Victoria cleared the remains of breakfast from the table and winked at her husband.
– Misha, I’m working from home today. It’s pouring so hard outside that even the couriers are refusing to go out.
Michael nodded grimly, sipping his coffee.
– You’re lucky with this business. And I’m back on the carpet with my boss. Third time this week.
Victoria, as usual, ignored his complaints. Over the course of ten years of marriage, she had learned the song by heart.
“You should have quit a long time ago if it’s that bad,” Victoria sat down next to him, turning on the laptop.
– And where? – Mikhail pushed the cup away irritably. – Will you take me into your business as a full partner?
– Mishenka, let’s do it later. My reports are burning.
He shrugged, stood up and pecked his wife on the cheek.
– Okay, I’m off. Don’t be bored.
The front door slammed, leaving Victoria in a ringing silence. She exhaled. This talk about business was starting to irritate her. It was no joke – she had been carrying the business for ten years, and now she was going to give her half? No way.
The rain was drumming comfortably on the windows, and Victoria was deep in work. The fourth quarter was always the most nervous. The numbers just didn’t add up.
Somewhere in the depths of the apartment, a telephone beeped. Victoria tore herself away from the monitor. Not her call. Misha had probably forgotten.
Victoria reluctantly got up and headed to the bedroom. Suddenly something important. The phone was lying on the bedside table. “I’ve already found buyers,” appeared on the screen. The sender was “Mom.”
Victoria froze. What customers? Is mother-in-law Alla Sergeevna selling something?
Almost without thinking, Victoria unlocked the phone. She accidentally saw the code when Mikhail opened the mobile bank in her presence.
A vague uneasiness swirled inside. Scrolling up the correspondence, Victoria came across her husband’s message, which made her gasp: “We’ll sell my wife’s apartment in a month.”
Her apartment? A three-room apartment in a good area, bought before the marriage with money from the sale of her grandmother’s real estate?
—————————————————–
Her hands began to shake. Victoria continued scrolling, reading messages from her husband and mother-in-law.
“Misha, the main thing is that she signs the power of attorney. Without it, you won’t be able to sell anything.”
“I’m thinking of slipping her the documents along with some business papers. She never reads what she signs.”
“And will you then register her business in your name?”
“Of course, Mom. The car too. I’ve been putting up with her antics for ten years, it’s time to get something in return.”
Victoria sank down on the bed, not believing her eyes. The plan of complete betrayal was unfolding before her. Her own husband. The man she trusted with everything.
The phone slipped from his weakened fingers, hitting the floor with a loud thud. His head was buzzing.
“Ten years,” Victoria whispered, pressing her palms to her temples. “We’ve been married for ten years. And he…”
Her heart sank painfully. Every cell in her body screamed with betrayal. The room swam before her eyes. She suddenly remembered all those moments when Mikhail looked over her shoulder while signing documents. His sudden interest in the company’s affairs. Strange questions about the registration of property.
Victoria jerked out of bed. She left the phone where it had fallen. Her hands were shaking, but her thoughts were gradually becoming clear.
“Okay, then,” she said out loud, trying to calm her pounding heart. “Lawyer first.”
She quickly changed her clothes, grabbed her bag and ran out of the apartment. The rain was still pouring down on the streets, but Victoria didn’t notice it. She called a taxi and twenty minutes later she was already sitting in the office of her lawyer Olga Petrovna.
“That’s complete madness,” the lawyer shook her head after listening to Victoria. “But let them try. The apartment was purchased before the marriage, the business is registered only in your name. The car too. According to the law, he is not entitled to anything.”
— What if I signed a power of attorney?
– Then that’s a different matter. He could manage the property on your behalf.
Victoria closed her eyes. How close she had been to collapse.
– What should I do?
“Prepare the divorce papers,” Olga Petrovna shrugged. “Or do you have doubts?”
There was no doubt. Only ashes remained in place of ten years of love.
That same day, Victoria collected all the necessary papers. Sitting in the kitchen with the divorce papers, she waited for her husband to return. The front door slammed at exactly seven.
– Vika! – Mikhail’s voice came from the hallway. – Are you home?
“In the kitchen,” she answered, trying to speak calmly.
Mikhail appeared in the doorway, smiling, holding a bouquet of red roses.
– I decided to surprise you, – he held out the flowers. – Why are you so gloomy? The reports didn’t match?
Victoria silently pushed the folder with documents towards him. The smile on his face slowly faded.
– What is this?
— A divorce petition. Sign it.
The bouquet flew to the floor. Mikhail turned pale.
– Are you crazy? What’s going on?
– Your phone was beeping. I read the correspondence with your mother.
– You were going through my phone? – Mikhail went on the offensive. – This is an invasion of privacy!
“We’ll sell my wife’s apartment in a month,” Victoria quoted in an icy tone. “You wrote that, not me.”
– Vika, you got it all wrong…
– Yes? And how was I supposed to understand the plans to register my business in their name? Sell my apartment? Slip me a power of attorney to sign?
Mikhail collapsed into a chair, his face distorted.
– It was just a joke. My mom and I sometimes joke like that.
– A joke? Ten years of marriage and such jokes?
– Vika, darling, – he reached for her hand, but she pulled it away, – let’s discuss everything. I love you.
— Will you sign voluntarily or should I involve lawyers?
– I won’t sign anything! – Mikhail jumped up. – This is my family! You are my wife!
