Anna couldn’t believe her ears. What she overheard when she unexpectedly arrived at her mother-in-law’s house felt like a terrible nightmare. Leaving things as they were was impossible. Something had to be done immediately!
«Have I really lived in an illusion all these years? Trusting a traitor?» she whispered to herself as she walked home. She never let her mother-in-law know about her visit.
It was her last day of vacation. She had finished all her errands and finally decided to visit Halyna Hennadiyivna to help hang the curtains, as she had promised.
«Anya, I can’t manage on my own. My back hurts, my hands don’t listen to me. You’re on vacation, help me!» her mother-in-law had pleaded a few days ago.
«Halyna Hennadiyivna, wouldn’t it be easier to call a cleaning service? They’ll wash the windows and hang the curtains too,» Anna tried to avoid the task.
«Are you serious? Do you know how much money that would be? I’m not used to wasting money!» her mother-in-law snapped.
«I’ll pay for it,» Anna offered, just to avoid spending a day of her vacation on this.
«No. I don’t want strangers in my house. You’ll come when you can,» Halyna Hennadiyivna insisted.
And so, deciding to keep her promise, Anna called her mother-in-law, but there was no answer.
«Alright, I’ll just go anyway. She’s home, where else would she be?» Anna shrugged.
She dialed her husband’s number to let him know she might be late, but Dmytro didn’t pick up either.
«Great. No one wants to talk to me,» she muttered, leaving the house.
But what shocked her the most was seeing her husband’s car parked outside his mother’s house.
«Dmytro is here too? What, did he come to hang the curtains?» she smirked bitterly.
Climbing up to the third floor, Anna noticed the front door slightly open. Voices could be heard inside. And next to the entrance stood a baby stroller.
«Whose stroller is this? What’s going on here?» she thought, feeling uneasy.
She stepped inside, but upon hearing a tense conversation between Dmytro and his mother, she decided not to reveal herself and froze in the hallway.
Then, another woman’s voice joined in. And the sound of a baby crying made Anna’s heart stop.
«Dmytro, are you serious? You want them to stay with me? How am I supposed to explain this to your wife?» Halyna Hennadiyivna asked indignantly.
«Just tell her you’re renting out a room. It’s only temporary,» Dmytro replied.
«With a baby?» the mother-in-law scoffed. «Look at him, he’s completely spoiled!»
«I told you from the very beginning—buy an apartment for me and Zhorik,» the unfamiliar woman interjected. «But you don’t care about us.»
«Zhorik? His own son?» Anna’s head started spinning.
She was about to step out of hiding, but something held her back. A burning desire to hear the full truth.
«Vika, understand, I can’t right now,» Dmytro tried to justify himself.
«So, we have to wait again? We’re living like homeless people while you live comfortably with your wife!»
«So that’s how it is… And my mother-in-law knew everything!» Anna’s chest tightened with rage.
«And how exactly are they supposed to live here?» her mother-in-law sighed disapprovingly.
«You think I’m happy about this? Living with some stranger is such a thrill!» the mistress snapped.
Anna couldn’t take it anymore. Her heart pounded in her chest. Now she knew everything. And this betrayal would not go unpunished.
«What a nerve! Dmytro, couldn’t you find someone better? She’s practically wiping her feet on me!» Halyna Hennadiyivna exclaimed in outrage.
«Enough, this isn’t the time to argue. We need to figure out how to make Anna sell her apartment and give me the money. I’ve already started talking to her, telling her I want to start my own business—a car repair shop with a wash. That I’m tired of traveling for work, living out of a suitcase just to make some money.»
«And what did she say?» Vika asked, intrigued. «Did she agree?»
«Not yet. Of course, it’s hard for her to part with the apartment she inherited from her parents. And handing over all the money… it’s a risk, and she knows it. I’m trying to convince her that we’ll have to rent for a while until the business starts making a profit. And then, we’ll buy a better place.»
«Not ‘we,’ but ‘you and me,’» his mistress corrected him.
«Yeah, yeah, you, me, and the baby. I’m doing this for you two. Do you think it’s easy for me? Pulling this off isn’t simple,» Dmytro smirked cynically.
Anna felt sick. Everything blurred before her eyes; she thought she might faint right there in the hallway. She struggled to steady her breathing, quietly slipped out of her hiding place, and left the apartment without saying a word.
They had no idea she had heard everything. But Anna wasn’t going to make a scene, scream, or argue. She had a different plan.
Outside, she took a deep breath, trying to calm the trembling in her hands. Now she had to make the most important decision of her life.
«Why are they doing this to me? I loved, respected, and cared for them… Is it really because, after five years of marriage, I haven’t been able to have a child? But that’s not a death sentence…» Her thoughts raced.
She had suggested IVF to Dmytro, even adoption, but he always dismissed it: «Don’t worry, it’s not that important to me.» And she had believed him, thinking he just wasn’t ready for fatherhood yet.
Anna had always been strong. Losing her parents, she had pushed through and kept going. She wanted to be happy, to honor their memory. When she met Dmytro, she believed he was her person. He spoke sweet words, promising that only with him would she be truly happy.
«You really outdid yourself, Dmytro,» she whispered bitterly.
But the worst part wasn’t even the betrayal. What shook her most was how coldly and calculatingly her husband planned to leave her with nothing, stripping her of everything.
«Oh no, darling. That’s not going to happen,» she said firmly.
That evening, Dmytro came home from work as usual. He kissed her on the cheek, had dinner, complained about being tired, and went to bed. Anna used all her strength to hide that she knew everything.
The next morning, he brought up selling the apartment again.
«Anya, let’s finally make a decision. We’ll struggle for a couple of years, but then we’ll have our own business, a new apartment… And then we can start planning for kids,» he said, pretending to be a caring husband.
«Alright, I’ll think about it. Maybe you’re right. It’s time for a change,» she replied calmly. «When you get back from your business trip, we’ll deal with it.»
«Smart girl! That’s the spirit! While I’m away, why don’t you start looking for buyers? So we don’t waste time,» Dmytro suggested happily.
He had no doubt his plan was working.
Two days later, he left for a two-week trip. Anna didn’t waste a second.
She called a real estate agent friend and asked her to find buyers. Then she went to work and submitted her resignation. She listed the furniture and appliances for sale. Buyers showed up surprisingly fast. By the time people started coming to view the apartment, there was almost nothing left inside.
She sold her parents’ apartment to an elderly couple who offered a good price. Only one thing remained—to file for divorce. She did that on her last day before leaving for another city, where her friend Lilia lived.
Lilia had been asking Anna to move for a long time, promising to help with a job. And now, with everything falling into place, Anna finally made the decision. She asked her friend to find her a place. As soon as she arrived, she would buy a new apartment and start over—far away from betrayal and lies.
When Dmytro returned from his trip, a surprise awaited him. Anna wasn’t answering her phone. And at her former apartment, complete strangers now lived, claiming it was theirs.
Anna smiled, imagining him standing there, stunned, realizing his grand plan had collapsed.
Scoundrels like him deserve nothing less. And as for her, she had a new life ahead, full of opportunities. Everything would be fine. The most important thing was never to look back.
