On the stairwell landing, she ran into her neighbor—old Nina.
“Oh, Lyudochka! Suitcases? Where are you off to?”
“On a business trip,” Lyuda muttered, squeezing past.
“A business trip, huh? Then why’s your Misha been prowling around with that blonde? Third day in a row I’ve seen her!”
“None of your business!”
“Oh-oh, look at us, so proud!” Old Nina threw up her hands. “And I thought I should warn a neighbor—your hubby’s out there гуляет, running around!”
Lyuda said nothing as she went down the stairs. Behind her, Nina’s voice carried:
“Always like this! You try to do someone a good turn and you get rudeness back! Galina Petrovna’s right—you’re no match for Mishenka!”
Outside, a fine drizzle was falling. Lyuda waved down a taxi and gave the address of the only place she could go: the village of Kurlyki Nizhniye, to her late grandmother’s house.
The little house stood at the edge of the village—small, leaning. Lyuda hadn’t been here for three years, since the funeral. She opened the creaky gate and pulled the key from under the porch—just like before.
Inside it smelled of damp and dust. She sat on the old sofa and took out her phone. Fifteen missed calls from Misha, twenty from Galina Petrovna. And a message from an unknown number:
“Lyudmila Sergeyevna, this is Antonina Semyonovna. I’m very sorry it turned out this way. Viktor Pavlovich threatened to fire me too if I didn’t sign the documents. The shortage was arranged by his nephew, but they pinned it on you. Forgive me.”
Lyuda read the message three times. Then she started laughing—hysterically, through tears. A setup at work, a setup at home. Like some cheap TV melodrama.
Her phone rang—Misha.
“Hello.”
“Where are you? Mom’s worried!”
“In Kurlyki.”
“Where?!”
“In the village. At my grandmother’s.”
“Have you lost your mind? That’s the middle of nowhere! Come back immediately!”
“Why?”
“What do you mean why? To sign the divorce papers!”
“Mail them to me.”
“Lyuda, don’t be stupid! Come to the notary tomorrow. We’ll divorce quietly, no scandal. I won’t even demand alimony!”
“Alimony? From me? Are you out of your mind?”
“Why not? I’m unemployed, and you work in accounting! So let’s do it amicably!”
Lyuda ended the call. A minute later—another call. Galina Petrovna.
“Come back immediately! How dare you not pick up!”
“Galina Petrovna, leave me alone.”
“What?! Why, I’ll—! Mishenka will file for alimony! And for division of property! You’ve got your granny’s house!”
“The house is falling apart. Take it if you want.”
“Don’t get smart with me! Do you know how much that land is worth? Lots on the edge of the city!”
Lyuda froze. She looked out the window. Sure enough, in three years the city had expanded. Now it was only a fifteen-minute ride to Kurlyki by minibus.
“I can’t hear you. The signal’s bad.”
“Don’t you dare hang up! Tomorrow I expect you at the notary’s! Ten in the morning! I’ll text you the address!”
“Goodbye, Galina Petrovna.”
In the morning she woke up to knocking at the door. A stranger in a suit stood on the threshold.
“Lyudmila Sergeyevna?”
“Yes.”
“My name is Andrey Viktorovich. I represent the construction company ‘New City.’ We’d like to buy your plot of land.”
“How did you find out—”
“Your mother-in-law called yesterday. She said you were selling.”
“She isn’t my mother-in-law. And I’m not selling.”
“But she said—”
“She lied. Goodbye.”
“Wait! We’re offering a good price! Five million!”
Lyuda went still.
“How much?”
“Five million. The plot is ideally located for our cottage community. If you agree, we can finalize everything in a week.”
“I need to think.”
“Of course. Here’s my card. Call anytime.”
When the car drove off, Lyuda dialed an old friend who was a lawyer.
“Marina, hi. I need help…”
Two hours later Marina called back.
“Lyud, I checked everything. First: in a divorce, Misha has no rights to what you inherited from your grandmother. Second: even if he’s unemployed, he won’t be able to get alimony from you. Third: sell the land urgently and buy yourself an apartment—it’ll be yours and yours alone!”
“And the apartment?”
“What apartment? It’s registered in his name—a gift from his parents. You won’t get anything. But! If you can prove the affair, you can demand compensation for emotional harm.”
“I don’t have proof.”
“Too bad. Well, at least you got lucky with the land. Five million is a great price!”
A week later the deal was done. Lyuda bought a nice three-room apartment in a new building and got a bookkeeping job at a small firm. The pay was lower, but the boss was sane.
Angry messages kept coming from Misha:
“How could you sell the plot without telling me?!”
“That’s our joint property!”
“I’ll take you to court!”
“Mom says you owe half!”
Lyuda didn’t reply. Marina handled the divorce through the court without Lyuda having to appear.
And then something interesting happened.
Kolya the security guard called.
