Svetlana stood in the middle of the room. Her three-room apartment. Years of hardship and saving. All her efforts had finally paid off.
— Daughter, why are you just standing there? — her mother entered with a bucket and mop. — Let’s start cleaning before your father brings the wallpaper.
— Mom, I just… — Svetlana’s eyes swept over the bare walls. — It’s mine. Do you understand? Completely mine.
Her mother smiled and hugged her by the shoulders. The next three months turned into an endless round of trips to hardware stores. Her father came every weekend, bringing tools. Svetlana picked out every tile in the bathroom, every shade of paint for the walls herself.
— Sveta, keep it straighter! — her father guided her hand with the roller. — Like this, you see? The main thing is not to rush.
The apartment was transforming before their eyes. Svetlana poured her soul into it, imagining how cozy and warm it would become. Her parents helped tirelessly, though Svetlana saw how exhausted they were after work.
A year later, at a corporate dinner in a restaurant, Svetlana was seated next to the new programmer. Andrey turned out to be from a small town three hundred kilometers from Moscow. Tall, broad-shouldered, with an open smile.
— You’re all so… metropolitan here, — Andrey nervously fidgeted with his napkin. — I only moved a month ago. Everything feels strange.
— Strange how? — Svetlana turned toward him with interest.
— Everything! — Andrey laughed. — Back home, everyone knows everyone. Here… Yesterday I even got lost in the metro, can you believe it?
Svetlana laughed too. Andrey was simple and sincere. After two months of dating, he invited her to meet his parents.
— I’ll warn you right away, — Andrey said, driving down a dirt road, — we keep things simple. Not like in Moscow.
Svetlana nodded, looking out at the endless fields. The house was big but old. On the porch the whole family was waiting — Andrey’s parents, his two brothers, and his younger sister.
— Oh, what a beauty! — Andrey’s mother immediately hugged Svetlana. — Come in, come in! The table’s already set!
At dinner, everyone talked at once. The brothers interrupted each other with childhood stories about Andrey. His sister bombarded Svetlana with questions about Moscow. The father silently ate, nodding occasionally.
— Do you have an apartment? — Andrey’s mother suddenly asked.
— Yes, a three-room one, — Svetlana replied.
— A three-room? — the older brother whistled. — In Moscow? You’re rich!
Svetlana felt embarrassed. She wanted to explain about the years of saving, but Andrey quickly steered the conversation elsewhere.
— And your parents? — his mother pressed on.
— Father’s an engineer, mother’s an accountant, — Svetlana answered politely.
— So intellectuals, — there was a strange note in Andrey’s mother’s voice.
The ride back was silent. Andrey kept glancing at Svetlana, trying to read her mood.
— They’re good people, just… he began.
— Just different, — Svetlana finished. — I understand.
They married six months later. Svetlana’s parents wanted a restaurant wedding, but Andrey’s family insisted on a village celebration.
— Why all the fancy nonsense? — his mother said. — We’ll gather in the yard, set up tables. Our way, simple!
Svetlana gave in. On the wedding day, half the village gathered in Andrey’s yard. Accordion, folk songs, playful contests. Svetlana’s parents sat a little bewildered among all the merrymaking.
— Kiss! — the guests shouted for the hundredth time.
Svetlana kissed Andrey and thought that love would overcome any differences. His hand in hers made her feel calmer.
After the wedding, they lived in Svetlana’s apartment. The first months flew by in happy domestic bustle. But half a year later the visits began.
— Svetočka, just for a week! — Andrey’s mother appeared at the door with enormous bags.
Then the older brother came. Then the younger one with his sister. Never all at once, but there was always someone staying in the apartment.
Svetlana grew anxious. Andrey saw no problem.
— It’s family, Sveta! How can I not let them in?
— But they come too often! Svetlana tried to keep her voice down. — It feels like this isn’t our apartment but a train station!
— Don’t exaggerate, Andrey hugged her. — So they came. What’s the big deal?
Svetlana’s patience snapped when Andrey’s parents arrived unannounced and stayed two whole weeks. His mother rearranged all the kitchen cupboards, his father blasted the TV all day.
— Enough! — Svetlana stood up from the dinner table, where they had eaten together for the fourteenth day in a row. — I’m sorry, but it’s time for you to go home.
— What do you mean time? — his mother widened her eyes. — We came to see our son!
— Your son can visit you anytime, Svetlana said as calmly as she could. — But you cannot live here permanently.
That evening Andrey exploded. Svetlana had never seen him so furious.
— You threw my parents out! How could you?
— Andrey, they stayed two weeks! This is our home, not a hotel!
For a month, they barely spoke. Then one night at dinner Andrey said:
— My parents are selling their house. They want to move to the city.
