Alice stood at the stove, stirring buckwheat in a pot. The same dish for the third day in a row. The fridge was empty, payday was still a week away, and the last of her money had gone to rent.
“Buckwheat again?” Yaroslav walked into the kitchen and grimaced in displeasure. “Are we completely broke now?”
Alice turned to her husband. A wave of hurt rose in her chest, but she tried to keep her composure.
“We’re out of money,” Alice replied calmly. “Yesterday I paid the last of it for the apartment.”
“And what now?” Yaroslav sat at the table, running an irritated hand through his hair. “We both work, we earn the same. Where does all the money go?”
Alice turned off the stove. Her hands trembled with outrage. She faced her husband and looked him straight in the eye.
“Are you seriously asking me that?” Alice’s voice quivered. “I’m the only one paying the rent, buying groceries. And all your salary goes to your mother and sister!”
“They’re my family!” Yaroslav jumped up. “I have an obligation to help them!”
“And what am I to you?” Alice stepped closer. “A stranger? We’ve been living together for three years, and all this time I’ve been supporting both of us!”
“No one’s forcing you!” Yaroslav snapped.
“Really?” Alice gave a bitter smile. “And no one’s forcing me to save this marriage either? Doesn’t our family matter to you?”
Yaroslav silently stood up and walked out of the kitchen. The front door slammed. Alice was left alone. Tears welled in her throat, but she held them back. She covered the pot with a lid and went to the bedroom.
A heavy silence settled over their apartment. The days became soaked with coldness and alienation.
Alice went to the dresser and took out a jewelry box. Inside were the last five thousand rubles—meant for the utility bills. Tomorrow was the deadline, otherwise the electricity would be cut off.
Alice opened the box. Empty. Her heart skipped a beat. She flipped it over, shook it. Nothing.
The bathroom door banged. Yaroslav entered the bedroom, towel-drying his hair.
“Where’s the money?” Alice turned to him. “There were five thousand in here!”
“Oh, that…” Yaroslav calmly sat down on the bed. “I took it. Mom needed medicine. Urgently.”
Alice couldn’t believe her ears. Her temples pounded.
“You took the last money?” her voice broke. “Tomorrow I have to pay utilities! They’ll cut off the lights!”
“We’ll find it somewhere,” Yaroslav shrugged indifferently. “Mom is more important. Her blood pressure’s acting up.”
“Your mother is more important?” Alice gasped in outrage. “And the fact that we’ll be left without electricity doesn’t bother you?”
“Don’t dramatize,” Yaroslav lay back on the bed. “Ask your mother for money.”
“My mother barely has enough to eat!” Alice screamed. “Do you even realize what you’ve done?”
“Stop hysterics,” Yaroslav muttered, turning to face the wall.
Alice stood in the middle of the room. Her vision darkened from resentment. She left the bedroom and sat in the kitchen. Tomorrow she had to work, but sleep was impossible.
In the morning, Alice silently got ready and left. The whole day at work passed in a haze. By lunch her phone rang. Mom.
“Alysochka,” her mother’s voice trembled. “Your father is gone.”
Alice froze. Her father had abandoned them fifteen years ago. Left for another woman and never came back.
“When?” was all Alice managed to whisper.
“Last night. His heart,” her mother sobbed. “The farewell is tomorrow. Will you come?”
Alice nodded, forgetting her mother couldn’t see.
“I’ll come, Mom.”
The next day passed in a fog. A small hall, a few people. Alice barely remembered her father. She stood next to her mother, holding her hand. There was nothing to talk about. The man who abandoned them was now gone forever.
Three weeks passed. Life slowly returned to its usual rhythm. Yaroslav never apologized about the money. Alice paid the utility bill by borrowing from a colleague.
One evening her mother called again.
“Alice, can you imagine!” her mother’s voice sounded excited. “I just got a call from the notary. Your father left you an inheritance!”
“What?” Alice couldn’t believe her ears. “What inheritance?”
“I don’t know the details,” her mother was flustered. “He said he’s expecting you tomorrow at his office. I’ll send you the address.”
Alice hung up. Her head was spinning. Her father, who had abandoned them penniless, suddenly left her an inheritance?
The next day Alice took time off work. The notary’s office was in the city center. A solid office, leather chairs.
“Alice Sergeyevna?” the elderly notary stood to greet her. “Please, sit down. I have some documents for you.”
Alice sat. Her hands trembled slightly.
“Your father made a will two years ago,” the notary opened a folder. “He left all his property to you.”
“What property?” Alice didn’t understand.
“A one-bedroom apartment in a residential district,” the notary turned a page. “And monetary assets. Five million rubles.”
Alice gripped the armrests. A ringing filled her ears.
“Five… million?” she repeated.
“Yes,” the notary nodded. “Your father worked a lot in recent years. He saved. Apparently, he wanted to make amends to you.”
Alice signed the papers automatically. She left the office on shaky legs. Five million. A fortune. And an apartment too.
