— Your mother called — Lena whispered, her voice nearly lost in the quiet of the room. — She wished us a happy trip and said she’s glad we made this choice. And… and that Svetka, Igor, and the kids are coming to our vacation home. Tomorrow evening.
Anton froze. The bag slipped from his hand and thudded silently to the floor.
— Lena, I…
— Are you serious? — her voice trembled but she regained control in an instant. — Anton, we agreed! You promised not to tell anyone!
— I didn’t tell anyone! — he raised his hands defensively. — Lena, I swear, I only told mom that we wouldn’t be in the city for the holidays…
— Sure, and of course, she immediately found out everything — Lena smiled bitterly. — Then she called your dear little sister. I can see it clearly: “Guess what, Lenochka and Anton got some vacation home, and they’re spending New Year’s there. Alone! How selfish, right?”
— Lena, mom didn’t say it like that…
— Not like that? — she turned to him, and Anton saw tears glistening in her eyes. — Then why is it that your sister has already packed suitcases and is coming here with her entire family? And the kids too!
Anton sat on the edge of the bed, feeling all their months of effort crumble into nothing in an instant. Six months. Six months of working on this getaway like possessed.
When Aunt Nina passed away in the spring, Lena’s mother called late at night to share the news: Nina had left her Podmoskovie vacation home to her daughter. Small plot, old house, sauna, greenhouse. Lena had listened through tears — she loved Nina, even though they rarely met.
— Maybe… — she had started then, dabbing her eyes. — Maybe it’s worth trying? To fix everything? We never really had our own place to escape to…
Anton agreed immediately. The city apartment, the constant noise, neighbors renovating above them for the third year — it exhausted them both. And now, here was a home of their own, peace, forest, fresh air.
— Let’s not tell anyone — Lena requested. — Not yet. Until everything is ready. You know how it is: everyone immediately gives advice, everyone thinks they know best. And your family…
She didn’t finish, but Anton understood. His family. His mother, who felt obligated to oversee every step. Svetka, his sister, who always twisted events to her advantage. Igor, her husband, the carefree clown who thought the world owed him just because he existed.
— Fine — Anton said. — We won’t tell anyone.
And they truly kept it quiet. Every weekend from May on, they worked at the cottage. First they cleared the garden jungle — Nina hadn’t managed it in her final years, everything tangled and overgrown. Then the house renovations followed.
Anton painted walls, rewired circuits, repaired the roof. Lena scrubbed floors, hung wallpaper, selected furniture from flea markets and online. Every free penny and every spare moment went into the work. In summer, they spent every weekend there, skipping seaside vacations like their friends. They just worked.
— Look, it’s going to be beautiful! — Lena beamed when the veranda was finished in August. — Anton, imagine, we’ll spend New Year’s here! We’ll set up the tree, light the fireplace…
— We don’t even have a fireplace — Anton smiled.
— Then we’ll build one! — she laughed, hugging him. — Everything will turn out perfectly!
They built the fireplace. Anton found a craftsman to install a real wood-burning stove in the living room. Expensive, but when the fire first flickered in October, Lena sat on the floor in front of the dancing flames, sobbing with joy.
— This is our place — she whispered. — Ours. Do you understand? The first place that’s truly ours.
By December, the house was complete. Warm, inviting, new windows, refurbished sauna, full woodshed. Lena bought lovely linen curtains, soft blankets, candles in elegant holders. In the kitchen, a massive old wooden table, restored together, purchased at a flea market.
— We haven’t rested a single minute here — Anton remarked one visit. — Just work.
— But on New Year’s — Lena snuggled close. — Then it’ll be just us. Snow, silence, fireplace. Champagne on the veranda at midnight. Like in the movies.
She had spoken of it so often that Anton knew every word by heart. How they’d greet the first light of the new year, wrapped in blankets. How they’d make breakfast in the new kitchen. How they’d walk in the forest where the snow surely reached their waists. How they’d lounge by the fire with books and wine.
— We need this so badly — she said. — All year we’ve been working. You with two jobs, me with all these projects. When were we last truly together? Not rushing from one thing to the next?
And now, just two days before departure.
— I didn’t invite them, and I don’t want to see them! — Lena shouted, her voice cracking. — If they come, you’ll celebrate New Year’s without me!
— Lena, don’t… not like this…
— Not like this? — she wiped her tears but her eyes burned with anger and hurt. — Anton, I’ve dreamed about this for six months! We worked like prisoners to have everything ready for the holidays. I wanted to spend these days with you. Just you! Not your family barging in, devouring everything, making a mess, and leaving the cleaning for us!
— Svetka isn’t like that… — Anton tried to defend.
— She is! — Lena slammed her palm on the table. — Did you forget last year when she came “just a few days” and ended up staying two weeks? When Igor drank whiskey and lectured that you work too much and forget family completely?
How the kids broke your anniversary mug, and Svetka didn’t even apologize, just said, “kids will be kids.”
Anton stayed silent, it was all true. Svetka, two years older, had spent her life acting as though everyone owed her. As a child, she bossed him around, took the best toys, got more attention from their parents.
She hadn’t changed as an adult — now she just freeloaded, using Anton for free labor, money, and a convenient retreat whenever it suited her.
— She’s my sister — Anton murmured uncertainly.
