My aunt repeatedly warned: «Be careful with her.» I shrugged it off at the time, but now, when it comes to property issues, I realized that family ties are severed without the slightest regret.
Igor only managed to call late in the evening: «What were these talks between you and mom?» — «What did she manage to tell you?» I asked, preempting the version of events.
«She’s in tears!» His voice was steeped in anger. «Claims that you insulted her! Publicly humiliated her! After everything she’s done for us…»
«For us?» My voice broke, a lump rising in my throat. «Have you ever thought about what she has actually done for us? Besides trying to take the apartment away?»
«I forbid you to talk about mother like that!» Igor’s voice had a steel edge.
«And how should I then talk? When she looks for housing options behind my back? When she decides for us where to move?»
«She cares about the family! About us! And you…»
«What about me?»
«You only think about yourself!» he blurted out angrily. «Mom’s right — you’re selfish!»
I hung up the call. Just pressed the button, and silence fell over me like a blanket. I sat in a nearly empty cafe, staring out the window. The drizzling rain washed away the last colors of the day, people hurried about their business. And I had nowhere to go. Return to the rented room, where an angry Igor awaited? Or to my aunt’s apartment, where every corner reminded me of betrayal?
My legs carried me along a familiar path. Past the bakery, where it always smelled of fresh bread, through the square, where I spent weekends with my aunt. There it was, the house. Warm lights glowed in the windows — strange, since I had turned off all the lamps before leaving…
Deciding to check what was happening, I took out my keys. But they didn’t fit in the lock. The lock was different. Completely foreign.
From behind the door, I could hear children’s voices and the noise of moving furniture. I froze, feeling a chill spread through my body. Dishes clattered, and someone whined, «Mom, when are we going to the circus?»
Tolik. His three children. They were already here. In my aunt’s apartment.
Everything inside felt torn apart. The room where I spent hours doing homework. The kitchen where my aunt learned to bake pies. The old chair where she liked to rest after work… Now all this was foreign.
My phone vibrated in my pocket. My mother-in-law was calling.
«Lenochka,» her voice sounded almost affectionate, «see? I warned you — you’d regret it. You chose your path, now we’ll do it my way.»
«How…» My tongue wouldn’t obey. «How did you…»
«Very simple!» she suddenly yelled. «Thought you were the smartest? Gathering documents? We’ve already sorted everything out! Tolik sold his house in the village, he has nowhere to go. You wouldn’t throw out his wife and three children, would you?»
The sound of a door slamming echoed in the stairwell. Heavy footsteps ascended the stairs.
«Are you there?» Hysteria crept into my mother-in-law’s voice. «Sitting outside the door? I advise against making a scene — Tolik is a harsh man. Go home to your husband. One room is enough for you young ones now…»
I took out an old photo of my aunt — the one from the passageway. She was smiling, young, beautiful. Her lips seemed to move: «Be careful with her…»
Footsteps approached. Second floor. Third.
I jumped up and dashed down the stairs, not watching my step. From behind, a voice carried:
«Hey, where are you going?! What are you doing here?!»
But I had already burst into the yard, into the cold rain. I ran until my strength left me, just to get away from this house, from the foreign voices behind the door, from my aunt’s smile in the old photograph. In my mind, fragments spun: «Tolik sold the house… Nowhere to go… Can’t throw the children out onto the street…»
My phone vibrated again. It was Igor.
His photo appeared on the screen — a picture taken last summer at his aunt’s dacha. Back then, everything seemed simple and clear. We were a family. But now? Now I felt treacherously abandoned, as if I had been pushed out of the familiar world.
They had calculated everything. While I believed in justice and gathered documents, they acted. And there was nothing I could say: a sold house, three children, a pregnant wife… How could I deny people who had nowhere to live?
At the bus stop, darkness and emptiness reigned. I sat down on the cold bench, took out my phone. Notifications flashed: ten missed calls from Igor, three from my mother-in-law. And one message: «Lena, pick up the phone. We need to talk.»
Talk? About what? About how his mother cleverly pulled off a scam with the apartment? Or about how I am selfish, unwilling to share?
I took out a folder from my bag. Copies were collected, all that remained was to file a statement.
Tomorrow. Decisions can be taken tomorrow. But for now…
The phone rang again. This time I answered:
«Yes?»
«God, Lena!» Igor’s voice trembled. «Where are you? I’ve called the whole city, all the friends I could think of!»
