Dear, unfortunately, we will have to cancel our dinner at the restaurant,” Ivan said sadly, looking at his wife with regret.
“Why?” Kira asked, disappointed. “Saturday is our wedding anniversary. We’ve been looking forward to this day. What happened this time?”
“I know how upset you are. Believe me, it’s hard for me too, but the boss asked me again to work over the weekend. I couldn’t refuse. I’m counting on a promotion. If I had said ‘no,’ I could forget about the chance of taking a managerial position. We have an important project, and the entire team is in this mode. I promise, we’ll make up for it. Don’t be sad.”
Ivan leaned in to hug Kira, and at that moment, she caught a faint scent of women’s perfume. She recognized that aroma—she had noticed it on his shirts before. Kira nodded silently, not arguing, though she understood that her husband was blatantly lying to her.
She knew well what his “work” implied. Ivan wasn’t planning to spend the weekend at the office—his thoughts were occupied with something else entirely. The hurt from her beloved tightened her throat. She no longer had any doubts: Ivan had another woman, one he preferred to spend time with, forgetting about his family.
Tears welled up in Kira’s eyes. She tried her hardest to hold them back, not to cry in front of Ivan, and to maintain her composure. She had married Vanya five years ago, driven by strong love. Back then, it seemed to her that she had found her other half, a soulmate with whom she would spend her whole life. But Ivan shattered all her hopes and dreams with his betrayal.
A few weeks ago, Kira first suspected that her husband was cheating on her. Lately, he had been coming home late, and often disappeared on weekends, citing work and an eternally dissatisfied boss.
Once, while doing laundry, Kira noticed a long blonde hair on Ivan’s shirt. She tried to convince herself that it was accidental—after all, there were many women in his team. But doubts had already begun to creep in.
A few days later, she noticed that after another “emergency” at work, Ivan came home in different underwear. Kira was sure: he had changed them. But where and why? The answers to these questions seemed obvious, and they caused her unbearable pain. Ivan had a mistress.
Kira’s heart ached from the realization that her marriage, which she thought was strong and happy, was an illusion.
Thanks to the help of a close friend, Kira found out who was the reason for her husband’s infidelity. His mistress turned out to be the wife of the deputy director of the company where he worked. This discovery shocked her. Kira tormented herself with questions: where did she go wrong? What did she do wrong? But she found no answers. It was hard to know that Ivan had another woman, yet pretend that everything was okay…
Kira sat at home with her six-month-old daughter in her arms. Before maternity leave, she worked as a nanny in a daycare, earning very little. She didn’t own a house, nor did she have relatives who could support her in a difficult moment. She tried to imagine causing a scandal and leaving her husband. But quickly realized that she would end up in a hopeless situation.
She would be left alone with an infant, without a roof over her head and a decent income. Renting an apartment and living on child support would be impossible. Kira knew this all too well. Therefore, she decided not to give in to her emotions, but to carefully consider her steps. After all, divorce wouldn’t solve her problems, it would only make them worse.
Secretly from Ivan, Kira gradually saved money. She had a habit of transferring 10% of any income to a card on deposit. She saved on everything, denying herself many things. Over several years, she managed to accumulate a decent amount, but it still wouldn’t be enough for a peaceful life with a child. Kira pondered how to get out of this situation with the least losses.
And then it dawned on her. Why not punish her husband for his betrayal? Why not teach him a lesson he would remember for the rest of his life? Kira shared her thoughts with her friend. She looked at her in astonishment and said…
“You’re a scary woman, Kiryusha. Honestly, I didn’t expect this from you. How did you even think of this? You should be feared!”
“Well, I once read in a book how an offended wife punished her husband. Why not repeat it? I think it’s fair. Isn’t it? I don’t know what else will come to my husband’s mind. What if he throws us out on the street with our daughter? Where will we go? What will we live on?”
Kira planned to blackmail her husband and extort money from him. She wanted Ivan to pay for her silence. For this, she needed compromising photos of Ivan with his mistress. Meeting with the deputy director’s wife, Ivan was seriously risking his career. Kira knew that making him pay would not be difficult. He couldn’t refuse, otherwise, he would lose too much.
Polina, Kira’s friend, agreed to help. She was on vacation and bored from idleness, so she eagerly took on the task of watching Ivan. Soon she noticed that Kira’s husband was very cautious. He met his mistress in an old, unremarkable district, in a dreary five-story building that hid his secrets. That’s where he entered every time, arriving with his mistress.
