Marina watched her son trying on a new suit. Tall, well-built, dark-haired—tomorrow her boy was getting married, and it was hard to believe. Ilya carefully studied his reflection in the mirror. He turned around, nodded in satisfaction, noting that the suit fit perfectly. “Fashionable outfit,” the young man turned to his mother. “And the color is good, it looks expensive.”
“It is expensive,” thought Marina, but aloud she said: “I’m glad you like it. I’ll definitely shed a tear at the wedding as soon as I see you in full dress.”
Ilya finally turned away from the mirror: “Mom, are you going to the wedding or what? We agreed that you wouldn’t be there.”
“We agreed, son? I thought you were joking.”
“What jokes?” The son nervously paced the room. “Did you forget what Vika’s parents are like? The wedding will be full of elites. You’ll feel like a poor relative there. I’ll start worrying about you. Mom, do you want to ruin such an important day for me?”
The son sat down next to Marina on the couch, took her hand, and gently squeezed it: “Mommy, just imagine how out of place you’ll look among those dolled-up ladies. My heart would break from such humiliation. And think about how you’ll feel. We’ll come the day after, okay? Have some tea or champagne. You can congratulate us, give us your gift.”
Marina’s heart clenched with hurt. Her own son was ashamed of her to such an extent that he was prepared to appear at his own wedding like an orphan without kin. “Why would I look out of place?” the mother retorted. “I have an appointment with a good hairdresser, I’ll get my nails done. I’ll wear a decent dress.”
“What decent dress? That blue old thing!” Ilya snapped and paced the room again.
“So that’s it.” He stood in front of his mother. “If you don’t understand the nice way, I’ll tell you straight. I don’t want to see you at the wedding. I may be… but I’m ashamed that my mother is a cleaner. I don’t want you to embarrass me in front of Vika’s relatives. Is that clear?”
Marina was shocked by her son’s confession and could not utter a word. Ilya silently took his backpack, proudly flaunted his suit, and headed for the exit. At the threshold, he stopped: “I’ll say it again, don’t come to the ceremony. No one there will be glad to see you.”
Ilya had left a few hours ago. Twilight had set in, and Marina just sat on the couch in complete stupor. She was so shocked that she couldn’t even cry. Tears came a bit later when the woman turned on the light and pulled an old album with family photos from the dresser. This album contained her entire unembellished life. Memories crashed down on Marina with such force that it was hard to breathe. An old worn photo. There she was, a two-year-old girl with blue eyes, gazing intently into the lens. Her colorful dress clearly second-hand. Beside her, a thin, strange woman with a vacant look and a foolish smile. Even in the poor photo, it was evident that the woman was in high spirits.
Marina was two and a half when her mother lost parental rights and disappeared from her daughter’s life forever. As she grew older, the girl never tried to find her wayward mother. Why bother?
A group photo. Ten-year-old Marina with rebellious golden curls stands in the second row, third from the left. Life in the orphanage was no picnic.
The institution where Marina was raised resembled the troubled shelters from documentary films about the nineties. Cooks were caught stealing food, educators didn’t mince words, and the director turned a blind eye to bullying, uninterested in the methods older children used to maintain discipline.
Three attractive girls in waitress uniforms flirtatiously posed for a photographer on the porch of a building with a crooked sign. After school, Marina didn’t think too much about choosing a profession and quickly got a job as a waitress at a roadside café called “By the Road.” The salary was small, but the tips generously left by customers compensated for this.
Twelve-hour shifts were exhausting, but Marina did not despair. She liked her independent life. Her room in a shared apartment was spacious and bright, and the neighbors, an elderly couple, turned out to be friendly. She had enough money, although not much, and unexpectedly discovered a talent in herself. It turned out that she knew how to dress stylishly on a dime. By buying clothes from second-hands, she remade and altered them into fashionable items. In a summer meadow in the forest, a happy and laughing Marina sat on the grass with a crown of flowers, embraced by a handsome dark-haired guy wearing a similar crown. Many years have passed, but Marina’s heart still skips a beat at the sight of this photo.
