Svetlana pulled the last purchases out of her bag. Milk, bread, medicine for her mother. She had spent money again—money she already barely had. There was almost nothing left for her own needs.
“Svetochka, where’s the cottage cheese?” her mother’s voice called out. “I asked you to buy the fat-free kind.”
“They didn’t have any, Mom,” Sveta replied, putting the groceries in the fridge. “I’ll go to another store tomorrow.”
Nina Petrovna sighed sadly. Her displeased expression made it clear that a simple explanation would not be enough.
“They didn’t have any?” her mother sat down on the chair by the window. “Did you look well? Or maybe you just didn’t want to go out of your way again?”
Sveta turned toward the sink. She heard that reproachful tone every day. Eight years ago, her mother promised things would change. That she would find a job, become independent. But the years passed, and the situation only worsened.
“Mom, I checked the entire dairy aisle,” Sveta said, taking a cloth and starting to wipe the countertop. “Tomorrow after work, I’ll go to another store.”
“Exactly, after work,” Nina Petrovna sighed theatrically. “And I sit home alone all day. My heart hurts, my blood pressure spikes, and my daughter only thinks about herself.”
Sveta gripped the cloth tighter. This song about a sick heart had been playing for years. Doctors said there were no serious problems. Just age-related changes that could be controlled.
“Maybe you should look for a job?” Sveta suggested cautiously. “At least part-time. Talking to people, new experiences…”
Her mother suddenly straightened in the chair. Her eyes narrowed, an expression of offense appearing on her face.
“A job?” Nina Petrovna’s voice rang with indignation. “How can you say that? I have health problems!”
“Mom, the doctor said it would be good for you…”
“The doctor doesn’t understand anything!” her mother interrupted. “She’s young and healthy. How could she know what it’s like when something hurts every day?”
Sveta put the cloth down on the countertop. Her head was starting to ache from the conversation. These scenes repeated every week.
“For what did I raise you?” Nina Petrovna continued, standing up from the chair. “I denied myself everything so that you could study and become a person. And now you want to send me to work?”
“No one is sending you away,” Sveta said tiredly. “Just think about it, maybe…”
“Yeah, think!” her mother came closer. “Did you forget how I stayed up nights when you had a fever? Now, when I need help, you want to get rid of me.”
Sveta lowered her eyes. Those words hit the mark. Her mother really had sacrificed a lot for her. But did that mean she had to pay for it all her life?
“Do you even have a roof over your head?” her mother’s voice grew more confident. “The apartment is mine. And I used to pay the utilities myself. But you’re always unhappy!”
Sveta looked up at her mother. Confidence in being right shone in her mother’s eyes. Nina Petrovna knew she had hit a nerve. Sveta quietly said:
“I’m not unhappy, Mom. I just want to have a life of my own, too.”
Her mother threw up her hands.
“A life of your own? What is that? Running around clubs, wasting money on nonsense?”
Sveta was about to answer, but the phone rang. An unknown number showed on the screen.
“Hello?” Sveta answered cautiously.
“Good afternoon. This is the notary’s office. Are you Svetlana Mikhailovna Kuznetsova?” a businesslike female voice said clearly and confidently.
“Yes, that’s me,” Sveta glanced at her mother in surprise.
“You need to come to us regarding an inheritance. When can you come?” the notary shuffled papers.
Sveta sank into a chair. An inheritance? From whom? The only grandfather left alive was Ivan Sergeevich on her father’s side. But they hadn’t been in touch for about ten years.
“May I ask whose inheritance it is?” Sveta’s voice trembled with excitement.
“From Ivan Sergeevich Kuznetsov. He named you the sole heir,” the woman said bluntly.
Nina Petrovna suddenly leaned closer to her daughter. Her eyes were burning with curiosity.
“I can come tomorrow after lunch,” Sveta whispered.
“All right, we’ll expect you at three o’clock. Bring your passport,” the call ended.
“What was that? Who was it?” her mother grabbed Sveta’s hand.
“Grandpa Ivan… left me an inheritance,” Sveta slowly put the phone in her pocket.
Nina Petrovna’s face changed. Confusion was replaced by a calculating gleam in her eyes.
“Well! What exactly did he leave?” her mother sat down next to her on a nearby chair.
“I don’t know yet. I’m going to the notary tomorrow,” Sveta got up and headed toward the fridge.
The next day passed in a fog. At work, Sveta couldn’t concentrate on the numbers. Her mind spun with thoughts about a grandfather she barely remembered.
The will made Sveta freeze. A one-room apartment. And a substantial sum in the bank. She stared at the documents for a long time.
At home, her mother waited impatiently.
“Well, tell me! What’s there?” Nina Petrovna practically pounced on her daughter in the hallway.
“An apartment and money,” Sveta sat on a stool, taking off her shoes.
