Mom, I wanted to say that I don’t…” Alina began, but her mother immediately interrupted her.
“I refuse to even listen!” Her mother slammed her palm on the countertop. “Do you understand the living conditions they’re in right now? Their windows won’t even open! Your apartment would be a real salvation for them, and you…”
Her father, who was sitting nearby, coughed but chose not to intervene. He clearly felt awkward, remaining in his usual role as a silent observer.
“How long do they plan to stay there?” Alina asked sternly, crossing her arms.
“Alina, you’re like from another world!” her mother continued, not noticing the sarcasm in her daughter’s question. “Vitya’s family will soon grow, that’s more important than your unrealistic principles. Besides, you haven’t even started your own family yet. What are you going to do alone in that apartment?”
“And who said I intend to be alone?” Alina threw back unexpectedly.
These words hung in the tense silence. The mother fell silent, squinting, while the father suddenly looked up.
“What news is this?” she exclaimed after a pause. “Why didn’t I know you had someone?”
“Maybe I’m not obliged to report every step?” Alina stood up from the table, feeling anger building inside her. “Perhaps I’m just tired of constantly hearing why I should give up everything for your ‘favorite son’?”
“Don’t you dare talk like that!” her mother’s voice rang out like a tense string. “Vitya has always cared about you, tried to help, and you…”
“Tried? Give me just one example, mom. When did he try? When he asked me for money for his wedding? Or when you both decided he needed my apartment more?” Alina looked intensely at her mother, showing firmness for the first time in a long time.
“You don’t understand…” her mother began, but Alina had already turned away.
“I’ve said my piece. Don’t approach me with such requests again.”
She headed for the exit. Her mother shouted something after her, but the phrases were lost in the noise filling her head.
Outside, there was a piercing cold silence. Alina stopped, inhaled the icy air, and exhaled a cloud of steam. She realized that a serious conflict was about to begin.
Alina sat on the windowsill of her small, cozy kitchen. Outside, darkness had fallen, and frosty patterns on the glass shone in the light of the street lamps. She recalled the events of the evening: her mother’s screams, her father’s apologetic but still distant look. Her head ached from a sense of hopelessness, and memories began to surface one after another.
She was seven when Vitya appeared—a tiny, crying baby who immediately became the center of attention. Alina was immediately told what it meant to be an older sister: “You must give in, be wiser, help your brother.”
“Alina, give Vitya the bear, he’s just a baby!” her mother would say, taking the toy away.
“You’re a smart girl, let him win.” Her father would hug Vitya, and she sat next to him, trying to hold back tears.
As they grew older, nothing changed. Vitya grew up confident that the world belonged to him. When he didn’t want to clean up, Alina did it. When he couldn’t solve a problem, she spent nights helping him. And when he failed his exams, the parents found an expensive tutor, although they had previously told Alina, “You’ll manage on your own.”
The grandmother’s apartment became Alina’s first real gift that couldn’t be taken away. She remembered vividly how her mother, upon hearing about the will, literally froze in stunned silence.
“You know, you should sell it. Vitya is getting married, and the wedding needs funds,” she declared a few days later.
“I have no intention of parting with this apartment,” Alina responded firmly for the first time.
This caused a real shock. Everyone was used to the daughter quietly giving in. But then Alina realized: if she backed down, she would lose not only the apartment but also her own identity.
Alina never particularly liked Vitya’s wife. Tanya was ordinary, not very talkative, but extremely cunning. Alina still remembered their first meeting, when she, lowering her voice, said:
“You are so smart, Alina. Strange that you haven’t started a family yet.”
And, as if apologizing for her audacity, she added:
“But that’s normal. Vitya said you are fully immersed in your work. That’s the main thing for you, right?”
Alina just smiled then, but inside, she felt a deep wound.
All these memories surfaced as she stood by the window, looking into the darkness. After moving in with Tanya, Vitya had not called once. Their communication was limited to rare family holidays where Alina felt like an outsider, an unnecessary decoration.
But now they had turned to her for help again. As always, her mother used her tried-and-tested method: manipulation of a sense of duty.
Alina approached a dresser where an old photo in a beautiful frame was kept. It had been there since her grandmother’s life, and the girl had not dared to remove it. The photo showed three of them: herself, Vitya, and the grandmother, all laughing, sitting on a bench at the entrance.
“You’ve always been strong-spirited, my girl,” her grandmother often repeated. “Don’t let anyone break you.”
The words sounded like instructions. But where to find that strength now, when it seemed the whole world was against her?
She carefully returned the photo to its place and sighed deeply. She had one last space where she felt safe. And now, it seemed, they even wanted to take that away.
“Ali, are you kidding me?” Vitya burst into the apartment, not even bothering to greet. As usual, he considered everything his right, ignoring formalities. “How can you be so heartless?”
Alina stood by the window, arms crossed. She had anticipated this visit, but still felt the irritation boiling inside her.
“Hello, Viktor. Do you always enter other people’s homes as if they were your own?” she asked calmly.
“Don’t start your games!” he slammed the door sharply. “Tanya and I have no other choice. A child, you understand? A child! And what are you doing? Just sitting here, pretending to be a queen!”
“I’m just defending my right to be the owner of my own apartment, Vitya,” her voice remained even, but it rang with steel.
