Galya froze. She listened, confused and shaken. Completely by accident, she had overheard something that suddenly opened her eyes to many things.
She pressed her forehead against the cold glass, trying to cool her burning face. It was so humiliating and unpleasant to hear what her mother-in-law was saying in the next room.
What should she do now? Keep listening? Or let Valentina Agapovna know she was already there? After all, she had come to help, just as she had recently promised.
Galya did not think for long, because at that very moment her mother-in-law continued speaking. So the daughter-in-law decided to stay silent for now. Apparently, fate itself had arranged for her to find out what was really going on in the mind of her cynical mother-in-law. And, as it turned out a little later, in the mind of her shameless husband Anatoly as well.
“Listen, I’m telling you — don’t rush. Why the hurry? What are these thoughtless decisions for? No, I’m going to speak, and you will be kind enough to listen!” Valentina Agapovna shouted into her phone. “Listen carefully, since you clearly don’t have enough sense of your own. You are my son, and you should listen to your mother.”
After those words, her husband’s mother fell silent for about ten seconds. She was probably listening to what her son was saying in response. But then she immediately took control of the conversation again.
“What divorce? Use your head for once! This is absolutely not the right time. Yes, completely inconvenient. Your Galya is a fool, and it’s good that she still doesn’t suspect anything. Take advantage of the situation and don’t make rash decisions. Why would you voluntarily give up the goose that lays the golden eggs? That would be stupid! Huh? What? Oh, now that’s funny! Love someone else all you want. Who’s stopping you? But answer me this — what’s the rush? It’s not like you fell in love with that Alina yesterday.”
After listening to her son’s reply, which Galya could not hear, the mother continued at once.
“Well, that’s something new! You’ve made me laugh even more. She suddenly wants to get married! And what do you need that empty-headed girl for, Tolik? How is she better than your wife?”
Valentina Agapovna paused for a few seconds, listening to Anatoly.
“Your Alina is still practically a child. She’s only eighteen, isn’t she? No education, no job. But your wife works at a good company. And soon she’s going to get promoted. Galina already earns more than you do, and soon she’ll be making so much that you, you silly boy, won’t have to work at all. And what can that little girl of yours offer, apart from impressing you with her young body? Even that won’t last forever. Youth passes quickly, my dear son. But money remains.”
How horrible. Am I really hearing all of this? How could this happen to me? Why did I never suspect quiet, passive Anatoly of cheating? Galya thought bitterly as she listened to her mother-in-law speaking with her husband.
Galya had married two years earlier, when she was twenty-seven. Shortly before that, she had broken up with a man she had loved very deeply. She and Pavel had dated for quite a long time, and she had been waiting for him to propose. But somehow, it never happened. One thing got in the way, then another. Their wedding kept being postponed again and again. Then, completely by chance, Galya discovered that the man she loved was already married and had a child.
It felt as if her whole world had collapsed under the weight of that betrayal, and Galya believed nothing good would ever happen in her life again. For a long time, she did not want to see anyone. But one day, her friends managed to drag her out to a restaurant, and that was where she met Anatoly.
The man courted her beautifully, and after only a couple of months of dating, he proposed.
His mother was delighted with her son’s choice.
“Oh, Galya, you have impressed me so much! What a remarkable young woman you are! You got a good education, work at such a well-known company, and you’ve even bought your own apartment already! I respect independent women. I’m like that myself, you know,” Valentina Agapovna proudly told her future daughter-in-law.
At the time, Galya, exhausted by loneliness and the betrayal of the man she had loved, thought Anatoly was a good option. A loving husband, a mother-in-law who appreciated her — what else did a strong family need? It was time to arrange her personal life. And it was also time to start thinking about children; the years were passing. That was how she reasoned with her friends when she decided to marry Tolik.
She agreed, though she did not love the young man. After the cruel betrayal she had endured, her soul felt silent. Galina even thought that might be for the best. In marriage, she believed, the most important things were not love, but respect between spouses and mutual care. And when children came, she would give them all the love she had never spent.
After the wedding, Anatoly moved into his wife’s apartment. The couple lived fairly well, peacefully, and without scandals. Galina spent most of her time at work. Anatoly, meanwhile, was still “searching for himself,” constantly changing jobs. At every new workplace, he found something that did not suit him. Either the salary was too low, or the boss was a tyrant, or the working conditions were not what he had been promised.
