“I’m not going to pay your mother’s debts anymore!” Marina shouted, throwing the bank statement on the table after learning that Andriy had sent their money to her mother again.
The numbers on the paper blurred with her tears. Twenty-five thousand. Exactly the amount they had set aside to renovate the nursery for their unborn child. Marina was four months pregnant, and they were going to start furnishing it the next week. They had chosen bunny wallpaper, picked out a natural wood crib, and even reserved a changing table from the store.
And now it was all for naught.
Andriy stood by the window, avoiding Marina’s gaze. His shoulders were tense, his hands were clenched into fists. Marina knew this posture well—it was the way he always looked when he knew he had made a mistake but didn’t want to admit it.
“My mother asked me to help with the rent,” she finally grumbled. “In six months, we’ve been in arrears. They could have turned off the electricity.”
Marina felt a mixture of anger and despair rising inside her. This was the fourth time in the past year. First, her mother-in-law, Lyudmila Petrovna, had asked for money for her dental treatment—fifteen thousand. Then for a new refrigerator—twelve thousand five hundred. Then to visit relatives in another city—seven thousand five hundred. And each time, Andriy had given without thinking, without even discussing it with her.
“Andriy,” Marina began quietly, but everything inside was boiling. “Your mother sold her summer house six months ago. For six hundred thousand hryvnias. Where did that money go?”
The man shrugged, still not turning to her.
“It’s none of your business. It’s her money, she can do with it as she pleases.”
“It’s none of my business?” – Marina’s voice cracked. – It’s none of my business when you give her our joint savings? The money we saved for our child?
– She’s my mother! – Andriy suddenly turned around, his face turning red. – I can’t say no to her! She raised me alone!
Marina looked at the man and didn’t recognize in him the man she loved. Where was the caring, attentive husband who had sworn eternal love to her even a year ago? The one who had promised that their family would come first?
– And who am I to you? – she asked quietly. – I’m your wife. And I’m carrying your child. Aren’t we more important?
Andriy looked away.
– Don’t be dramatic. The renovation is coming. We’ll do it later.
– When later? When the child is born? Or when your mother asks for money for something “urgent” again?
– That’s enough! – Andriy shouted. “I’ve had enough of your reproaches! My mother is right – you are selfish, you only think about yourself!”
The words hit Marina like a slap in the face.
Is my mother right? So they talked about her. Lyudmila Petrovna and Andriy were arguing about her behind her back, and her mother-in-law, as always, was turning her against her son.
Marina slowly sat down on the chair. The baby in her belly moved, as if feeling her mother’s tension. The woman put her hand on her growing belly and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.
“You know what,” she said after a long silence. “If your mother is so important to you, if her concerns are more important than our family, then let her help you renovate the nursery. After all, it’s her granddaughter.”
Andriy snorted mockingly.
“Why would she help us?”
“And why do you think I have to tolerate you distributing our money?” Marina shot back. – I work until the seventh month, I save every penny, I deprive myself of everything, and you simply give it all to your mother, who, by the way, does not need it at all.
– Don’t you dare talk about my mother like that!
– And don’t you dare dispose of our joint money without my consent!
They looked at each other from opposite sides of the kitchen, like two opponents before a fight. Marina saw stubbornness and anger in the man’s eyes. Andriy was not going to admit his mistake. For him, mother has always come first – and will come first.
Suddenly, a strange calm came over Marina. As if something had switched on in her and she was seeing the situation from the outside. There she stood – a pregnant woman trying to build a family with a man who was unable to break away from his mother. And there he stood – an adult man who still could not say no to maternal manipulation. And there is their future – endless quarrels, reproaches, insults.
Something must be changed. Right now.
Marina stood up and went to the phone.
– What are you doing? – Andriy asked tensely.
– I’ll call your mother. If she’s taking such an active part in our family life, then she should know everything that’s new.
– Don’t you dare! – Andriy jumped up to her, but Marina had already dialed.
– Hello, Lyudmila Petrovna? - she said when the familiar, commanding voice sounded on the receiver. – It’s Marina. I need to talk to you.
