“When your mother-in-law decides to take over your home but forgets that you’re not a girl to be bullied, but a woman with character—and camera recordings.”
“Ah, hello, Svetlana Olegovna!” Marina greeted her mother-in-law as she opened the apartment door. “Why didn’t you let me know you were coming? Come in!”
“Hello, Marina!” her mother-in-law replied. “I wanted to surprise you! And where’s my Misha?”
“Misha left five minutes ago! He got called into work—something came up there! And by the way, the surprise worked!” the daughter-in-law smiled. “Take off your coat and come in! I’ll put the kettle on, and we’ll have some tea together.”
Marina left Svetlana Olegovna and went to the kitchen to heat the kettle and set the table. While Mikhail’s mother took off her outerwear, Marina took cookies, buns, and candies from the cupboard. She placed two mugs on the table and started brewing fresh tea. Svetlana Olegovna undressed but didn’t go to the kitchen; she wandered through the apartment.
She hadn’t visited her son in a couple of months. During that time, Mikhail and Marina had renovated their home, and she was curious to see the new design of their apartment.
Once Marina had prepared everything on the table, she followed her mother-in-law.
“So, what do you think?” Marina asked. “Do you like what we’ve done here?”
“Was it expensive?” Misha’s mother asked first.
“Well, by today’s standards, quite a bit!” Marina replied. “But it’s not about the money—we struggled to find a proper team to do everything! We went through four crews before the fourth one finally got it right. The guys were amazing!” Marina praised the workers.
“Hmm,” Svetlana Olegovna murmured. “Why didn’t you do it yourselves? You could have at least saved Misha’s money! You’re at home anyway! Why hire a crew?”
Marina smiled politely.
“Well, I’m not just sitting at home for nothing—I work too! I have the same job as everyone else, I just do it from home on the computer. And the money invested here isn’t just Misha’s—it’s mine too! Or rather, ours! We don’t divide it into ‘yours’ and ‘mine.’ Everything’s shared.”
Svetlana Olegovna looked at Marina strangely, grimaced, and continued walking through the apartment.
“You haven’t said! How do you like the new look of our apartment?”
“Not my taste! Too bright! I prefer darker tones.”
“Well,” Marina shrugged, “everyone has their own taste. We did it the way we like it.”
“And Misha approved this?” her mother-in-law asked, frowning as if she’d tasted something sour.
“Misha had no choice!” Marina laughed. “I did the design myself!”
“That’s obvious,” Svetlana Olegovna muttered quietly, displeased.
“What did you say?” Marina didn’t hear her. “I didn’t catch that!”
“Never mind!” the woman waved her hand. “I was just talking to myself! By the way, when will my son be home? Isn’t he supposed to have a day off today?”
“I don’t know! He didn’t say—he just got ready and left! But I doubt he’ll be back before three. I can call him and tell him you’re here. I’ll get my phone and call him now!” Marina said, heading to the kitchen to grab her mobile.
“No, no!” Svetlana Olegovna stopped her daughter-in-law. “Don’t call him! Don’t distract him from work!”
“By the way, why did you come alone? Where’s Misha’s father, Boris Viktorovich? You usually come together!”
“He’s busy! He’ll come tomorrow. I just decided to come a day early by train to surprise Misha!”
“I see,” Marina said. “Oh, by the way, the tea is probably ready now! Let’s go to the kitchen. I got some cookies, candies, buns! You probably haven’t had breakfast yet, right?”
Svetlana Olegovna followed Marina. She entered the kitchen, cast a scornful look around, muttered something indistinct, and sat down at the table.
Marina poured fresh tea for both of them and sat down nearby.
“Why don’t you go to work like everyone else, Marina? You used to work like normal people!”
“What difference does it make how I earn money for the family? The important thing is I’m not idle! And I’m not living off Misha like his ex…”
“Oh, don’t badmouth Svetochka—she’s a good girl! It’s just how she was raised. In their family, women take care of the home, and men earn money. So she did everything right!”
“Are you joking? I don’t understand how anyone can live off their husband—or wife! After something like that, I’d stop respecting myself. When you do nothing, don’t work, you just degrade! You literally get stupider before your eyes! Brain cells atrophy like muscles if you don’t exercise!”
