The terminally ill son of wealthy parents married a naive girl, and she took him off to a remote area. Six months later, his parents could hardly recognize their son.

“Gena, are you sure you’ve thought everything through?”

I know what I’m talking about. She’s only with you because of your money, isn’t she?”

Gennady sighed deeply.

“Ma, I understand your concerns, but they are completely unfounded. Arguing with you is pointless; you’ll never change your mind. Think what you want. We’re not planning anything grandiose.”

“Gena, stop it. I’m sure: she’s just using you. You know that very well. This girl…”

“Ma, please, let’s not continue. Lena and I have known each other for more than five years, and we’ve prepared for this step for a long time.”

I just want to remind you: you’re a desirable groom. Any girl would jump at the chance to be with you. Don’t you realize our situation?”

Gennady closed his eyes as if to shield himself from fatigue.

“Ma, tell me honestly: what’s more important to you—our status or my happiness?”

Anna Nikolaevna looked helplessly at her husband.

Sasha, why are you silent?”

Alexander, putting down the newspaper, smirked slightly.

“Anya, you know there’s one thing about you: you only address me when you hit a dead end. All the other times, you’ve been making decisions on your own for the past 27 years. And if something goes wrong, you always blame me.”

Anna Nikolaevna squinted.

“Done? Now let’s talk seriously.”

“Gena is an adult, fully capable of making his own decisions. I don’t understand why we should interfere with his choices. In my opinion, Lena is a worthy girl.”

“What’s worthy? In our day, no one survives without money.”

“By the way, you weren’t always wealthy either, did you forget?”

Anna Nikolaevna clearly began to lose her composure.

“Sasha, you’re irresponsible! Our son is about to ruin his life!”

“Calm down. Nothing terrible is happening. He’ll continue his treatment, and perhaps his wife will even have a positive influence. What are you so dissatisfied about? I don’t understand.”

Anna Nikolaevna abruptly left the room, and Gennady struggled to rise from his chair.