– What is it about? – Lyudmila Petrovna asked coldly. – Are you going to complain about my son again?
– No, no. On the contrary, I want to thank you. Andriy gave you all our savings that we had set aside for the nursery. Twenty-five thousand. I’m sure he’ll spend it usefully.
There was silence on the other end of the line. Then the mother-in-law coughed.
“I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”
“How can you not? Andriy said that you asked for help with the rent. That they were going to turn off the electricity.”
“Debt?”—the woman’s voice was filled with indignation. “What debt? I don’t have any debt!”
Marina felt as if the ground had slipped from under her feet. She looked at Andriy. The man turned pale and turned away.
“But… Andriy said…”
“I don’t know what Andriy said to you, but I didn’t ask him for money!” Lyudmila Petrovna snapped. “Although if he offered it himself, I won’t object. I was just about to buy new windows.”
Marina slowly hung up the phone. Blood was pounding in her ears. So Andriy was lying. He decided to give the money to his mother himself, without her asking for it. Just because he was used to it. Because it was natural for him to put his mother before his wife and unborn child.
“You lied to me,” Marina whispered, looking at the man.
Andriy stared at the floor silently.
“You lied that she asked for it. You decided to give her our money on your own. Why?
“I knew she needed it,” he muttered. “She complained that her windows were old. I thought…”
“You thought so!” Marina laughed through her tears. “And you thought about me? Our child? That she would be born in four months, and we didn’t even have a crib?”
“Don’t exaggerate. We’ll buy a crib.”
“With what? With your salary, which is barely enough for food? Or are you going to ask your mother again?”
Andriy’s face turned red.
– And I have no right?
– You are young, healthy, working. And she is sixty!
– She is sixty, has her own apartment, money from the sale of the summer house and a pension. And I – I am pregnant, soon to be on maternity leave, and a husband who considers it natural to steal from his own family!
– I do not steal!
– Then what do you call it? You took our common money without my consent and gave it to someone else. That is theft, Andriy!
The man looked at him so angrily that Marina instinctively stepped back.
– You know what? My mother was right. You really are a selfish and calculating woman. Money is more important to you than family!
– Family? – Marina shook her head. – What kind of family, Andriy? A family is one where a husband and wife make decisions together. Where they support each other. Where the interests of the wife and child are more important than the whims of the mother. But with us… we don’t have a family. Just you, your mother and me – as an unnecessary third party.
She started towards the bedroom. Andriy followed her.
– Where are you going?
– I’m packing.
– What? Are you crazy? Are you pregnant! Where do you want to go?
Marina took a suitcase from the closet and began to fold clothes into it.
– To my parents. Although they live in another city, they are always happy for me. And they certainly won’t rob their own daughter and granddaughter.
– Marina, stop it! It can’t be like this! Let’s talk about it calmly!
– What should we talk about? – she turned to him. – That you promise again: this was the last time? That you won’t give our money to your mother again? I’ve heard that four times, Andriy. And you broke your promise all four times.
“But you can’t just leave! You’re my wife! We’re going to have a child!”
“Yes,” Marina nodded. “And I’ll do everything I can to ensure that the child grows up in a normal atmosphere. Not in a house where the father steals his own family for the sake of his grandmother.”
Lyudmila Petrovna appeared panting in the doorway. It seemed that she had decided to personally investigate the matter and had come here in a hurry.
“What’s going on here?” she asked in a commanding voice, looking her daughter-in-law, who was holding the suitcase in her hands.
“I’m leaving, Lyudmila Petrovna,” Marina answered calmly. “Congratulations, you won. Andriy is completely yours.”
“How are you going to leave?” the mother-in-law frowned. “And what about Andriyok? The child?”
“Andriyok will stay with you.” After all, you are more important to him than his wife and child. And I will give birth to the child and raise it alone. Without your poisonous influence.
“How dare you speak like that!” Lyudmila Petrovna exploded. “He is my grandson! I have the right…”
“He has no right,” Marina snapped. “You are not his mother. And since they stole him and his son before he was born, I will not let him go near him.”
