Lena suspected her husband was unfaithful. Lately he’d been acting too strangely, too distant. Only two years into the marriage, and they already felt like strangers. Her mother-in-law had warned her, said her son was fickle and that Lena should think a hundred times before deciding to marry him. Back then Lena believed she could make her husband settle down. She had been very wrong. Now she herself understood how foolish and naïve she’d been—but it was too late to cry over it. She needed proof, and if Maksim really was seeing someone on the side, she would simply file for divorce.
Her husband had been coming home late. Often Lena was already asleep, and when she woke up, he would slip off to work. But that evening she decided to stay up. She made a delicious dinner, dressed up, and decided it was time they talked. Lena turned off the light in the living room, watching the streetlights shimmer outside. Maksim assumed his wife was asleep. He tiptoed into the living room and started when he heard a familiar voice.
“Why are you sitting in the dark and scaring me like that?” Maksim snapped.
“What’s there to be afraid of if you’ve got nothing to hide?” Lena asked, slowly turning. She looked at her husband and smiled.
Maksim switched on the light; she could see he’d gone pale. They had supposedly loved each other so much, but now a chasm had opened between them—one that seemed impossible to bridge. Seeing her husband no longer filled Lena with that joyful flutter. She felt superfluous, and time after time forced her feelings to fall silent. Perhaps they had gone silent for good.
“You’re talking nonsense. I’d like to see you in my place,” Maksim snorted. “Why aren’t you asleep at this hour?”
“I was waiting for you. I made dinner. We hardly see each other anymore, so I thought we should try to fix that. You work late, and I… I don’t mind going to bed later.”
Lena kept thinking how best to approach the question gnawing at her. She watched her husband, trying to catch a flicker of fear in his eyes. Was he even a little afraid of losing her? Did it cross his mind their marriage could end?
“You shouldn’t have waited up. I’m tired—I’m in no mood to talk. You’ve already said it yourself: I’m working late, not out having fun.”
Only his voice was trembling, betraying his confusion. What did that mean? A lump of hurt rose in her throat, but Lena held firm and smiled again.
“Then let’s just have dinner together. We don’t have to talk. But if there’s something to say, it’s better not to keep quiet—so this doesn’t drag on—so we can still fix at least something before we sink for good.”
Maksim didn’t react at all, as if her words weren’t meant for him. He pretended not to hear, and Lena decided she wouldn’t push tonight. She would watch a little longer.
They ate in silence. Every so often Maksim cast her a nervous glance, then looked away and pretended not to notice her. In the morning he rushed off to work earlier than usual, as if he were avoiding Lena, afraid she would ask awkward questions. For the weekend he’d told her he planned to go fishing with friends, but Lena learned his friends weren’t going anywhere. The conclusion suggested itself. Still, she wasn’t about to cave and surrender. She waited for her husband to act—at least somehow.
That evening Maksim came home upset. He smelled faintly of alcohol. Lena was waiting, as if she knew the verdict would be delivered right then.
“I’m tired of hiding from you. I’m afraid to come back to my own apartment. And you’re no help—you’re always glaring at me like a wolf. In short, we need to split up. I made a mistake marrying you. I should’ve used my head back then, but I was infatuated, and now I see you’re not the woman I want to share my life with.”
How much those words echoed what her mother-in-law had said. Alla Vladimirovna had persistently warned Lena and asked her not to take offense later—she was the one who’d taken the risk. And now she was hearing it from her husband.
“I’ve found someone else. Pack your things and get out of my apartment. I want to live like a normal person instead of constantly looking for excuses. I think you’ve figured it all out already, since you’ve started asking the ‘right’ questions.”
Maksim coughed and lifted his eyes to his wife. Guilt flickered in them, but not strongly enough. There was a struggle going on inside him, and he was doing his best to smother his conscience.
“I figured as much, but… I’m not going anywhere,” Lena replied, crossing one leg over the other and lifting her chin.
“What’s that supposed to mean? Do you really enjoy playing the wronged wife?”
“I doubt anyone enjoys that. I’m not against a divorce—I’ve already prepared everything necessary—but you’re not going to throw me out of the apartment.”
Maksim was shocked by her audacity. He’d expected her to throw a fit, to lash out at him and sob, then pack her things and move in with her mother. Isn’t that what wronged wives do? But Lena looked at him as if she had planned everything out. She was smiling, and he couldn’t for the life of him understand why.
“And what does that mean? You plan to stay in my apartment? I want to bring the woman I love here. You don’t think she’ll like having my ex around, do you? Should I remind you this is my place? I bought it with my money, and you didn’t put in a single kopeck. I never asked you for anything, and whatever you bought for the house—you can take it, I won’t ask you to leave it.”
