Vika was standing by the window of her three-room apartment, looking out at the snow-covered courtyard. December had only just begun, but the city was already buried in snowdrifts. The wedding had taken place three weeks earlier — modest, without much fuss, only the closest people. The flat had come to Vika two years ago as an inheritance from her grandmother, and now it was her home, her fortress. After the ceremony, she and her husband Denis had spent a week putting the place in order: arranging their things, deciding what would go where, making plans for the future.
Denis worked as a manager at a construction company and often stayed late at the office, but at home he was always attentive and calm. Vika was a design engineer, and her schedule sometimes allowed her to work remotely. Life seemed measured and predictable — exactly the kind of life Vika had dreamed of. No surprises, no unexpected visitors. Denis had repeated several times that he valued her space and would never invite relatives over without warning.
“Vik, you’re the one in charge here,” Denis would say, putting his arm around her shoulders. “I understand how important it is for us to have our own place. No invasions, I promise.”
Vika believed his every word. Her husband seemed reliable, level-headed, nothing like the men who dragged their whole family along at the first opportunity. They talked about plans for the coming year: they wanted to go on holiday, maybe get a cat, and gradually update the furniture in the living room. Everything was shaping up exactly as it should after a wedding.
On Friday evening, Vika came home from work earlier than usual. It had been a stressful day, and all she wanted was to lie on the couch with a book and forget about everything. In the morning Denis had warned her he’d be late — some meeting with suppliers. Vika heated up her dinner, changed into comfy clothes and settled in the living room. Outside, it was getting dark early, big flakes of snow were falling, and the city was sinking into pre-New Year bustle.
Around nine o’clock the doorbell rang. Vika looked up in surprise — Denis always let her know if he was running late. Maybe a neighbor? She went to the door, peered through the peephole and froze. Four people were standing on the landing: an older woman with a heavy bag, a young woman of about twenty-five with a child in her arms, a young man with a huge backpack, and Denis, smiling as if everything was perfectly normal.
Vika slowly opened the door, trying to understand what was going on.
“Hi, Vik!” Denis stepped into the hallway, the others following behind. “Meet my mom, Galina Sergeyevna, my sister Lena and her son Roma, and my brother Oleg.”
Galina Sergeyevna squeezed past Vika without even saying hello and headed straight into the flat, looking around the rooms. Lena, with the child in her arms, gave a brief nod and went after her, while Oleg silently set his backpack down by the wall and shrugged off his jacket.
“Denis, what’s going on?” Vika stared at her husband, not understanding why all these people had shown up so late.
“Nothing serious, Vik. It’s temporary. Just until they find a place to rent. You know, they’re having a tough time right now.”
Vika blinked, trying to digest the information. Temporary? A place to rent? Galina Sergeyevna was already in the living room, studying the furniture, and Lena had settled on the sofa, rocking Roma.
“How many rooms are there?” Galina Sergeyevna asked, turning to Denis.
“Three, Mom. There’s enough space for everyone.”
Vika felt the blood drain from her face. Three rooms? Enough space for everyone? Denis hadn’t even asked, hadn’t even warned her. He had just brought his relatives over and flung the doors open as if this were a dormitory.
“Denis, can we talk?” Vika nodded toward the kitchen.
Her husband followed her, still smiling. In the kitchen, Vika closed the door and turned to him.
“You could at least have called, warned me! Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Vik, I didn’t even know it would be today. Mom called a couple of hours ago, said they urgently needed a place to stay. I couldn’t say no, they’re my family.”
“But this is my apartment! We just got married, we have our own life!”
Denis frowned and crossed his arms over his chest.
“Vika, it’s just for a short while. A week, two at most. They’ll find a place and move out. Can’t you put up with it for a bit?”
“You promised there’d be no unexpected guests!”
“These aren’t guests, they’re my family. And anyway, you’ve got a three-room place, there’s space for everyone. Don’t be selfish.”
Vika clenched her fists, trying to keep herself in check. Selfish? She was selfish because she didn’t want to share her home with people she barely knew?
From the living room came Galina Sergeyevna’s voice:
“Denis, where’s the bed linen? We need to unpack our things.”
Denis left the kitchen without waiting for his wife’s reply. Vika remained standing there, staring into space. Everything had happened so quickly that she hadn’t even managed to object. The relatives were already unpacking their bags, discussing who would sleep in which room. Galina Sergeyevna took over the bedroom that Vika and Denis had been using as a guest room, Lena with Roma settled in the room that was supposed to become a home office, and Oleg laid out his things in the living room, turning the sofa into his bed.