“We stole him?! I didn’t even ask for money!”
“But she accepted it when Andriy offered it. She knew that
The baby will be born soon. He knew we needed that money. Yet he accepted it without hesitation.
Lyudmila Petrovna’s face flushed.
“And then? My son offered it himself! I thought you were doing well financially!”
“You have six hundred thousand hryvnias from the sale of the summer house, and you thought that a pregnant woman and your son, with your modest salary, would be doing well financially?” Marina shook her head. “You were only thinking about yourself, Lyudmila Petrovna. As always.”
She closed the suitcase and started for the door. Andriy stopped her to stop her.
“Marina, please! Don’t go! I’ll make amends!”
“How? Are you going to ask your mother for the money back?”
The man glanced at his mother. The woman pursed her lips and turned away. The answer was obvious.
“You see?” – Marina smiled sadly. – You can’t even ask her. Because for you, a mother is sacred, and a wife is… just an addition.
– That’s not true!
– Yes, Andriy. That’s exactly right. And until you understand that, we have no future.
She dodged the man and left the apartment. The last thing she heard was Lyudmila Petrovna’s indignant voice:
– Well, let her go! As if she were some treasure! I’ll find you something better!
As Marina walked down the stairs, she felt tears rolling down her face. But along with the pain, there was also a strange relief. She knew that she had made the right decision. It was difficult, painful – but right.
Her child deserved better. A father who put his family first. A home where love and respect reigned.
And Marina knew that he would find a way to give her all of that. Alone, without Andriy and his toxic mother.
As soon as she stepped out into the street, she took out her phone and called her mother.
“Mom? It’s me. Can I come live with you? Yes, for a long time. I’ll explain everything when we meet.”
On the other end of the line, she heard her mother’s worried voice, but Marina reassured her:
“It’s okay, Mom. Really. I made an important decision. It was difficult, but it’s the right one. Will you meet me at the station? Thank you. I love you too.”
She put the phone in her pocket and headed for the taxi rank. Four years of marriage, shattered dreams and illusions were left behind. Ahead of her – the unknown.
But Marina knew: she would stand her ground. For herself, and for the little life that was breathing peacefully beneath her heart.
Three months later, when Marina had already settled in her parents’ house and had even found a job working remotely, Andriy called her.
“Marina,” his voice sounded tired and broken. “Can we meet? I want to talk to you.”
“What to talk about, Andriy?”
“I… realized that I made a mistake. My mother… now constantly demands money. She says that if I don’t have a wife, I have to give her all my salary. I can’t take it anymore.”
Marina sighed.
“Andriy, you chose this life yourself. When you put your mother before your family.
“But I want to make up for everything! I want to be with you and the child!”
“And what does your mother say to that?”
Silence.
“You see? You can’t contradict her even now. And I’m not going back to that house where the mother-in-law is more important than the wife. I’m sorry.”
– Marina, please!
– No, Andriy. You’ve already made your decision. Live with it now. And we’ll be happy with the baby without you. Do you know why? Because it’s good for us. My parents help and support us. This is a real family, you know? The one where loved ones think of each other – not just themselves.
She hung up the phone and put her hand on her stomach. Another month and she’ll meet her little boy. The doctors said it would be a boy.
Marina vowed to herself: she would raise him to be a real man. One who could protect his family. One who would never let anyone – not even his own mother – destroy his home.
One that Andriy could never become.
Lyudmila Petrovna remained with her obedient little son. But she never got to see her grandson. Marina kept her promise – the toxic grandmother was not given access to the child.
Andriy was finally left alone. With his mother, his new windows, and his never-ending demands for money. Without a wife. Without children. Without a family.
That’s exactly what she achieved – without ever realizing it.
And Marina… Marina started a new life. A difficult one, but her own. A life where she made the decisions. Where no one stole her child’s money. Where the word “family” meant love and support, not manipulation and betrayal.
And it was indeed the right decision.