“How much money? Where’s the apartment?” her mother’s eyes lit up with a greedy fire.
“Mom, it’s my inheritance,” Sveta said cautiously.
“Yours?” Nina Petrovna’s voice rose. “And who raised you? Who invested in you all your life?”
Sveta stood and went to the kitchen. Her mother followed her closely.
“I spent my whole youth raising you!” Nina Petrovna waved her hands. “I gave up my personal life, put all my strength into you!”
“Mom, what are you saying,” Sveta turned on the kettle.
“You owe me half of the money!” her mother came close. “And the apartment should be sold, the money divided in half!”
“Absolutely not,” Sveta answered firmly.
Nina Petrovna’s face twisted with anger. She grabbed the edge of the table.
“How is it ‘absolutely not’? Ungrateful!” her mother’s voice broke into a scream. “I devoted my whole life to you!”
“And I’ve been paying for everything for eight years!” Sveta raised her voice for the first time in a long while.
“You pay?” her mother sobbed. “Is that how you talk?”
“This is my chance to finally start living for myself,” Sveta turned toward the window.
“You’re no longer my daughter!” Nina Petrovna threw a kitchen towel on the floor. “Get out of my house!”
“All right, Mom,” Sveta said calmly. “If that’s how it is, I’ll leave.”
Nina Petrovna froze. She clearly did not expect such a reaction from her daughter.
“What did you say?” her mother’s voice trembled.
“I said I’ll leave,” Sveta passed by her mother toward the kitchen exit. “You told me to.”
“Stop! Where are you going?” Nina Petrovna rushed after her. “I didn’t mean that!”
“What exactly did you mean?” Sveta stopped in the hallway. “You shouted that I’m not your daughter.”
Her mother’s face flushed red. Her hands trembled with anger.
“You’re selfish!” Nina Petrovna shouted. “I gave you my best years! Because of you, I never had a personal life!”
“No one asked you to sacrifice your personal life,” Sveta answered firmly. “That was your choice.”
“My choice?” her mother threw up her hands. “I gave up everything for you!”
Sveta took a large bag out of the closet.
“You kept me close because it was convenient for you. I’ve been supporting this house for eight years, and you play the sick one.”
Nina Petrovna clutched her heart.
“How dare you! I really have health problems!”
Sveta began packing clothes into the bag.
“The doctor said there are no serious diagnoses. You just don’t want to work.”
Her mother watched every movement of her daughter. Panic grew in her eyes.
“Svetа, stop!” Nina Petrovna’s voice cracked into falsetto. “What are you doing?”
“What you told me,” Sveta packed the last things into the bag. “I’m leaving your house.”
“But I didn’t think you’d actually…”
Her mother tried to grab her daughter’s hand. Sveta pulled away.
“Eight years ago, you threw a fit when I wanted to move out. You talked about your heart, about loneliness. But now you’re the one kicking me out. I won’t miss this chance!”
Nina Petrovna realized her daughter was serious. Her hands trembled, and confusion appeared on her face.
“Svetochka, I overreacted!” tears ran down her mother’s cheeks. “You don’t have to go anywhere!”
“I have to, Mom,” Sveta zipped up her bag. “I’ll be thirty soon, and I’m still living at the mercy of your whims.”
Nina Petrovna paced the hallway, not knowing what to do. Panic grew with every second.
“This is not whimsy! I am your mother!” Nina Petrovna blocked the door, spreading her arms wide.
“A mother doesn’t use her children for personal gain,” Sveta looked firmly into her mother’s eyes. “You’ve been parasitizing on my sense of duty.”
“Svetа, think!” Nina Petrovna’s voice cracked into a scream. “What will I do alone? Who will help me?”
“The same as other fifty-two-year-old women,” Sveta answered calmly. “They work and provide for themselves.”
Nina Petrovna’s face twisted with despair. She grabbed the doorframe. Through tears, she shouted:
“You’re destroying the family! You’re abandoning a sick mother for money!”
Sveta picked up her bag.
“I’m saving my life. And you’re not sick, Mom. You’re just lazy.”
“All right!” her mother shouted, but her voice was breaking from sobs. “Go! But never come back to this house again!”
“I won’t,” Sveta promised, going around her mother.
Three days later, Sveta stood in her one-room apartment. Sunlight flooded the small room. Silence. No one was shouting, demanding attention, or accusing her of ingratitude.
Documents for professional development courses lay on the table. Sveta had long dreamed of studying, but there was never enough money. Now her grandfather’s inheritance made it possible.
The phone was silent. Her mother hadn’t called. Maybe she was still waiting for her daughter to come back and confess.
Sveta brewed tea and sat by the window. For the first time in many years, anxiety receded. No one needed feeding, supporting, or listening to complaints. Only her own desires and plans.
Tomorrow she would apply for leave and sign up for courses. A new life starts today.