She had been working at the café for about a year when she met Maxim. That summer morning, the café was unexpectedly crowded. Marina rushed around the room with a tray, serving impatient customers, and suddenly tripped, spilling tomato juice on a guy by the window. A bright red stain spread across his light shirt. Marina was lost for words, realizing that the shirt was expensive. Before she could recover, Stas, the café administrator, rushed to the table and began fussing, threatening her with dismissal.
“Why worry so much?” the guy smiled, handing Marina the keys to his car. “Don’t worry, I’m going to my parents’ country house. There’s a clean shirt in the car. Could you bring the backpack from the back seat?”
“I’ll bring it, Maxim Nikolaevich,” Stas offered helpfully, snatching the keys. “Otherwise, this chicken might break something in your car too.”
Left alone with the client, Marina finally managed to apologize: “Please forgive me, this is the first time this has happened. I swear, I will compensate you for the damage.”
Maxim replied. “It’s nothing serious.”
Maxim extended his hand. She responded with a handshake and then dared to look at him for the first time.
Stas brought him the backpack and escorted him in order to a back room to change. When he passed by Marina, Stas remarked sarcastically:
“What are you waiting for? Has your shift ended?”
While she was just taking payment from a loving couple, she heard a cheerful voice behind her: “Marina, could you spare me a minute of your attention?”
Maxim, in a fresh blue shirt, was sitting at the same table. “Will you take my order?”
“Of course.”
Serving the attractive visitor, the girl felt awkward. Stas personally escorted the guy to the door, then winked at Marina, “Don’t be upset, I purposely snapped at you, otherwise he might have made you pay for the shirt. It costs more than your salary.”
“How do you know this guy?”
“That’s Max Skvortsov, the mayor’s son. Everyone in town knows him.”
By that evening, Marina was so exhausted from the day’s hustle that she had forgotten about the morning incident. She only desired to get home and collapse into bed.
It was already dark outside. Suddenly, a light foreign car pulled up to the café. On closer inspection, Marina recognized the car. What was the mayor’s son doing here?
Maxim jumped out of the car and headed straight for Marina. He approached and handed her the flowers: “Have you finished work? Sorry, I didn’t know what kind you like, so I chose white roses. But I promise that from now on, I’ll only give you your favorites.”
Marina was completely bewildered.
“I’m actually courting you. Besides, the evening is so lovely, maybe we could go somewhere?”, Max said, laughing.
Everything that was happening seemed like a magical dream. Marina realized that she was ready to go anywhere with him. Yet she quickly came back to reality. She remembered she was dressed in old jeans and a simple t-shirt.
“Thank you, but I’m tired, I can’t today”, Marina said regretfully.
“Then tomorrow?” Max was persistent.
The next day they met, never to part again. It was love at first sight. Maxim was an economics student. He had successfully passed his summer exams, and they started seeing each other every day.
Max introduced Marina to his university friends. Together, they often went swimming and barbecued in the wilderness. It was the brightest, most carefree, and unforgettable time of Marina’s life. She never experienced such happiness again.
Marina and Maxim had already started planning their wedding, but all their dreams about the future collapsed. Maxim’s cousin saw him on the street with some ragamuffin and reported it to daddy-the-mayor. Marina’s life turned into a nightmare.
The Skvortsov family disapproved of their relationship. It was understandable. The only son and a girl from an orphanage. Maxim’s mother called hundreds of times a day, demanding that Marina leave him. Maxim’s cousin came to the cafe and caused a terrible scandal.
Then, neighbors also reported that some people had been asking about Marina for an hour.
“Recently one lady”, confirmed Yakov Ivanovich, a neighbor in the apartment, “offered us good money if we confirmed that you were a drug addict and a prostitute. I threw her out.”
Marina told nothing to her fiancé. She knew that his opportunity for an overseas student exchange was being decided at that moment. Apparently, he was also under pressure, because a worry settled in his eyes. Sometimes he would look tensely at his beloved’s face, but, seeing her gentle smile, he would sigh with relief.
Two weeks before Maxim’s departure, Marina received a phone call.
“This is Nikolai Borisovich, Maxim’s father. You must break up with my son before he leaves. Tell him you have another man. If you ignore my words, you will bitterly regret it.”
