“How the Mother-in-Law Decided That Since the Wife Had an Inheritance and Money, She Was Obliged to Buy an Apartment for Her Husband’s Sister — and Got the Door Slammed in Her Face Instead”
Ksenia nervously fiddled with the edge of her napkin, sitting at the table in her mother-in-law’s spacious kitchen. Sunday lunch was coming to an end, and the women were left alone. Yegor had gone with his father to the garage to deal with the car.
“Ksusha, dear,” Galina Pavlovna drawled, pouring herself some tea. “How’s work? Are you happy with your salary?”
“Everything’s fine,” Ksenia replied cautiously. “I can’t complain.”
Her mother-in-law leaned closer, her eyes lighting up with curiosity. The little wrinkles around her lips deepened into a familiar sly smile.
“And exactly how much do you make? If it isn’t a secret, of course.”
Ksenia froze with her cup in hand. The bluntness of the question caught her off guard; Galina Pavlovna usually acted with more subtlety, circling around the subject.
“About a hundred and twenty thousand,” she said slowly.
“Wow!” the older woman clapped her hands. “Well done! That’s a good salary for a girl your age.”
Ksenia set her cup on the table more sharply than she intended. The porcelain rang through the kitchen.
“I’m twenty-eight already, Galina Pavlovna.”
“Of course, sunshine,” the mother-in-law waved it off. “With that kind of salary you could even manage a mortgage.”
Ksenia’s stomach tightened. An uneasy premonition crept in, but she tried to brush it aside.
“I’m not paying off any mortgage,” she replied shortly.
“How come?” Galina Pavlovna leaned forward, propping her chin in her hand. “Then where did the apartment come from?”
“I inherited it,” Ksenia shifted in her chair. “From my grandmother.”
The air in the kitchen thickened. Galina Pavlovna blinked several times as if she hadn’t understood.
“Inherited?” she repeated slowly. “From whom?”
“From my grandmother,” Ksenia confirmed, immediately regretting her words.
“But… Yegor said it was your apartment… joint property…”
Ksenia stood and walked to the window. In the yard she could see her husband bent over the hood of the car. Her hands trembled, but she clenched them into fists.
“I didn’t buy the apartment,” she said without turning around. “It came to me before the wedding.”
“But Yegor—”
“Yegor has nothing to do with it,” Ksenia turned abruptly. “It’s my apartment. My inheritance. No loans. But it’s Yegor’s home now, too.”
Her mother-in-law’s face went pale. Her fingers drummed nervously on the table.
“So you’re living in your apartment?” she asked quietly.
“Yes,” Ksenia answered briefly.
“And Yegor knows?”
“Knows what exactly?”
“That you inherited the apartment. That you didn’t pay a single kopeck for it?”
Ksenia returned to the table and sat down across from her. Her heart was racing, but her voice was steady.
“Of course he knows. We’re a family.”
“I see,” Galina Pavlovna murmured. “And how long have you had it?”
“Five years already. I moved in even before we met.”
“So you don’t pay anything for housing at all?” her mother-in-law’s voice carried a strange note.
“Just the utilities,” Ksenia confirmed.
Silence fell. Galina Pavlovna slowly finished her tea, keeping her eyes fixed on her daughter-in-law. Ksenia tried not to show her unease, but persistent thoughts swarmed in her head. Why did her mother-in-law need this information? Why so many questions now?
The door creaked. Yegor entered the kitchen, wiping his hands on a towel.
“Well, my girls?” he smiled. “What are you talking about?”
Ksenia met Galina Pavlovna’s gaze. Something unpleasant flickered in the older woman’s eyes.
“Oh, nothing,” she said lightly. “Just talking about work. About salaries.”
Yegor nodded and headed to the fridge. Ksenia followed him with her eyes, trying to calm the unease in her chest. The conversation with Galina Pavlovna had left an unpleasant aftertaste.
Two months later, Ksenia was enjoying a freedom she hadn’t felt in years.
The loan she had taken out to upgrade the apartment’s appliances was finally paid off. There was much more money left in her account, and a sense of financial stability had appeared.
“Ksyusha,” Yegor said one evening, scrolling through the news on his phone, “it wouldn’t be a bad idea to buy a car.”
Ksenia looked up from her book. Her husband sat in an armchair, legs stretched out, looking pleased with life.
“A car?” she repeated cautiously.
“Yeah,” Yegor lifted his eyes. “It’d be good for the family. Easier to get to work, go out of town.”
Ksenia put the book aside and thought it over. The idea made sense; public transport ate up a lot of time, especially in winter.
“If we put both our salaries together,” she nodded slowly, “we could save up pretty quickly.”
“My thoughts exactly,” Yegor brightened. “We’ll soon gather enough for a decent car.”
Ksenia smiled. Plans for the future always inspired her, especially when they involved family. The thought of owning a car warmed her soul.
A week later Galina Pavlovna came for lunch. At first everything went as usual: she praised Ksenia’s new dish and asked about Yegor’s work.
“By the way,” she said suddenly, putting down her fork, “Lena has moved again.”
