“Sashenka just told us that behind our backs, you want to buy an apartment. What’s that called? Are you acting on your own?”
“Not at all. Sasha and I want to buy a joint apartment for the two of us. Why would that be acting on my own?”
Sasha and Lena were twenty-four when they got married. Young, in love, full of big hopes and… a small budget. They didn’t yet have their own apartment, and moving to separate places after the wedding seemed silly. Then Sasha suggested:
“Let’s live with my mom. They have three rooms. We’ll take one, parents another. Everything will be fine.”
Lena hesitated, but as is well known, infatuation drowns out all common sense. And Lyudmila Ivanovna seemed kind and cheerful at first meeting. Cakes, tea with homemade jam, warm hugs — she seemed like the perfect mother-in-law. Dmitry Anatolyevich, though a reserved man, accepted his daughter-in-law immediately.
At first, everything went smoothly. Lena tried not to intrude, helped with household chores, mopped the floors, and cooked. Lyudmila Ivanovna sometimes took her by the hand, told family stories, and shared recipes. In addition, Lena and Sasha kept quiet in the evenings and always went to their room by eleven, so as not to disturb the parents.
But six months later, Lena began to notice boundaries gradually eroding. Her mother-in-law started barging into their room without knocking, moving things in their wardrobe while Lena and Sasha were out. She could even start re-washing dishes that Lena had just cleaned. Sasha would always wave it off, saying: “Just be patient. They’re my parents.”
After a year, Lena started thinking about buying her own apartment. Especially since her parents had recently sold the old grandmother’s dacha and promised to give her the proceeds to invest in buying a place.
Around the same time, a month ago, Lyudmila Ivanovna cheerfully announced at dinner:
“Marina is coming to stay with us. She’s my niece from the village. She wants to apply to university, but until she gets in, she has nowhere to live. So she’ll crash here for a week or two.”
Sasha nodded without taking his eyes off his dinner. Lena silently listened to her mother-in-law’s stories about what a wonderful girl her niece was. But all the stories turned out to be empty when Marina appeared at the door with bright pink hair and bold makeup. She carried two bags of belongings. They set up a spot for her in the living room. Marina spent all day on her phone and seemed not to need anything else in life.
Lena looked at all this and calmed down. A girl is a girl, nothing special. The only thing that bothered her was Marina’s late-night video calls. She could chat endlessly for hours, and it was loud enough to be heard through the thin walls of the apartment block.
Recently, when Lena returned from work, she overheard her mother-in-law talking on the phone:
“Of course, Valechka! What questions! Come over!”
And that made her uneasy. This “come over” didn’t sound like the usual dinner invitation. And Lena was right. Two days later, Lyudmila Ivanovna’s sister — Valentina — moved into the apartment.
“This is my sister, Valentina Ivanovna,” the mother-in-law beamed, introducing her to her daughter-in-law. “I couldn’t leave Marina here alone, so she came.”
Valentina Ivanovna was the complete opposite of her daughter — loud and boisterous. On the very first night, Lena lay under her blanket with a pillow over her head as the two sisters discussed their relatives in the kitchen, laughing and crying. It went on until two in the morning.
Lena woke up to the harsh vibration of her alarm clock, feeling as if she hadn’t slept at all. When she went to the kitchen, she saw Sasha drinking coffee and looking at something on his phone. Lena exhaled loudly and sat down next to him. Snoring came from the other room.
“It’s already hard to breathe here, and your mom decided to move someone else in?” — Lena said, annoyed.
“Yes… well… Aunt Valya comes by often,” her husband said.
“So often that it’s the first time in a year.”
“It’s fine. She’ll leave soon… Don’t worry,” Sasha tried to reassure her.
“I hope so…”
But the second, third, fourth nights — it all repeated exactly. Lena not only didn’t get enough sleep — she came to work with dark circles under her eyes and barely managed to complete all her tasks for the day. Sasha, on the other hand, considered it a “temporary inconvenience.” He played games late at night and was as calm as ever.
Lena endured and stayed silent — it wasn’t her place to set rules in someone else’s apartment. The only thing she could do was suggest to her husband that they move forward and buy their own apartment. Even if it meant taking out a mortgage, at least it would be their own. Sometimes, she just wanted to enjoy silence in her own home.
She insisted on buying a place, but Sasha kept brushing it off. He had spent his whole life in his parents’ apartment, and something new genuinely frightened him. That’s when Lena said she would start looking for options on her own.
Lena decided that if Sasha couldn’t take responsibility, she would handle everything herself. At first, during lunch breaks at work, she scrolled through apartment listings on her phone, and at home, before bed. Small one-bedroom apartments on the outskirts, without fancy renovations, but with a real chance of purchase. Places where no one would barge in without knocking and impose their rules.