That evening she told Yaroslav. At first he didn’t believe her, then hugged her.
“Wow! That’s amazing!” he exclaimed. “Now we’ll really live! Move into a proper apartment!”
The next day they went to see her father’s apartment. A typical one-bedroom in a panel building. Needed repairs, but livable.
“We’ll have to spend on renovations,” Yaroslav examined the room. “But we’ll manage. Now we have money.”
Alice nodded. It felt strange to stand in the apartment of a man she barely knew.
A week passed. They hired electricians to replace the wiring in the new apartment. Alice returned to their rented place after work. Bags of groceries in hand—no more need to scrimp.
She walked into the kitchen. Yaroslav was sitting at the table, an open catalog before him. Alice came closer. Watches. Men’s, expensive. Prices starting at a hundred thousand rubles.
“Now we’ll really live! I already figured out how we’ll spend your inheritance!” Yaroslav looked up at his wife, his eyes sparkling with anticipation.
Alice set the bags on the table. Inside she felt cold. Her hands trembled, she clenched her fists trying to calm down.
“My inheritance?” she asked. “And how exactly are you planning to spend it?”
“Well, first, a watch,” Yaroslav pointed at the catalog. “Then we’ll buy a car. And of course help Mom and my sister.”
Alice stared at her husband. He had already planned everything. Without her. As if the money had always belonged to him. Her throat tightened with hurt.
“Stop,” Alice raised her hand. “There will be no spending. The money will go toward the renovation and a safety cushion.”
“What?!” Yaroslav jumped up so sharply the chair toppled. “This is our joint money! We’re husband and wife!”
Alice stepped back. Yaroslav had never yelled so loudly before. The veins in his neck bulged, his face flushed with rage.
“Joint?” Alice scoffed, though inside she was trembling. “For three years I’ve supported our family alone! I pay the rent, buy the food! And you give all your money to your mom and sister!”
“Here you go again!” Yaroslav shouted. “Now we have money and you’re being stingy!”
Alice gripped the edge of the table. Her knees were buckling. Was this really the man she loved speaking?
“I’m not being stingy!” Alice’s voice broke. “I just won’t let you squander it! You even took five thousand for utilities without asking!”
“So what’s the big deal?!” Yaroslav stepped right up to her, looming over her. “And anyway, I’m your husband! I have the right to manage family money!”
Alice backed up against the wall. Her heart pounded so hard it felt like it would burst from her chest. Yaroslav advanced on her, waving his arms.
“Family money?” Alice’s voice trembled. “Where was your family money when we were eating buckwheat for the third day? Where was it when I had to borrow for utilities?”
“Stop rubbing it in!” Yaroslav roared, slamming his palm on the table. The catalog bounced. “Now we have money, and I’ll decide how to spend it!”
Alice straightened up. Enough fear. Enough silence. This money was her only chance for a normal life.
“You won’t!” she cut him off. “This is my inheritance! Mine alone!”
“I don’t give a damn about formalities!” Yaroslav shouted, spitting. “We’re family, so the money is shared! Period!”
Alice looked at her husband. His face was twisted with malice, his eyes burned with greed. In that moment the mask completely fell away. Before her stood a stranger, an avaricious man.
“You know what,” Alice said quietly. “If money is all that matters to you, then without it, I’m nothing to you, right?”
“Yes!” Yaroslav blurted out, then immediately caught himself. His eyes widened in horror. “I mean… that’s not what I meant…”
But it was too late. The words hung between them like a heavy weight. Alice understood everything. Tears streamed down her cheeks, but she didn’t wipe them away. Three years. Three years she loved a man to whom she was just a wallet.
“Fine,” Alice wiped her face. “Then I’ll spare you the burden.”
She went to the bedroom. Took a bag, packed her documents, laptop, phone. No clothes—everything was just a reminder of their marriage. Let it stay.
“Where are you going?” Yaroslav stood in the doorway. “Alice, wait!”
But Alice was already putting on her jacket. She left the apartment without looking back. Went down the stairs. Outside, a light rain was falling.
She took a bus to her mother’s. Her mother opened the door and immediately understood everything. She hugged her, sat her at the kitchen table, poured tea.
“Tell me everything,” her mother said gently.
Alice told her. About the money, the fight, how Yaroslav revealed his true self. Her mother listened silently, stroking her daughter’s hand.
“You did the right thing leaving,” her mother finally said. “You don’t need a man like that.”
The divorce was hard. Yaroslav tried to sue for half the inheritance. Hired a lawyer, threatened court. But inheritance isn’t divided between spouses. The court denied all his claims.
Three months later. Alice moved into her father’s renovated apartment. Light wallpaper, new furniture, cleanliness and order. She sat on the couch in the living room. Silence. Peace. No one yelling, no one demanding money, no one blaming her.
Alice looked out the window. Somewhere out there was the man who turned out to be a traitor. And here, a new life was beginning. Her very own.
