Anna froze, nearly dropping the plate of pies. A deafening silence settled over the table. Only the kettle in the kitchen hissed softly. Maxim averted his eyes. His sister Lisa, sitting across from him, pretended to sigh and pressed her palm to her forehead. Her husband Nikolay was examining his nails with interest.
— “We?!” Anna blurted out, unable to hold back. “We just managed to do all that! Are you serious?!”
Valentina Pavlovna snorted, as if she already knew what was coming.
— “Who else, Annushka? You’re family. You have to help. Lisa and Kolya alone won’t manage this apartment—they’re even still renting. And they have a child who would benefit from the milder climate in the south.”
— “And our nerves aren’t of any use to anyone?” Anna shot a glance at Maxim, but he was staring out the window, clearly pretending it didn’t concern him.
— “Don’t get worked up, Anya,” Lisa interjected, hiding a satisfied smirk. “We’re not strangers.”
Anna felt her anger beginning to boil. Just a few minutes ago she had been happy—the mortgage was paid off, no longer had to count every penny, and could even save for a vacation. And now, right before her eyes, everything was falling apart. Lisa kept going on about a “close-knit family” and “support in hard times.”
— “Lisa, are you aware that these walls cost us ten years’ worth of savings on everything? Or does that not count?” Anna exclaimed.
— “Oh, come on!” snapped Valentina Pavlovna. “People pay for twenty years. You got off easy.”
Maxim finally looked up:
— “Mom, maybe we should just have some tea? It’s not the time…”
— “Are you too scared to say it yourself?” Anna hissed. “Go on, keep quiet! Look, Mom will decide for you, as usual.”
The plate clattered loudly against the table. Anna abruptly stood up and headed for the kitchen.
Valentina Pavlovna murmured softly:
— “Spoiled. They didn’t have these scandals before.”
In the kitchen, Anna mechanically opened and closed a cupboard. Faint voices could be heard behind her, but she no longer wanted to listen.
“How can this be? A new life has just begun, and they’re already ready to tear everything apart for their whims,” echoed in her mind.
Anna’s thoughts drifted back ten years—to the day when she and Maxim decided to take out a mortgage.
They had just been married. They lived in her studio, a place gifted by her parents that resembled a college dorm more than a home. Maxim was an optimist. He had said:
— “We’ll live on noodles for a year and a half, two years! But the apartment is big; maybe we’ll even think about having kids!”
Anna laughed and agreed, though she was terrified. They had barely scraped together enough for the down payment, and the idea of fully paying off the loan seemed unattainable. But Maxim had a plan, and she believed in him. At that time, Anna had no idea that Valentina Pavlovna would interfere with that plan.
The first incident occurred a year after they moved in. Valentina Pavlovna, a forceful and straightforward woman, came to visit and declared at the door:
— “And why are your wallpapers so boring? Look, Lisa chose a beautiful beige with golden flowers. Want me to find out where she bought them? They were expensive, we had to dig into the piggy bank to pay for them, but oh well.”
Maxim said nothing. Anna tried to explain that they’d done the renovation with leftover money. Her mother-in-law sighed:
— “Oh well. It’s just that Lisa knows what style is. And you, apparently, only care about saving money.”
Lisa usually remained silent during such discussions, but her look said it all: as if to say, “Yes, yes, Mom and I know how things should be done.” Lisa always managed to maintain the image of the perfect daughter, unlike Anna, who had been fighting for her boundaries from the very start.
Two years later, Valentina Pavlovna reappeared with news. Lisa had married Nikolay. To celebrate the occasion, Mom wanted the family to come together and chip in for a wedding trip. At that time, Maxim and Anna had just paid off a huge debt, and for the first time, Anna objected:
— “Valentina Pavlovna, we’d love to, but you know, we have our own plans.”
Maxim stayed silent. Then Valentina Pavlovna remarked:
— “It’s kind of shameful, you know. Lisa always took care of her brother, and you…”
Inside, Anna was boiling. How exactly was Lisa caring? Was a New Year’s card really caring? And Maxim simply shrugged it off, as if it wasn’t his business.
