This apartment doesn’t belong to you! Sooner or later it will go to my little girl!» said the stepmother, poking Natalya in the chest. «I will do everything to make it happen as soon as possible. You can be sure of that.»
Natalya was radiant with happiness. She had finally married the man she loved. She and Denis had been together since the eleventh grade, attended the same university, and as soon as they graduated and found good jobs, he immediately proposed. Natasha did not even think before saying «yes.» She had long awaited this moment.
But even though everything was going well, and there was no sign of trouble, anxiety still gripped her. Words from a nightmare that had awakened her echoed in Natasha’s ears. In it, the stepmother demanded that the apartment be vacated. Relations with Tatyana Arkadyevna, her stepmother, had always been strained. The woman had entered their home when Natasha was twelve. Her father mourned his deceased wife for five years, raising his daughter with the help of his mother and mother-in-law, and then decided it was time to live for himself. Tatyana Arkadyevna also had a daughter, five years younger than Natasha. Lida turned out to be quite the capricious princess. Nothing was ever right for her, and her father went out of his way to please his stepdaughter. He started doing more for the girl than for his own daughter, justifying it by saying that Lida was younger and needed more gifts and attention. As she grew older and finished school, Lida moved into an apartment gifted by her father’s mother. Somehow, it ended up registered in Sergey Olegovich’s, her father’s, name. Natasha did not understand why these legal entanglements were necessary but was glad that she would no longer have to endure sideways glances and listen to her stepmother’s reproaches. Now she could live for herself. It seemed that everything was getting better, and Tatyana Arkadyevna became kinder to her stepdaughter. Even now, she laughed for two at the wedding, saying how happy she was that Natasha had found her happiness. Whether these words came from the heart remained a big question.
Soon the entertainment program ended. The tired husband and wife really wanted to be alone and enjoy their union.
«Where are you planning to go?» asked the father, approaching Natasha when her husband stepped away.
«Home, of course. To the apartment. We have a plane in two days. You promised to drive us to the airport, remember?» Natasha asked with a smile.
«I remember. I’ll drive you. It’s not a problem. But you don’t need to go to the apartment. You’re married now, right? Go to your husband’s parents. You belong more to their family now. And I’ve already promised your apartment to relatives.»
At the last word, the father stumbled, as if it was unpleasant for him to say such things out loud. Natasha looked at him, wondering if this was a joke. After all, her things were there. The appliances she bought, the electronics. Her clothes and jewelry, in the end. She did not want someone rummaging through them.
«Which relatives? You’re not serious now, are you? Daddy, I’m so tired… The jokes from the toastmaster today were enough, so let’s not anymore?» Natasha kept smiling. Denis approached and took his wife by the hand, asking what they were discussing.
«I entrust my daughter to you, Denis. You must understand that you bear all responsibility for her now. So, take her and keep her safe. Go to your parents’ place or somewhere else, but don’t count on our apartment. There are others who need to live there.»
Natasha could not believe her ears. Denis cleared his throat. He looked at his father-in-law as if he were a complete stranger.
«You’re not serious? Actually, I prepared a surprise for Natasha, which was supposed to be ready by the time we return to the apartment.»
«Seriously. I don’t know what kind of surprise you’ve prepared, but you should understand. From time immemorial, a wife went to her husband’s family. There’s no need to change traditions.»
Natasha could not even move, shocked by her father’s behavior. She had not expected such a horrible wedding surprise and now blinked, feeling like she was back in her nightmare.
«Alright. I understand. Just give us at least a day to gather our things and rest after the wedding. It’s not right to kick newlyweds out of their apartment on their wedding day,» Denis tried to maintain composure and speak politely.
Tatyana Arkadyevna joined the conversation, stating they didn’t have time to wait, and they would pack their things, then call them to come and pick them up.
«No. That won’t do,» Denis protested. «What right do you have to act like this? Have you forgotten that your mother gave Natasha this apartment?»
«But my daughter didn’t hurry to re-register it in her name,» Sergey Olegovich snorted. «That means the apartment wasn’t that needed after all.»
«And which relatives did you promise it to? Just don’t tell me it’s Lida,» anger rang in Natalia’s voice.
«If he can’t tell you, I will. The papers have already been re-registered, now the apartment belongs to my daughter. She received the documents today, doesn’t want to wait, and plans to move in late this evening. Sergey, since we’ve celebrated at the wedding, shall we go home? We need to help Lida pack.»
The father looked guiltily at his daughter. It was clear that Tatyana Arkadyevna held him firmly under her thumb, and he was completely satisfied with that, as he didn’t even try to do anything. They left, and Natalya quietly sobbed. Denis hugged his wife. Sensing something was wrong, Anna Evgenievna and Alexey Viktorovich, the man’s parents, approached the newlyweds.