The mayor hung up. Marina was ready to give her life for Maxim, how could she possibly give up the man she loved so deeply?
When her beloved flew to London, events began to unfold around Marina that she still remembers as a bad dream. Stas, bribed by the city’s mayor, suddenly accused the waitress of a major shortage, and the girl was arrested.
Marina was in sh0ck by her boss’s vile act. As the case quickly went to court, she had no doubt that the truth would soon come out and these horrible charges would be dismissed.
The trial was like a farce. The lawyer provided by the state barely stayed awake during the proceedings. In contrast, the prosecutor tried his hardest. Every day, Marina hoped that Maxim would appear and save her, but a friend informed her that, according to rumors, the boy was planning to continue his studies in England.
Marina was sentenced to three years. It was only in prison that she learned she was expecting a child.
Marina tried not to think about the time she spent in women’s prison—it was too painful. Overwhelmed by emotions, she quickly turned the page of the family album. The photo showed her dark-haired, gray-eyed little boy. Marina tenderly ran her finger over the image. Her son was so affectionate and clever. Only God knows what it cost her to raise him alone.
After serving a year and a half, Marina was released. Her child had not been taken away. Outside, a myriad of problems awaited her. No one wanted to hire a young woman with a small child, especially one with a criminal record.
Her neighbor Yakov Ivanovich helped get little Ilyushka into daycare, Marina was able to work tirelessly. She worked as a cleaner in a restaurant, cleaned offices in the evenings, worked at a car wash on weekends, and sewed pillowcases and duvet covers at night.
She didn’t look back at the past—why suffer unnecessarily? Once she accidentally met a former friend who told her that the roadside café owner, Stas, had gone bankrupt, Mayor Skvortsov had moved to Moscow with his family after receiving a promotion, and his son had married a beauty from the capital a year ago.
Marina wiped away her tears and went to clean floors at the restaurant. She needed to raise her son.
She always tried to please him with tasty food, expensive toys, fashionable clothes. She was ready to do anything to fulfill all his wishes, as much as possible. If Ilya needed a new gadget, he calmly talked to his mother about it, knowing she would find the necessary amount, or at worst, take on extra work.
Certainly, in that Ilya had grown into such an insensitive egoist, she was to blame too. She never complained to him about being tired, never took sick leave, always gave him the tastiest pieces at dinner. No wonder her son never once considered the price his mother paid for the money. And now he was ashamed of her and didn’t want her, a cleaner, to attend his wedding.
«I understand,» Marina sighed bitterly, then turned to Ilya’s portrait on the wall. «Son, I’ve indulged you for 25 years, but this time I’ll do as I see fit. Forgive me.»
She got out of bed and pulled out a box from the nightstand, where she traditionally kept her savings. Plus, her monthly salary was on the card—enough for an outfit, hairstyle, and a visit to the beautician.
Marina’s appearance at the registry office caused a real stir.
She always looked younger than her years, but after visiting the beauty salon, she seemed to have shed a decade. The guests, especially the men, sneakily glanced at the blonde woman in an exquisite blue dress. During the ceremony, the mother, wiping away tears, admired her serious, slightly bewildered son and his charming bride. It was good that she had come here. After the ceremony, all the guests congratulated the newlyweds. Ilya stealthily made his way through the crowd to his mother and whispered:
«So my request means nothing to you? I hope you’re not going to the restaurant?»
«I won’t,» Marina nodded. «I’ve already seen everything I wanted.»
«Hello!» a flushed Vika rushed up to them. «Marina Anatolyevna, you look stunning! The parents invite you to go to the restaurant with them.»
«Thank you, but it’s time for me to leave.»
«What do you mean, time?» Vika was indignant. «Ilya, what’s happening?»
«Really, Mom, where are you rushing to? It’s your only son’s wedding,» Ilya invited his mother to the restaurant with a forced smile.
When it was time for parents to congratulate the young couple, Marina took the microphone:
«Children, be happy, love each other for a lifetime…»
As she descended from the small stage, the woman nearly bumped into a tall man in an expensive suit.
