The doorbell rang with an impatient, almost arrogant insistence. Yulia opened the door, expecting a courier with an order for her daughter. Instead, an unfamiliar woman in a red coat stood on the landing, her heavily made-up eyes narrowed like a predator’s.
“Are you Yulia?” Her voice was sweet, but there was steel beneath it. “Well then, darling, I’m marrying your ex-husband, and you’ll have to move out of this apartment. It belongs to me now.”
Yulia blinked.
Then she blinked again.
Her mind simply refused to process what she had just heard.
“Excuse me, but who exactly are you? And why are you already calling my husband my ex?”
“Oh, stop pretending!” The stranger rolled her eyes. “Kostya promised ages ago that he was going to leave you. He said he was sick to death of you. According to him, life with you is unbearably boring.”
“How interesting.” Yulia leaned against the doorframe. “So I suppose you’re his personal antidepressant?”
“Listen carefully, sweetheart!” The woman tried to push her way into the apartment. “I’m not here to stand around chatting with you. Kostya promised me you two would divorce six months ago. He’s too much of a coward to tell you himself, so I came instead. Pack your things and get out!”
Yulia did not move.
She was burning with anger inside, but her voice remained calm.
“That is certainly an interesting approach. Since you’ve come here to evict me, perhaps you could at least introduce yourself.”
“Kristina. Remember the name, because very soon I’ll be the lady of this house.”
“Kristina.” Yulia smiled. “A beautiful name. It’s a shame it belongs to someone with such mediocre manners. But there is one small problem. Kostya and I bought this apartment together. My share will not magically disappear, even if he decides to marry an alien.”
Kristina snorted so sharply she nearly choked on her own contempt.
“I don’t care about your share! Kostya said you would give it up yourself once you learned the truth. You’re proud, aren’t you? You wouldn’t stay with a man who has been cheating on you.”
“Ah, now I understand.” Yulia nodded. “So the plan was for you to come here, cause a scene, and make me run away in tears while you triumphantly moved in? Hollywood could never compete.”
“Stop making jokes!” Kristina was almost shrieking now. “You have a daughter, don’t you? You should be thinking about her! Where are you going to take her? At least she’s registered here, so nobody can throw her out. The two of you can live in the child’s room. I don’t mind.”
Yulia laughed.
It was genuine, clear, and unexpectedly cheerful.
“How generous of you! So my daughter and I get the child’s room while you take the bedroom? Kristina, you clearly did not prepare properly for this visit. My daughter is from my first marriage, and she is officially registered here. That means she cannot simply be removed from the apartment. It also means that I am her legal guardian, and I am not going anywhere.”
“What difference does it make which marriage she came from?” Kristina stamped her foot. “Kostya promised me! He said this apartment would be mine!”
“Kostya says many things.” Yulia shrugged. “Especially when he is trying to impress someone. Unfortunately for you, saying something and actually doing it are two very different things.”
Kristina’s face turned crimson. Her hands were trembling with rage.
“You think you’re so clever, don’t you? Standing there making jokes! Well, I’m going inside now, and I’m not leaving. Let’s see how you plan to throw me out.”
“Go ahead and try.” Yulia took one step back. “But keep this in mind: as far as I am concerned, you are a complete stranger. I do not know you, and I did not invite you into my home. If you enter without permission, that is unlawful entry. Or did you think arrogance could replace a warrant?”
At that moment, Kostya appeared behind Kristina.
He walked slowly, as though every step required enormous effort. His face was pale and gray, and his eyes darted nervously from side to side.
“Yulia… I can explain.”
“Oh, what perfect timing!” Yulia threw up her hands. “Kostya, darling, your friend came here to throw me out. She says you promised her the apartment. Is that true?”
Kostya said nothing.
Kristina grabbed his arm.
“Tell her! Tell her that you love me! Tell her we’re going to be together! You promised!”
“Yulia, it isn’t what you think… I didn’t want it to happen like this.”
“You didn’t want what?” Yulia raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t want your mistress to show up at my home? Or you didn’t want me to find out? Please be specific. The details matter.”
Kristina tugged angrily at Kostya’s sleeve.
“Why are you mumbling? Tell her it’s over! Tell her you’re going to live with me! You said she never understands you. You said life with her was boring!”