“Lyudmila Sergeyevna, uh… sorry to bother you. But listen… remember Vika, the one you saw with your husband?”
“I remember.”
“Well, she, um… turned out to be Viktor Pavlovich’s wife.”
“What?!”
“Yep. And that whole ‘shortage’ scheme—they came up with it together. To get rid of you. Viktor Pavlovich wanted to put his nephew in your position. And Vika… she was with your husband on purpose. So you’d divorce and not split the apartment.”
“How do you know?”
“They were arguing in his office yesterday. I was walking by, I heard. She’s demanding a divorce and half the business. He told her to get lost. Said she already got what she wanted—snatched your husband’s apartment. And she was yelling that she’s pregnant.”
“By whom?”
“Who knows. Either by the director or by your ex. They were throwing so much dirt at each other! I even recorded part of it on my phone. If you need it for court…”
“Send the recording.”
Five minutes later Lyuda was listening to Vika’s hysterics:
“I slept with that idiot because of your plan! He thinks I love him! He’s demanding a child! And you promised me a divorce and half the company!”
“I never promised you anything! You got what you wanted—you took that fool’s husband’s apartment. That’s enough!”
“Apartment? That witch—his mommy—moved in there! Controls my every step! And your Misha’s impotent anyway! All he can do is talk!”
“That’s your problem!”
“No, darling—now it’s our problem! I’m pregnant! And if you don’t give me money, I’ll tell everyone about your shady deals!”
Lyuda saved the recording and texted Misha:
“Congratulations on your future fatherhood. Recording attached.”
An hour later the response came—Galina Petrovna calling.
“What have you done, you filthy wretch?!”
“Me? Nothing. I just shared some interesting information.”
“Because of you, Vika left! She abandoned my Mishenka!”
“What a shame.”
“Don’t play dumb! You did it on purpose! Come back immediately!”
“Why?”
“Mishenka is suffering! He realized he loves only you!”
“Tell Mishenka I’m busy.”
“Lyudka, don’t get cocky! We can ruin your life!”
“You already did. But you know what? I’m grateful to you.”
“What?!”
“Yes. Thanks to you I understood I wasn’t living my own life. I put up with rudeness, cheating, humiliation. And now I’m free. I have an apartment, a job, friends. And your Mishenka has alimony debts to the future mommy and the reputation of a fool who got played by a young adventuress.”
“You… you…”
“Goodbye. And tell your son—don’t call. I’m blocking you.”
A month later Lyuda was sitting in a café with Marina, sharing the latest news.
“Can you imagine? Viktor Pavlovich got fired! The founders found out about the schemes!”
“And Vika?”
“She gave birth. But the DNA test showed the father is Viktor Pavlovich. Now they’re suing over child support.”
“And your ex?”
“Misha? He lives with his mommy. On her way out, Vika told Galina Petrovna he’d been cheating on her—with some Lena from the gym. Now his mother nags him around the clock.”
“Karma!”
“Yeah. Oh—and Kolya called. Antonina Semyonovna is the director now. And she’s asking me to come back. As chief accountant.”
“Will you go?”
“I think so. The salary’s three times higher. And the team’s good—if you don’t count the former management.”
“And your love life?”
“You know, Marin… I realized something. For seven years I tried to be the perfect wife for a man who didn’t value me. I endured humiliation from a mother-in-law who saw me as a servant. And now… now I’m just living for myself. And that’s happiness.”
“Well done! To you!” Marina raised her glass.
“To a new life!”
At home she brewed tea and opened her laptop. An email had arrived from Antonina Semyonovna with a contract. The terms were excellent.
Her phone chirped—a message from an unknown number:
“Lyuda, it’s Misha. Mom gave me your new number. Can we meet? I really need to talk.”
Lyuda smirked and tapped “Block sender.”
Spring sunlight poured through the window.
And somewhere in the old apartment, Mikhail sat in the kitchen while Galina Petrovna, for the hundredth time, told him what a mistake he’d made:
“I told you Vika was suspicious! But you wouldn’t listen! Lyudka was at least хозяйственная—she knew how to run a household!”
“Mom, enough…”
“Not enough! Because of your escapades I won’t see any grandkids! Lyudka would’ve had them, and that snake just used you!”
“Mom, I’m tired…”
“Tired, is he? And I’m not tired? I spent my whole life on you! And what did you do? Swapped a normal wife for some woman!”
“Don’t call Vika—”
“I’ll call her whatever I want! She humiliated you! The whole building is gossiping! Old Nina came up to me yesterday on purpose—told me how your sweetheart was kissing Viktor Pavlovich in a restaurant! Even back when she was still living with you!”
Misha dropped his head into his hands. What a mess it had become. He’d wanted a new life, passion. Instead he got disgrace and his mother’s reproaches.
Far away, in her new apartment, Lyuda finished her tea and smiled. Turns out happiness is when you decide for yourself how to live.
Her new life was only beginning.
