Irina opened the door and froze. On the threshold stood Anton’s parents—Viktor Petrovich and Galina Nikolaevna. The very people who, three years earlier, had thrown her out of their home when they found out she was pregnant.
“Hello, Irochka,” Galina Nikolaevna tried to smile, but it came out crooked. “We’ve come to meet Mashenka.”
“You came to look at your granddaughter?! Weren’t you the ones demanding an ABORTION?!” Irina blocked the way into the apartment.
“We’ve reconsidered…” Viktor Petrovich began.
“RECONSIDERED?! When I came to you with the news I was pregnant, you screamed that I’d gotten pregnant on purpose to trap your precious son! You demanded I get rid of the baby!”
“Irochka, let’s not dig up the past…”
“No! We WILL! You kicked me out of the house, forbade Anton to talk to me! Where were you when I went to the doctors alone? When I gave birth? When I didn’t sleep at night with a newborn?”
Author: Vladimir Shorokhov © (2293_з5) Illustration ArtMind ©
Author: Vladimir Shorokhov © Author’s books on LitRes
Footsteps sounded in the hallway. Anton appeared, holding three-year-old Masha in his arms.
“Mom? Dad? What are you doing here?”
“Son!” Galina Nikolaevna rushed toward him. “We missed you! And we want to meet our granddaughter!”
The little girl pressed herself to her father, frightened, studying the strangers.
“Antosha, we’re your parents…”
“PARENTS?! Where have you been for three years? Do you know what Ira went through? What I went through?”
“We wanted the best future for you,” Viktor Petrovich cut in. “You were young, just starting your career…”
“I was old enough to make my own decisions! But you gave me an ultimatum: either Ira and the baby—or the inheritance and your money!”
“And you chose correctly,” his father nodded. “Look what kind of career you’ve built in our company…”
“I chose COWARDICE!” Anton set Masha down on the floor. “Go to Mom, sunshine.”
The girl ran to Irina, who scooped her into her arms.
“But then you came to your senses, came back to her…” Galina Nikolaevna tried to оправдаться.
“After a YEAR! An entire year I lived by your orders, while Ira raised our daughter alone! Do you know how many humiliations she endured? How the neighbors whispered behind her back? How people at work looked at her sideways?”
“We’re ready to fix everything,” Viktor Petrovich pulled an envelope from his pocket. “There’s money here for Mashenka. For her education, her development…”
“TAKE your money and GET OUT!” Irina hugged her daughter tighter. “Where was it when I couldn’t buy diapers? When I saved on everything just to feed my child?”
“Don’t be so dramatic,” Galina Nikolaevna grimaced. “Lots of single mothers raise children…”
“I wasn’t a single mother by choice! YOU made me one! You took my husband from me, and a father from Masha!”
“Anton made the decision himself…”
“Under your pressure! You threatened to strip him of his job, his apartment, everything! What choice did he have?”
Anton lowered his head. The memories of that time still tormented him.
“You know what’s the worst part?” Irina went on. “Masha asked at daycare why everyone has grandmas and grandpas, but she doesn’t. What was I supposed to tell her? That you didn’t want her? That status and money matter more to you than your own granddaughter?”
“We realized our mistake…” Galina Nikolaevna wiped away a tear.
“TOO LATE! Where were you on her first birthday? Her first steps? Her first words? You missed it all!”
“Give us a chance…” Viktor Petrovich pleaded.
“A chance? Did you give me a chance back then? When I came to you hoping for support? You didn’t even listen! Galina Nikolaevna screamed that I was some country bumpkin who got pregnant on purpose!”
“I was wrong…”
“You were CRUEL! Do you know what you said to me? That people like me shouldn’t give birth! That I’d ruin the child with my genes! That nothing good would ever come of my baby!”
Masha, scared by the shouting, started to cry.
“Hush, sweetheart, it’s okay,” Irina stroked her head. “Anton, get them out of here. Masha doesn’t need to hear this.”
“Wait,” Anton raised his hand. “Mom, Dad, I have to tell you something. Remember how you always bragged about our family heirloom? Great-grandmother’s diamond necklace?”