The most painful moment happened two years ago. They had saved up for renovations and planned to complete them by winter. But one day, Anna noticed that a significant portion of money had disappeared from their joint account. She couldn’t understand where it had gone until Maxim confessed. It turned out he had given the money to Lisa—allegedly for the child’s doctors.
— “At least consult with me!” Anna shouted. “This is our money! Why did you just give it away?!”
Maxim tried to justify:
— “It’s family, Anya. They really needed it. You’d have helped if you’d known.”
But Anna couldn’t accept it. It all felt like a betrayal. Even then, she first thought that in this family, the “own” were Lisa and Valentina Pavlovna, and she was nothing more than a temporary friend.
Behind the living room door, her mother-in-law whispered loudly:
— “You should have explained to Max how to live from the start. Otherwise, he got tangled up under the heel.”
Anna smirked. “Heel”… The only role she had been assigned was to prevent Valentina Pavlovna from turning their family life into an extension of Lisa’s apartment. But Maxim had never learned to say “no.” And if Anna didn’t set boundaries now, there would never be any.
She swallowed some water and, without looking back, returned to the room.
After the housewarming, Anna remained silent for three days. Maxim tried to act as if nothing had happened, but the silence in the apartment lay like a heavy blanket. Finally, on the evening of the fourth day, Anna couldn’t hold back any longer.
— “How much longer are you going to pretend that everything is normal?” Her voice was calm, but there was steel in it.
Maxim looked up from his phone.
— “What am I supposed to say? We already discussed everything,” he grumbled, avoiding her gaze.
— “We didn’t discuss anything, Maxim,” she said sharply as she set her mug down on the table. “You’ve been nothing but an indifferent bystander, and your mom has imposed another shackle on us, yet somehow it’s always me who has to deal with the surprise.”
Maxim buried his face in his hands.
— “Anya, what do you want? They’re in a difficult situation. I’m just trying not to fuel the conflict.”
— “And in the end, I’m always the one left behind!” Anna raised her voice. “Have you ever told Mom that we aren’t obliged to help Lisa? That we have our own plans?”
— “How do you expect that?” Maxim finally looked at her. “She’s our mom. She knows best.”
Those words were the final straw. Anna laughed, but the laughter was nervous, even hysterical.
— “Really? She knows best? So now we do as your mom says? Great! Then let’s go—return the keys to the apartment and the salary card. Let her decide everything for herself!”
Maxim frowned:
— “Don’t exaggerate. I just wanted… to smooth things over somehow.”
— “And what if I don’t want to smooth things over, Max? I’m tired of this. We worked our asses off for ten years to pay off the mortgage, and now we’re being dragged into someone else’s problems!”
He got up from the table and paced around the room.
— “So what do you suggest? To tell Lisa that we don’t love her? To quarrel with Mom?”
— “I suggest we learn to say ‘no.’ At least once. For our own sake.”
The next day, Anna decided to speak directly with her mother-in-law. She knew it would be unpleasant, but leaving things as they were would only make the situation worse.
Valentina Pavlovna met her at the door with a practiced smile:
— “Oh, Annushka, I didn’t expect to see you. What brings you here?”
Anna smiled in return, though inside she was boiling.
— “I wanted to discuss your plan to help Lisa.”
— “And what is there to discuss? You’re family, you help each other. It’s simple,” replied the mother-in-law, inviting her into the kitchen.
Anna sat at the table, clasping her hands together.
— “I’m sorry, Valentina Pavlovna, but it isn’t that simple. Maxim and I have our own obligations, and I don’t think we’re obligated to get involved in Lisa’s financial troubles.”
— “‘Financial troubles of others’?” Valentina Pavlovna repeated, raising an eyebrow. “Lisa isn’t a stranger to you. She’s Maxim’s sister. It seems you’ve quickly forgotten who supported you when you first joined the family.”
— “Supported? How, if you don’t mind me asking?” Anna feigned surprise. “With advice on how to choose the right wallpaper? Or hints about my inadequacy?”
