The young man drove his car, not knowing the way. He drove, as they say, to nowhere. Kirill’s only desire was to escape from home, or rather, from the society of his ex-wife. After the divorce, the couple continued to live in the jointly acquired apartment, as they couldn’t find acceptable options to exchange it. Indeed, they had put the apartment up for sale, but until then they had to endure each other.
The ex-wife took on the task of selling the apartment herself. Kirill simply didn’t have the time for it. According to Larisa, she failed to find anyone willing to buy their home.
Kirill wasn’t particularly interested in the sales process. He spent every evening the same way: browsing the news and then going to bed. It was fortunate that the apartment had separate bedrooms.
Kirill had long stopped being interested in his wife’s personal life. During their life together, he had thought too much for both of them.
Before the divorce, Larisa didn’t work, living off her husband’s earnings. However, now it didn’t matter. The apartment was considered their joint property because it was purchased during their marriage.
Now, Kirill had stopped providing for his ex-wife. He took care of himself, even reserving a separate shelf in the refrigerator for his groceries.
Larisa did not follow such rules. She continued to occupy nearly all the space, including the kitchen and bathroom. And in the room where Kirill lived, she often left her things. All the horizontal surfaces in the bathroom were occupied by her jars, and she hung her clothes there too. The man had no choice but to encounter the trinkets left by his ex-wife everywhere, which clearly had no place there.
And if to be honest, one of them was also redundant in the apartment. However, Kirill didn’t show his dissatisfaction about the perpetual mess.
Moreover, Larisa had taken up the habit of bringing friends over. Then men started appearing. Naturally, this happened without Kirill’s consent, who was simply told that these young people were her friends’ companions. During such lively gatherings, he had to, after quickly having dinner with boiled dumplings, retreat to his room. It was impossible to relax after work alone: noisy conversations interfered. On his days off, Kirill preferred not to appear in the apartment throughout the day. However, this was not always possible to accomplish.
The spouses decided to divorce because of Larisa’s lifestyle, who loved to spend money but did not want to work. When the husband started earning less, unable to afford all his wife’s whims, they decided to file for divorce.
And Larisa’s demands were serious: expensive trips, branded clothes, constant dinners at restaurants. It was impossible to make ends meet on a single salary. Additionally, Kirill was experiencing a tough time at work. The family budget lost its previous incomes. When her husband asked her to be a bit more economical, Larisa just smirked.
The spouses did not have children, and continuing to live this way was unbearable. Thus, their marital relationship fell into decay.
With the arrival of another weekend, Kirill realized he was too tired and no longer wanted to disappear somewhere all day. However, his ex-wife unceremoniously showed him the door.
One of her friends was already on her way there, and others would arrive later. So, the ex-husband was absolutely not needed here.
And now Kirill was driving on the highway in an unknown direction, angry but helpless in this situation. Fatigue from constant stress at work and the tense atmosphere at home was so strong that he didn’t want to think about anything. Slowing down and turning up the music, the man tried to calm down.
At that moment, his gaze fell on a young woman standing by the road. Next to her was a car that apparently had broken down. The girl looked so bewildered that Kirill immediately decided to offer her help. After all, it was late, and she was all alone; anything could happen.
Stopping, he approached the girl who was gratefully batting her long eyelashes. After hesitating for a few seconds, she began to explain that she was rushing to visit someone, but then her car stopped working.
«I really don’t understand any of this,» explained the distressed girl. «I called many acquaintances. It turns out, when it comes to a difficult situation, there’s no one to help.»
She sighed with such despair that Kirill saw her as a helpless child who wanted to hug and comfort. It was noticeably colder outside, and Kirill offered the stranger to warm up in his car while waiting for the emergency service.
Surprisingly, the man felt relieved. He even momentarily forgot that another party awaited him at home with his ex-wife. Kirill tried to distract the girl he met by chance from the breakdown with meaningless chatter. She modestly stayed silent, occasionally casting grateful glances at the man, who could be said to have saved her. In Sophia’s eyes, there was unmistakable joy. «Imagine, there are still decent men in the world, ready to spend a whole evening by the roadside, helping a stranger.»
Finally, the tow truck arrived. The girl’s car had to be taken for repair. Kirill asked Sophia where she needed to go. She named a street where he lived. Naturally, the man offered to drop her off at her destination.
He wasn’t in a hurry, and they headed to the address.
Kirill was surprised when not only the street but also the house number turned out to be his own. He didn’t believe in such coincidences. Without asking Sophia, he made his own guesses, although deep down, he already knew the answer to the unspoken question.
In the end, Kirill stopped and directly asked if the girl was going to Larisa’s apartment. Now it was Sophia’s turn to be surprised, wondering how a random new acquaintance knew she was going to Larisa.
Kirill decided to be cunning and didn’t tell her who her new acquaintance was to Larisa, and why they lived in the same apartment.
Starting a conversation, Kirill was already planning to ask Sophia how she met his ex-wife. After all, fate hadn’t just given him a chance to meet the friend of his ex-wife, who didn’t even suspect who had really helped her on the road.
«Do you know Larisa well?» Kirill asked casually.
«I wouldn’t say so,» the girl replied. «We do fitness at the same time. She invites everyone over.»
«What do you mean by everyone?» the man wondered.
«Just like this: met, chatted, and invited home. She communicates like that with both girls and guys.»
This was already crossing the line. Kirill couldn’t stop himself and began questioning the new acquaintance about how she could explain such strange behavior of her friend. Kirill was increasingly amazed at how his ex-wife could so carelessly invite every passerby into their joint apartment.
«Nothing. Larisa just once said that, well, her ex-husband terrorizes her, literally driving her out of the shared apartment, and it’s scary for her to stay alone with him,» Sophia explained.
«Really, interesting. And you know, keep me company. Let’s go to a cafe together,» the man suddenly suggested.
The girl joyfully nodded. She somehow no longer wanted to visit. Quite some time had already passed, and they weren’t really close friends with Larisa.
Kirill noticed that the girl liked him, and he didn’t want to end their conversation so quickly. Sophia was also attractive to him. Kirill realized that he invited her to sit in a cafe not only for information about his ex-wife. He simply enjoyed being near the girl.
That evening, the young people talked about everything for a long time. However, during the conversation, Kirill inadvertently learned details of his ex-wife’s life. By the end of the evening, the man had a clear understanding of all Larisa’s plans.
They consisted of making Kirill hate their joint living and leave, as far as the eyes could see. This was precisely why things were scattered around, noisy parties were thrown, making every day of the ex-husband in the apartment an unbearable ordeal. Larisa was waiting for Kirill’s nerves to give in, and he would leave the shared dwelling. She would remain the sole owner of the apartment purchased by her ex-husband.
Once again amazed by the cunning of his ex-wife, Kirill just smirked. He was no longer bothered by Larisa’s audacity.
Kirill decided that he would live in his apartment with Sophia, who was increasingly enchanting him. As for the ex-wife, she could leave wherever she pleased.
