dian, will you make us some coffee?” Viktor jumped in quickly.
Diana escaped to the kitchen, catching her sister-in-law’s voice with half an ear.
“Oh, and I’ve got news!” Inna pulled out her phone and started flipping through photos. “Andrei bought us a new car. Can you imagine? And this weekend we’re flying to Turkey, to a five-star hotel.”
Diana came back to the living room with a tray. Her hands trembled slightly as she set the cups on the coffee table. Inna rhapsodized about her three-room apartment in the center, about a renovation that cost a million and a half, about new designer clothes.
“And when was the last time you two took a vacation?” the sister-in-law asked, pausing in her monologue.
“Last year we went to my parents’ dacha,” Diana said quietly.
“That’s not a vacation, that’s working in the vegetable beds,” Inna snorted. “Vitya, you do understand that a wife should be her husband’s adornment, not a burden?”
Diana set the cup on the table more sharply than she’d intended. Viktor glanced at her, worried, but said nothing. The atmosphere in the room grew more heated by the minute.
“Inna, that’s enough,” her husband said sharply. “Diana is a wonderful teacher. The kids adore her, the parents are grateful.”
“What good is that respect if there’s no money?” Inna waved a hand. “Look how other people live and draw your conclusions.”
Diana quietly gathered the cups back onto the tray. Every word from her sister-in-law settled on her heart like a heavy weight. She understood—things couldn’t go on like this.
Inna’s visits continued regularly, and every time she found new ways to highlight the difference in their circumstances. The months blurred into a monotonous sequence—work, home, bills, and new barbs from the sister-in-law.
After several months of such visits, Diana’s phone rang. An unfamiliar number lit up on the screen.
“Diana Sergeyevna?” a pleasant female voice sounded. “My name is Yelena Viktorovna, I’m the director of the private language school ‘Polyglot.’ I wanted to offer you a job—teaching Russian to foreigners for one hundred thousand rubles a month.”
Diana froze by the window in the living room. One hundred thousand? Her head spun at the number. Compared to that, her current salary seemed like pocket change.
“Are you serious?” she breathed, gripping the phone tighter.
“Absolutely. Marina Petrovna from your school recommended you highly,” Yelena Viktorovna explained. “Could you come in for an interview tomorrow?”
Diana agreed. She wrote down the address and hung up. Viktor looked up from the TV and studied his wife closely.
“Who was that?” he asked.
“They’re offering me a new job,” Diana said softly, still hardly believing what was happening.
And that day changed everything.
Six months later, Diana’s life was completely different. The new job brought in good money, and she was able to pay for Viktor’s programming courses. Every evening her husband sat at the computer, studying programming languages and solving problems.
“Vitya, is the final exam tomorrow?” she asked, setting a bowl of borscht on the table.
Viktor nodded.
“Yeah. Three companies have already sent interview invites.”
Before long he was working as a developer at an IT company, earning one hundred and twenty thousand rubles. They started setting money aside to pay off the mortgage early, and had already saved eight hundred thousand of the one million they needed.
“We’ll be able to settle up with the bank completely soon.”
“Can you imagine the freedom?” Viktor put an arm around her shoulders. “No more monthly payments.”
Meanwhile, Inna’s marriage was falling apart. Viktor told Diana about his sister’s constant fights with her husband over money. Andrei was tired of her endless spending and reproaches.
“Inka threw a tantrum again yesterday,” Viktor said over dinner. “She demanded a new bag for a hundred thousand.”
“And what did Andrei say?” Diana asked.
“He said there’s no money. And she shot back—then what use are you to me?” her husband sighed.
The conflicts reached a critical point, and Andrei filed for divorce, throwing Inna and the two kids out of the apartment. Child support was set at a pittance—eight thousand for two children, since Andrei’s official salary was small.
Inna began coming to Diana and Viktor’s place often. She sat in the kitchen and complained about her ex, asking for money for the children’s needs. Out of pity, Diana sometimes gave small sums—sometimes for groceries, sometimes for clothes for her niece and nephew.
“He’s so heartless,” Inna sobbed over a cup of tea. “Living like a king and giving the kids nothing.”
“Inna, maybe you could try to find a job?” Diana suggested gently.
“Who would hire me? I’ve been a housewife for ten years,” the sister-in-law waved her hand.
One day Inna happened to see a bank statement on the kitchen table. Diana got distracted by a phone call, and when she returned, she noticed her sister-in-law studying the document closely.
“Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to,” Inna said quickly, pushing the paper away.
But her eyes were shining with a strange gleam. Diana understood—Inna had learned about their savings. She silently scolded herself for being careless.