Valentina Pavlovna blushed but quickly composed herself:
— “Don’t exaggerate, girl. Family should come first. If you don’t understand that, I feel sorry for Maxim.”
— “Family comes first when there are boundaries respected,” Anna replied firmly. “Maxim and I can’t afford to solve Lisa’s problems. She has a husband, and you have your parents. Besides, they’re adults—let them manage.”
Valentina Pavlovna tried to object, but Anna continued:
— “And one more thing. I know that Lisa recently received money from selling land. Why didn’t anyone mention that?”
Valentina Pavlovna paled.
— “Who told you that?”
— “It doesn’t matter. What matters is that they tried to drag us into someone else’s game without telling us the whole truth.”
The conversation ended quickly. Anna left the apartment feeling that this time she had at least won a small victory. Now, she only had to talk to Lisa.
Lisa arrived for the meeting, as usual, a bit late. She flicked her hair, removed her coat, and immediately began looking for the waiter. It seemed she hadn’t even noticed that Anna had been waiting for her for about fifteen minutes at a table in the corner of a café.
— “Hi, Anya,” Lisa greeted with a smile as if nothing had happened. “Terrible traffic—I barely made it. I hope you’re not too angry?”
— “No, it’s fine,” Anna replied calmly, pushing her tea cup aside. “Let’s get straight to the point.”
— “You’re such a strict accountant,” Lisa giggled, but quickly caught Anna’s stern look. “Well, speak.”
Anna was silent for a moment, letting Lisa sense that the conversation was going to be serious. Then, without any preamble, she said:
— “I know that you and Nikolay recently sold some land.”
Lisa pretended not to understand, but her eyes widened slightly.
— “And so? We’re setting that money aside for the future. We still need so much for other things…”
— “Then why did you ask for help from us?” Anna interrupted, maintaining a calm tone.
Lisa snorted.
— “Oh, come on, Anya. This isn’t made up. We really have problems. The renovation costs more than what we have. And you and Max have freed yourselves from the mortgage—you could have helped us.”
Anna took a deep breath, struggling to maintain her composure.
— “Lisa, that isn’t called ‘helping out.’ It’s called taking advantage of someone else’s efforts. We spent ten years scrimping every penny to pay off the debt. And in the end, your mom thinks that now we’re obligated to you. Is that acceptable?”
Lisa paused for a second, then shrugged.
— “But family is about supporting one another, isn’t it?”
— “Family isn’t about shifting your problems onto others,” Anna snapped. “We managed on our own—from the very beginning. Even when times were tough.”
Lisa frowned.
— “Tough? Everything’s fine for you, Anya. What do you even know about hardships?”
— “Oh, I know a lot,” Anna paused. “When Max and I didn’t have enough for the down payment, we didn’t turn to your mom—we managed on our own. When my salary was delayed and we lived solely on Max’s money, which wasn’t even enough for the mortgage, we didn’t turn to any of you. And it never occurred to us to force you or anyone else to solve our problems.”
Lisa raised her eyebrows in surprise.
— “I didn’t know that… Why didn’t you speak up?”
— “Because it’s our life,” Anna replied. “And you’ve gotten used to thinking that your problems are more important than everyone else’s. That’s just not how it works.”
Lisa wanted to object, but Anna continued:
— “Maxim and I will not help you, Lisa. You have the resources to manage on your own. And you know that very well.”
This time Lisa was taken aback.
— “Alright, maybe you’re right. It’s just that Mom said that…”
— “You’re an adult, Lisa,” Anna gently interrupted. “It’s time to learn to live without her approval.”
Later that evening, Anna was at home reading a book. Maxim approached and, a bit hesitantly, wrapped his arms around her shoulders.
— “You were right,” he said. “Lisa called. She said she isn’t upset. She even apologized.”
Anna closed her book and looked at him.
— “And how do you feel?”
Maxim smiled.
— “Lighter. Like a weight has been lifted. Thank you for being firm, Anya.”
Anna rested her head on his shoulder, feeling that they had taken the first step toward making their family truly their own.
