Anna lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling, trying to calm her wildly pounding heart.
Just a few minutes ago she had gone through one of the most frightening moments of her life — a confrontation with her own husband Alexander and his mother, Olga Petrovna.
Their little daughter Sonya was sleeping peacefully in her crib, unaware of the chaos that had been raging around her.
Three days earlier, Anna had come home from the maternity hospital after a difficult delivery. She felt deeply exhausted, both physically and emotionally, but she knew that now she had to care for her newborn daughter.
Her mother-in-law came the next day, having promised to help the young mother cope with the first difficulties.
“Get some rest,” she told Anna with a gentle smile. “I’ll look after the baby.”
The daughter-in-law was grateful for the offer — she really did need to rest.
But she had no idea how far this “selfless help” would go…
When the young mother woke up, the first thing she did was look at the clock. It had already been two hours since Olga Petrovna had taken the baby out for a walk.
Why so long?
At last the door opened, and her mother-in-law came into the room, holding Sonya in her arms. Anna hurried to the stroller to make sure everything was fine with the child, and then something astonishing caught her eye: in the tiny ears of the baby glittered two delicate earrings.
“What is this?!” the daughter-in-law exclaimed, barely holding back tears.
Olga Petrovna shrugged in puzzlement.
“Well, we were out walking, we dropped by a salon… I decided to give our little beauty a present.”
Anna felt the blood rush to her face. Her heart started pounding madly, her breathing grew heavy.
“She’s only a week old!” she almost screamed. “Do you even understand what you’re doing?!”
But her mother-in-law only rolled her eyes and waved her hand.
“Oh, come on, dear. We did that with all our girls. Nothing wrong with it!”
That last remark finally threw Anna off balance. She grabbed the baby and headed for the door.
“Leave immediately! I don’t need your help anymore!”
Olga Petrovna looked at her angry daughter-in-law in bewilderment. Not wanting to get into an argument, she silently left the apartment.
Alexander came home late in the evening, exhausted after a long day at work.
When he saw his wife sitting in the living room with a troubled expression on her face, he immediately realized that something serious had happened.
“What’s wrong?” Alexander asked cautiously.
Anna got up to meet her husband; her eyes were shining with tears.
“Your mother had our daughter’s ears pierced,” she whispered, trying to speak quietly so as not to wake the baby.
“Mom? Why would she do that?” he frowned.
“Because she felt like it,” Anna replied sharply. “Without my consent, without your permission. She just went and decided it on her own.”
Her husband hesitated, not knowing what to say. Finally he said:
“Mom has worked with children all her life. She’s experienced…”
These words were a real blow to his wife. She took a deep breath, trying to keep her composure in front of her husband, even though inside her anger and fear for the newborn’s health were boiling.
“Alexander, listen to me carefully,” Anna began, her voice trembling with emotion. “Right now, when our daughter is only one week old, her body is extremely vulnerable. Her immune system isn’t formed yet, and any intervention, especially something as drastic as piercing her ears, can have catastrophic consequences.”
She paused, gathering her thoughts, and then continued:
“Infections, metal allergies, possible inflammations and complications… Do you realize what risks your mother’s action carried? If she had used her head, she would have understood how dangerous this is!”
Anna tried to speak calmly despite her inner anxiety.
“You know,” she added, seeing her husband’s confusion, “in the future, when Sonya is older and can understand and choose her own jewelry, then yes, we can discuss it together. But right now it’s important to protect her health and avoid any reckless actions.”
“You talk as if my mother is some kind of monster! Nothing will happen to Sonya, you’re exaggerating everything,” Alexander suddenly said.
“So you’re taking her side?” his wife asked; her voice was quiet but firm.
“Why are you making an elephant out of a fly? Mom gave her granddaughter a gift from the bottom of her heart, and you’re reacting so violently. Let’s just stop talking about this, and better yet, we’ll go to her this weekend and thank her for the present,” he said coolly and headed to the kitchen.
Anna stood in the middle of the room, watching Alexander walk away with a disappointed look.
She had hoped for support and understanding, but instead she ran into condemnation and indifference.
A few hours later, when the house had sunk into silence, the young mother began to think about her future.
The life she had been building next to the man she loved suddenly seemed like a fragile illusion.
She remembered the happy moments they had shared, their dreams of a bright future, their plans for raising children.
But reality turned out to be cruel: her husband preferred to support his own mother, ignoring his wife’s feelings and her concern for their newborn daughter’s safety.
“What happens next?” Anna asked herself, sitting on the edge of the bed.
Her eyes were dry, her thoughts tangled. Her only desire was to protect little Sonya from any possible danger.
Having finally decided to talk openly with her husband, Anna waited for the next morning.
They met in the kitchen, each busy with their own tasks. When his wife asked Alexander to discuss what had happened, he answered coldly and distantly:
“I think your reaction is excessive. Mom wanted to make our daughter happy, and there’s nothing wrong with that.”
Anna bit her lip, holding back sharp words.
“It’s important to me that you understand what I’m feeling. My main concern right now is our child’s safety. Is that really so wrong?”
Her husband shrugged.
“Maybe your worries are exaggerated. It would have been much better if you had given my mother the opportunity to show her love for her granddaughter.”
Anna’s breath caught. Her pain turned into a firm resolve to put an end to a relationship that had been destroyed by distrust and lack of mutual understanding.
“Listen,” she said firmly, looking Alexander straight in the eye. “Over these past days I’ve realized one important thing: our views on raising and caring for a child are fundamentally different. It seems our values are so far apart that living together has become impossible.”
“What are you talking about? You want to break up?” her husband froze, stunned by her words.
The woman nodded slowly, knowing she was making an important decision.
“Unfortunately, yes. I feel I can no longer trust you or rely on you as a partner. We both need to think about the consequences of our choices, but my position won’t change.”
Alexander stood motionless, like a statue. His face showed a mix of confusion and anger. After a few seconds of silence, his emotions burst out:
“This is absurd! How can you destroy a family over one minor incident?”
But Anna remained unmoved.
“This ‘incident’, as you call it, was the last straw. For a long time I’ve endured your mother’s disapproval and constant pressure from her. But now this is about our child, and I am ready to fight for her well-being at any cost.”
Alexander let out a heavy sigh, realizing that their marriage was falling apart and that any attempts at reconciliation seemed pointless.
Their conversation dragged on late into the night, full of mutual accusations and reproaches. Each tried to prove they were right, and neither wanted to back down.
Finally, the next morning Anna told her husband that she had submitted an application for divorce through the Gosuslugi online portal.
Her face was calm, but despair and exhaustion could be read in her eyes. Her husband listened in silence; his heart was torn by pain and resentment.
A month later the court hearing took place. The judge listened to both sides, weighed their arguments, and delivered a verdict: the divorce would be granted in Anna’s favor.
The child would stay with the mother, and the father would have the right to see his daughter according to a set schedule.
Alexander left the courtroom empty and crushed. He felt defeated, deprived of the most precious things — the love and support of his family.
Yet deep down, a small hope still flickered that one day they might be able to restore their broken relationship for the sake of their daughter