Galya was not upset about it. Let him search, she thought. The young family had enough money, and besides, she herself was focused on something completely different.
For some reason, she could not get pregnant. Galina had already gone to a doctor and completed all the required tests. But the doctor found no abnormalities and assured her that everything was fine — she simply had to wait.
“Sometimes it happens this way. Let go of the situation, and with time nature will do everything for you. I assure you, we’ll meet again soon, but for a happy reason,” the doctor told her with a smile.
But almost two years had passed since she married Anatoly, and they had still not become parents.
Now, as she listened to a conversation that was never meant for her ears, Galina understood: perhaps none of it had happened for a reason. It was as if fate itself had protected her from having children in this marriage. Because now it had become clear that their family had been heading toward collapse all along.
Galina worked hard, trying to save money for the time when she would be on maternity leave. She wanted there to be enough for everything, so that neither she nor the child would need anything. She could not count on Anatoly, with his endless search for himself. That meant she could rely only on herself.
Galina worked with complete dedication. She had been made head of department only a couple of years after joining the company. Her high productivity and willingness to sacrifice personal time for the good of the business had been appreciated. But it was precisely this that played a fatal role in what happened. She had spent so much time working that she had not paid enough attention to what her husband was doing.
Her mother-in-law continued, pulling Galina out of her thoughts.
“And have you thought about me? I’ve only just finished renovating one room. Galya helped me with the money. She never refused. And now, because of your whims, am I supposed to abandon everything halfway? Finish the renovation in my apartment first, then get divorced, genius! What, Mother?” Valentina Agapovna reacted sharply to something her son said.
“And you know what my advice is? Leave that young fool and stay with Galya. You’ll never find another wife like her. Don’t argue with your mother!
“With her, you live as comfortably as a king. Think properly, son! If you still have anything left to think with. Oh, you didn’t take after me at all — you took after your womanizing father. He wanders around the world from one woman to another despite his age. And he’s an old man already! Is that what you want too?” the mother-in-law shouted angrily.
So they’re using me too. As if my husband’s betrayal wasn’t enough, his mother decided to renovate her apartment at my expense! And I helped her sincerely, from the heart, Galya thought in disbelief as she listened to her husband’s mother.
That day, Galina had an unexpected day off in the middle of the week. That had never happened before, but the electricity at work had been shut off for the entire day, and the manager had sent everyone home.
When the active woman returned home, she felt oddly sad. The one-room apartment was tidy, and her husband was at work. At first, she decided to lie down and sleep. The accumulated exhaustion was making itself known. But something pushed her to get up and go to her mother-in-law’s place. Perhaps intuition. Perhaps a premonition that she needed to be there that very day.
A few days earlier, her mother-in-law had asked her to wash the window and hang curtains in the bedroom where the renovation had just been completed. Galya decided this was a good opportunity not to waste her proper day off later, but to do it today instead. She found the keys to her mother-in-law’s apartment in a small box on the hallway table and took them with her, just in case Anatoly’s mother was not home.
That was exactly what happened. Galya rang the doorbell, and when no one answered, she opened Valentina Agapovna’s apartment herself.
The daughter-in-law decided not to do anything without the hostess present. She would wait for her mother-in-law and then, under her careful supervision, wash the window and hang the curtains.
Galina lay down on the bed and dozed off. She was awakened by the sound of the front door opening and by her mother-in-law’s voice speaking loudly on the phone.
That was how, in such a simple way, she learned the whole truth about what was happening in her personal life and in her family. It turned out that for both her husband and her mother-in-law, Galya was nothing more than a wealthy woman — a moneybag.
A month earlier, her mother-in-law had called and asked for money for wallpaper in the bedroom. She said major expenses were coming up, because besides the wallpaper, the door had to be replaced, and the slopes around it too.
“And there’ll be plaster, putty, and all sorts of other things too, you understand, Galya. It’s going to cost a pretty penny. I’ve already found the workers; they’re asking a lot, but what can I do? The renovation is necessary. You saw yourself what state my apartment is in.”
“Yes, I saw. It does need renovation,” Galina replied. “All right. I’ll be getting a bonus in a few days, and I’ll give you some money.”
“Really?” Valentina Agapovna was slightly surprised by how quickly her problem had been solved. “Thank you so much! We’re one family now, after all, and we should help one another.”
The mother-in-law showered her with praise for a long time. Then she came to her daughter-in-law for help a couple more times. There was never enough money; the renovation kept demanding more and more.