Svetlana was relieved. If they had their own place, they wouldn’t come so often.
— That’s good, she answered cautiously. — It’ll be easier for them.
Andrey nodded and said no more.
Three weeks later, Svetlana came home from work and froze. The hallway was filled with bags and boxes. Voices came from the kitchen. She walked in slowly. Around the table sat Andrey’s entire family.
— Svetočka’s home! — his mother exclaimed joyfully. — We’ll stay here for now, look around the neighborhoods. You have to buy an apartment wisely!
Svetlana silently looked at Andrey. He avoided her eyes.
— For long? she managed to ask.
— Not long, a couple weeks, his father waved it off. — Don’t worry, we’re quiet.
Svetlana went to the bedroom and shut the door. Her hands trembled with rage. Andrey followed her.
— You could have warned me! she hissed.
— They called this morning, Andrey defended himself. — I couldn’t say no.
A week passed. Then another. The family settled in as if permanently. The brothers spread their things in the living room, the sister took the second bedroom, the parents ruled the kitchen. Svetlana drifted through the days, avoiding home.
By the third week she couldn’t take it anymore. Looking for her phone charger in Andrey’s nightstand, she found documents instead. Registration forms. All of Andrey’s family, the address — her apartment. Only the owner’s signature was missing.
She grabbed the papers and stormed into the kitchen. Andrey was pouring tea.
— What’s this? she threw the documents in front of him.
Andrey went pale. His whole family fell silent, watching.
— Sveta, I can explain… he began.
— Explain what? That you were going to register your entire family here behind my back?
— We thought you’d understand, his mother cut in. — We’re family!
— Your family will not be registered here, Andrey! Svetlana snapped.
— Sveta, don’t shout, Andrey tried to take her hand.
— Don’t touch me! she jerked away. — Did you all plot this? Think I’d just swallow it?
— Nobody thought that, his father stood. — But the money from selling the house isn’t enough for a decent apartment. We planned to stay temporarily…
— Temporarily? Svetlana laughed bitterly. — With registration? That’s forever!
— What’s wrong with that? Andrey’s brother shrugged. — There’s space.
— What’s wrong is this is my apartment! Svetlana’s voice shook with fury. — I saved for years! My parents helped with the renovation! And you just want to move in?
— Svetlana, you’re married to my son, his mother said softly. — That means the apartment is shared.
— No! Svetlana’s gaze burned into Andrey. — The apartment is mine. Bought before marriage. And I won’t let it turn into a dormitory!
— You’re selfish! Andrey suddenly shouted. — You only think of yourself!
Those words cut deepest of all. All these months she had endured, compromised, tried to accept his family. And now she was the selfish one? The injustice boiled inside her.
— Selfish? Me, who tolerated your family all this time?
— Sveta, we’re not strangers, his mother tried to intervene.
— To me you are! Svetlana spun on her. Her heart pounded so loudly she thought everyone could hear. — You didn’t even ask permission! You just came and declared you’d live here!
— We wanted what’s best, his mother wrung her hands. — The money from the house is only enough for a one-room. How can we all fit?
— And why should you fit in my apartment? Svetlana pressed her palms on the table, torn between rage and despair.
— Sveta, be reasonable. This is my family! Andrey stepped toward her.
— And what am I to you? Her voice broke. Tears pricked her eyes but she refused to let them fall. — Your wife, or just the owner of a convenient apartment?
Silence filled the kitchen. Andrey said nothing. That was answer enough. Inside her, something finally snapped. Years of saving, the renovation with her parents, her dreams of a happy life — all shattered in an instant.
— We can find a compromise, his father tried.
— A compromise? Svetlana laughed through the pain. — You’ve lived here three weeks without asking! Planned to register without telling me!
— Sveta, I thought you’d understand, Andrey sank into a chair. — They’re my family.
— And betraying me is fine? Her chest ached.
She seized the documents and tore them to shreds. Her hands shook, but her movements were firm. His mother gasped.
— What are you doing!—
— What I should have done long ago, Svetlana threw the scraps on the table. Inside, a cold determination took hold. — Everyone out of my apartment. You have an hour to pack.
— You wouldn’t throw us out at night! his father protested.
— I would. And you too, Andrey. She looked straight at her husband. The man she had loved now felt like a stranger. — Pack your things.
— You want to end up alone? Andrey’s voice carried a threat.
— Yes, Svetlana answered firmly. — Better alone than with a traitor.
She left the kitchen and locked herself on the balcony. Only then did she allow herself to cry. Ahead lay divorce, but she knew one thing for certain — the apartment would remain hers. As would her right to live on her own terms.