Vika and Denis stayed in their own bedroom, but the atmosphere in the apartment changed instantly. In the morning, Vika woke up to a baby’s crying. Roma was screaming at the top of his lungs, while Lena tried to calm him down, pacing the hallway. Galina Sergeyevna was already ruling the kitchen, frying something, clattering dishes, and had the TV blaring at full volume.
Vika went into the kitchen, hoping at least to grab breakfast in peace, but Galina had already taken over the entire space. Three frying pans were on the stove, her pots covered the table, and a mountain of dirty dishes filled the sink.
“Good morning,” Vika tried to squeeze past to the fridge.
Galina turned around and slowly looked her daughter-in-law up and down.
“Morning. Are you having breakfast?”
“Yes, I was going to.”
“Wait, I’ll clear the stove in a minute. Or no, better later. I need to cook for Lena and Roma first, the child is hungry.”
Vika froze. Wait? In her own apartment? Galina wasn’t even thinking of stepping aside; she just kept working over the pans, hogging the whole kitchen. Vika turned and left without a word. Her appetite disappeared on the spot.
By evening, things had only got worse. Lena sat in the living room glued to her phone while Roma raced around the flat, knocking everything over in his path. Oleg occupied the bathroom for a whole hour, and when Vika finally got in, she found puddles on the floor, towels scattered everywhere, and dirty laundry in the corner. In the kitchen, Galina was giving Denis an earful, arguing about what they needed to buy at the store and who was going to cook dinner.
“Vika, can you cook at all?” Galina asked when Vika tried to slip into the kitchen for some tea.
“I can.”
“Then you’re cooking today. I’m tired, and Lena has enough on her plate with the baby.”
Vika stared at her mother-in-law, hardly believing her ears. Cook? For five people who had invaded her home without so much as asking?
“I wasn’t planning on cooking for everyone.”
“How can you say that? We’re family now. You can’t refuse.”
Denis kept silent, rummaging through the food in the fridge as if he didn’t hear them. Vika pressed her lips together, nodded and left the kitchen. She didn’t cook. She ordered food just for herself and locked herself in the bedroom, not wanting to see anyone.
That night Vika couldn’t sleep. Through the wall she heard Galina talking loudly on the phone, without the slightest attempt to lower her voice. Lena got up several times for Roma — the child was fussy and cried. Oleg put his music on in his headphones, but the sound still seeped through. The apartment had turned into a thoroughfare where everyone did as they pleased, paying no attention to the actual owner.
In the morning, Vika got up with a headache. Denis had already left for work without even saying goodbye. In the kitchen, Galina was once again in charge, while Lena sat at the table flipping through a magazine. Vika poured herself some water and left in silence.
“Vika, could you go to the store?” Galina called out. “We need milk, bread, and a few other things — I’ll make a list.”
“I’m working from home today, I don’t have time.”
“How can you not have time? You’re at home. We’re the ones who are tired from the trip.”
Vika didn’t answer, went into the bedroom and shut the door. Working was impossible — constant noise, Roma’s shrieks, the TV blaring. By midday Vika realized she couldn’t take it anymore. The apartment was no longer her home. Everywhere there were other people’s things, other people’s smells, other people’s voices. Galina was dictating who would cook when, who would clean, who would go shopping. Lena complained she was bored but didn’t so much as lift a finger to help. Oleg spent two hours at a time in the bathroom and then demanded that Vika do his laundry.
That evening Vika waited for Denis to come home. He arrived late, exhausted, and went straight to the kitchen to have dinner. Vika followed, determined to have a serious talk.
“Denis, how long is this going to go on?”
“What exactly?”
“Your family living here. You said it was temporary, but it’s been four days and they aren’t even looking for a flat.”
“Vika, what do you want me to do? They need time. I can’t throw them out on the street.”
“But you could at least have asked me first! This is my apartment, and I feel like a guest in it.”
Denis put his spoon down and looked at his wife.
“A guest? Vika, stop being dramatic. Mom is trying to help — she cooks, she cleans. Lena has a baby, it’s hard for her. Oleg is here only for a while, until he finds a job. Just be patient a bit longer.”
“A bit? Denis, I can’t live like this! It’s constant noise, no one asks my opinion about anything, your mother acts like she owns the place!”
“Well, you’re the lady of the house, so set some boundaries if something doesn’t suit you.”
Vika blinked, not knowing how to react. Set boundaries? Denis himself had brought these people in, and now he was shifting the responsibility onto her?
