“Let’s get divorced. But keep in mind, the apartment and the appliances stay with me!” her husband declared brazenly
Natalya was sitting in the kitchen, enjoying her morning coffee. Outside the window, the sun was shining brightly, birds were singing, and a blissful silence reigned in the apartment.
The woman smiled, remembering how long she had dreamed of such peaceful moments.
Unexpectedly, Stanislav appeared in the doorway. There was a strange determination on his face, and something anxious had frozen in his eyes.
“Natalya,” her husband sat down across from her, picked up a teaspoon, and began turning it aimlessly in his fingers. “Let’s talk.”
His wife froze. An unpleasant thought flashed through her mind: when a husband starts a conversation with words like that, nothing good can be expected.
“I’m listening,” Natalya carefully set down her cup, trying not to reveal the trembling in her hands. “What happened?”
The man nervously rubbed the bridge of his nose. That was another warning sign. He only did that in difficult moments, when he didn’t know what to do.
“You see…” her husband turned toward the window, as if hoping to find the right words there. “I’ve been thinking a lot about our life. About how everything has turned out…”
“And what have you decided?” his wife felt her own voice sounding unusually dull.
“I’ve come to the conclusion that we need to get divorced!”
The woman stared at Stanislav in complete astonishment. She could barely process what was happening.
“Is this some kind of joke?” the wife tried to smile, but her lips would not obey her.
“What jokes, Natasha?” her husband waved his hand with poorly hidden irritation. “Look at us! We turned into random fellow travelers long ago. We sleep in the same bed, but there’s a wall of indifference between us.”
Natalya slowly stood up from the table. Her legs felt impossibly heavy, but sitting still was more than she could bear. She went to the window and thoughtfully ran her hand over the cool glass.
“Stas…” she tried to speak calmly, though inside everything was trembling with helplessness. “Let’s be honest. No fellow travelers, no neighbors. Tell me the real reason for your decision. Or did you just wake up thinking, ‘Maybe I should get divorced?’”
The man lowered his head, mechanically twisting his wedding ring on his finger. He had never done that before.
“There is…” Stanislav’s voice became quieter. “There is another woman.”
“So that’s it,” his wife closed her eyes. Everything fell into place.
“I see…” Natalya turned and looked carefully at her husband. “And what are your plans now?”
“I’m moving out today. Temporarily. The apartment, naturally, stays with me. But I’ll give you time to look for a new place.”
Natalya suddenly felt her knees buckle. She grabbed the windowsill tightly so she would not fall.
“Excuse me, what?” the woman’s voice trembled.
“What’s wrong with that?” her husband shrugged with feigned indifference. “It’s all logical. For the last few years, I’ve been the main earner. I pay the mortgage. Besides, I’m the man, the head of the family.”
“And where do you suggest I go? Into the street?”
“Come on, Natasha,” Stanislav grimaced in displeasure. “Don’t exaggerate. You’ll rent a studio apartment. You don’t need much space alone.”
“And the belongings?” his wife interrupted him. “The appliances? The expensive coffee machine we were given for our wedding anniversary?”
“Those are useful things. I’ll need them. Victoria doesn’t have much in the way of appliances at her place…”
Natalya opened her eyes wide in astonishment.
“So her name is Victoria… And she needs the appliances…”
“You’ll need them…” the woman repeated like an echo, looking at the coffee machine tied to so many memories. “And I don’t need anything, then?”
“Why would you?” Stanislav spread his hands with sincere bewilderment. “You’re alone now. What do you need a huge TV for? Or an eight-kilogram washing machine?”
Natalya could hardly believe her husband was saying all this nonsense seriously.
“You know what…” she said, feeling anger boiling inside her. “Go to your Victoria. Right now. And as for the apartment and the belongings, we’ll see about that.”
“Natalya, you’re making me laugh,” her husband smirked. “On what grounds are we going to ‘see’? I’ve been the main breadwinner for the past five years. The mortgage is on me…”
Natalya turned sharply and looked at him threateningly. Her hands clenched into fists on their own, and a dangerous gleam appeared in her eyes.
“And what, in your opinion, was I doing all these years, lying on the stove?” her voice broke into a shout. “Who carried the family for seven years while you were ‘finding yourself’? Who bought all the furniture? Who paid for the renovation? And do you remember my father’s inheritance? Half the appliances were bought with that money!”
Stanislav’s face changed. Noticeable anxiety flashed in his eyes. He had clearly forgotten about the inheritance.
“Natalya, let’s not get emotional. We’re not enemies. We’ll find common ground. We’ll part like civilized people.”
“We will find it…” the woman narrowed her eyes slyly. “We definitely will. And now leave!”
Stanislav shook his head in disappointment and silently went to pack his things.