Polina was starting to lose hope of getting compromising photos, but fate unexpectedly smiled at her. Late one evening, Ivan came out of the house together with his boss’s wife. Polina managed to capture their brief kiss before parting. Both faces were clearly visible. Polina was pleased with her work. Now she had a powerful weapon against the traitor. Ivan would answer for his lies and infidelity.
The next morning, Ivan received an anonymous message. It stated that his secret affair with the deputy director’s wife had become known, and to keep this information secret, he needed to pay 500,000 rubles. The money had to be placed at a specified time in a trash bin in the park. A photo confirming his affair with the mistress was attached to the message.
Ivan was shocked. For two days he walked around depressed, sullen, and irritable. He hardly spoke to his wife, citing chronic fatigue and problems at work. However, Kira knew what was really bothering him. She eagerly awaited her husband’s compliance. The friends took care of their safety: the SIM card, bought specifically for blackmail, was immediately destroyed.
Reluctantly, Ivan complied with the demand. He left the package with money at the specified place and left. As soon as he did, Kira called him. The insistent ring forced him to answer.
“Dear, come home quickly. I slipped in the bathroom and hurt my leg. I can’t walk, it’s very painful. I can’t cope alone with the baby. Where are you?”
“I understand. I’ll be there soon. Just got held up at work. I’m on my way. Hang in there.”
Two weeks later, Ivan received another anonymous message. This time they demanded 1 million rubles. Ivan had the money—he had been saving for his dream car, and Kira knew about it. The message also stated that if he refused, the compromising photos would be published online. Ivan was trapped again…
Ivan had to part with his savings. He understood that he would lose even more if he refused to pay. His career was at stake, and his relationship with his wife no longer concerned him as much. He was sure that Kira depended on him, that she had nowhere to go, and was unlikely to decide on a divorce to destroy their marriage.
Thus Ivan lost the money he had saved for years. Kira, having gotten everything she wanted, packed her things and left her husband along with her daughter. Before that, she caused a huge scandal, claiming that she had received an anonymous message, in which someone told her about her husband’s infidelity. She cried bitterly, called Ivan a vile traitor and deceiver.
“What you did is unforgivable. You trampled on my love. You destroyed our family,” Kira said as she left. “Why did you do this to me? I thought you loved me, but it turned out you only love yourself. I’m filing for divorce. This is the end.”
“Well, I’m sorry. Why leave right away? Yes, I made a mistake. I confess. Let’s start all over. I’ll make it right, I promise. Everyone makes mistakes. Don’t be so categorical. Besides, you have nowhere to go. Where will you live with our daughter? You have no money or housing. Really think about it. It would be more advantageous for you to forget about what happened.”
Kira was astounded. Ivan, despite everything, remained confident. He didn’t feel guilty. He wasn’t concerned that his wife was leaving. What worried him more was his career, which could suffer due to his recklessness.
Kira temporarily moved in with a friend and started looking for a small house in the village. That was the only housing she could afford. She was ready for an old house in the wilderness, just to start a new life—without deceit and betrayal.
When her daughter grew up, Kira planned to enroll her in daycare and find a new job. She was ready to work tirelessly, so that eventually, they could move into their own apartment. But the main thing—she now had her own roof over her head, and she didn’t have to spend money on rent. Polina long persuaded her friend to post the compromising photos of her ex-husband online, but Kira refused.
“If I do that, Vanya will lose his job. Then he won’t be able to help our daughter financially. It’s tough to raise a child alone these days. I’ve come to terms with the fact that Vanya is no longer in my life. I’ve let him go, but I want him to work and earn well for the sake of our daughter’s future. He has already paid for what he did. That’s enough.”
Ivan thought that Kira was renting an old house in the village, and he had no idea that the house had been bought with his money. He faithfully paid alimony and actively participated in his daughter’s life. Kira didn’t know if Ivan continued to meet his mistress, but it no longer concerned her.
Having saved a bit of money, Kira bought rabbits, chickens, and ducks, and also got a job at a local farm that paid well. She placed her daughter in the village daycare and calmly worked, continuing to save money for the future.
Kira no longer dreamed of an apartment in the city. She liked living in the village—away from the hustle and bustle. She wanted her daughter to grow up in the fresh air, eat natural products, and feel a connection with nature. Now her dream was to build a new, modern, and cozy house on the site of the old one. Kira believed that she could make it happen. The main thing was not to give up and to keep moving forward, no matter what…