You?” Elena’s voice was surprised and even frightened. When she opened the door, she least expected to see Oleg standing on the threshold of their former apartment.
“Yes,” he smirked. “Will you let me in? After all, I’m not a stranger here.”
Elena stepped back, letting her ex-husband into their once-shared apartment. Oleg walked in, glanced around, and his lips curled into a barely noticeable smirk.
“I see not much has changed here,” he said, with a barely concealed distaste in his voice. “In fact, nothing has changed at all. You didn’t even do any renovations.”
Elena shrugged:
“I’m fine with it. Did you come for an inspection? Or maybe you want to offer me money for a new renovation?”
She decided to be sarcastic too. Since her ex-husband allowed himself such a tone in conversation, why couldn’t she speak to him the same way? It used to be that she tried to be a compliant and obedient wife, but now there was no point in that.
Before her stood a complete stranger, her ex-husband, with whom Elena now had nothing in common. Except, perhaps, for their daughter, but she was already twenty, had her own life, and was visiting her parents less and less.
“Smells appetizing,” Oleg said instead of responding. “Are you cooking something tasty? Will you treat me?”
Elena smirked. She knew well that a few months ago, Oleg had broken up with his lover—the one he had left Elena for a year and a half ago.
…That evening, he came back from work in a rage. He threw his things into bags and briefly told his wife that he was leaving for another woman.
“I’m tired of hiding and pretending,” Oleg declared. “I’ve been sleeping with someone else for a long time, and you’ve known about it and just pretended everything was fine. I’m done.”
Elena was stunned. Yes, she had known about her husband’s affair. Oleg’s lover turned out to be a young intern who had joined the company where he worked as the deputy director. Oleg immediately took notice of the pretty twenty-year-old Natalia, and after a month, they started an affair.
Elena found out almost immediately. Oleg’s company employed her best friend, and it was she who told Elena about her husband’s affair with the young intern.
At that time, Elena put aside her pride and decided to turn a blind eye to the affair. Oleg was forty-three, going through a midlife crisis, and Elena was willing to forgive him for a fleeting infatuation in order to keep the family together.
But it turned out that the affair wasn’t just a brief fling—it grew into something resembling love, and three months later, they moved in together. Oleg rented an apartment, filed for divorce, and like an honest man who had cheated on his wife and left her with their daughter, he decided to give up his share of the apartment.
“Live here with Kira, I won’t claim the property,” Oleg said.
Elena was stunned. She loved her husband and had tried to preserve their family until the very end. She even humbled herself in front of him, begging him to reconsider and come back home, but Oleg remained unyielding.
“If you don’t know what real feelings are, it’s better not to interfere,” he snapped. “I’m in love, I’m doing fine. And it will only get better.”
During this time, Elena was supported by her mother-in-law. Anna Pavlovna was already very ill, and Elena took care of her, helping with hospital visits, surgeries, and post-surgery recovery. She searched the city for rare medicines and fought to make sure Anna Pavlovna had a private room. Oleg distanced himself, as he disliked the hospital environment, and besides, he was busy with his new personal life.
It turned out that Elena supported her mother-in-law physically, while Anna Pavlovna supported her emotionally. She refused to communicate with her son and asked him not to come to her home or visit her in the hospital. Oleg, for his part, didn’t insist on it.
“I don’t want to see him or know about him,” Anna Pavlovna confessed to Elena. “He met some young girl of the same age as his daughter and is happy. The old libertine. His father must be turning in his grave.”
Elena remained silent, still hoping that Oleg would come home. He didn’t return, and moreover, he married Natalia. A year later, he broke up with her and moved into his mother’s apartment. Anna Pavlovna was in poor health and spent most of her time in the hospital. Two months after her son returned, she passed away.
Elena was there for her mother-in-law, organizing the funeral, and it seemed like she regretted Anna Pavlovna’s death more than anyone else. Oleg stayed in the apartment, but a few weeks after Anna Pavlovna’s funeral, it turned out that the woman had left a will: she had bequeathed her apartment to her daughter-in-law.
Oleg was furious. He yelled at Elena, pounded his fist on the table, and accused her of every sin.
“You slithered like a snake into my mother’s favor. You walked on tiptoe in front of her, sucking up to her. Actress!”
Elena remained silent, not arguing with her ex-husband. His anger was understandable, and she was still in shock from the news. She couldn’t believe Anna Pavlovna had managed to arrange everything so that her son got nothing. However, there was still another apartment belonging to Oleg, the one he had generously left for his ex-wife and daughter.
…“Why are you here?” Elena asked, not expecting her husband after almost a month of no communication.
The last time they had seen each other was after the will was read, and then Oleg had yelled at Elena. She had decided she wouldn’t communicate with him in that tone. She didn’t want to talk to him at all, especially since there was no reason for it. They had almost nothing left in common except their past, and the memories of it were slowly fading away.
“I see you won’t be offering me anything to eat,” Oleg replied cheerfully, then sat down on the couch in the living room. “I came to talk. About real estate.”
Elena nodded understandingly. Of course, what else could he have come for? Clearly not to try to rebuild their relationship, apologize for yelling at her last time, for not helping with his mother’s care, or for almost cutting off all contact with their daughter.
Oleg only cared about one thing: apartments, money, and comfortable conditions. Now that he was without a young wife and felt unwanted, Oleg only thought about his own comfort.
“I told you that you can live in Anna Pavlovna’s apartment as long as you want,” Elena said. “I’m not planning to rent it or sell it, even though it’s mine legally.”
“I can’t stand this,” Oleg grimaced. “I’m living in someone else’s apartment, but I want to live in my own.”
“Fine,” Elena nodded. “Buy an apartment and live in it. Who’s stopping you?”
He widened his eyes:
“I’ll buy one. But first, we’ll sell this apartment, the one you’re living in!”
Now it was Elena’s turn to be surprised. Oleg was so crafty! No wonder Anna Pavlovna had been so cautious—she knew her son would eventually try to take everything back.
“I’m not planning to sell it,” Elena replied.
“I am!” Oleg answered petulantly. “This apartment belongs to my mother, it will come to me in six months by inheritance, and I want to sell it. But I’ll give you half.”
Elena looked at Oleg with pity. Once generous, kind, and magnanimous, he had turned into a neurotic, someone who needed to gather everything in his grasp.
“It won’t work, Oleg. The apartment has been mine for two years. Anna Pavlovna signed it over to me right after our divorce. She gave me the apartment.”
Oleg jumped up from the couch. He began pacing the apartment, clenching his fists.
“You schemed again! You bitch!”
Elena rolled her eyes. She hadn’t asked Anna Pavlovna to sign over the property to her—it had been the mother-in-law’s wish, so Elena’s conscience was clear.
“I’m not a bitch, Oleg. I’m just a woman who wants to be happy. And you forgot about that years ago.”
“You always thought only about yourself!”
“And you thought about yourself just as much,” Elena smirked. “Leave, please, and never show up at my doorstep again.”
He turned around, standing in the hallway, and looked at his ex-wife with contempt:
“But once, you loved me… You used to sing such sweet songs in my ears…”
Elena shrugged indifferently:
“I just didn’t know what real feelings were. Sorry. And goodbye.”
Elena locked the door behind her ex-husband and tiredly leaned her back against it. She had done it! She had managed it! And she would definitely learn what real feelings were. The whole life was still ahead of her!