Ksenia raised her eyebrows. Lena, Yegor’s younger sister, was constantly changing rented apartments. At twenty-four, she still hadn’t found stable housing.
“Again?” Yegor was surprised. “What happened this time?”
“Rental places are unreliable,” Galina Pavlovna sighed. “The landlords always change the terms — either the rent goes up, or repairs are needed.”
Ksenia nodded sympathetically. Many young people were familiar with rental problems. The instability of rented housing was truly exhausting.
“Poor Lenochka,” Yegor shook his head. “We need to help her find something permanent.”
“Of course, son,” his mother agreed. “But finding a good apartment these days isn’t easy.”
The conversation smoothly drifted to other topics. Ksenia almost forgot about her sister-in-law’s troubles.
Three days later, her mother-in-law appeared again. Yegor wasn’t home — he was working late. Galina Pavlovna stepped into the hallway and immediately shoved a thick stack of documents into Ksenia’s hands.
“What’s this?” Ksenia asked in confusion, flipping through the papers.
Her eyes skimmed over lines of advertisements for one-bedroom apartments for sale. Prices, addresses, descriptions — everything blurred together.
“It’s for Lena,” Galina Pavlovna explained, taking off her coat. “I spent the whole day gathering information.”
Ksenia walked into the living room, still holding the papers. Her mother-in-law followed, eyes burning with determination.
“Galina Pavlovna, I don’t understand,” Ksenia said slowly. “Why did you bring this to me?”
“What do you mean, why?” the older woman was surprised. “You already have an apartment! Now help my daughter with a mortgage!”
The air in the room grew heavy. Ksenia froze, unable to believe what she’d just heard. The documents slipped from her hands and scattered on the floor.
“Why should I help Lena with a mortgage?” Ksenia said slowly, staring at the papers strewn across the carpet.
Galina Pavlovna straightened to her full height. Her face took on an authoritative expression Ksenia rarely saw but always feared.
“What do you mean, why?” the mother-in-law protested. “You’re simply obliged to help my daughter!”
Ksenia bent down to gather the papers. Her hands trembled with indignation. Galina Pavlovna’s audacity was beyond limits.
“Why am I obliged?” she asked without raising her head. “She’s your daughter, not mine.”
“Because you already have a place to live! You got it for free!” Galina Pavlovna’s voice grew sharper with every word. “And poor Lenochka is suffering in rented rooms!”
Ksenia stood up, clutching the papers. Her heart pounded with anger. The logic of her mother-in-law was absurd.
“I don’t owe anyone anything,” Ksenia said firmly.
“How can you say that?” the older woman threw up her hands. “We’re family! Family should help each other!”
“Then help your daughter yourself,” Ksenia shot back. “Take out a mortgage in your own name.”
Galina Pavlovna’s face turned crimson. Her eyes flashed with fury.
She shouted:
“We don’t have that kind of money! But you do! You earn so much!”
Ksenia’s reply was sharp and cold:
“My money is my business. And I’m not going to spend it on someone else’s whims.”
Galina Pavlovna screeched:
“Someone else’s whims? How dare you! Lena is your husband’s sister!”
Ksenia walked to the door and flung it wide open. She wasn’t going to endure this any longer.
“Leave,” she said calmly. “Right now.”
“What?” the mother-in-law gasped. “Are you throwing me out?”
“Exactly,” Ksenia nodded. “And don’t come back with such proposals.”
Galina Pavlovna snatched up her coat and headed to the exit. On the threshold she turned, her expression threatening.
“I’ll tell Yegor everything!” she hissed through her teeth. “We’ll see what he says about your behavior!”
“Go ahead,” Ksenia replied indifferently and closed the door.
That evening Yegor came home. His face was grim, his movements abrupt. Ksenia braced herself for a conversation but hadn’t expected to see her husband in such a state.
He took off his jacket, then said tiredly:
“Mother’s already told me everything. She gave me a real scolding over the phone.”
Ksenia tensed. Did Yegor also think his wife should help his sister?
“And what do you think?” she asked cautiously.
“I think Mother’s completely lost her shame,” Yegor answered sharply. “She’s always cared more about Lena than about me.”
Relief washed over Ksenia. Her husband was on the side of fairness.
“That’s why she thought she could demand something like that,” Yegor went on. “But I told her everything.”
“What exactly?” Ksenia asked with interest.
“That our family is you and me,” her husband said firmly. “Not her and Lena.”
Yegor walked over and hugged his wife. The warmth of his arms soothed her better than any words.
“I promise Mother won’t bother us again,” he whispered into her hair.
In the following days, Galina Pavlovna called Ksenia several times — demanding money, threatening, trying to manipulate her. Ksenia blocked her number.
But her mother-in-law didn’t give up. She wrote long messages from different numbers, tried to reach her through mutual acquaintances. Each message contained the same demands: to help poor Lena with housing. Ksenia deleted them all without finishing reading. Other people’s manipulations no longer had power over her.
Soon the couple bought a car. They saved together, chose it together, rejoiced in the purchase together. No one else laid claim to their money or their happiness.