«Ask your mother,» my voice echoed as if it were someone else’s. «Maybe she’ll explain what she’s done.»
«What she’s done? Lena, I’m completely confused! Mom’s crying, and you’ve disappeared…»
«Go to Gvardiyskaya,» I said, struggling to hold back tears. «To your aunt’s apartment. Just be aware — your uncle Tolik with the kids are living there now.»
Silence filled the line, accompanied by rustling and sighs.
«What… what do you mean they’re living there?» he finally managed to say.
«That’s what it means. New locks, their things. The kids are already asking when they’ll go to the circus. And this is apparently just the beginning of the show…»
«It can’t be…»
«It can,» my voice shook, and I felt hot tears rolling down my cheeks. «She can do anything. Sold the house specifically to create a facade of desperation. Made up a pregnant wife so I couldn’t throw the children out on the street.»
The rain intensified, drumming on the bus stop roof. The lamplight spread across the glass in gray streams.
«Lena,» Igor’s voice became softer, almost a whisper. «Where are you now?»
«What difference does it make?» Bitterness constricted my throat. «I no longer have a home. Not my aunt’s, not ours.»
«What do you mean ‘ours’?»
«That’s what I mean,» the words burst out involuntarily. «Or do you think I can stay with a man whose mother took the last link to my aunt?»
Thunder rumbled nearby, causing me to flinch.
«Wait,» Igor spoke slowly, as if through great effort. «Where are you? I’ll come.»
«Why? To repeat how selfish I am? Or explain that mom did everything for the good of the family?»
«I knew nothing,» his voice broke. «I swear, I was completely unaware.»
«And what do you really know about your mother?» the question burst out on its own. «About how she ingratiated herself with my aunt for weeks? How she planned every step while I was busy with my own matters?»
A loud thump sounded through the line — it seemed Igor had hit the table with his fist.
«I’m going there. To Gvardiyskaya.»
«Don’t bother,» I exhaled. «You can’t fix anything now. Just… just leave me alone at least for today.»
«How can you say that?» his voice trembled. «Now? Alone?»
«Afraid I’ll take your rented room too?» A bitter smile twisted my face. «Don’t worry, I won’t show up there.»
«Stop…» his voice sounded bewildered. «Just tell me where you are. I’ll sort everything out.»
«Sort it out?» I snorted. «How exactly? Will you ask mom nicely to return the keys? Or try to persuade uncle Tolik to move out?»
«I know!» his voice was tense, almost a shout. «I know about the children, about the house… About everything!»
«You know?» I asked, and suddenly it struck me like a revelation. «So you knew? All this time you knew what they were planning?»
Silence on the other end spoke more eloquently than any words.
«So that’s it,» I said, feeling my lips go numb from betrayal. «Is that why you kept silent? Just waiting for them to sell the house?»
«Lena, it’s not like that…» he tried to justify.
«How then, Igor? How exactly?» my voice trembled. «Why did a husband, who swore to love and protect, allow his mother to just take and…»
My voice stuck in my throat, tears welling up.
«I didn’t know they’d change the locks!» he exclaimed, now pleading. «Thought they’d just apply a little pressure… You’d agree to a swap…»
«Pressure?» I didn’t recognize my own tone. «Is that what you call ‘a little pressure’?»
«Listen,» I said, wiping away tears, «tell your mother to prepare for court. And you’ll get served too — as a witness.»
«Lena…» he tried to object.
«And yes, you can stop looking for me,» I continued coldly. «I’m filing for divorce.»
I hung up and turned off the phone. In my bag lay a folder with apartment documents. Now it was clear: tomorrow the first thing to do was go to the lawyer. And then…
For the first time this crazy evening, I felt certain about how to move forward. Aunt would have approved of me. She always repeated: «Justice doesn’t come by itself — you have to fight for it.»
Closer to midnight, I called a friend:
«Marin, can I stay over at your place?»
She didn’t even ask any questions:
«Come over.»
In her kitchen, the calming aroma of chamomile tea filled the air. Marina silently placed a cup in front of me, pulled out a blanket:
«Want to talk?»
And I told her everything — from the first hint from my mother-in-law to today’s shock. About the locks, the children’s voices behind the door, my husband’s betrayal.
«Igor knew,» my voice still trembled. «He knew absolutely everything and kept silent. Waited while they sold the house so I’d have no choice.»