“Do you even think of anyone but yourself?” Vitya stepped closer, trying to suppress her will with his presence. “Is it so hard to help your own brother?”
“Help?” Alina turned and looked him straight in the eye. “Is that what you call ‘help’? Just taking what belongs to me? You know, your problem, Vitya, is that you’ve always considered me an easy prey.”
“Stop it already!” He waved his hand, as if to dismiss an annoying thought. “You understand: we need somewhere to live with a family. What difference does it make to you? You don’t even have a husband!”
His words hit the target, but Alina clenched her fists even tighter.
“Thanks for the reminder, but that’s none of your business,” she retorted coldly. “Perhaps you should seek help from Tanya’s parents?”
“Tanya is my wife, and I am your brother!” he exploded. “It’s your duty!”
“My duty?” She squinted. “Interesting, when did I take on this duty? What have you done for me, Vitya? How many times have you offered a helping hand, even just a word? Or did you really think I wouldn’t notice?”
Vitya froze, as if deprived of the ability to speak. He clearly hadn’t expected such resistance.
“Fine, I don’t want to argue,” he grumbled, avoiding her gaze. “I came to talk normally, and you’re doing it again…”
“Doing what?” Alina walked to the door and flung it open. “You know, Vitya, I’m tired of being the one who always gives in. From now on, I’ll only take care of myself.”
He stood motionless for a few seconds, then sharply exited, slamming the door loudly.
The next day, Alina had to meet with Tanya.
“Why are you so stubborn, Alina?” Tanya nervously twirled a coffee cup in her hands. “Why can’t you help? We’re one family.”
“A family that sees me only as a tool,” Alina responded calmly.
“We’re not using you, you just misunderstand everything,” Tanya sighed. “By the way, do you know why you’re still not married? With that character…”
“With my character?” Alina smiled, but the smile was icy. “The difference between us is that I never demand from others what doesn’t belong to me.”
Tanya blushed, but remained silent.
Alina stood up.
“I could have offered financial help,” she stated firmly. “But I will not give my apartment to anyone.”
Tanya still didn’t look up.
Alina sat opposite her parents. The room was enveloped in semi-darkness, with only a desk lamp on the kitchen table serving as the light source. The mother tightly clenched a mug of tea, as if clinging to the last stronghold of strength. The father silently stared at one point, avoiding eye contact with anyone.
“Your stubbornness is just killing us,” the mother finally said, her voice barely audible, but it rang with the usual accusatory tone.
“Killing you?” Alina leaned forward, crossing her arms in front of her. “Have you ever thought that with your actions, you’re trying to push me out of my own life?”
“Stop exaggerating!” The mother sharply slapped her palm on the table. “We’re doing everything for the family… for Vitya…”
“For Vitya, as usual,” Alina interrupted. “Have you ever thought about me? Or am I just an endless resource for you?”
“What are you talking about!” The mother clearly lost her patience. “We want everyone to be happy. You’re alone, without a family, without major expenses!”
“That’s because I’ve spent my whole life spending my time and money on the family!” Alina abruptly stood up. “On Vitya, on your whims. And now, when I finally have something of my own, you, out of old habit, think you have the right to manage it.”
“Nobody’s trying to take anything away from you,” the father finally intervened, trying to ease the tension.
“Really?” Alina turned her gaze to him. “Then why do you keep coming back to this topic?”
The mother exhaled heavily.
“You have no idea how hard it is for Vitya right now. They’re about to become parents. Isn’t that a priority?”
“You know what, mom,” Alina slowly walked around the table and stopped in front of her parents, “maybe instead of endlessly solving his problems, you’ll allow him to learn to be an adult on his own?”
These words sounded like thunder amidst clear skies. The mother paled, but remained speechless.
“By the way,” Alina continued, “if you really care that much, why don’t you and dad move in with me? I’ll provide you with one of the rooms.”
The father lifted his head.
“That… that seems a bit unusual,” he muttered.
“Unusual?” Alina slightly smirked. “So, when it comes to giving up my apartment, it’s normal, but your move for the sake of your son already seems strange?”
“Don’t get heated, Alya,” the mother spoke softly. “We’re just trying to reach an agreement.”
“An agreement?” Alina’s voice strengthened, taking on metallic notes. “Fine. Here’s my offer: I’ll help them financially. I’ll pay for temporary housing. Let’s say, for three months. That should be enough for them to get their life in order. But I will not give up my grandmother’s apartment.”
The mother froze, then quietly responded:
“You understand that’s not enough.”
“I understand,” Alina sharply cut off. “But that no longer bothers me.”
The father suddenly raised his hand, stopping them.
“Masha, enough,” he said unexpectedly firmly. “Alina is right. We have no right to keep shifting Vitya’s problems onto her shoulders.”
The mother looked at her husband as if seeing him for the first time.
“What, you’re on her side now?”
“Exactly,” he calmly met her gaze. “Alina is an adult, independent person. And she is entitled to her own life.”
Silence reigned in the room. The mother lowered her eyes, for the first time during the conversation looking bewildered.
“Thanks, dad,” Alina whispered and grabbed her bag.
As she stepped outside, the air seemed surprisingly fresh. She felt that everything would change. The family wouldn’t disappear from her life, but now they knew: Alina knew how to stand up for herself.
Her phone vibrated. It was Tanya. Alina sighed deeply and turned off the sound. Conversations were no longer needed.