«What happened?» asked the mother-in-law, piercingly looking at Natalya. «Why are the young wife’s eyes full of tears? Surely it’s not my son who caused this?»
It was hard for Natalya to speak because of the lump in her throat, so Denis explained everything for his wife. His parents just exchanged glances, and then Anna Evgenievna said:
«I understand that everyone is tired and wants to rest and be alone, but no one expected such a blow. Could have at least waited a day. However… I suggest we give a warm welcome to the new owner of the apartment. I’ll call my acquaintances with a van and arrange to move things out. Let’s go quickly, so we can pack up the suitcases. As far as I remember, practically everything in the apartment was bought by Natasha, replacing the old furniture? And some things we gave! It’s not right to leave it. Let the new owner set it up herself. And we did the renovations, didn’t we?»
Alexey Viktorovich smiled and gently patted Natalya on the shoulder.
«Your father was right: you’re our family now, and we don’t let our own suffer. So, let’s go and have some fun at the end, so they remember this wedding surprise as well.»
Natalya, though sad, chided herself for trusting her father and not even considering re-registering the apartment, but she smiled. After all, her grandmother had told her to do so. Grandmother died two years ago after a long illness, and her father delivered an unforgivable blow. Natalya understood that after this, she wouldn’t even be able to simply talk to him. She could imagine the smug look on Lida’s face. She was probably delighted that her father had kicked his own daughter out of the apartment and gave it all to her. Her heart ached with resentment. What would her mother have said? She would have been disappointed. Her father used to be different, but he got involved with Tatyana Arkadyevna and turned into her teddy bear. No… not quite like that—more like a puppet, performing the puppeteer’s commands. Several times Natalya even tried to talk to him and explain how his behavior looked from the outside, but her father didn’t even want to listen, brushing off his daughter, claiming that she was exaggerating and simply couldn’t stand her stepmother and sister.
Sitting in her father-in-law’s car, Natalya remembered how she had been admitted to university. She was happy then that she had passed the entrance exams. Her father asked what she wanted as a gift, and Natalya asked for a laptop, something inexpensive, as it would be a good help in her studies. Sergey Olegovich promised to think about it, as he would soon receive a good bonus. Lida then only looked at Natalya with disdain and smirked, and two weeks later, she invited her to her room.
«Look, sister, what dad gave me! A gaming laptop. Now I can enjoy playing on maximum settings!»
Natalya was happy, thinking that her father had bought a laptop for her studies. She had not dreamed of such a powerful one; it was more important to her that the battery lasted longer and that it could open a simple text editor. But then her father bowed his head.
«I’m sorry, Natasha. It just didn’t work out this time. Lida needed a gaming laptop urgently. I even had to go into a bit of debt. You understand, she’s at that age when they boast about gadgets in front of each other at school. They teased her for not having a proper laptop. In short, I didn’t have enough funds to buy you a gift. But that’s okay. You know, in our student years, there wasn’t any of this technology around at all. And what? We managed perfectly fine! Essays are written excellently by hand, as is everything else, and to find necessary information on the internet… we didn’t even think about it, didn’t even imagine that such a beast would appear. There are books in the library where finding what you need is not a problem.»
Tears welled up in her eyes. Natalya went to her room, trying not to show her hurt. Then she packed her things to move into the apartment her grandmother had given her. The stepmother laughed and said that the girl would return very soon, as she had been served, and she was used to everything being ready for her. How she was served remained a mystery to Natalya, as she did most of the household chores, and she often cooked herself.
In the beginning, Natalya was helped by her grandmothers and Denis’s parents. They supported the girl as best they could, gave her a good comfortable bed, brought food. Natalya received an increased scholarship at the university, and she worked on weekends, so she had enough money to live on. Natalya did not ask her father for help, knowing that he would certainly find a reason why he could not give his daughter a single penny. Their communication was reduced to a minimum, and this suited everyone. After graduating from university, Natalya immediately got a good job. Then her father asked her for some money for the first time because he was a bit short on paying for Lida’s education. Natalya helped, though she did not do it wholeheartedly. She felt as if she was obliged. And now she had received a wedding gift that she could never have expected. Her father had finally abandoned his own daughter, trading her for his stepdaughter. Although it was hard to accept, Natalya now only wished for one thing—to achieve justice. And she could do that by emptying the apartment and taking everything that belonged to her.