Marina thoughtfully stirred her tea:
«And the documents? You were almost done with the paperwork?»
«Almost,» I replied, pulling the folder from my bag. «Just needed to file the statement. But they knew the process would take time. If there were already children and a pregnant wife living there…»
«And now what?»
«To the lawyer,» I decided, taking a sip of cooled tea. «I’ll sue.»
«Your husband too?»
I nodded, unable to find the strength to speak. A lump formed in my throat.
«You know,» Marina began, moving closer, «maybe it’s for the best that everything came out this way?»
«What do you mean?»
«Imagine if you lived in that apartment. Daily visits from your mother-in-law, endless talks about her son… How long could you have endured that?»
I recalled the last two weeks of silence, during which my mother-in-law apparently waited, planning her move. My husband, pretending nothing was happening, though he knew everything in advance…
«My God,» I groaned, covering my face with my hands, «how could I have been so naive! Aunt warned me. And I always justified her: ‘She’s a good person, just had a tough life…’»
«Everyone has a tough life,» Marina noted, refilling my cup with fresh tea. «But not everyone solves their problems at the expense of others.»
«The worst part,» I admitted, looking at my friend, «is that I truly believed. Believed we were a family. That all those ‘mom’, ‘sweetheart’ were sincere.»
The phone vibrated again on the table. It was Igor.
«I won’t answer,» I turned to the window. «There’s nothing more to discuss.»
«And you’re right to do so,» Marina approved, handing me a small plate of cookies. «Tomorrow you’ll deal with all issues through the lawyer. And now — sleep. Tomorrow will be a tough day.»
The morning started with an unexpected call. The caller ID showed the name of Aunt Vera’s neighbor — Grandma Nyura:
«Lenochka, sweetheart, could you come over? Something’s happening here…»
I clenched the phone:
«What’s going on?»
«A truck has pulled up. They’re moving out all your furniture. I can see from the window — already half the apartment is gone. And she…» Grandma Nyura lowered her voice, «your mother-in-law is standing there, giving orders. Acting like the owner.»
My hands trembled treacherously:
«Have they completely lost their minds?»
«Don’t even say,» the neighbor sighed. «I wonder how Vera would have reacted… She lived here her whole life, loved every item…»
«I’m on my way.»
Marina, who was already getting ready for work, decisively grabbed her coat:
«I’m coming with you.»
«But you have an important meeting,» I reminded her.
«I’ll reschedule,» she replied, already dialing a number. «And I’ll call a lawyer I know. Have him join us.»
We drove in silence. Words were superfluous — they methodically destroyed everything that linked this apartment to its previous owners. To my aunt. To me.
At the entrance, a truck indeed stood. Two men carefully carried out my aunt’s old cabinet — the one where family photos were stored behind glass.
«Careful!» Nina Petrovna commanded. «All this goes to the country house. Tolik, are you keeping track of the list?»
I stepped forward:
«May I know what’s happening here?»
My mother-in-law turned around. Fear flickered on her face, but she quickly composed herself:
«Ah, you came! Wanted to take your trophies? Don’t worry, we’ll move everything out ourselves.»
«These aren’t my belongings,» my voice trembled. «These are my aunt’s things. In her apartment.»
«They were your aunt’s,» she sneered. «Now Tolik and his family live here. Old stuff just takes up space.»
«What right…» I began, but was interrupted.
«The right we have!» she suddenly raised her voice. «Thought you were smarter than everyone? We’ve already settled in here! And we’re staying!»
«But you didn’t account for one thing,» a calm male voice interrupted. It was Marina’s lawyer friend, appearing with a folder of documents. «You’re facing a lawsuit under Article 330 of the Criminal Code — willful misconduct.»
Nina Petrovna paled so much that the blue veins on her cheeks became visible:
«Who is this?»
«The representative of the lawful owner of the apartment,» he took out his phone. «I’m calling the police now. We’ll record the illegal entry into the dwelling and damage to property.»
Her confidence instantly evaporated. Hands that had confidently directed the movers now visibly shook.
«Police? On me?» her voice trembled.
It seemed the masks were dropped. My mother-in-law was ready to do anything to get the apartment. But now she faced a choice: continue illegal actions or try to find another way out of the situation. It remained to be hoped that the laws would prove stronger than her ambitions.