“Of course, it’s in the safe,” Viktor Petrovich nodded.
“It was. I sold it a year ago.”
“What?!” Galina Nikolaevna clutched at her chest. “How could you?! It’s a family treasure! It’s worth a fortune!”
“Exactly. With that money I paid for furniture and clothes for Irina. I bought everything Masha needed. I helped cover the baby’s first year.”
“You… you robbed your own parents?!”
“I repaid the debt to the woman you threw out onto the street while she was pregnant! Consider it compensation for moral damages!”
“We’ll cut you out of the inheritance!” Viktor Petrovich exploded.
“There’s your true face—MONEY. Fine, cut me out! I don’t need your dirty money! Do you know where it comes from? I dug through the company documents! Gray schemes, kickbacks, shell companies!”
“Don’t you dare! That’s business!”
“That’s THEFT! And you had the nerve to lecture me about morals? To say Ira wasn’t worthy of our family?”
“We did everything for you!”
“For me? Or for your reputation? You were ashamed your son married a simple girl with no connections and no money!”
The door across the hall cracked open—neighbor Maria Ivanovna peeked out at the noise.
“It’s all right, Maria Ivanovna,” Irina reassured her.
“If anything happens, call me,” the elderly woman shot the uninvited guests a stern look and shut the door.
“See?” Irina turned back to Anton’s parents. “That woman helped me more than you did! A stranger! She watched Masha when I ran to the doctors! She brought food when I couldn’t leave the house!”
“We didn’t know…”
“You didn’t WANT to know! You even blocked my number! I tried calling when Masha was born! When we needed money for medicine! But you cut off all contact!”
“Listen,” Anton stood beside Irina. “I’m grateful for my upbringing, my education, everything you gave me. But you erased it all with one act. You forced me to betray the woman I loved—and my own child.”
“We were thinking about your future…”
“About YOUR future! About what your business partners would say—that your son married some nobody!”
“She really is nobody!” Galina Nikolaevna blurted out.
“Mom!” Anton went pale. “There! That’s your real face! Even now, when you came to beg forgiveness, you still despise Ira!”
“That’s not what I meant…”
“It is exactly what you meant! You know what? Ira is the best thing that ever happened to me! She’s kind, honest, hardworking! She’s a nurse—she saves lives! And what do you do? Sit in your office counting OTHER PEOPLE’S money!”
“Don’t you dare talk to your mother like that!”
“And you didn’t dare treat the mother of my child that way! GET OUT! And don’t come back!”
“Anton, think! We’re your parents!”
“Parents don’t abandon their children in trouble. But you abandoned me, Ira, and your granddaughter. You’re dead to us.”
“You’ll regret this!” Viktor Petrovich clenched his fists. “I’ll fire you! You’ll be left without a job!”
“Fire me. I’ve already found another one. At a state hospital. I’ll be a surgeon, like I always dreamed. Not sitting in your office pushing papers!”
“A surgeon? That’s peanuts!”
“But it’s honest! And I’ll help people, not cheat them!”
“You’re making a huge mistake!”
“The mistake I made was three years ago—when I listened to you! That won’t happen again! GET OUT!”
Galina Nikolaevna wanted to say something, but Viktor Petrovich took her hand.
“Come on. He made his choice. Let him cry later.”
“I won’t,” Anton snapped. “Unlike YOU! You’ll grow old alone, without a son and granddaughter! And your money won’t help you!”
Anton’s parents turned and walked toward the elevator. Galina Nikolaevna glanced back at the last moment.
“Mashenka… can we at least…”
“No!” Irina cut her off. “You don’t even have the right to say her name!”
The elevator doors closed. Anton leaned against the wall, breathing hard.
“Forgive me, Ira. Forgive me for everything.”
“You’ve already apologized a thousand times.”
“But it’s not enough! I should’ve sent them away right away! I should’ve been with you!”
“You’re here now. That’s what matters.”
Masha reached for her father.
“Daddy, why were that auntie and uncle yelling?”
“That wasn’t an auntie and uncle, sweetheart. They’re just… strangers. They won’t come again.”