«It can’t be,» said Maxim, blocking her path. «Marishka, is it really you? What are you doing here?»
«Maxim?» Marina couldn’t believe her eyes.
«The bride’s father is my business partner, he invited me to the wedding. What a handsome son you have.» Maxim, nervously, took Marina’s hand. «Maybe we could step aside, talk by the window? Are you here alone, without a husband? I’ve been divorced for 10 years now, and I don’t have any children.»
They talked for an hour. Maxim told how his father, having flown to him abroad, informed him that Marina had met another guy and moved to Moscow with him. Shocked, Max didn’t believe his father but, fearing to humiliate his beloved with suspicions, decided to first find out the truth from his best friend. The friend went to the roadside café but didn’t find the girl there. The owner and waitresses unanimously confirmed the information received from the father.
«I nearly went mad with grief then, stayed in England for another six months, then returned to Moscow. My dad got promoted, then I got married. Was I happy all these years? Not a minute. Only in my youth with you. But how have you been living all this time?»
«Let’s not talk about sad things,» Marina suggested. «It’s a wedding, after all. I’ll tell you everything later, but now invite me to dance.»
Guests couldn’t take their eyes off the beautiful couple. Ilya watched his mother and didn’t recognize her. He suddenly thought that his mom was a very attractive woman who had given up her personal life for him. For the first time in his life, Ilya felt truly ashamed. Then he noticed that his mother, arm-in-arm with some wealthy man, was heading towards the exit, and caught up with her on the porch.
«Mom, where are you going?»
«I’m leaving. That’s what you wanted,» the mother reminded.
«Mom, I’m sorry, but where are you going with this man?»
«I’m ready to go with him to the ends of the earth,» Marina sincerely confessed. «By the way, meet your father, Maxim.»
Ilya looked bewildered at Marina. She paused and added with a smile:
«Yes, it looks like we have a very long conversation ahead. But not today. Today is a wedding!»
Brad Pitt’s youngest daughter Vivienne is a mini ‘Brangelina,’ stunning at 15
Despite their short but lovely marriage coming to an abrupt end, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie had some amazing kids.
In addition to having the most famous double surname, Vivienne, 15, is the picture perfect daughter of picture-perfect parents and one of the most beautiful young women living. Her twin brother Knox and biological sister Shiloh share this surname.
Read on to learn more about the newest member of the Pitt-Jolie family!
Vivienne Marcheline Jolie-Pitt was born into an aristocratic Hollywood family and became well-known at an early age.
After the birth of their twins in 2008, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, anticipating a circus of media attention, took control of the situation and sold People and Hello! the rights to the kids’ earliest photos! They donated the $14 million they collected from the sale of the images to their organization, the Maddox-Jolie-Pitt Foundation.
In a 2008 Rolling Stone interview, Brad Pitt talked about how the paparazzi invaded their personal lives, stating, “Well, we get run out of every major city.” That’s the cause of my b****ing. These photographers are pursuing the kids as they call out their names.
All eyes were focused on the couple and their growing family, though.
At the age of fifteen, Vivienne Marcheline, who went by her mother’s name Angelina Jolie, is widely recognized as one of the most stunning young women in the world. She is the youngest of six children, with her twin brother Knox being a few seconds older.
Given how stunning her parents are, it should come as no surprise that their children share their beauty.
Her father, a good-looking 60-year-old, is one of the only two men to have won People’s Sexiest Guy Alive twice, along with George Clooney and Johnny Depp. Numerous times, her mother has been named the world’s most beautiful woman.
Parents
In 1990, a young man from Missouri started to change Hollywood. His charming grin, bleached blonde hair, and innate acting abilities captivated every scene.
His perfectly sculpted features and dimples make him incredibly attractive to women. All he needed to win their hearts was a cowboy hat and a seductive sequence starring Geena Davis from the 1991 film Thelma and Louise.
Whether he plays a vicious psychopath in Kalifornia, an assassin in Bullet Train, or a kind-hearted blood sucker in Interview with the Vampire, Pitt never fails to captivate an audience that can’t get enough of him.
