heir story really had begun like a picture-perfect romance.
Stas would meet Lera after work, hand her a bouquet, and take her somewhere with soft music playing in the background. He used to tell her that one day they would travel together, see two oceans, and visit dozens of foreign cities.
“Just stay by my side, and the whole world will belong to us,” he would say with a smile, gently tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
“And you won’t change your mind halfway there?” Lera would tease.
“Me? I’d follow you to the ends of the earth. You’re my person, don’t you understand? The only one who truly matters.”
Back then, fair-haired Lera believed every word he said. She was barely in her twenties, and he was only a little older. They did not have a home of their own, but their eyes were filled with dreams of the future.
“Do you know what I love most about you?” he once asked her. “You’re dependable. With you, I never feel afraid.”
“Is that a compliment or a diagnosis?” she replied with a playful wink.
“It’s love, silly. The real kind.”
Around that time, Lera inherited a small share of an old family house from her grandmother. Her aunt bought the share from her, and Lera placed the money in a savings account. For the moment, she decided not to tell anyone about it.
“You’ve been awfully thoughtful lately,” Stas remarked one evening. “Did something happen?”
“No, everything’s fine. I was just wondering what we’ll be like ten years from now.”
“Rich and happy,” he answered confidently. “I promise.”
At first, they simply dated. Later, they rented a tiny apartment and moved in together. They both worked, both made plans, and in those early days their relationship seemed to rest on the easy promise that happiness was just around the corner.
“Listen, I had a disagreement with this idiot at work,” Stas announced one day as he lay sprawled across the sofa. “So I quit.”
“That quickly? You were excited about the job just a month ago,” Lera said gently.
“I was excited until I realized they didn’t even treat me like a human being. They dumped work on me like I was some kind of pack mule. What do they think I am, a machine?”
“Maybe you should have talked to them before resigning.”
“Talk to whom? Those people don’t understand plain language. I’ll find something better. Don’t worry.”
Lera nodded. She believed it was only a difficult phase. Everyone went through hard times. She tried to support him without putting too much pressure on him.
Over the next two years, however, Stas walked away from four different jobs. One workplace had the “wrong atmosphere.” Another boss was “constantly picking on him.” Somewhere else, the rules were apparently “an insult to human dignity.”
“Stas, the rent is due the day after tomorrow,” Lera reminded him.
“And why are you looking at me like that?” he muttered irritably. “You can pay it. It won’t kill you. I’m temporarily unemployed. It’s an emergency.”
“I’m not blaming you. I’m only trying to figure out how we can divide the expenses more easily.”
“Exactly. We. We’re a team. You carry us now, and later I’ll carry us. That’s fair.”
She wanted desperately to believe in that “later.”
She cooked their meals, calculated every expense, and turned off lights to save money.
“You’re so clever,” he would say casually. “I’d be completely lost without you.”
“Sometimes I think you’re not in much of a hurry to find your way,” she answered quietly.
“Are you starting again? Give a man a chance to breathe.”
Time passed, and Lera gradually began noticing the things she had previously refused to admit.
Stas spoke beautifully, but he was terrified of real work. Every failure was always someone else’s fault.
“You won’t believe the nonsense they offered me this time,” he declared over breakfast one morning. “They expected me to sit there from morning until evening. What am I, a slave?”
“And what exactly do you think I do from morning until evening?” Lera finally snapped.
“What are you implying?” His eyes narrowed. “That I’m a freeloader? Go on, say it.”
“I’m saying that I’m paying for two people. The rent, the food, everything you decide you suddenly need—it all comes out of my pocket.”
“Oh, look at her counting every penny!” He threw his hands up theatrically. “Our little accountant! I make your life more enjoyable, and you throw money in my face.”
Lera set her cup down. Irritation was already rising in her throat like a wave of heat.
“You make my life more enjoyable? You lie around complaining about your bad luck. That isn’t support. That’s dead weight.”
“Well, well, well.” He stood up, his voice climbing higher. “So now I’m dead weight? Who used to take you to restaurants? Who brought you flowers?”
“You did. A long time ago. And toward the end, you were doing it with my money.”
“You’re unbelievably ungrateful!” he shouted, spraying saliva as he spoke. “I gave you the best years of my life, and now you’re counting pennies!”
She looked at him and could no longer see the young man who had once stood before her holding bouquets.