For Lena, buying an apartment was a perfectly logical next step after marriage. One evening, over a cup of tea, she spoke directly to her husband:
“I’ve started looking at options. We could get a small one-bedroom in the older neighborhoods.”
Sasha yawned and waved his hand:
“Do whatever you want. You won’t be persuaded otherwise.”
Lena said nothing. Her mother, Svetlana Viktorovna, had a month earlier arranged a gift deed for the money she had received from selling the old grandmother’s dacha. It was enough for a down payment.
“I have money for the down payment,” Lena said the following week, handing her husband a printout of a listing for a small apartment in a five-story building. “We’ll take the rest as a mortgage and pay it off together.”
Sasha was surprised:
“Where from?”
“Mom gave it. Doesn’t matter. The point is — we can do it. No more cramping ourselves like tenants.”
“I don’t even feel like a tenant. It’s only a problem for you…”
“We’re a married couple and should do everything together. Or do you plan to live with your mom forever?”
He didn’t know what to say, but a flicker of approval crossed his eyes. However, the news didn’t stay private for long. A couple of days later, when Lena stayed late at work, Sasha came home early — only to fall straight into the clutches of Valentina Ivanovna, who was waiting for “fresh gossip.”
“So, Sashenka, how’s married life? Tell me, don’t hold back. While Lena’s gone, it’s safe to tell the truth,” she giggled, patting him on the shoulder.
“Everything’s fine. We just want to buy an apartment,” he said carelessly, unaware of the uproar this offhand comment would cause.
“What?!” — both sisters exclaimed almost simultaneously.
“Are you out of your mind?!” — Lyudmila Ivanovna clutched her heart. “Where are you going?! We have everything here! Three rooms, electricity, water, heating! Where would you even go?! There’s more than enough space! Nobody’s bothering you!”
“Yes, of course,” Valentina Ivanovna added. “And do you know why your Lena wants this? So she can leave you later and have an affair with another man in her own place! Everyone’s clever these days. Get a flat — and goodbye, darling!”
“Mom, Aunt Valya…” — Sasha started, but was drowned out by excited monologues, gasps, and speculation.
That evening, when Lena returned home, she found a “family council” in session. All three turned to her as if on cue. And in that moment, Lena realized something was wrong.
“Sashenka told us that behind our backs you want to buy an apartment. What’s that called? Are you acting on your own?”
“Not at all. Sasha and I want to buy a joint apartment for the two of us. Why would that be acting on my own?”
“We know people like that!” — Valentina Ivanovna snapped. “They get out the door and start twisting their tails.”
“I don’t see how this has anything to do with the apartment. Or me,” Lena said calmly.
“Very directly!” — Lyudmila Ivanovna intervened. “Sashenka will be paying for the apartment, and you’ll live comfortably.”
Lena realized that constructive dialogue was impossible at that moment. She sat down calmly and confidently, folding her hands on the table.
“I have the money. I saved even before marrying your son, if we’re being honest. Besides, my parents helped financially. But if you wish, I can register the apartment solely in my name, since, as I understand, Sasha will always have somewhere to return to.”
The women froze for a moment, and Sasha intervened:
“Mom, we’ve been planning this purchase for a while. So just be happy for us. Especially since there really are a lot of people in the apartment now.”
“What?” — Valentina Ivanovna jumped up. “Are you hinting at me and Marina? How dare you say such nonsense!”
Realizing a scandal was unavoidable, Lena got up and went to her room to start packing, while Sasha still tried to defend himself.
“I thought you’d all breathe a sigh of relief if we left. Especially since Marina didn’t get a dorm place. And she still has four years of study ahead…”
Valentina Ivanovna fell silent abruptly and dared not say another word.
Sasha entered the room while Lena was packing her things. She didn’t even turn around — she heard his steps and knew that either another argument or a lecture about how she complicated everything would follow. But then something unexpected happened.
“Need some help?” — he asked quietly, sitting down next to her and opening the wardrobe door.
Lena frowned and looked at her husband in surprise.
“Show me where the second bag is,” Sasha explained. “You’re right… We need to live separately.”
“I didn’t want to leave like this,” Lena admitted. “But your relatives ganged up on me, and their pressure made it unbearable. So I thought I should go…”
“I understand… But you also have to understand me. I’ve lived here all my life. I thought it was right — all together, cramped, noisy, but with love. But there’s no love left here. Only resentment and thinly veiled digs. And you can understand Mom too — she’s used to keeping everyone close. Aunt Valya…” — he grimaced — “that’s a whole other story.”
He paused, then added:
“I’ve been saving too. I thought I’d either get a new car or help our parents renovate the apartment, since we live here as well. But honestly — I’m ready to invest. Even in an old building, even with a poor renovation, but a place of our own, where no one will dictate what to do. I guess I’m getting old,” Sasha laughed.