“I don’t understand why you won’t support me.”
“I am supporting you. But they’re my family, Vika. You have to understand that.”
Vika turned and walked out of the kitchen, not wanting to continue. Tears rose to her throat, but she didn’t want to cry. She wanted to scream, to kick everyone out, to get her life back. But her husband seemed not to grasp what was happening. For Denis, everything was fine — the relatives were nearby, his wife cooked, the apartment was full of people. The fact that Vika was suffocating from this invasion didn’t seem to bother him at all.
By the end of the week, Vika finally realized the situation had gone completely beyond all bounds. The apartment no longer belonged to just her and Denis. Galina had taken on the role of head of the household, Lena had made herself comfortable as if she’d always lived there, and Oleg behaved as though this were his place. Vika had become a stranger in her own home. Every day was a fight for personal space, for the right to have breakfast in peace, take a shower, or work without yelling and noise. Denis kept quiet, avoided conversations, and repeated the same phrase: just be patient, it’s only temporary.
But Vika understood: if she didn’t put a stop to it now, the relatives would stay forever.
The next morning she woke up with a firm resolve to talk seriously with her husband. Denis was already getting ready for work, hurriedly tying his shoelaces in the hallway. Vika approached and waited until he raised his head.
“We need to settle the issue with your relatives. Today.”
Denis exhaled and shook his head.
“Vika, again? We already talked about this yesterday.”
“We didn’t talk at all. You just told me to be patient. But I can’t anymore. It’s time to find a place for your family.”
“You’re blowing things out of proportion. They’re not bothering you that much.”
Vika froze, staring at him. Not bothering her? The constant noise, the mess, the orders, the lack of any personal space — and that wasn’t “that much”?
“Denis, are you serious?”
“Of course. You’re just used to living alone, that’s why everything seems so awful to you. Give it time, it’ll all work out.”
He put on his jacket and went out without waiting for her reply. Vika stayed in the hallway, fists clenched. Used to living alone? This was her apartment, her home, and Denis was talking as if she should have expected this kind of invasion.
The day turned out to be hard. Vika tried to work from home, but her focus evaporated every ten minutes. Galina had the TV in the kitchen turned up so loud that the sound carried all the way into the bedroom. Roma ran up and down the hallway, banging his toys against the walls. Lena chatted on the phone, laughing loudly and discussing plans with her friends. Oleg was in the bathroom for the third time that day.
In the evening, Vika came back from a short meeting at the office and found complete chaos in the kitchen. A mountain of dirty dishes covered the sink and the table. Juice had been spilled on the floor, the sticky puddle stretching from the fridge to the stove. Galina was sitting in the living room watching a TV series. Lena was putting Roma to bed. Oleg sat at the computer in his headphones.
Vika stopped in the doorway, looking at the mess. No one had even tried to clean up. No one thought to wipe the floor or wash a dish. Something snapped inside her. Vika understood: not one more day in this apartment would start and end like this. It had to stop.
She went into the living room and stood in front of the TV. Galina tore her eyes from the screen and looked at her daughter-in-law with irritation.
“What’s wrong?”
“Galina Sergeyevna, you said you came here temporarily. It’s been more than a week. When are you planning to move out?”
Her mother-in-law frowned and crossed her arms.
“We’re looking for a flat. It’s not as quick as you think.”
“I understand. But I can’t live like this anymore. There’s constant noise and mess, I can’t work, I can’t rest.”
“Well then help clean up if it bothers you so much. We’re all tired, and you’re young, you can manage.”
Vika pressed her lips together, trying not to explode. Help clean up? The mess left behind by other people in her own home?
“This is my apartment. And I’m not obliged to clean up after everyone.”
“How dare you talk to your elders like that!” Galina jumped up from the sofa and came right up to Vika. “You’re a daughter-in-law; you’re supposed to respect your husband’s family!”
“I do respect you, but I won’t let you turn my home into a train station.”
“Then talk to my son. It was Denis who brought us here, not us who came uninvited.”
Vika turned and left the living room. Talk to Denis — yes, that was exactly what she needed to do, and immediately. She took her phone and dialed her husband’s number. He didn’t pick up right away, and his voice sounded tired.
“Vika, what happened?”
“Denis, come home. We need to talk.”
“I can’t right now, I’ve still got things to do.”
“It’s urgent.”
He sighed and promised to be back in an hour. Vika hung up, went into the bedroom, and closed the door. That hour dragged on endlessly. She sat on the bed, thinking through what she would say. Calm talks hadn’t worked. Denis didn’t listen, didn’t want to listen. So she would have to act differently.