On Monday, while returning from work, Natalya noticed a truck parked by the entrance.
Her heart involuntarily sank. Her intuition told her that this vehicle did not mean anything good.
When she reached her floor, the woman saw the door standing wide open. Stanislav and some burly-looking mover were carrying out her favorite TV.
“What is going on here?!” Natalya’s outraged shout echoed across the stairwell.
Her husband turned around. His face turned crimson, and his eyes showed a mixture of guilt and stubbornness.
“Natalya…” he mumbled. “I’m taking my things. You’re staying in the apartment for now, and we need the appliances.”
The mover shifted from foot to foot, clearly feeling out of place. He was uncomfortable being in the middle of a family drama.
“Sir,” Natalya tried to speak as calmly as possible. “Please put the TV back where it was.”
Entering the room, the wife froze. A depressing picture opened before her eyes: her beloved coffee machine had been packed in a box, the microwave was wrapped in plastic, and the computer had disappeared from the desk.
“Seriously?” the wife could not hold back. “You even took my computer?”
“What’s wrong with that?” Stanislav snapped. “It was bought with my money!”
“If you want to divide property, file for divorce first!” the woman said sharply. “And while you’re here on shaky ground, you won’t take anything out of this apartment! That is my final word!”
The man sighed heavily.
“Natalya… Why complicate things? We could have settled everything peacefully…”
“Peacefully? How? You take everything down to the last item, and I stay behind with empty walls?”
“Well, not completely empty…” her husband raised his guilty eyes to her. “I would have left something…”
“And what exactly?” the woman asked him bluntly. “A ladle and a spoon?”
Stanislav was silent, nervously tapping his fingers on his knees.
“Exactly…” Natalya nodded. “You don’t even know yourself. Now get out and go to your Victoria. And don’t set foot here again without my permission.”
“This is my apartment too!” her husband shouted desperately.
“It was yours! Now let the court decide what belongs to whom.”
The next morning, the first thing Natalya did was contact a lawyer.
Elena Viktorovna agreed to see her that same day during her lunch break. The woman turned out to be an impressive lady of about fifty, with a penetrating gaze and a warm smile.
“So…” the lawyer settled behind a massive mahogany desk. “Let’s analyze your situation. From the very beginning and in every detail.”
Natalya told her story in detail: her husband’s sudden decision to divorce, his attempt to remove the property, the story of her father’s inheritance, and all the nuances of buying the appliances and furniture.
Elena Viktorovna listened attentively, periodically making notes in her notebook. Afterward, she immersed herself in studying the documents Natalya had brought.
“Excellent…” the specialist nodded with satisfaction as she reviewed the papers. “We really do have a strong position. In your case, there are several key points that will work in our favor.”
The woman paused and added:
“But I want to warn you right away. Prepare yourself for a long process. At least five or six months.”
Natalya nodded confidently. Time did not frighten her. She was ready to wait as long as necessary to achieve justice.
A week later, Stanislav received an official notice from the court.
That evening, he called his wife. His voice carried undisguised panic and confusion, as if he had not believed until the last moment that she would dare take such a step.
“Natalya! What are you doing? What court? Why all this red tape with lawyers and lawsuits? Let’s settle everything peacefully, like normal people!”
“And how exactly?” irony sounded in her voice. “Maybe you’ll leave me the apartment?”
“Well…” the man hesitated, clearly not expecting such a direct question. “We can discuss some parts… find a compromise…”
“Half.”
“Are you out of your mind?! What half?! I’ve been dragging that mortgage all these years! Forty thousand every month!”
“And who made the initial down payment of one and a half million?” Natalya calmly parried. “Who bought the furniture on installment? Whose money paid for the renovation? Or did your memory vanish when you met your new passion?”
Silence hung on the line, broken only by the man’s heavy breathing. The woman imagined him pacing around the room, trying to find a worthy answer.
“Stas…” his wife continued in an even tone. “You thought everything would be simple. That you could take the things and run off to your girl. But it didn’t work. Now we’ll act through the court. And believe me, I’ll have plenty to tell and show.”
“You… You’ve become completely different… Where is the sweet Natalya who always made concessions?”
“Good question! I’ll gladly answer it!” the wife said with satisfaction. “She finally got smarter. It’s a shame it took your betrayal for that to happen.”
Natalya hung up. Her hands were trembling with anger.
For twelve years she had been the perfect wife. She cooked his favorite dishes, kept the house, stayed awake at night when he was sick. During his failures at work, she supported him, calmed him down, and gave him advice. She remembered every important date, never reproached him for his lack of romance, and endured his endless delays at work.
And him? He met someone young and decided to get rid of his wife like an unnecessary object. He did not even try to save the relationship. He simply presented her with a fact: I’m leaving, I’m taking everything, live however you want.
