Oksana’s wedding day turned out to be the happiest day of her life. Everything went just as she had dreamed it would—many guests, beautiful decor, and, most importantly, happy newlyweds.
Oksana met Dima at work. At first, they merely talked, occasionally sharing a cup of coffee together. Then Dmitry asked her out on a date, and she agreed. In fact, Oksana never thought things would lead to a wedding. But Dima showered her with such care and tenderness that she hardly noticed when she fell in love with him.
They got married rather quickly—within six months of starting their relationship. Many of Oksana’s friends were surprised by the haste and even suspected she might be pregnant. But she would simply smile and reply that they were happy and in love, so there was no reason to delay.
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The first red flags began as early as one month after the wedding. Suddenly, Dima became abruptly displeased with Oksana’s friends. At first, he would just sit with a sullen face when she planned to relax with her friends, but later he began voicing his discontent aloud.
More and more often, Oksana encountered near-scandals when she planned to go out without him.
“I know friends like that,” he would protest. “Surely, you’ll go to a club and flirt with other men!”
“What nonsense, Dim,” Oksana would reply in genuine surprise, “we’re just going to sit in a café, chat, gossip, and then go our separate ways.”
But the man simply ignored her reasonable arguments. Gradually, Oksana began to see her friends less and less. It was awkward for her to say that her husband was against her outings, so she would claim she was busy or tired. Eventually, her friends stopped inviting her as often, thinking she wasn’t interested in joining them.
The next red flag was Dima’s constant discontent—for everything. Not cooking properly, not washing clothes, staying late at work. Later, his dissatisfaction began to be expressed in a harsh manner.
If Oksana could have looked at her relationship from the outside, she would have immediately realized that she was dealing, as it is now commonly said, with an abuser. But it’s one thing to assess words and actions soberly, and another when you’re still in love with the person and remember how happy you once were together. Besides, these events didn’t happen suddenly enough for Oksana to understand that this wasn’t the man she needed. Dima gradually and very subtly restricted her communication with others and diminished her self-esteem.
In public, they always appeared to be the perfect couple. The husband showered his beloved with care, taking an interest in her opinions. No one could suspect that their family life was anything but smooth.
Moreover, Dmitry skillfully alternated between humiliation and praise, molding Oksana into an obedient wife.
Yet, Oksana still retained some sense of reason, because at one point she began to feel that something wasn’t right. This wasn’t how she had imagined her married life. But Dima didn’t know about these thoughts, and at just the right moment for Oksana, he crossed the line.
One day, when Dmitry was heading to an important meeting, he discovered that Oksana had forgotten to take his business suit to the dry cleaners. There was a stain on his jacket, rendering it completely unwearable.
At first, he shouted at his wife, accusing her of being irresponsible and incapable of doing anything properly. Then, suddenly, Oksana retorted, saying that if he needed the suit so much, he could have taken it to the dry cleaners himself.
That’s when Dmitry raised his hand against her. It was the first—and last—time he ever hit her. But let’s start from the beginning.
Oksana clutched her cheek, feeling as if she couldn’t breathe from the shock and horror she was experiencing. The man realized he had gone too far and immediately began apologizing, saying he hated himself for what he’d done, and begging her for forgiveness. He sweetly proclaimed how much he loved her and promised it would never happen again.
Oksana turned to him and smiled.
“I forgive you,” she said, and then, taking his suit, went with him to the dry cleaners.
But of course, the girl couldn’t truly forgive that. Ideally, she should have gathered her things and left immediately, but Oksana harbored deep resentment. She desperately wanted to take revenge for that blow and for all the insults she had endured for so long. It was as if her eyes were suddenly opened to their life together.
And she devised a plan. It’s often said that revenge is a dish best served cold. So, Oksana left home to clear her head and avoid doing anything impulsively. At that moment, she realized that this man had almost ruined her life by turning her into an obedient, submissive puppet. She suddenly realized that for six months she hadn’t interacted with anyone without him—neither her friends, nor her parents, nor colleagues—everything was under Dima’s constant control.