When Denis finally came home, Vika met him in the hallway. Galina immediately came out of the living room and began complaining about her daughter-in-law.
“Denis, talk to your wife! She’s throwing us out, she’s rude, she has no respect!”
Denis looked at Vika, frowning.
“Vika, what’s going on?”
“Let’s go to the bedroom and talk.”
They went into the room and shut the door. Denis crossed his arms and waited for an explanation.
“Your family has to move out. Tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow? Vika, are you out of your mind?”
“No, I’m not. I can’t live like this anymore. You promised it would be temporary, but it’s been a week and no one is even looking for a flat. Your mother runs the place, your sister doesn’t help, your brother spends hours in the bathroom. I feel like a stranger in my own home.”
“Then just put up with it a bit longer! They really have nowhere to go!”
“That’s not my problem, Denis. You should have asked me before bringing four people here.”
“I couldn’t say no to my family!”
“But you had no trouble saying no to me. You didn’t think about me, about my comfort, about my feelings.”
Denis ran a hand over his face and sank onto the bed, exhausted.
“Vika, let’s not blow this into a big scandal. They’ll find a place and move out soon.”
“No. They’re leaving tomorrow. Or I’ll throw them out myself.”
He looked at her, irritation flashing in his eyes.
“You can’t just throw them out. That’s cruel.”
“Cruel is barging into someone else’s home without asking. Cruel is ignoring the owner’s requests. Cruel is turning my life into hell.”
Denis stood up and went to the door.
“I’m not going to argue with you. You don’t even know what you’re saying.”
He walked out, slamming the door behind him. Vika was left alone, staring into space. The conversation had led nowhere. Denis hadn’t heard her and didn’t want to. So she would have to act on her own.
That night she didn’t sleep. She lay on her back, staring at the ceiling, going over her plan. Denis was snoring beside her, turned toward the wall. Outside the bedroom door she could hear voices — Galina and Lena were talking and laughing about something. Roma woke up and started crying; Lena went to soothe him. Oleg turned his music on again, and the faint thump of the bass came through the walls.
Around three in the morning, the flat finally fell quiet. Everyone had gone to bed. Vika got up, quietly left the bedroom and stepped into the hallway. The nightlight cast a dim glow. She went into the living room where Oleg was sleeping and carefully started gathering his things. She folded his clothes into his backpack and carried it out to the hallway. Then she went into the room where Galina slept, packed her mother-in-law’s bags and brought them out as well. Lena and Roma were in the office — Vika gently collected her sister-in-law’s belongings without waking the child.
By morning, all the bags and suitcases were neatly stacked in the hallway by the front door. Vika went back to the bedroom, lay down beside Denis and closed her eyes. She still couldn’t sleep, but at least she could lie there for a few hours.
Galina was the first to wake up. She came out of the room, headed toward the bathroom, and stopped dead when she saw the bags in the hallway. She walked closer, saw that they were her things, and her face turned red, her eyes narrowing.
“What does this mean?!” Her shout echoed through the entire apartment.
Vika came out of the bedroom and looked at her calmly.
“It means you’re moving out. Today.”
“How dare you?! Denis!”
Her husband rushed out of the bedroom, sleepy and confused. He saw the bags, then looked at Vika.
“Vika, what have you done?”
“What I should have done from the start. This apartment belongs to me. Your family can look for a place somewhere else.”
Galina came right up to Vika and jabbed a finger into her chest.
“You’re throwing us out onto the street? Denis, did you hear that?!”
Denis tried to object, started saying something about cruelty, about family, about how you can’t do this, but Vika quietly pointed at the door and said in a firm voice:
“You have one hour to finish packing and leave. If you’re still here in an hour, I’ll call the police.”
“You wouldn’t dare!”
“I would. This is my apartment, and I have the right to decide who lives here.”
Lena came out of the office with Roma in her arms, saw the bags and looked at her mother in fright.
“Mom, what’s going on?”
“This… daughter-in-law is throwing us out! Denis, say something to her!”
Denis opened his mouth, but when he met his wife’s gaze, he fell silent. The look of determination in Vika’s eyes made it clear: arguing would be pointless. She wouldn’t back down and wouldn’t change her mind. He lowered his eyes, turned around and went back into the bedroom.
Oleg came out of the living room, yawning, scratching his head.
“What’s with all the yelling?”
“Get ready,” Galina snapped. “We’re leaving.”
“Where to?”
“Out of here. This… ‘mistress of the house’ is throwing us out.”