— So what? Does that give her the right to everything? — Lena looked at him with a pain that made his stomach clench. — Anton, I’m not asking for the impossible. Just three days with you. Three days alone, in our house we built together. Is that too much?
— No, of course not…
— Then call her. Now. Tell her she’s not invited.
— Lena…
— It’s an ultimatum, Anton — Lena stood tall, and he saw the strength in her that had made him fall in love once. — Call her and speak the truth, or I stay in the city, and you celebrate alone. Or with them, as you wish. But not without me.
— You can’t… — Anton tried to argue.
— I can — Lena said, picking up her bag and heading for the door. — Maybe I should’ve done this sooner. Five minutes. That’s all you have. If you make the right choice, I stay. If not… then I go to my friend. And after that, we’ll see.
The door slammed, leaving Anton alone in the bedroom with the phone and their bags.
Five minutes. Just five.
He paced the apartment like a caged animal. Imagined calling Svetka. How she would scream about selfishness, family obligations, how disappointed mom would be.
He pictured his mother crying over the phone, saying she’d raised an ungrateful son. Then the images of New Year’s, ruined by months of arguing, flashed before him.
Then another vision: New Year at the cottage with Svetka, Igor, and the children. Yelling at the TV, drunken toasts, kids running wild. Svetka criticizing everything: “See? That wallpaper is crooked.” Igor sprawled in front of the fireplace with a beer. And Lena… Lena isn’t there. Lena, who had dreamed of this moment for six months.
Anton lifted the phone. His hands shook as he dialed.
— Toska! — Svetka’s cheerful voice rang out. — Almost ready to leave! Mashka can’t find her skis, but no worries, we’ll buy them on the way…
— Svetka, wait! — Anton closed his eyes. — We need to talk.
— About what? The groceries? Don’t worry, we got everything, just…
— You’re not coming.
Silence. Long, heavy.
— What? — Svetka finally asked, steel in her voice.
— Svetka, I’m sorry, but you’re not invited. Lena wants us to spend New Year’s alone. We’ve been tired all year, we need…
— You’re joking? — the woman interrupted, anger clear now. — Seriously, the day before?
— I didn’t know what mom told you…
— You didn’t know! — she laughed, bitterly. — Of course not! You never know when it’s inconvenient! You know what, Anton? I don’t care about your cottage! But you… you’re a real egoist!
— Svetka…
— Silence! — she yelled at full volume. — You think I don’t get it? This whole fancy Lenochka idea, right? She’s always liked us less! Always looked at us like outcasts! And you, weakling, obey everything she says!
— Don’t you dare speak about my wife that way!
— I will! — Svetka shrieked. — We’re family, understand? Family! And if you choose her, know this: mom will find out. And she’ll be very disappointed. Very.
— Let her find out — Anton felt something release in his chest. — I’m married to Lena. She’s my family. And you…
— And us?
— Could you understand that the world doesn’t revolve around you sometimes? And I have the right to a private life. To my own house. To my own boundaries.
— Boundaries! — Svetka huffed. — She taught you that? Her psychological nonsense? Boundaries, private space… And family values? Blood ties?
— Family values don’t mean one always gives and the others only take — Anton replied, surprised at his own resolve. — Svetka, I love you. You’re my sister. But Lena and I will celebrate New Year’s alone. Sorry.
She panted into the phone, heavy, broken breaths.
— You know what, Antósha? — she finally said. — Go to hell with your cottage. We have places to go without you. And don’t expect things to be like before. You crossed the line.
— If that line is that I can’t have a private life, then I’m glad I crossed it — he said, placing the phone down.
The device slipped from his hands. Anton sat on the couch, feeling a strange mix of fear and relief. He did it. For the first time in his life, he said no to his sister. For the first time, he put Lena first, ignoring his mother and sister’s opinions.
Five minutes later, a message from his mother arrived: “Svetka told me everything. I’m very disappointed in you. I didn’t expect such heartlessness from my son.”
He didn’t reply. He put the phone down and walked to the window. Outside, snow fell, large flakes drifting over the quiet town. Forty kilometers away, their home awaited them. Warm, welcoming.
The door opened. Anton turned and saw Lena. Her eyes were red, lips bitten.
— I heard — she whispered. — I heard you shouting.
— I called — he said simply. — Told them they’re not coming.
Lena took a few steps toward him, stopped, then suddenly leapt forward, embracing him tightly.
— Forgive me — she whispered against his chest. — Sorry for putting you in this choice. I know how hard it is to stand up to family…
— You are my family — Anton stroked her hair. — The most important. I should have proven it much earlier.
They stood like that, wrapped in each other, while snow continued to fall outside. The phone beeped with new messages — surely Svetka had sent something angry, his mother long, reproachful lines. But Anton didn’t look.
— Really, it’s just us? — Lena asked, raising tearful eyes to him.
— Yes — he kissed her forehead. — You, me, the fireplace, and the snow. Just as you dreamed.
Far above, bells began to toll for midnight. Lena looked at Anton, and in the glow through the windows, he saw joy on her face.
— Happy New Year, my love.
— Happy New Year, my sunshine.
They clinked glasses, sipping champagne in the crisp, starry air, then entered the warm, inviting house, where the crackling fire replaced everything else. Just the two of them.
And it became the most beautiful New Year of their lives.
