Arina froze in the bedroom doorway, watching her husband, Dmitry, adjust his tie in front of the mirror.
“Dima, have you seen my sapphire earrings? The white-gold ones my mom gave me for my thirtieth.”
Dmitry kept fussing with his tie without even turning around.
“No, I have no idea where they could be. Why—are they missing?”
Arina walked over to the vanity and opened her jewelry box. Her eyebrows crept upward. There were gaping empty spaces where a silver charm bracelet, a gold chain, and a few other dear little pieces used to lie.
“That’s strange. It looks like it’s not just the earrings that are gone,” Arina’s voice wavered.
Dmitry finally turned and glanced carelessly at the open box.
“Maybe you moved them yourself somewhere? Or wore them and forgot where you left them?” His tone sounded far too indifferent, even for a husband who was always rushing off to work.
“Maybe,” Arina nodded, closing the box. But inside, everything clenched. Jewelry doesn’t just vanish.
Dmitry pecked her on the cheek.
“I’ve got to go—I’m late. We’ll look for them together tonight, okay?”
Arina nodded mechanically, but of course they didn’t look together. Dmitry came home late and went straight to bed, mumbling something about a hard day.
Over the next few weeks Arina simply watched. She didn’t make a scene or demand explanations. After all, she had no proof. But her eyes saw what they saw.
At a family dinner at her mother-in-law’s, Arina noticed a new watch on the wrist of Kirill, her husband’s brother. Expensive, with a large dial and a leather strap. Kirill had never been known for a work ethic or any particular luck with money.
“Nice watch,” Arina remarked casually when she and Kirill were alone in the kitchen. “New?”
“Oh, this?” Kirill lifted his hand to show them off and smiled. “Yeah, got them recently.”
“Been wanting a pair like that for a while? They don’t look cheap.”
Kirill shrugged.
“Got lucky with some investments. Put my money into one thing at the right time.”
“What thing, if it’s not a secret?” Arina tried to keep her voice sounding normal, just a curious relative.
“Uh… cryptocurrency,” Kirill clearly faltered. “Bitcoin, you know, that thing.”
“Ah, bitcoins,” Arina drew out. “Interesting. Dima was talking about them recently too.”
“Yeah, yeah, we decided to try it together,” Kirill added a little too quickly.
A month later, Kirill showed up at his mother’s birthday with a brand-new top-of-the-line smartphone, and a week after that he boasted that he’d put down the first payment on a car. And all of this on the salary of a mid-level manager at a company that, as Arina knew, wasn’t doing so well.
Her suspicions grew stronger by the day. And when she noticed that her grandmother’s brooch was missing from the house, something boiled over inside her.
That evening, when Dmitry came home, Arina met him as usual—with dinner and a smile. Only her eyes were colder than ice. A plan had already started to take shape in her head. It was foolish of him and his brother to think she would quietly accept being robbed.
Arina’s plan for revenge grew sharper in her mind. Clear, well thought-out, without unnecessary emotion—that was how she was used to solving problems. A husband’s and his brother’s betrayal deserved a fitting response.
A week later, Arina’s mother-in-law, Svetlana Andreyevna, announced a family dinner to celebrate her wedding anniversary.
“Dima, please let your mom know I might be late at work,” Arina said over breakfast, stirring her coffee. “We’re filing the quarterly report—you know how nerve-wracking that is.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t go then?” a note of hope flashed in Dmitry’s voice. “Mom will understand.”
“No, no, I’ll definitely come,” Arina smiled. “I’ll just be a little late.”
Dmitry nodded, avoiding his wife’s eyes. Lately he’d been trying to cross paths with her as little as possible, as if afraid of the conversation that could happen any minute.
That evening Arina arrived at her mother-in-law’s house exactly thirty minutes after the appointed time. She had deliberately done a new hairstyle to emphasize the grace of her neck and put on brighter makeup than usual. But the main thing, of course, was the jewelry—the very “missing” sapphire earrings, the brooch, the necklace, and the bracelet. All the things that had so strangely disappeared from her box.
She rang the doorbell and drew a deep breath. Dmitry opened the door.
“Sorry I’m late,” Arina said, stepping into the hall.
Taking off her coat, she turned to her husband. Dmitry froze, his gaze instantly glued to the sapphires glittering in his wife’s ears, then sliding to the necklace and bracelet.
“Did something happen?” Arina asked innocently. “You’re looking at me so strangely.”
“N-no, everything’s fine,” Dmitry muttered, his face taking on a grayish tint. “It’s just… you look very beautiful today.”
“Oh, thank you,” Arina smiled. “Shall we join the others?”
In the living room, Svetlana Andreyevna, Kirill with his wife Nadezhda, and a couple of old family friends were already gathered around a festively laid table.
“Arina, dear, we were getting worried,” her mother-in-law greeted her.