Lena couldn’t suppress a smirk. Maybe in another situation she wouldn’t have behaved like this, but the hurt lodged deep inside was speaking for her. She wasn’t going to let him get away with it. Not only had he found someone else, he had lied for so long—choosing which woman was “better” in his eyes. If he’d told her everything right away, she might have taken pity—but not now. Now she had a plan, and she wanted to teach him a lesson, so he wouldn’t dare act like this again, to show him that women are smart and can stand up for themselves. Lena certainly could.
“Why so quiet? What are you plotting?”
“I’ll let you figure it out yourself,” Lena said calmly. “Any thoughts yet? Or do I have to spoon-feed it to you like a child?”
She wasn’t going to grovel before the man who had betrayed her and laughed at her behind her back. She spoke to Maksim the way he deserved. She could no longer smile while looking into his eyes—and he knew it. She had been faithful, taken care of him, planned a future together. It was good she’d begun preparing for this outcome as soon as the first alarm bells rang. Good that she’d kept her distance and hadn’t gotten pregnant. Otherwise it would have been far more painful and difficult.
“You can explain it, if you think I’m too stupid to see what’s obvious.”
“Fine,” Lena stood up from the couch and went to the window. “This isn’t your apartment, dear husband. It’s marital property, because you bought it after we got married. I’m not going anywhere until we divide it according to the law.”
Maksim flushed with rage. He clenched his fists and squinted. He’d thought he’d married a simple, naïve girl, but Lena turned out to be too shrewd. Was she planning to leave him homeless after all the sweat and blood he’d put into earning this place?
“You didn’t put in a single kopeck. That’ll be easy to prove!” he protested.
Lena only smiled and nodded. She had already met with a lawyer. She’d decided to act only after getting a legal consultation. Proving she hadn’t contributed a penny would not be so easy. In most cases the judge rules in favor of splitting property acquired during marriage equally, regardless of unequal contributions to the budget. Maksim had made a big mistake buying the apartment that way. He could have done it before the marriage was registered, but for some reason he dragged his feet. And now he’d fallen into his own trap.
“Go ahead and try. I’m not stopping you. We have equal rights. You can defend your position, and I can demand what the law grants me. Until the court case is over, I’m not moving out. So hold off on moving your new sweetheart in, unless you want me to make her life so miserable she’ll run off before you even get the divorce.”
Maksim was stunned. He looked at his wife differently now. She suddenly seemed too smart, too… He hadn’t noticed before, had stopped noticing—but now she seemed even more beautiful. Why had he ever pulled away and given in to temptation? He drove the foolish thoughts from his head. He’d already decided. He was getting divorced, and Lena was too crafty. They would have to fight, but Maksim planned to defend his position to the bitter end.
Alla Vladimirovna condemned her son’s behavior. She refused to testify on his behalf and said it was all his own fault. If Maksim had listened to her and not acted recklessly, it wouldn’t have come to this.
“Lena’s a good woman. She did what she did because you hurt her too badly. You have to pay for your mistakes. If you couldn’t keep your pants on, then take responsibility. Maybe next time you’ll use your head. And if not, you’ll lose something again. You won’t just lose half an apartment. You’ll lose the woman who loved you. Finding another like her won’t be easy. Not at all—but that’s not my problem.”
Maksim’s spirits sank at the very start of the proceedings, because he realized his chances were slim. The judge ruled in Lena’s favor and ordered the apartment split.
“Got what you wanted? I suppose that’s why you married me in the first place?” Maksim asked bitterly.
Lena only gave her ex-husband a reproachful look and said nothing. She saw no point in justifying herself. He was unlikely to understand. A new chapter was beginning in her life, and she couldn’t afford to stumble again.
She moved into a rental not far from her office. She authorized her attorney to handle the sale of her share of the apartment because she no longer wanted to see her ex or listen to the nasty things he used to wound her.
Maksim fell into a depression. When his new lover learned he’d lost the apartment and for the foreseeable future could only afford a tiny studio, she bolted at once. She had no intention of tying herself to a pauper—and hadn’t planned anything serious anyway.
“I was just having fun. I never asked you to divorce,” the girl said in parting.
Maksim was left with nothing. It took him a while to grasp what his mother had meant, but now he realized he’d lost more than property… he’d lost his family through his own stupidity. Spending his evenings in languid solitude, he kept thinking… he missed Lena, but he had to admit she wouldn’t be coming back. He needed to move on and use his head from now on. But would he truly learn his lesson when the next temptation appeared on the horizon—one so hard to resist?
