My name is Oksana. For 5 years now I have been raising my niece and hiding it from social services! My husband Sergei is a holy man, because, knowing what a dysfunctional family I came from, he did not leave me and married me. And now he raises and provides for not only our children, but also for my niece, whom he loved as his own daughter.
My mother gave birth to me from a soldier whose name she could not remember. Her parents threw her out of the house after they found out she was pregnant. She ended up on the street. My mother was sheltered by her aunt, and then my sister and I were born. People say that twins are very similar to each other. However, this is said by people who did not know me or my sister.
My mother only worked seasonal jobs in the fields, picking strawberries and the rest of the time she drank and walked around. And I did my homework and cleaned the house of my aunt all the time. My sister Vika was probably like her mother. Already at the age of 13 she started going out with guys and drinking a little bit. I noticed it, but no matter how I tried to talk sense into her, it was useless.
My aunt and my mother did not care about our future and upbringing. However, I had decided since childhood that I would not be like my mother, and that I would win my place in the sun, create a family, and everything would be fine with me. Apparently, I was inspired and influenced by the soap operas that were shown on those insignificant channels on that old black-and-white TV.
Now I’m 23 years old, I managed to graduate from a secondary specialized medical college. I am now a nurse. I met my future husband here and got married. Of course, I didn’t forget about my mother and sister, although I admit that I was very shy of them. I did not invite them to the wedding and I did not introduce them to my husband’s parents. When my sons were born, it became harder for me to visit them. Only my husband Sergey knew about my sister and mother. His parents considered me an orphan.
And then, one bright day, I found a baby girl at the door with a note that my sister had written that she was my niece and that I would raise her better than her! I was shocked. My husband and I thought for a long time about what to do about the situation. My mother who drinks all the time can hardly be trusted with her granddaughter. We decided to keep her with us for a while and then call social services.
But after two days, we became so attached to the baby that we decided to keep her and pretend that she was our child.