“Oh my God,” she whispered, sitting in her car near the house, “what would have happened next?”
She was convinced that someone who hit her once would surely hit her again.
And then she resolutely decided that she would do everything in her power to ensure that this man would never even think of hurting anyone again. She would show him that a woman is not a weak creature and can stand up for herself.
That evening, Dmitry was as affectionate as ever. He smiled, hugged Oksana, and once again begged for forgiveness. Oksana had to pretend that everything was fine, and that made her husband relax. Even before going to bed, he scolded Oksana again for not washing the dishes.
“You’re stirring up so many cockroaches,” he bellowed.
Oksana really wanted to retort that he could have cleaned up himself, but she held back. Otherwise, her plan wouldn’t work.
With a guilty look on her face, she went to the kitchen. And while she was washing the dishes, a smile would periodically appear on her face.
On Fridays, Dima and Oksana worked from home. Oksana knew that it was report time and that it was very important for Dima to do everything correctly. After all, to others he was seen as a responsible and honest worker.
All day, Dima hunched over his documents. At one point, leaving his laptop on, he went to the restroom.
Oksana immediately approached his workstation and altered several figures in the report.
When Dima returned, he couldn’t understand what was happening. Everything had previously added up, but now it was all wrong. Oksana pretended to be busy, and when her husband started scolding her aloud, she looked at him innocently.
“Did something happen?” she asked, innocently.
“Nothing!” Dima grumbled, diving back into his report.
He corrected the data until midnight, knowing he had to present it the next day.
When he fell asleep, Oksana went to the laptop again, turned it on, and changed several numbers once more. But since she worked at the same company and in a similar field, she knew exactly what to change so that Dima wouldn’t notice immediately.
Then she took his suit—picked up from the dry cleaners—and cut the seams on the trousers, right at the crotch.
Next, she turned off his alarm clock. Dima had planned to wake up early to check everything once more, but in the end, he woke up together with Oksana. There was no time for a final check, and hastily putting on his suit, he went to work with her.
When Dima went in to report to the bosses, his trousers finally split at the seam. He apologized to his superiors, and they immediately shifted their focus to his work. Within ten minutes, his face was flushed from all he had heard about himself! He tried to explain that something was wrong with the report, but just the day before, everything had been fine. However, his boss wouldn’t listen, only stating that Dima would be denied his bonus.
Dmitry was no fool; he pieced together all his troubles and immediately deduced where they were coming from.
But Oksana had planned for this moment as well. Citing a headache, she left home early. Once home, she installed a camera in the kitchen that she had bought the day before. She knew what was coming next and rubbed her hands in anticipation of a scandal.
And, of course, as soon as Dima returned home, he stormed into the kitchen, grabbed Oksana by the hair, and started shouting.
The girl weakly fought back, saying she didn’t know what was happening and pleaded with him not to hurt her. But in his adrenaline-fueled state, Dima didn’t notice that Oksana was overacting a bit.
After venting his anger, he went to the bedroom. Soon, he fell asleep, never coming back to his wife again.
When Dmitry slept soundly, Oksana took out the suitcase she had prepared in advance and quietly left the house. Once at her parents’, she reviewed the video and then sent it to all of Dima’s friends, their mutual colleagues, and even his parents. After that, she added his number to her blacklist.
She didn’t go to retrieve the divorce papers alone; she was accompanied by her friends. Dima apparently tried to approach her, but the girls stood by her side, making it clear that none of them would tolerate his rudeness—or worse, any physical abuse.
“You’ll regret this,” he said, glaring maliciously at his ex-wife.
“You won’t do anything to me,” she smiled, “after that video, you’ll be the prime suspect. Believe me, I have several more tricks up my sleeve to completely ruin your life. So, my advice is, forget about me.”
Either Dima got scared or decided it wasn’t worth it, but he truly disappeared from Oksana’s life. He quit his job and even, it seems, moved to another city.
And now Oksana realized that you never truly know what’s happening in other people’s families. Just because they post happy photos together on social media doesn’t mean that everything is as perfect as it seems.