When Galina handed over the money, she asked her mother-in-law for one small thing.
“You know I’m a financial specialist, and order in money matters is very important to me. Here is a receipt stating that I am giving you money. Sign it, and the money is yours.”
“What is this for?” the cunning mother-in-law asked, taken aback. “You’re not giving it to me as a loan! We never agreed on that. Besides, I have nothing to pay it back with. I thought we were settling this as relatives.”
“You don’t have to pay anything back. I’m giving you the money, just as I promised. It’s simply important to me. How can I explain it? For the family record, let’s say. A document showing that at one point Tolya and I helped you with the renovation,” Galya said, following the advice of her colleague Svetlana.
“Galya, get a receipt from her,” Svetlana had told her. “She’ll deny everything later, that sly witch. And this will at least be a document. Besides, who knows how life may turn out? You don’t earn that money easily enough to just hand it out like that.”
Valentina Agapovna hesitated. She did not want to sign anything at all. She sensed some kind of trap. After all, any piece of paper could later be used. But her desire to get free money from her daughter-in-law overcame her doubts. So the woman signed all the receipts.
And now it turned out that the mother-in-law had planned to renovate the entire apartment at her daughter-in-law’s expense. That was why she had demanded that her son delay the divorce. Such cynicism!
Yes, Svetlana, who unlike her friend had already faced betrayal and meanness from close people, had been right. The receipts would come in handy.
It was time to come out of hiding and put everything in its place.
“Galya?” Her mother-in-law’s jaw dropped when she saw her daughter-in-law coming out of the bedroom.
“Yes, it’s me. Why are you so surprised? I came to visit you. And just in time, wouldn’t you say?”
“What are you doing here? How did you get in? Where did you come from? You’re supposed to be at work right now,” the mother-in-law stammered in a hoarse voice.
“Oh, of course. I’m supposed to be at work, earning money for you and your vile little son. While he, meanwhile, has fun with other women. You’ve arranged things very nicely for yourselves, I must say,” Galina said loudly.
“Galya… You misunderstood everything…”
“Misunderstood? What exactly is there to misunderstand? There’s no need to imagine anything here. You explained everything perfectly, Valentina Agapovna. Galya is a silly fool, let her work and provide for the family. Tolya can spin around with Alina and prepare for divorce. But the cleverest one of all is the mother-in-law! A woman who knows about her son’s cheating but strictly forbids him to divorce. Why? Because she hasn’t fully milked the moneyed daughter-in-law yet. So tell me, what exactly could I have misunderstood?”
“Galya, I was trying to talk him out of it. You heard me. You know I’m completely on your side. I wanted to save the family,” the mother-in-law justified herself in a defeated voice.
“There’s no need to talk him out of anything. I’ll file for divorce myself. Today. And tell your son to come collect his things. Tonight I’m changing the lock, and after that he won’t be able to take anything from my apartment.”
“Why so harsh? We could have discussed everything, talked it through…”
“I have nothing more to discuss with you. But you and Anatoly will have plenty to discuss. You have a problem now. A very serious one,” Galina even felt a certain satisfaction as she said the words. “According to the receipts you signed, you owe me quite a large sum. Remember?”
“Of course I remember. But you promised you wouldn’t demand the money back,” the mother-in-law said, even more flustered.
“Apparently, you didn’t have time — or didn’t want — to read the note at the bottom. It states that if the money is not returned by the deadline I set, your debt will double. And that is a fact,” Galina bluffed, knowing that the receipts were currently with her, and Valentina Agapovna had no way of checking anything.
“What? How can that be? Would you really dare?” the mother-in-law gasped.
“Of course I would. I absolutely would. With dishonest and cynical people like you, one must fight using your own methods. I expect the money from you within a week. Otherwise, we’ll go to court.”
Galina left. An hour later, Anatoly came rushing to her, trying to do something — anything — to save the family.
“Don’t waste your time. Pack your things and get out. Alina is waiting for you. Don’t keep the girl waiting,” his wife said firmly.
Galya filed for divorce, and a week later her former mother-in-law returned the debt. Perhaps she took out a loan, or maybe her son had helped and put himself into debt.
Galya drew one main conclusion for herself: you should not marry without love. And you should not create the illusion of a happy family life. Without love, no matter how hard you try, it will not work. You will only create problems for yourself and ruin your nerves.