The next day the sister-in-law came again. But this time she behaved differently—demanding and pushy.
“Dianochka, dear,” Inna began, settling down at the table. “I need to have a serious talk with you.”
Diana grew wary. There was a new note in her sister-in-law’s voice—not pleading, but almost commanding.
“The kids need money for school, for clothes,” Inna went on. “And you two have such incomes, you’ve saved a whole fortune.”
“We’re saving to pay off the mortgage,” Diana answered evenly.
“Oh, come off it!” Inna threw up her hands. “Eight hundred thousand lying in the account while my kids are starving!”
Diana just shook her head.
“Inna, that’s not how this works.”
Then her sister-in-law exploded:
“Give me money! You don’t have children! You’re obligated to help me!”
Diana recoiled from the table. Inna shot to her feet, her face contorted with malice. Her eyes flashed, her hands trembled with rage.
“My two kids are crammed into a rented studio while you sit on a treasure hoard!” she yelled. “You’ve got nothing to spend it on! Selfish!”
“Inna, we’re saving that money to pay off the mortgage,” Diana tried to explain, backing toward the window.
“To hell with your mortgage!” Inna flailed her arms. “My children are more important than your whims!”
Diana leaned her back against the windowsill. Her heart was pounding in her throat. She had never seen Inna in such a fury.
“You’ve always thought you were better than me!” the sister-in-law ranted on. “With your smart talk, with that teacher’s self-importance! And now you’ve gone and gotten rich!”
“I’ve never thought that,” Diana objected quietly.
“Liar!” Inna stepped closer. “I remember how you frowned at my new things! How you looked down on my clothes! You think I didn’t notice?”
Diana was silent. Each accusation hit a sore spot. Yes, she hadn’t always been able to hide her attitude toward her sister-in-law’s airs.
“And now you’ve got so much money you can support my kids too!” Inna came right up to her. “But you’re stingy! Counting every penny!”
“This is our honestly earned money,” Diana said more firmly.
“What difference does it make who earned it?” Inna waved her hands. “We’re relatives! You’re obligated to support me and the kids! The money is just sitting there doing nothing anyway!”
Diana straightened up. Something inside her finally snapped. Years of humiliations and barbs surfaced in her memory in one heavy lump.
“I don’t owe anyone anything,” she said clearly.
“You do!” Inna screeched. “You’re childless! You’ve got no one to leave an inheritance to!”
“This money is the result of our work,” Diana’s voice grew steadier with every word. “And I have the right to spend it as I see fit.”
“Oh, you!” Inna grabbed her head. “I’m asking, I’m begging! And you’re like a stone!”
Diana strode to the door and flung it open.
“Get out of my home. Now.”
“What?” the sister-in-law was taken aback.
“I said—get out. And don’t come back demanding money.”
Inna stood there for a few seconds, mouth open, then snatched up her bag and swept past Diana into the hallway.
“I won’t forgive you for this!” she shouted, slamming the door.
Diana sank into a chair. Her hands were shaking; blood throbbed in her temples. She had done it. She had finally stood up for herself.
Half an hour later the phone rang. Her mother-in-law was screaming into the receiver without stopping:
“How dare you throw Inna out! Heartless! Greedy! Her children are starving while you bathe in luxury!”
Diana listened silently to the accusations. Every word from her mother-in-law jangled her nerves, but she no longer made excuses.
“I’ll tell Viktor everything!” her husband’s mother threatened at last.
Diana set the phone down. Viktor was at work—no messages, no calls. She waited for him to come home with a pounding heart.
In the evening Viktor came home tired. He took off his shoes in the hallway and went into the kitchen, where Diana sat at the table with a mug of cold tea.
“Mom and Inna already called me,” he said, sitting down across from his wife.
Diana lifted her eyes to him. They were full of tears.
“Vitya, I’ll explain everything that happened…”
“No need,” her husband interrupted. “I’ve already talked to Mom and my sister. I explained to them that the money was earned by us together and is intended for our family goals.”
Diana froze with the mug in her hands.
“No one is going to demand financial help from you anymore,” Viktor went on. “That’s enough of them. You’re not an ATM for the whole clan.”
Relief washed over her like a warm wave. Her husband was on her side. He understood.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
“We’re a family, Diana. Just us two. And we make the decisions ourselves.”
A month later, Diana and Viktor paid off the mortgage early. Inna took offense and avoided contact; her mother-in-law sulked and didn’t call. But Diana no longer worried about it.
Standing at the window of her fully paid-off apartment, she finally understood—their family was the two of them, not her husband’s entire extended family. And no one would ever again extort money from her or tell her how to spend it.