The Divorce Papers Were Hidden in the Glove Compartment — But His Mother-in-Law’s Final Move Changed Everything
The divorce papers were already lying in the car’s glove compartment when the blood pressure monitor suddenly started buzzing on the kitchen table.
The scene was almost painfully familiar: his mother-in-law’s flushed face, the loosened collar of her robe, and that unmistakable suffocating smell of valerian that had soaked into the curtains of their Kyiv apartment for years. Another Saturday night performance, designed for one purpose only — to make Anton feel guilty, as if he were responsible for every problem in the world.
— It’s over two hundred… one hundred and ten for the lower number… — Elena Petrovna said, struggling to speak clearly as she slowly slid from the chair. — I won’t make it to autumn, children. I can feel it. A stroke is waiting for me. Antoshka, write down the notary’s address… it’s in the drawer…
Anton silently looked at the device’s screen.
For two years, that small Japanese blood pressure monitor had become more important in the family than any rule. More important than the law, financial plans, and even family events.
Whenever Anton mentioned wanting to buy a used SUV, Elena Petrovna’s left arm would suddenly go numb.
Whenever Alla, his wife, refused to travel to Chernihiv to dig potatoes in someone else’s garden, her mother could call an ambulance three times in one night and transform the apartment into a hospital emergency room within minutes.
— Mom, stop it. Don’t bury yourself before you’re even gone! — Alla nervously poured water into a glass, but her hand was shaking so much that half of it spilled onto the tablecloth. — Tosa, why are you just standing there like a statue? Call a private clinic! Let them take her in and give her an IV!
But Anton remained calm.
— An IV won’t help, — he said quietly.
His hand was still in his trouser pocket, where two vouchers for a trip to the Maldives were hidden.
— Elena Petrovna needs peace. Complete freedom from stress. That’s exactly why we’re flying away together. Your mother will stay here under the supervision of an experienced nurse. I’ve already arranged everything.
Suddenly, the atmosphere in the kitchen changed.
As if the pressure inside an airplane cabin had suddenly disappeared.
Elena Petrovna stopped her suffering gasps.
Her previously glassy eyes suddenly locked onto Anton.
— Together? — she asked.
Her voice no longer sounded like the final whisper of a dying person.
— And what about me? You’re leaving me here to die between these four walls while you lie on a beach?
Then she turned to Alla:
— Did you hear what your husband said? He wants to send me to my grave!
Alla looked at Anton in shock.
— Mom, wait… what Maldives? You said we were in a financial crisis! That the company might close, that we barely had money for bills and gasoline! Where did the money for a luxury vacation come from?
Anton smiled bitterly.
He had played the patient, understanding husband for far too long.
The time had come to put all the cards on the table.
— The company really is closing, Alla. I sold my share to my partner to settle the debts. This is the last clean money I have after everything was paid off.
He paused for a moment.
— And I wanted to use it to save our marriage. Or to finally end it.
— We leave in three days. We’ll stay in an overwater villa with all-inclusive service.
Then he added:
— But there is one condition.
— What? — both women asked at the same time.
Fear appeared in Alla’s voice.
But Elena Petrovna’s eyes suddenly showed calculation again.
— Your mother stays here. Under the supervision of a doctor I already hired and paid for.
— For two weeks there will be no phone calls every two hours. No drama. No sudden illnesses.
— If Alla’s phone rings even once with the words “Mom is sick,” we turn around. And I will file for divorce. Right there, at the airport.
Elena Petrovna straightened up instantly.
The healthy color returned to her face.
The weakness disappeared.
Her back became straight, and her movements suddenly became quick and energetic.
Anton simply watched.
Exactly as he expected.
— How dare you talk to me like that? — the woman shouted, slamming her hand on the table so hard that the cups jumped. — You want to bring a stranger into my home? This is a trap! Alla, don’t you dare agree! He wants to separate us!
The next two days became hell.
Alla called her husband every hour.
She cried.
She begged.
She asked him to take her mother with them.
Elena Petrovna changed tactics.
Instead of threats, she started sending old medical documents and articles about how sea air was good for high blood pressure.
On Monday evening, Anton came home to get his suitcase.
The apartment was in chaos.
In the middle of the room stood a huge pink suitcase filled with summer clothes.
Next to it, Elena Petrovna was happily walking around, trying on a large straw hat in front of the mirror.
There was no sign of the sick, dying woman.
Her eyes were shining.
Her movements were energetic.
— Oh, my son-in-law has arrived! — she smiled triumphantly. — Well, have you thought about your threats? Alla and I have discussed everything. The family must stay together. I’ll even pay for the minibus to Chisinau. And in the Maldives, we’ll manage somehow. A folding bed is fine for me.
Anton slowly looked at his wife.
Alla was sitting on the sofa with her face buried in her hands.
She was ashamed.
But her fear of her mother’s anger was stronger.
The woman had secretly already changed the plane tickets and paid for her mother’s place using her own savings.
— You bought her a ticket? — Anton asked quietly.
Alla lowered her eyes.
— Tosa… Mom really would feel better there. The city air, the heat… She promised she wouldn’t bother us.
Anton took out his phone.
He dialed a number.
— Vitaliy, good evening. Sorry for calling so late. The agreement about selling my share of the business remains unchanged. Transfer the money to my partner.
A few seconds of silence.
— But cancel the trip. Request a full refund if possible.
A deadly silence filled the room.
The straw hat slowly slipped from Elena Petrovna’s head.
— What did you say? — Alla whispered.
Anton calmly replied:
— I said nobody is going anywhere.
— The money will go toward closing the business deal and covering the divorce expenses.
— You chose your mother behind my back. Now you can live with that decision together.
Elena Petrovna grabbed her chest again.
— Oh… I’m feeling sick again… I need air…
But Anton raised his hand.
— Enough, Elena Petrovna.
— Your two-hundred blood pressure disappeared exactly when a free vacation by the ocean appeared.
— In two days you packed a huge suitcase, walked around the entire apartment, and never once needed to sit down and rest.
Then he turned to Alla.
— I’ll leave the divorce papers on the kitchen table. The apartment is yours. I don’t need it.
— Your mother got what she wanted: complete control over you.
— From now on, you will be the one dealing with her “illnesses.”
Anton picked up his backpack and walked out the door.
For the first time in five years, he took a deep breath in the stairwell.
He had no business left.
No dream of the Maldives.
But he had something he had lost long ago:
his freedom.
What would you have done in Anton’s place? Would you have sacrificed the money and your dream vacation to stand by your principles? Or would you have given your marriage one last chance despite the pressure from family?