Oleg shrugged and started getting dressed. Lena bustled around, trying to gather Roma’s things, crying as she went. Galina raged and thundered, calling Vika ungrateful, heartless, selfish. Vika stood by the door watching in silence. Inside she felt neither anger nor pity — only a quiet certainty that this was the right thing to do.
An hour later, the family was packed. Galina called a taxi and kept fuming, insisting that Denis go with them. He came out of the bedroom with a bag in his hand and looked at Vika.
“I’m going with them.”
“As you wish.”
“You’ll regret this, Vika.”
“No, I won’t.”
Denis slammed the door as he left. Galina, Lena with Roma, and Oleg followed him. The taxi carried all five of them away. The apartment filled with the long-awaited silence.
Vika leaned her back against the door and closed her eyes. Silence. Finally, silence. No shouting, no noise, no mess. Just calm and emptiness. She walked through the rooms, opened the windows, letting in the crisp frosty air. She cleared away everything that had been left behind, washed the floors, put the kitchen back in order. By evening, the apartment was a home again — cozy, clean, and hers.
The first few days after the relatives left passed in blissful quiet. Vika worked, rested, and savored the solitude. Denis didn’t call or text. Vika didn’t try to contact him either. If he wanted to live with his mother, that was his choice. She had no intention of begging him to come back.
A month went by. Then two. Then three. Vika got used to living alone and stopped thinking about Denis. They filed for divorce through the registry office — both agreed, there was nothing to divide and no children. The procedure took a month, and by spring Vika was officially free.
Life settled down. Vika kept working, met up with friends, traveled. The apartment remained her fortress, a place where no one made the rules but her, where no one walked in without asking.
In the summer, six months after the divorce, the doorbell rang. Vika opened it and saw Denis on the threshold. Her ex-husband looked tired and drawn, his eyes dull. He stood there with a small bag in his hand, silent.
“Hi, Vika.”
“Hi.”
“Can I come in?”
She let him into the hallway and closed the door. Denis went into the living room, sat down on the sofa and put the bag beside him.
“How are you?”
“Fine. And you?”
Denis sighed and rubbed his face with his hands.
“Honestly? Not great. I’m exhausted. Mom is constantly pressuring me, demanding money and attention. Lena doesn’t help either, just complains. Oleg found a job, but the pay is low, so I help him out too. We’re living in a rented two-room flat, it’s cramped, and there are constant arguments.”
Vika stayed silent, listening. Denis raised his head and looked at her.
“I realized I was wrong. I shouldn’t have brought them here without your consent. I’m sorry.”
“Okay.”
“Vika, I… can I stay here for a while? At least on the sofa. Just temporarily, until I find a place of my own.”
Vika heard his request calmly — without anger, but without her former softness either. She looked at Denis for a long moment, weighing her words.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because it will turn into ‘temporary’ forever again. You won’t find a flat, then you’ll drag your mother here, then your sister with the child. And everything will repeat itself.”
“I promise I won’t! Just me, no one else!”
“Denis, I don’t believe you. You already promised there would be no guests. And what happened?”
Her ex-husband dropped his head and said nothing. Vika got up from the armchair and walked over to the window.
“You know, I’ve spent a long time thinking about why it all turned out like this. And I realized — you weren’t ready to create a family. You wanted to go on living with your mother, just in a different place. You didn’t need a wife; you needed another housekeeper who would cook, clean and put up with your relatives.”
“That’s not true.”
“It’s exactly true. Not once did you take my side or support me when I was struggling. You chose your mother, not me.”
Denis stood up and came closer.
“I’ll change. Give me another chance.”
“No. You already had your chance. You used it up.”
“Vika, I’m begging you.”
“Denis, leave. I’m sorry you’re having a hard time, but that’s not my problem. I no longer want to be responsible for your family.”
He stood there for a little while longer, then picked up his bag and walked toward the door. On the threshold, he turned back.
“You’ve changed.”
“Yes. I’ve learned to protect my space and not feel guilty about it.”
Denis nodded and left. The door closed, and Vika was alone again. But now solitude didn’t scare her. On the contrary, it brought peace. She knew that if anyone were ever to live in her home again, it would only be on the owner’s terms, not at her expense. The apartment belonged to Vika, and no one would ever again dare to dictate how she should live in it.
She walked over to the window and looked out at the summer evening. The city was living its own life; somewhere people were hurrying, somewhere someone was sorting out their problems. But here, in this three-room flat, it was quiet and calm. Exactly the way it was meant to be
