Marina stood in the doorway, greeting her parents with the same friendly face as always. Only the bright bruise under her eye betrayed what she so desperately didn’t want to talk about.
“Mom, it’s okay, don’t pay attention,” she said quickly, noticing her mother’s attentive gaze.
Elena Igorevna sighed heavily.
“It’s your business, daughter. You have to live with it…”
Her father didn’t even greet his son-in-law. Silently, he went to the window and stared into nowhere, as if he hadn’t heard Marina mumbling something about a wardrobe and darkness:
“I just… yesterday night I was walking, accidentally bumped into something. Come on, Mom, Egor and I are fine!”
Fine? Marina herself clearly remembered what happened yesterday. Egor, already always on edge, didn’t just yell at her. When she dared to say she was tired of it all, he grabbed her robe collar so hard it almost ripped at the seams.
“Are you some kind of bastard who doesn’t remember who you owe your life to and that you don’t have to think about anything?!” he yelled, shaking her. “Forgot how I brought you home from bars when you ran off to that Denis? Forgot who loved you, you fool? I used to carry you in my arms!”
Then — a sharp blow. Manly, as if to teach her a lesson. Stars flashed in her eyes, followed by pain… And Egor kept shouting curses.
“Yes, daughter, I understand. The wardrobe… darkness,” her mother muttered, though she knew perfectly well what had happened.
And she felt guilty. It was she who forced Marina to marry Egor! She was the one who drove Denis away from her daughter, thinking he was a bad influence.
“And judging by the bruise, daughter, your wardrobe seems to have fists,” Elena Igorevna said pointedly, glancing at her son-in-law.
Ivan Mikhailovich never turned from the window. He went out to the balcony to smoke. Unlike his wife, he never supported Egor. He seemed slippery to him. Proud and cloying. Yes, from a wealthy family, with an apartment, a car, connections, and prospects. But rotten inside.
And now that rot showed itself — the bruise under his daughter’s eye.
Of course, Ivan Mikhailovich could have grabbed his son-in-law by the collar and punched him hard. But that would only lead to a scandal. And he didn’t want that. He barely restrained himself… Hence he went out to the balcony.
He knew he would solve this problem differently. And he already knew how.
He talked on the phone for a long time on that balcony…
Meanwhile, Marina served her mother coffee, and they chatted about nothing. After half an hour, her parents left.
Egor, who expected reproaches and a scandal, finally relaxed. He plopped down on the sofa, opened a beer, and even smirked. To him, the parents’ silence meant consent. Like, family is family, and bruises are part of life. No one steps on the heel. Right!
“See, Marinka, I told you — everything will settle down!” he said smugly. “Your parents are normal, sensible people. Not like you… Yesterday you attacked me with accusations! So what if I went out and drank? What’s wrong with that?”
He took a sip of beer and reached for some chips.
His happiness didn’t last long.
Less than half an hour later, someone knocked on the door. Not rang — knocked. Hard and decisively. That confident knocking made Egor put down the can and tense up.
He went to the door, looked through the peephole… and turned pale.
Denis was standing on the threshold. His rival. Marina’s ex. The very one who once almost made her his wife but lost the chance. Handsome, tall, confident. In an expensive coat and with that very expression on his face that makes women sigh and men want to punch him.
“What do you want?” Egor barked, opening the door just enough to show irritation but not let him in.
“Step aside,” Denis said calmly and simply pushed Egor aside with his shoulder.
Egor staggered back like a rag doll.
Marina got up from the couch, her eyes wide.
“Denis…”
“Come on, come on, get ready,” he said shortly. “If you want — we’ll go to my place. If you want — to your parents’. But why do you need that bankrupt?”
“Who did you call bankrupt, scum?!” Egor exploded, but he remained stuck in the corner as if glued there.
He had his reasons to fear Denis.
“I called you, Egorushka. You,” Denis smiled calmly. “I didn’t want to interfere, didn’t meddle in your life. But when Marina’s father — by the way, a decent guy — called me and said you hit her… I just took your club.”
“What… what are you talking about?!” Egor croaked.
“Well, not exactly took it,” Denis smiled again. “Just the place you rent for your club belongs to my friend. A very good friend. In short, you will receive a notice of non-renewal of the lease. Got it? It’s already been delivered to your office.”
Egor collapsed as if cut down.
“Plus, we recalculated your rent debts for six months. Remember, you were told: rent could increase when the club becomes profitable? Well, it went up six months ago. And the notice has been in your drawer for a long time — you just didn’t read it. Misha and I kept quiet, waiting for the debt to grow. Plus penalties, interest… You understand me? Now you officially owe a big, unpleasant sum. Want me to say the amount?”
Denis leaned toward Egor:
“And I know you don’t have money to pay this debt. Should have drunk less with your whores.”
Egor slumped into the chair, like a squeezed lemon.
“This is… a setup!” he muttered, eyes wide. “You… you planted those papers!”
“Think what you want,” Denis shrugged. “You can even sue. But your lawyer, it seems, quit. Or you fired him? Who’s going to defend you now — your bartender with the nose piercing?”
Egor wanted to say something but only opened his mouth.
“Marina, let’s go. Don’t bother with your things. Everything you need, I’ll buy. And what you have here… you don’t deserve it. All sorts of rags from the market.”
“Denis, wait,” Marina said confusedly. “This all happened… so fast. I don’t understand…”
“Fast is when you get hit in the eye and still justify the one who hit you. Everything else is too slow.”
Denis held out his hand, and she took it.
“Are you guys out of your minds?!” Egor yelled. “This is my home! My wife!”
“Wife?” Denis repeated. “So you’re her husband who beats her, then hides behind a beer can and the TV? You’re not even a man, Egor. You’re a puff. Loud, momentary… nothing. You can’t even punch me in the face.”
“But I… I…” Egor stammered.
“What? What?” Denis squinted. “Maybe you’ll go to court? Tell them about the bruise from the ‘wardrobe’? Or how your club failed because you drank instead of working, hoping for your daddy’s connections?”
Marina walked after Denis without looking back. Only at the door did she stop for a moment:
“Sorry, Egor. And goodbye.”
“Go to hell!” he yelled. “Yeah… sure, go to hell…”
And they left.
Two days passed. Egor sat in an empty apartment. The club was closed. The lease refusal papers were on the table, along with the debt notice.
Denis turned out to be not just an ex but an ex with character and means. He just waited for the right moment to strike. And hit hard, painfully, and unerringly.
Meanwhile, Marina’s parents’ house was quiet. Her mother was cooking something in the kitchen, her father was flipping through a newspaper.
Then Marina entered the room.
“Hi,” she said.
“Where have you been, daughter? Did Egor look for you?” her father asked sternly.
“I… was with Denis.”
“So you left Egor?”
“Yes. I left.”
Her mother threw up her hands, and her father just nodded in agreement:
“That’s right! Right, daughter. And you know,” he said with a smile, “if that one ever comes near you again, I’ll break all his teeth.”
“Dad… did you call Denis?” Marina asked.
“Yes, I did. Who else?” her father winked. “He’s a decent guy. And a businessman — unlike that one.”
“That’s good! Good that you left that jerk!” her mother finished. “Forgive me, Marina, for almost ruining your life. Thank God you don’t have children from Egor…”
“Oh, Mom, you’ve got a sharp tongue!” her father chuckled. “But the main thing is she understood she was wrong.”
Meanwhile, Denis stood by the gate, leaning against his black SUV. He was smiling… smiling and knowing. Just certain that no one would ever hit Marina again.
Well, except with love and pleasant surprises. But that’s a completely different story…