Arriving at the apartment, seeing the rose petals that covered the floor in the hallway and room, Natalya barely held back tears. While Anna Evgenievna and Alexey Viktorovich with Denis went to pack things, Natalya took off her wedding dress. This was not how she imagined the continuation of a magnificent day, but it was nothing… There would be a celebration on her street too. Somehow she was sure that Lida’s whims would eventually not only tire her father but also Tatyana Arkadyevna, as her appetites would surely grow, and the apartment in an old building wouldn’t please her much; she would want something more. Were they ready to go into debt for this? After changing, Natalya joined in the general merriment. That’s what Anna Evgenievna called their evening today.
«At least it’s original! It will be something to remember and tell the kids about,» the woman joked, trying her best to cheer up Natalya.
The girl was glad to have such a wonderful mother-in-law. Anna Evgenievna seemed like the perfect mother. She always tried to find the positive side in everything and always said that one should not give up and give in, and it’s important to fight for one’s happiness. And happiness can be found in any small thing. That’s exactly how Natalya tried to live. The suitcases were packed quickly. Natalya didn’t have many things, and Denis hadn’t moved much to her yet. All the appliances were well packed. Anna Evgenievna’s acquaintances arrived quickly, loaded all the things into the van, and drove them to the parents’ house of the husband. As her father-in-law said – it was temporary, and they would definitely come up with something so the young couple could live separately. Since Anna Evgenievna trusted her acquaintances, they did not follow them, knowing that they would unload the truck, put the things under a canopy, and not take anything extra.
«Now let’s refresh the renovation we tried to do? We should hurry before the owner arrives,» Anna Evgenievna suggested. Her husband supported her initiative, and they began to strip the wallpaper off the walls.
«Why are you sad? Do you think we’re doing something wrong?» Denis asked, approaching his wife.
«I don’t know. What’s happening doesn’t fit in my head, and this apartment held so many childhood memories… it’s sad to leave it to Lida now. But nothing… I’ll cope somehow.»
«Of course, you’ll cope, because all the main memories are stored in our hearts, and I’ll be by your side and support you. Don’t worry. I understand that we danced our hearts out today and are tired, but let’s finish preparing for your sister’s arrival. I’d love to wait for their arrival and look them in the eyes. What do you think, will they show up soon?»
Natalya just shrugged her shoulders.
Laughing and throwing pieces of paper they were tearing off the walls at each other, Anna Evgenievna and Alexey Viktorovich reminded Natalya of teenagers. Just like she and Denis used to fool around… just like her mother and father used to behave.
Hearing the door open, Anna Evgenievna wiped the sweat from her forehead and looked at her husband, signaling that they should be ready for any scandal.
Lida entered the apartment with a wide smile on her lips. She was talking about what and where she wanted to put things, and also bragging that Natasha had just recently bought a coffee machine, which would be just right for her. For a few seconds, the girl looked shocked at the «crazy family,» as they appeared in her eyes, then she screeched, turning to her mother and stepfather.
«What is this?» she screamed at the top of her lungs. «Who allowed them to take charge here? This is no longer an apartment, but some kind of barn! I’m going to call the police right now because I’ve been robbed.»
«We only took our own,» Natalya shrugged. «I have all the receipts and evidence of purchasing furniture, appliances, and even wallpaper. What about you?»
«You’re adults!» cried Tatyana Arkadyevna, looking at Anna Evgenievna and Alexey Viktorovich. «Where were you looking! And you didn’t just watch, you actively participated in this disgrace! What kind of people are you? You acted like true barbarians.»
«As Natalya already said – we didn’t take anything extra from here. And you should think about the example you’re setting for others. As you sow, so shall you reap. Haven’t you ever heard such a simple rule? You showed an example, and we decided to follow your path. Happy housewarming, Lydia. May this night be unforgettable for you,» Anna Evgenievna replied, smiling at the flushed girl, ready to burst from her own anger. It seemed that Lydia would explode from her own fury, so menacing she looked at that moment.
«Natalya is now our family, and we don’t abandon our own and don’t let them be insulted, so if you decide to roll a barrel on someone from ours, wait for a response,» said Alexey Viktorovich, passing by his daughter-in-law’s father.
Stepping outside, Natalya felt that there was nothing left of the pain in her heart. She felt as if she had been freed from a heavy burden and was now ready to move on.
«And now, young ones, go to the room I ordered for the newlyweds while I was briefly away helping to lower the things into the van,» Alexey Viktorovich said with a smile on his lips. «Tomorrow to us, then on a journey. During this time, we will definitely come up with something.»
Alexey Viktorovich did as he said. He and his wife bought a plot next to their house from their savings, took a little money on credit, and began building a house for the young family.