“Good. They’re mean.”
“Yes, baby. They’re mean.”
The family went back inside. Irina sat Masha at the table with an album and crayons.
“Draw while Mom and Dad talk.”
They went into the kitchen. Anton sat down, burying his head in his hands.
“I can’t believe they came. After everything…”
“Do you know why they came?” Irina poured him some water.
“Why?”
“Yesterday I ran into Olga, your partner’s wife. She said everyone in their circle is talking about what a wonderful wife and daughter you have—what a model family we are. Your parents decided we’re worthy of their attention now.”
“So it’s not about remorse…”
“Of course not. It’s just beneficial for them now to have a granddaughter—show her off to friends, brag about her, use her like everything else in their lives.”
“I hate them.”
“Don’t waste emotions on them. They’re not worth it.”
“How can you be so calm after everything they did to you?”
“I learned to be. When you’re alone with a baby in your arms, you quickly learn to set priorities. They’re the past. We have the present and the future.”
“Ira, marry me.”
“Anton, you already proposed…”
“But we kept putting it off because… because of them. Now they’re not in our lives. Let’s get married. Modestly, without a big ceremony. Just us, Masha, and close friends.”
“And your job? Your parents really could fire you…”
“Let them. I really did find a position at the hospital. The salary’s smaller, but it’s the work I love. And Masha will be proud of her doctor dad!”
“Are you sure?”
“I’ve never been so sure in my life. These three years taught me the main thing—money and status are nothing compared to family. Real family.”
Irina hugged him.
“Okay. I agree. But on one condition—your parents must not know about the wedding.”
“They won’t. I’ll block all their contacts. Every last one. We’re starting a new life!”
“Daddy! Mommy! Look what I drew!” Masha ran into the kitchen with a picture. On the sheet were three little figures holding hands.
“Is that us?”
“Yes! Our family! Just ours—without the mean people!”
Anton lifted his daughter into his arms.
“That’s right, sunshine. Just ours.”
A month later they had a modest wedding. They registered at the civil office, then celebrated in a café with friends. Maria Ivanovna—the same neighbor—was a witness on the bride’s side. Irina’s colleagues from the hospital threw a real celebration.
And half a year later, Viktor Petrovich and Galina Nikolaevna learned about the wedding from mutual acquaintances. They tried to come, but no one opened the door. They called—numbers were blocked. They wrote—letters were returned.
Another year later, the tax authorities audited their company. They found the very same gray schemes Anton had talked about. Viktor Petrovich got a suspended sentence and a massive fine. The company went bankrupt. They had to sell the apartment and cars to pay off the debts.
Galina Nikolaevna collapsed with heart trouble. In the hospital where she was brought, Anton worked. He walked past her room without a glance. For him, that woman no longer existed.
He and Irina moved to another district. Anton became head of the surgical department. Irina became the senior nurse. Masha got a little brother, Seryozha. Then a little sister, Katya.
Sometimes Irina would see an aged Galina Nikolaevna on the street. She would try to speak, to come up to the grandchildren. But Irina would pass by, holding the children’s hands tightly.
“Mom, why is that grandma looking so sad?” Masha asked once.
“Maybe she doesn’t have a family.”
“That’s so sad… I’m glad we do!”
“Yes, sweetheart. Very glad.”
And Galina Nikolaevna stood there, watching them go. She had time to think about what really matters in life. But that time was gone. Irrevocably.
Pride, contempt for ordinary people, hunger for status—everything led to loneliness. Total and final. And no money, even if it had remained, could buy forgiveness. Couldn’t bring back her son or let her meet her grandchildren.
Justice triumphed. Not through court or revenge—but through a simple choice: the choice to live without toxic people, even if those people are your parents. The choice to protect your family from those who once betrayed it.
Anton and Irina built a happy life. Without Viktor Petrovich’s money, without Galina Nikolaevna’s connections. With their own hands, their own work—and most importantly, their love.
And those who believed they had the right to humiliate and despise were left with nothing. With emptiness in their souls and in their lives. Because betrayal isn’t forgiven—especially the betrayal of your own children.