“Not old, mature. That’s completely different,” Lena said.
For the first time, Lena felt she wasn’t alone. Even though, in the past half-hour, her mind had raced through every unpleasant scenario imaginable, she realized there really was a partner beside her, a husband, not just a passive occupant in his parents’ apartment. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she quickly turned away, pretending to focus on packing her books.
When Sasha stepped into the hallway with a bag in hand, an ominous silence hung in the air. Neither his mother nor Valentina Ivanovna objected anymore. They merely watched every movement of Sasha and Lena from under their brows.
“We’re leaving. For a couple of weeks we’ll stay at friends’ dacha,” he said, “and then we’ll move into the new apartment.”
“And don’t expect us to come for a housewarming,” muttered Lyudmila Ivanovna.
“As you wish,” Lena nodded.
Once all the bags and packages were in the hallway, Lena grabbed a jacket that wouldn’t fit into a bag. Sasha was slipping on his shoes, and it felt like one more moment — and they would finally leave the apartment that had lately felt more like a trial than a second home for Lena.
At that moment, the front door slammed open.
“Hi everyone!” Marina exclaimed, bursting in like a whirlwind. “Meet Maksim. He’s going to live with me now.”
A young man of about twenty followed her: pierced eyebrow and nose, shaved sides, ripped denim jacket, worn sneakers. A sports bag hung over his shoulder, and he carried a supermarket bag in his hands.
“We’re together now,” Marina proudly announced. “Maksim’s parents kicked him out because he didn’t get into university. So he’ll be staying with us, okay?”
For a second, the apartment was completely silent. Lyudmila Ivanovna and Valentina Ivanovna stared at the new “guest” as if he had just fallen from the ceiling. Their mouths hung slightly open in astonishment.
Lena looked at Sasha, then at Lyudmila Ivanovna, Valentina Ivanovna, and finally at Marina and Maksim. She snorted, then laughed — first quietly, then louder and louder.
“Lena, what’s so funny?” Sasha asked, surprised.
“Nothing,” she said through laughter. “It just seems like we’re leaving at exactly the right moment.”
With that, she stepped forward, passed by Marina and Maksim as if they were furniture, and decisively pulled the front door open. Sasha followed, giving his mother a nod on the way:
“Mom, I’ll call you.”
Their steps faded in the stairwell, leaving four people in the apartment: two older relatives, Marina, and Maksim, who, as if nothing had happened, had already taken off his shoes and headed for the kitchen.
“Do you have anything to eat?” he asked, rummaging through a drawer.
Lyudmila Ivanovna sank onto a stool.
“Good Lord, what is happening…” she whispered.
Valentina Ivanovna just stood there, unable to utter a word.
For the next two weeks, Lena and Sasha toured the city, viewing more than a dozen apartments. Some were too far away, some needed major renovations, and others made them want to run away. But one apartment caught their attention immediately: a cozy one-bedroom in an old building with a quiet courtyard, a neat entrance, and windows facing a green alley. Inside, the modest renovation was clean, the plumbing new, and the kitchen bright.
They exchanged glances as soon as they stepped into the hallway. The decision came naturally.
They had nearly half the cost in cash — a relief. Lena had braced for the worst-case scenario. They decided to take the rest as a mortgage, reasoning, as Lena said, “better to pay the bank than suffocate under the same roof with aunts.”
While paperwork and registration went through, they stayed at Sasha’s friend’s dacha. It was quiet, surrounded by forest, birds, and fresh air. The only downside was that it took at least an hour to get to the city. But it seemed minor — everything would soon change.
A month later, they moved in. The first night was on an inflatable mattress, eating dumplings with ketchup, hardly believing that this small apartment was now theirs.
They didn’t hold a housewarming. They just started settling in. They bought a sofa, a shelf, and essential kitchenware. Lena placed flowers on the windowsill, and Sasha installed hooks in the hallway.
Meanwhile, in the old apartment, life continued as usual. Sasha’s room was now occupied by Marina and Maksim. Lyudmila Ivanovna could no longer keep up with order, as cooking was now for five people. Valentina Ivanovna still said, “We’ll only stay a short while…” — yet the third month was already underway. Maksim sat in the kitchen playing guitar, while Marina streamed on TikTok for hours.
Lyudmila Ivanovna increasingly recalled her quiet, obedient daughter-in-law, who made soups, did the laundry, and never left crumbs on the table. But now, everything was different.
Meanwhile, Lena looked out the window one morning and smiled at the warm new day. She knew that buying the apartment had been the right decision. Even if the renovation wasn’t finished, even if the mortgage would last fifteen years, here she could finally breathe freely and do only what she wished.