“This is my property!” Victoria stood up, looking down at him. “And I won’t let you and Mom rob me.”
Mikhail paced around the kitchen like a cornered animal.
– Vika, listen to me! This was all mother’s idea!
– So you’re a spineless doll? – Victoria crossed her arms over her chest. – Don’t make me laugh, Misha.
– You don’t understand! She kept pressuring me. She said I was nobody next to you!
Victoria shook her head.
– And that’s why you decided to steal everything I earned?
“Not to steal, but…” Mikhail stopped short, realizing that he was giving himself away.
– What? Share? Not according to the law, but according to justice? – Victoria smiled bitterly. – You’re lying even now, looking me in the eye.
– I wasn’t going to do anything! I was just talking to my mother!
“Ten years, Misha,” Victoria said quietly. “For ten years I believed that we were a team. And all this time you were plotting behind my back.
Michael fell to his knees.
– Vika, forgive me! I was blind! Let’s forget everything! I’ll break off relations with my mother!
“It’s too late,” Victoria turned away. Her heart was breaking, but she couldn’t afford weakness. “Take your things and go.”
“This is my home too!” Mikhail suddenly exploded. “You can’t throw me out like a dog!”
– I can. The apartment is mine. Don’t make me call the police.
Something dark and evil flashed in his eyes. Victoria suddenly saw the real Mikhail – the one who had been hiding behind the mask of a loving husband all these years.
“You’ll regret this,” he said through clenched teeth. “Mother and I will get what we deserve.”
– Threats? – Victoria rose from her seat. – Excellent. Get out immediately!
He grabbed the documents and ran out of the apartment, slamming the door loudly. Victoria sank into a chair. Only now did she notice that her hands were shaking. Inhale, exhale. She had to hold on.
The phone rang almost immediately. Alla Sergeevna. Victoria hung up and blocked her mother-in-law’s number. Then she dialed the repairman’s number.
— I need to change the locks. Urgently.
That same evening, new locks were installed on Victoria’s door. Several security cameras added to the defense. Victoria knew the fight had only just begun.
Mikhail called her the next day from an unknown number.
– Vika, you can’t do this. We need to talk, – his voice sounded tired, without the previous aggression.
– We have nothing to talk about. We’ll get divorced.
– Just listen to me. You got it all wrong.
– I understood everything perfectly, Misha. Goodbye.
Days turned into weeks. Alla Sergeevna was watching Victoria near the office, making loud scenes.
“You broke my boy’s heart!” she screamed, attracting the attention of passers-by. “Black ingratitude for everything he did for you!”
Victoria walked past silently. What could this woman do after her plan failed?
Victoria lay awake at night. Images of her life with Mikhail flashed before her eyes. Was their whole life a lie? Or did he really love her, but greed got the better of him?
“I feel like I’m living in a bad dream,” she confessed to her friend Natasha. “I can’t believe all this is happening to me.”
“You’re strong,” Natasha squeezed her hand. “And you did the right thing. You can’t forgive such betrayal.”
Business demanded attention. Victoria immersed herself in work, trying not to think about her broken dreams. Reports, meetings, negotiations filled the days. The saving routine left no time for tears.
Two weeks after their argument, Mikhail sent a message: “I’ll pick up my things tomorrow at 12. Be home.”
Victoria showed the message to Olga Petrovna.
“I’ll be with you,” the lawyer assured. “He won’t be able to do anything.”
Mikhail arrived exactly at noon. He was haggard, with shadows under his eyes. There was no longer anger in his gaze, only fatigue.
“Hello,” he nodded to Victoria.
Olga Petrovna introduced herself and explained the rules: he could only take personal belongings, everything had to be documented.
Mikhail nodded silently and headed towards the bedroom. Victoria followed him at a distance.
“I could have left them,” he remarked, putting the clothes in the suitcase.
“I could,” Victoria agreed.
“I just wanted to see you,” he looked up. “Vika, I really loved you.”
– No need, Misha.
– It was all my mother’s idea. I never intended to…
– And the correspondence? – Victoria asked quietly. – You yourself wrote about selling the apartment.
Michael lowered his head.
— A moment of weakness. I didn’t understand what I was doing.
— It doesn’t matter anymore.
He packed his things quickly, surprisingly not trying to take anything extra. He stopped at the door, as if he wanted to say something, but changed his mind.
“Forgive me, Vika,” he finally said.
The door closed behind him. Olga Petrovna patted Victoria on the shoulder.
– You held up well.
“I don’t feel anything,” Victoria admitted. “I’m empty inside.”
– It will pass. Give yourself time.
The divorce was finalized quickly. Mikhail did not dispute anything, signed all the documents without objections. Alla Sergeevna tried to create a scandal several more times, but then disappeared from Victoria’s life.
Spring gave way to summer. Victoria gradually learned to live again. At first it was especially hard – the habit of looking for a husband in an empty apartment, cooking for two, turning around at every sound.
“Everything passes,” Natasha told her. “This too will pass.”
One evening Victoria was sitting on the balcony with a cup of tea. Children were playing below, dog walkers were walking, life was going on as usual. For the first time in a long time, she felt like she could breathe deeply.
The phone beeped with a message from an unfamiliar number: “I hope you’re okay. I moved to another city. I had to protect you. Sorry. M.”
Victoria didn’t answer. The past had to be left in the past.