“Work, Svetlana Andreyevna, you understand,” Arina replied, kissing her on the cheek.
When Kirill saw her, he froze with his fork in midair. His eyes widened as he took in the jewelry on his sister-in-law. Arina caught his look and smiled slightly. Red patches bloomed on Kirill’s cheeks.
“What’s wrong with you, Kirill?” Nadezhda asked, noticing her husband’s odd state.
“Nothing, I just remembered I forgot to send an important document,” he muttered.
All evening the brothers acted like they were sitting on pins and needles. Dmitry kept shooting nervous glances at his wife, and Kirill tried not to look in her direction at all. Arina, meanwhile, sparkled—telling funny stories from work, laughing at the friends’ jokes, as if nothing were happening.
When Svetlana Andreyevna brought out dessert—homemade blackberry cake—Arina set down her fork and said loudly:
“Can you imagine the amazing thing that happened to me the other day!”
Everyone turned to her. Dmitry tensed.
“I found the jewelry that went missing from my box,” Arina continued, running her fingers over the sapphire necklace. “And I found it in a pawnshop!”
The silence around the table became palpable. Kirill turned pale, and Dmitry froze with his glass in hand.
“In a pawnshop?” repeated Svetlana Andreyevna. “How on earth did it end up there?”
“That’s what I’m wondering—how?” Arina smirked, looking straight at her husband. “Someone took my things out of our apartment and pawned them. Can you imagine the nerve? They didn’t even spare my grandmother’s brooch, the last keepsake.”
“Maybe you gave them to someone yourself… or forgot?” Nadezhda ventured cautiously.
“No, Nadya, I didn’t forget,” Arina shook her head. “But you know what’s most interesting? The owner of the pawnshop remembered who brought the items in. You can imagine my surprise when it turned out to be my own husband and his brother.”
Dmitry grew even paler and set his glass down.
“Arina, I can explain…”
“Of course you can,” Arina cut him off. “It’s just that it’s unlikely to change anything. And you don’t owe an explanation only to me.”
She turned to her mother-in-law.
“Svetlana Andreyevna, I want to tell you that your sons started a little business behind my back. Dmitry took my things from the house, and Kirill sold them or pawned them. Judging by Kirill’s new watch and phone, business was going well.”
“That’s not true!” Kirill cried out.
“Dima, is this true?” Svetlana Andreyevna asked in a trembling voice.
Dmitry lowered his eyes.
“We were going to return everything… We just needed money to develop a business,” he mumbled.
“What business?” exclaimed Svetlana Andreyevna.
“None,” Arina interjected. “There is no business. There are only two grown men who decided to rob a wife and a sister-in-law.”
“Arina, let’s talk at home…” Dmitry pleaded.
“Oh no, Dmitry,” Arina straightened. “We won’t be talking at home anymore. Because I’m filing for divorce.”
“What?!” Dmitry jumped to his feet.
“Sit,” Arina’s voice was calm and cold as ice. “I’m not finished. Since the apartment we live in belongs to me, you’ll need to pack your things and leave. And preferably do it quickly.”
“Arina, you can’t…” Dmitry began.
“I can,” she snapped. “And one more thing, Svetlana Andreyevna,” Arina turned to her mother-in-law, “I should remind you that the apartment where you and Kirill and Nadya live is also mine. You do remember that I let you live there for free?”
Her mother-in-law gave a weak nod.
“And you’ll have to move out as well,” Arina finished.
“Where are we supposed to go?” whispered Svetlana Andreyevna.
“That’s no longer my concern,” Arina shrugged. “Maybe Kirill will offer to put you up on the money from selling my jewelry.”
“Arina, please,” Dmitry tried to take her hand, but she pulled away.
“I’m giving you a week to pack,” she said. “Then I’ll change the locks.”
“You can’t do this to us!” Kirill protested. “We’re your family!”
“Were,” Arina cut him off. “Family doesn’t steal from each other.”
She rose from the table and headed for the entryway. Dmitry rushed after her.
“Arina, forgive me, it was stupid! I swear we’ll return everything!”
“Too late, Dmitry,” Arina put on her coat. “You shouldn’t have cut the branch you were sitting on. Now reap the fruits of your labor.”
She opened the door and looked back one last time:
“By the way, I bought all the jewelry back from the pawnshop. And you know what? It’s worth much more than what they gave you. Even in that you showed no foresight.”
Arina didn’t wait for an answer. Stepping out into the evening air, she inhaled deeply. Inside she felt empty, but calm. No regrets—only a clear understanding that this was right. Some things simply cannot be forgiven.
A week later, just as she’d promised, Arina changed the locks on both apartments. Dmitry called a few more times, but she didn’t answer. Her mother-in-law sent a long message full of apologies and pleas, but Arina left that unanswered too.
Sometimes decisive action is the only way to start life over. Without betrayal and lies. Arina knew she’d made the right choice.