Pitt and Jennifer Aniston were one of the most alluring couples in Hollywood in the early 2000s, so many fans were devastated when they announced their divorce in 2005.
Only one month after Aniston filed for divorce, there were reports that the 48-year-old Mr. and Mrs. Smith actress and the Once Upon a Time star were dating.
Although the exact cause of Aniston and Pitt’s breakup remains unknown to the public, the Tomb Raider actress insists that the two were not intimate until Pitt’s divorce was finalized.
“To be intimate with a married man, when my own father cheated on my mother, is not something I could forgive,” she said, alluding to her father’s adultery. Her father is the well-known actor Jon Voight, who played Angelina Jolie’s father in the Lara Croft: Tomb Raider movie from 2001. She continued, saying, “I could not look at myself in the morning if I did that.” I would not be interested in a man who had an affair with his wife.
The couple’s biological kid Shiloh was born in 2006, and they were married in 2014, together with Knox and Vivienne. The family also consists of three adopted children: Maddox Jolie-Pitt, 22, from Cambodia, Zahara Jolie-Pitt, 18, and Pax Thien, 19, from Vietnam.
The Tomb Raider star explained that every child has reaped tremendous benefits from having a cosmopolitan upbringing.
They’re genuinely amazing people, and I think their sheer quantity has greatly influenced one another. Not that I led anything, really. I’m resolved to not give any of her children the benefit of the doubt. I always tell the truth to my children. And I’m incredibly human when it comes to my kids,” Jolie previously told People.
There are six remarkably diverse people living in my house. I’m infatuated with all the different stages, feelings, and interests that children go through. From whence could you not be? It’s our responsibility to help them find their identity. You can’t learn who they are if you don’t actively grow alongside them, she added.
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Furthermore, since their divorce in 2019, Jolie and the Oceans 11 actress have shared parental responsibilities for the children.
Vivienne
Jolie greeted her, “My mother comes to mind every time I see or say Vivienne’s full name.”
“I dare to say Viv is proving to resemble Ange in spirit, attitude, and physicality,” says Vivienne’s loving father. with regard to her character. She has the same grace as her mother.
The screen that she and her mother are using is the same one.
Vivienne costarred with her Oscar-winning mother as a young Princess Aurora in the 2014 film Maleficent. when he was five years old.
Jolie told Entertainment Weekly that she didn’t think Vivienne would be in the film and that she thinks parents should give their children the freedom to make their own decisions.
“Although they like coming on set and making brief cameos, our kids are not actors in our eyes. That’s not at all what Brad and I hope to accomplish. However, none of the other [performers], who were three and four years old, would come up to me. It had to be a child that liked me and didn’t run from my eyes, claws, or horns. It had to be Viv after all.
Although Vivienne is now assisting her mother in creating the Broadway musical adaptation of The Outsiders, which is scheduled to open in April 2024, her only performing credit to far is this one.
For the stage adaptation of the 1983 movie of the same name, Jolie’s daughter Viv acts as her assistant. Jolie told E! News that Viv “reminds me of my mother in that she isn’t focused on being the center of attention but in being a support to other creatives.” “She is very thoughtful and serious about it, and she works really hard to figure out how she can contribute to the theater.”
benevolent spirit
Apart from her hereditary endowments, Vivienne’s magnanimous disposition stems from her generous parents. In 2019, she was seen at a neighboring dog park in Los Angeles, where she was selling treats to raise money for a nearby rescue shelter.
As a passionate animal lover, Vivienne was devastated to hear in 2020 that her favorite bunny had passed away. Jolie spoke with Harper’s Bazaar on the loss and said,Following the death of Vivienne’s bunny during surgery, we adopted two cute but little rabbits with disabilities. They have to work in pairs. Because they are so gentle, it has been helpful to focus on their care for her at this time. And speaking of dogs, snakes, and lizards…
It’s amazing that the twins are fifteen years old, and it will be interesting to see what they decide to do with their lives.
What are your thoughts on this stunning family? Please share this article with others and let us know what you think so we can hear from them too!
If you enjoyed this story as much as I did, you should read Shiloh, Vivienne’s older sister!
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