“You don’t even know this person—why are you badmouthing her?”
“Who?” Marina didn’t understand.
“Sveta! Your son’s ex-girlfriend! You don’t know her at all! Why are you saying nasty things about her? Would you like it if she started saying the same things about you?” Svetlana Olegovna suddenly blurted out.
“How do you know I’m talking about her?” Marina was surprised. “I’m not! I’m just… thinking out loud, so to speak. And as for this Sveta, Misha himself said that she…” Marina paused for a moment, lost in thought. “Oh, how did he describe her… Ah, yes! That she was ‘wooden up to the waist’!”
“What do you mean by that?” her mother-in-law didn’t understand. “What does ‘wooden up to the waist’ mean?”
“Well, that she’s just dumb!” Marina smirked. “Completely incapable! Misha said she just sat at home and did nothing—she didn’t even cook for him!”
“And you, are we to assume, cook for him?” Svetlana Olegovna asked skeptically.
“Are you serious?” Marina asked.
“What did I say wrong?” the mother-in-law pretended. “You cook for him?”
“Of course! What’s so surprising about that? I cook for him; he cooks for me when I don’t have time. Everything’s great between us in that regard!”
“That’s not important!” Misha’s mother waved it off immediately. “And by the way, Sveta isn’t dumb! She’s quite smart; it’s just that my son, as I understand, prefers women of a completely different kind—more primitive!”
“Listen, Svetlana Olegovna! I fully understand that you’ve repeatedly tried to insult and humiliate me! What I still don’t understand is… why?! What have I done to you to deserve such behavior?”
“And do I owe you an explanation?” her mother-in-law sneered nastily. “I’m in my own home and I can say whatever I want about whomever I want!”
“Where are you?” Marina almost choked on her tea. “Your home? You’re actually in my home right now, and kindly stop behaving this way!”
“This is my son’s apartment, which means it’s mine too! And you—get out! I don’t want to see you here anymore! At her place!” Svetlana Olegovna laughed.
Marina tensed. She hadn’t expected such audacity or behavior from her husband’s mother. She put her tea cup on the table and fixed her mother-in-law with a steady gaze.
“And now, before you go too far, I want to warn you, Svetlana Olegovna! I grew up in a simpler family than your Sveta, the one Misha calls ‘wooden up to the waist’! The one you love and protect so much! That means I will not sit here and listen to you insulting me for no reason! I’m a simple woman, and I can slap you across the face if I have to! Understand me clearly?”
“I—” Svetlana Olegovna began, rising from her chair.
“Shut your mouth, you old senile woman! I will not let anyone wipe their feet on me—not you, not anyone else—and I don’t care what so-called ‘high-class’ people like you think of me! You came to visit me, and you’d better behave like a guest!”
“And don’t get carried away—this isn’t your home! I could just throw you out of here like a bag of trash! Any questions?” Marina asked.
“You’ll regret what you just said to me! You’ll really regret it!” the mother-in-law started spitting as she spoke.
“Right now, the only thing I regret is letting you into the house!”
“Oh, stop bossing me around! I’m older than you, and you should respect me! Boss me around, huh, you little brat!”
“Age is not a reason to respect someone! Especially if they behave like you!”
“I said, stop bossing me around!” Svetlana Olegovna bellowed, pounding her fist on the table. “Better not anger me—I’m not someone you can intimidate with your audacity! You little shameless girl! I’ve seen things in my life, been in situations you can’t even imagine, and compared to that, you’re nothing!”
“Where could you have been? What nonsense are you talking? You’ve spent your whole life living off your husband! Learning life from TV dramas! So shut your mouth, I’m asking nicely! Otherwise, you’re out the door!” Marina warned her mother-in-law.
But Svetlana Olegovna was bigger in build than her daughter-in-law and thought she could just crush Marina like a ram’s horn. Some people are like that—short-sighted, full of themselves, and convinced the world revolves around their truth.
She rose from the table and stepped toward Marina. She tried to grab Marina by the hair, but Marina was ready for this turn of events, even though she had no intention of fighting anyone.