“How fascinating.” Yulia folded her arms. “Kostya, did you also tell her how we saved for this apartment together? Did you mention how I worked weekends so we could afford the down payment? Or was that too boring for your romantic conversations?”
Kostya stood between the two women like a trapped animal.
Kristina continued showering him with accusations.
“You promised me! I’ve been waiting for six months! How much longer was I supposed to wait? You’re a coward, Kostya! A pathetic coward!”
“One moment, Kristina.” Yulia lifted her hand. “Since we are apparently holding a family meeting, I would like to add one more detail. Kostya, you know I went to the doctor last week, don’t you?”
Kostya went even paler.
Kristina fell silent.
“What doctor?” Her voice trembled.
“A regular doctor. A gynecologist.” Yulia placed one hand on her stomach. “I’m pregnant. Eight weeks. Surprise, dear husband.”
The silence fell over them like an avalanche.
Kristina stared at Kostya in growing horror.
“You… She… You’ve been sleeping with her this entire time? You told me you had been like strangers for a year! You said she wouldn’t even let you near her!”
“Apparently, I did,” Yulia said, spreading her hands. “Otherwise, where would the baby have come from? Biology still exists.”
“This is insane!” Kristina shrieked. “It’s a setup! You got pregnant on purpose to keep him!”
“Of course I did. I also arranged your meeting, your affair, and every promise he made to you. I’m an evil mastermind. Practically a comic-book villain.”
Kristina looked at Kostya with pure hatred in her eyes.
“You lied to me! You lied the whole time! You said you loved me! You said I was special! And all the while you were still with her.”
“Kristina, wait…” Kostya reached toward her.
“Don’t touch me!” She recoiled. “You’re pathetic! I wasted the best months of my life on you! And you can’t even leave your wife because you’re spineless!”
“What an unexpected turn.” Yulia watched the scene with almost scientific curiosity. “A minute ago you were trying to evict me. Now he is suddenly pathetic. Your priorities change quickly.”
Kristina spun around and marched toward the elevator. Halfway there, she turned back.
“You can both choke on your precious apartment! And on each other!”
The elevator doors closed.
Yulia and Kostya were left alone in the doorway.
“Yulia, I…”
“Come inside.” She stepped aside. “This is going to be a long conversation.”
Kostya entered, removed his shoes, and stood in the middle of the hallway like a lost man.
“Are you really pregnant?”
“Yes. I was planning to tell you this weekend. I wanted to arrange a romantic dinner. But your girlfriend made some changes to my plans.”
“Yulia, forgive me. I don’t even know how it happened. She started it… I never meant…”
“Kostya.” Yulia raised a hand. “Stop. ‘She started it’ is an excuse for a twelve-year-old. You are an adult. You made your own choices. And while I was working to pay for this apartment, you were promising it to another woman.”
Kostya lowered his head and remained silent.
“I’m not throwing you out,” Yulia continued. “We are going to have a child, and I don’t want my daughter to watch her home fall apart. But the trust is gone, Kostya. You destroyed it.”
“What am I supposed to do?”
“For now, you sleep on the sofa in the living room. That is your place from now on. We will decide everything else later.”
Kostya went into the living room.
Yulia closed the front door and leaned against it.
The anger had faded, leaving bitterness and emptiness behind.
She thought about how deeply she had trusted this man. How they had built plans together. How happy she had been when she saw the positive pregnancy test a week earlier.
The door to the child’s room opened, and Sonya, Yulia’s daughter from her first marriage, appeared.
She was twelve years old, and she had heard everything.
“Mom, are you okay?”
“I’m fine, sweetheart. Go back to your room.”
“Mom.” Sonya came closer. “Is he a bad person?”
Yulia hugged her daughter.
“He’s weak. That’s different, but it’s still bad. Go finish your homework.”
Sonya returned to her room.
Yulia remained in the hallway, thinking about how rarely life followed the plans people made. How those you trusted sometimes turned out to be completely different from the people they pretended to be. And how, sometimes, you had to learn to take a blow without allowing it to break you.
The baby growing inside her knew nothing about the world yet.
Yulia placed a hand on her stomach.
“We’ll be all right,” she whispered. “We will definitely be all right.”