He started coughing suddenly, put down his fork, and stared at her in disbelief.

“What?… What do you mean by ‘okay’?” he asked in a trembling voice. “Do you really agree with this?”

Olga looked at him calmly. There was no anger in her eyes, no tears, only quiet strength and determination.

“Yes, Dmitry,” she replied softly. “I agree.”

A heavy silence filled the kitchen. Even the ticking of the clock seemed to fade. Ekaterina slowly lowered her phone.

“Mom…” she whispered.

Dmitry gave a nervous smile.

“I didn’t expect this. I thought you would argue… or cry.”

Olga smiled faintly.

“Maybe I would have before,” she said quietly. “Before, I would have blamed myself. I would have tried to convince you. But now, I don’t need that anymore.”

“What do you mean?” he asked, confused.

Olga placed her cutlery on the table.

“For eighteen years, I gave everything to this family. To you. To our daughter. I cooked, cleaned, supported you when things were hard. I gave up my career because you said family came first.”

Tears appeared in Ekaterina’s eyes.

“I never complained,” Olga continued. “I never counted the hours or the sacrifices. Because I believed in us.”

Dmitry shifted uncomfortably.

“And now I feel like I’m just an expense you want to control.”

“That’s not what I meant!” he protested.

“Maybe not,” she answered softly. “But that’s how it felt.”

She stood up and walked to the window. Outside, snow was falling slowly under the streetlights.

“Alright,” she said. “We’ll have separate finances.”

Dmitry sighed with relief.

“See? I knew you’d understand.”

Olga turned back to him.

“I’ll have my own budget too.”

“What do you mean?” he asked, surprised.

“I’m going back to work tomorrow. I already found a job. Anna helped me.”

His face turned pale.

“Without telling me?”

“Just like you didn’t tell me about this,” she replied calmly.

Ekaterina smiled through her tears.

“I’m proud of you, Mom.”

Olga gently stroked her hair.

“And there’s one more thing,” she added.

“What now?” Dmitry asked nervously.

“We’ll share the housework too. Cooking, cleaning, laundry. Everything. Each of us will do our part.”

“But that’s… that’s not…”

“It’s fair,” Olga interrupted. “Just like you said.”

She took a sip of water.

“Dmitry, for years I lived only for us. Now, I’m going to live for myself too.”

He looked at her silently. For the first time, he felt himself losing control.

“I don’t want to lose you,” he whispered.

Olga looked at him for a long moment.

“Then don’t treat me like a number in your budget.”

Silence returned to the room. But this time, it was filled with truth.

Ekaterina stood up.

“I’ll help clean up.”

“Thank you, sweetheart,” Olga said with a genuine smile.

Dmitry remained sitting in front of his cold dinner, realizing that one decision had changed everything.

Outside, the snow kept falling quietly. And inside, a new life was beginning—one that Olga had finally chosen for herself.