That man had promised her oceans. This one could barely manage a trip to the grocery store.
“Stas, I’ve had enough,” she said evenly. “I’m tired of carrying a grown man on my back.”
“Then don’t carry me,” he snapped. “Who asked you to? You got yourself into this, so deal with it yourself.”
A few days later, he started a conversation that finally made everything perfectly clear.
“Do you know why we still aren’t officially married?” he began, lounging comfortably in an armchair. “Because you don’t support me.”
“Excuse me?” Lera turned around slowly.
“I’m talking about the wedding. Where is it? Normal brides arrange everything themselves. The restaurant, the dress, the rings. And the groom’s suit too, by the way.”
“So I’m supposed to pay for our entire wedding? And buy your clothes as well?”
“What’s wrong with that?” He shrugged with a smug grin. “My friend’s wife bought him a car. Just like that, because she loved him. And you’re too stingy to buy me one suit.”
The anger rising inside her was cold and sharp. There was not a single tear in her eyes.
“Let me guess,” she said with a bitter smile. “Next I’m supposed to finance the honeymoon while you continue searching for a job worthy of your exceptional talents?”
“Well, how else did you imagine it?” He did not even recognize the sarcasm. “A family requires investment. You provide the money, and I create the atmosphere.”
“The atmosphere,” she repeated. “There is nothing more dangerous than energetic ignorance. In your case, it even manages to be lazy.”
“What?” He frowned. “There you go trying to sound clever again. I hate it when you do that.”
“And I hate being treated like a wallet with legs.”
“Have you looked at yourself lately?” he exploded, jumping to his feet. “Who else would even want someone like you? Always acting superior, always complaining! You’ve gained weight too! I’m the one suffering in this relationship!”
Without responding, Lera walked into the bedroom and pulled out a suitcase.
She packed her belongings slowly and carefully.
“What do you think you’re doing?” he demanded, following her from room to room. “What a drama queen! You pack your things and imagine I’m going to chase after you?”
“I don’t imagine that at all,” she replied, closing the zipper. “In fact, I’m counting on you not to.”
“If you walk out that door, there’s no coming back!” he yelled, pointing a finger into the air. “Do you understand? I won’t let you return!”
“What a relief.” She lifted the bag onto her shoulder. “Take good care of your atmosphere. It’s the only asset you have. And don’t forget to pay the rent. It’s due next week.”
After leaving him, Lera finally felt as though she could breathe normally again.
Some time later, she withdrew the money from her savings account, added everything else she had managed to earn, and bought an apartment. It was small, but it belonged entirely to her.
News of the purchase reached Stas quickly.
He called her, his voice trembling with greed and rage.
“What have you done?” he hissed into the phone. “You bought yourself an apartment and didn’t tell me?”
“What does any of this have to do with you?” she asked honestly.
“What do you mean, what does it have to do with me? We lived together! That makes it shared property! I have rights!”
“The only thing you acquired during our relationship was a permanent dent in the sofa,” Lera replied calmly. “You can claim that.”
“I’ll ruin you!” he howled. “I have connections. They’ll prove I’m entitled to it! You’ll regret treating me like this!”
“Stas, you were too frightened to look for a job, and now you’re planning an entire legal battle? Where did all this energy suddenly come from?”
“Don’t you dare laugh at me!” He was almost choking on his own words. “I loved you, and all that time you were hiding money! You planned this, didn’t you? You kept quiet, saved behind my back, and treated me like an idiot!”
“I kept quiet, yes. But you made yourself look like an idiot without any assistance from me.”
“Give me half!” His voice rose into a shriek. “At least reimburse me for the suit you never bought me!”
“For a suit that never existed, for a wedding that will never happen?” Lera laughed softly. “You know, your logic deserves to be written down and preserved for future generations.”
“You’re going to reg—” he began, but she had already ended the call and blocked his number.
A few weeks later, Lera heard that Stas had moved in with another financially secure woman.
Someone else had fallen for the bouquets, the promises of oceans, and the beautiful words, “You’re my person.”
A month later, that woman threw him out too. She had quickly realized whose money he intended to live on.
Stas was left alone, without a home, without savings, and without the precious “atmosphere” he had valued so highly.
Again and again, he dialed Lera’s old number, listened to the brief disconnected tones, and bit down on his knuckles as the truth finally sank in.
That door had closed forever.