“No,” the woman thought, desperately clenching her fists. “Those tricks won’t work on me. You want a battle? You’ll get one!” A month passed.
Stanislav periodically tried to “make contact”: he called, came under her windows, and kept buzzing the intercom.
Natalya ignored all her husband’s attempts. There was nothing to talk about. Everything important had already been said.
Meanwhile, Elena Viktorovna was meticulously preparing the documents, examining the case from every possible angle.
“We really do have a very strong position,” she said during another consultation. “Judge for yourself: the initial down payment of one and a half million was your personal money, confirmed by bank documents. All the household appliances were purchased with your inheritance. Moreover, during the first seven years of the marriage, you were the one who provided the main income for the family…”
“And his current high salary?” Natalya clarified.
“The court will certainly take that into account… but it is not a critical factor. The entire period of married life is evaluated, not only the last few years.”
A week before the court hearing, Stanislav called. His voice sounded unusually subdued, almost pitiful.
“Natalya, let’s meet. Let’s talk like human beings, without all these formalities.”
“What is there to talk about?” the woman was sincerely surprised. “We’ll discuss everything in court. There isn’t long left!”
“Natalya, please… I understand that I was wrong…”
“Wrong in what, exactly?” his wife smirked sarcastically.
“I thought… I thought you would simply agree…”
“You thought I was a spineless doll!” Natalya finished for him. “You miscalculated badly, Stanislav Andreevich. Very badly!”
“Vika… She says that if the court doesn’t rule in my favor, we’d better postpone living together.”
“So that’s it!” flashed through Natalya’s mind. His young passion, it turned out, was not ready for life with an ordinary man. As long as he was successful and well-off, welcome, my love. But as soon as problems appeared on the horizon, goodbye, darling.
“Stas…” open irony sounded in his wife’s voice. “You should have thought about that earlier. When you were carrying my TV out of the apartment.”
“Natalya, let’s… Let’s put everything back the way it was… I’ll return the appliances, we’ll make peace…”
“It’s too late, dear,” his wife answered calmly. “Hopelessly too late for reconciliation.”
The court hearing was scheduled for Thursday at ten in the morning.
Natalya arrived early, half an hour ahead of time, feeling her heart pounding nervously. Elena Viktorovna was already there, methodically arranging documents into folders.
Stanislav appeared with a young lawyer. A very young man, barely older than twenty-five, clearly a recent graduate. Stanislav himself looked lost and depressed, carefully avoiding meeting his former wife’s eyes.
The judge carefully studied the case materials.
“The case is being heard on the statement of claim filed by citizen Natalya Alexandrovna…” she finally said.
A scrupulous examination of their life together began, a life that had now been turned into a stack of documents and bank statements.
“All household appliances were purchased with funds received by the plaintiff as an inheritance from her late father,” Elena Viktorovna reported confidently.
Stanislav’s lawyer tried to object to something, but his arguments sounded so unconvincing that even the judge frowned. Besides, all the documents spoke in Natalya’s favor.
“So…” the judge summed up half an hour later. “The court rules to recognize the plaintiff’s ownership rights… The apartment at the specified address is to be divided equally between the parties.”
Half the apartment and all the belongings would remain with her. Natalya could barely restrain her impulse of joy, remembering where she was.
When they left the courtroom, Stanislav slowly approached her.
“Natalya…” he began almost in a whisper.
“What?”
“Forgive me…” the man said, lowering his eyes. “I behaved like a complete scoundrel.”
Looking at him, Natalya unexpectedly felt a prick of pity. Almost a forty-year-old man, yet he had behaved like an irresponsible teenager.
“Stas…” she said softly, without her former anger. “Don’t apologize. Just next time, before betraying someone, think carefully about the consequences.”
A month and a half later, Natalya bought a two-room apartment in a modern district with a picturesque view of the park. She had to invest her share from the sale of the previous apartment and take out a small loan, but that did not worry her. The main thing was that this apartment belonged only to her, without any “buts” or “ifs.”
For the housewarming party, she invited Marina and her colleagues from work. She set a festive table and opened a bottle of her favorite wine. The atmosphere was warm and relaxed. Exactly the way it should be in a new home.
“Well, my friend…” Marina raised her glass, smiling with a sincere, bright smile. “To your new life!”
“To a new life!” Natalya echoed, feeling that for the first time in a long while she could breathe deeply. As if a heavy burden had finally fallen from her shoulders, and before her lay a blank page without resentment, betrayal, or bitterness.
Only her and her new, happy life.
At that moment she understood that everything had not been in vain. The fight for her rights, the nervous worries, the court… all of it had led her to true freedom and independence. And even though many difficulties still lay ahead, she knew for certain that she would handle everything. Because now she had become stronger, wiser, and would never again allow anyone to treat her like a doormat.
