Her mother clearly preferred her two older sisters, Vika and Yulia, lavishing affection and care on them while keeping Anya at a distance.
Despite the pain it caused her, Anya kept her feelings bottled up, always trying to win her mother’s approval, hoping for even a sliver of warmth.
But when she turned eighteen, her mother’s rejection became final.
“Don’t expect to live here! The apartment belongs to your sisters. You’ve looked at me like a stray pup since you were a child. Go live wherever you want!”
With those harsh words, Anya was forced out of her childhood home.
She tried to reason with her mother, pointing out the unfairness — after all, Vika and Yulia had both gone to university on their mother’s dime and were allowed to live at home far longer.
The only person who ever treated her with kindness was her grandfather, who had taken in her pregnant mother when Anya’s father abandoned them.
Anya once wondered if her resemblance to her aunt—her mother’s sister — was the reason for the resentment.
Attempts to talk to her mother always ended in shouting matches or tears.