Marina grabbed her mother-in-law’s hand and sharply pulled her toward herself. Svetlana Olegovna, miscalculating, went sprawling flat on the floor right in front of the table and let out a loud scream.
Marina didn’t touch her anymore. She just grabbed her phone and rushed out of the kitchen. Opening the recent calls list, she quickly dialed her husband.
“Mish, hi! This is urgent—your mom’s here!” Marina spoke quickly.
“She’s here? They were only planning to come in a couple of weeks! Why are you out of breath like that? What happened?” Mikhail asked, surprised.
“She tried to attack me, your mom, Mish! I don’t know what to do! Come home fast! Otherwise, I’m afraid I won’t be able to run away from her around the apartment, and I’ll have to respond! She’s gone completely mad!”
“What happened? Why did she try to attack you?”
“Mish, no time to explain! When you get home, check the cameras! The one in the kitchen should have recorded everything! I won’t explain anything now, just come home fast!”
Marina hung up, and at that moment, an enraged Svetlana Olegovna stormed out of the kitchen. She looked so absurdly furious that Marina almost laughed—but she restrained herself, because the woman, like a zombie, was coming straight at her.
“Svetlana Olegovna, calm down, I beg you! Don’t provoke me, don’t get me angry! I’ve already called Mish; he’ll be here soon!”
“I’ll strangle you before he gets here! You wrapped my son around your finger, deprived me of a proper daughter-in-law! And you dare boss me around, insolent girl! I’ll show you now!”
“Better not! Calm down and don’t come near me! I won’t boss you around anymore, just calm down!” Marina pleaded.
Ignoring her pleas, Svetlana Olegovna lunged at her. But Marina dodged and slipped behind her. She headed to the front door, quickly put on her slippers, then opened the door and stood with her back to it.
When her mother-in-law advanced with clear intent to attack, Marina dodged again and simply pushed her out of the apartment with force. Svetlana Olegovna couldn’t regain her balance and went sprawling flat on the stairwell.
Before the stunned woman could get up, Marina quickly grabbed her coat, shoes, and bag and threw everything into the hallway.
Then she swiftly locked the door and began laughing uncontrollably. Hysterical, she couldn’t calm down for several minutes.
Meanwhile, outside the door, another scene was unfolding.
Svetlana Olegovna was screaming through the stairwell and banging on the door, cursing Marina with every word, promising her a “sweet” revenge, and swearing at the young woman like there was no tomorrow.
After some time, Misha arrived home. He found his mother standing on the landing, hammering on the door.
“What are you doing here, Mom?” Mikhail asked.
Immediately, she began telling her son how Marina had started yelling at her for no reason and tried to attack her. That Marina had threatened her in every way possible and, in the end, just threw her out of the apartment.
Naturally, Misha was furious after hearing this from his mother. The first thing he wanted was to confront his wife and make sure she understood that no one should lay hands on his mother.
But when he came into the apartment and started asking Marina what had happened, his wife immediately told him not to ask unnecessary questions and simply to check the footage from the cameras they’d installed in every room during the renovation.
Misha was genuinely shocked as he watched the videos. After all, on the landing his mother had told him the exact opposite.
In front of her son, Svetlana Olegovna was no longer as furious and cruel as she had been while he was away. She played the injured party and waited for her son’s verdict — desperately hoping that he would finally throw his wife out and divorce her.
There was, however, one snag she hadn’t counted on. The apartment Misha and Marina lived in was jointly theirs. No matter how much he wanted to, Misha couldn’t simply kick Marina out. And after he watched the footage and saw his mother acting like a scolded kitten caught in the act, the man apologized to his wife, told his mother to get dressed, and drove her to the station.
All the way there she tried to explain to her son that she only wanted what was best for him. But Misha was very stubborn — probably took after her. He dropped her at the station and told her that until she apologized to his wife for her behavior that day, she should not visit him again.
The mother was deeply offended with her son. She yelled at him, accused everyone of treating her unfairly. But it didn’t help.
Mikhail laid down a clear condition, and she simply refused to meet it. After that, Svetlana Olegovna never came to visit her son again.
She told him one last thing:
“As long as that insolent, shameless woman is your wife, you’ll never see my feet in your house again!”
Which, in the end, did Marina a huge favor.
