Ah, you insolent brat!” Irina Viktorovna shouted loudly and fiercely, frowning angrily.
Her hand swiftly lashed out at Natasha’s head, and a sharp slap rang out across the table like a gunshot. Taken by surprise, Natasha flinched and dropped her spoon onto the plate. A wave of bitterness and anger instantly overwhelmed her — this was not the first outburst from her mother-in-law, but it was the first time it had turned into physical violence.
Irina Viktorovna considered her daughter-in-law a worthless person. Calm, refined, and sophisticated Natasha drove her crazy with her polite manners and social graces. Having spent her whole life working as a storekeeper at a vegetable depot surrounded by drinkers and former convicts, Irina Viktorovna saw her daughter-in-law as a “lady,” whom she deeply despised.
This attitude intensified especially after her son lost his job and could no longer pay for the rented apartment — that’s when they moved in with her. From that moment, the real ordeal began… Natasha tried to tolerate her mother-in-law, but when her husband, once beloved, started to side with his mother and gradually became a tyrant himself, she began thinking about escaping the whole situation.
And then Irina Viktorovna herself gave her the decision. Before that, Natasha had gotten angry at Volodya — he stood before her again with an indifferent expression, wearing new pants stained with greasy spots. The soup he was talking about work over had accidentally spilled on the floor.
“Now clean it all up yourself!” Natasha yelled in a breaking voice.
At that moment, Irina Viktorovna struck her daughter-in-law with all her might — driven by maternal rage. She couldn’t allow this fragile girl to humiliate her own son!
Seeing his wife’s expression after the blow, Volodya suddenly burst out laughing loudly and, addressing his mother through laughter, said:
“Mom, you’re a hero! Just look at her! Like in a comedy movie! Natasha, you look like a scared chicken driven off the roost!”
That laughter was the last straw. Tears were already streaming down Natasha’s cheeks — she ran out of the house, barely managing to put on her shoes, slamming the door loudly behind her.
“Well, cry then! Just a little girl!” Volodya shouted after her and reached for the TV remote.
He didn’t even move to stop her or ask what had happened — he didn’t care.
“She’ll come back, let her clean up the soup,” he said. “Mom, don’t you dare go near that puddle! Let Natasha deal with it herself.”
“You’re right, son,” Irina Viktorovna replied. “She’s still young, too impressionable… That lady has always been pampered. Let her walk it off, calm down — she won’t get away. And you hear me: don’t let her hurt you anymore! Got it? There must be a head of the family — a man!”
Patting her son on the shoulder, Irina Viktorovna smiled with satisfaction — order in the house was restored.
An hour later, Natasha did indeed return. She was calm, collected. Without saying a word to her husband or his mother, she went to the kitchen, carefully wiped the floor where the cat Barsik had already eaten lunch, and unnoticed, sat in a corner to finish reading her favorite book.
The next morning, Volodya and his mother got an unexpected surprise.
Waking up late as usual, Volodya stretched and headed to the kitchen, dreaming of a cup of coffee and something tasty. But as soon as he opened his eyes, he noticed the living room was empty.
“Mom! Did you decide to rearrange?” he exclaimed in confusion. “Where are my watches? Where’s the laptop? And where’s Natasha at all?”
Irina Viktorovna had just woken up as well, throwing a robe over herself:
“What watches, son? What’s going on?”
“The watches are missing from the nightstand! No laptop! Not even the phone!”
They both rushed to search the apartment. In addition to those items, Volodya’s expensive new sneakers and his gold ring, which he usually left on the table before going to bed, were gone.
“Mom, I don’t understand anything! Where did all my things go?!” Volodya shouted, beginning to panic.
“Maybe we were robbed?” gasped Irina Viktorovna, turning pale. “How are we still alive?!”
She didn’t even think that Natasha might have left on her own — in her mind, the daughter-in-law had just run out to get bread or take out the trash. But upon closer inspection of the apartment, they noticed a note carefully lying on the kitchen table under a vase of flowers.
Volodya grabbed the sheet and began reading aloud:
“I have endured you both for a long time, but I am neither a slave nor a punching bag. What I took is payment for all you have done to me. I will no longer live with you, Volodya. You changed completely after moving in with your mother. Don’t look for me — I will file for divorce myself. Natasha.”
Having finished reading, Volodya looked at his mother in confusion. Irina Viktorovna, hearing the note’s words, flushed with anger:
“What a scoundrel! Took everything! Just stole, do you understand?! She cleaned us out and ran away, ungrateful! And you called her your wife, Volodya? She’s just a common traitor! I’m going after her right now!”
Volodya rushed to the door:
“I’ll bring her back! I’ll show her who’s boss here! She’ll remember!”
Meanwhile, Natasha was already at her mother’s, in a cozy warm living room. She calmly drank tea and said:
“Mom, I couldn’t stay there anymore! It was a nightmare, not a family!”
“I told you long ago, daughter. You should have left earlier. It’s always hard to live with a mother-in-law, and especially one like yours. You’re strong for holding on this long.”
At that moment, there was a knock at the door. Natasha’s mother opened it — Volodya stood on the threshold, disheveled and filled with rage.
“Where is your daughter? What kind of tricks are these?! Why did she take my things?!”
Natasha calmly stepped into the hallway, crossing her arms:
“Stole? I stole? This is my compensation for three years of humiliation and mockery! If you want it back — welcome to court. There I will tell everything: how you let your mother insult me, how you laughed instead of protecting me. Do you think this will go unpunished?”
“What moral damage are you talking about?! Are you crazy?” Volodya shouted.
“What do you think? Am I not right? You and your mother pushed me to the limit over these years. Do you think it will go free?”
“Give me the things back! Give me the watches!” he continued to screech.
“Stop yelling! You’ll only get them through the court. Or redeem them at the pawnshop. Want the address?”
“You’ve completely lost it!” Volodya grabbed his head.
Natasha’s mother, who had been watching, finally intervened:
“Young man, behave yourself! You’re in someone else’s home! Raise your voice again — I’ll call the police. Understand?”
Volodya fell silent, confused and embarrassed. Natasha handed him the pawnshop receipts:
“I’m not a thief, Volodya. I just don’t want to depend on you anymore. Take it and go.”
And he left, mumbling curses under his breath.
A couple of days later, finally coming to terms with everything, Natasha filed for divorce. Her decision was final and irrevocable.
At home, Volodya and his mother could not calm down.
“Son, you must bring her back! It’s a disgrace! Let her know who’s in charge here!”
“Mom, how do I bring her back? She just kicked me out!”
“She must have friends! Try to find out through them where she’s hiding now! She can’t be locked up forever!”
Volodya tried… but all his attempts failed. Natasha’s friends, knowing what she had gone through, even refused to talk to him.
As a result, Volodya was left without a wife, constantly arguing with his mother and without the slightest respect for himself. But Natasha, finally free from the toxic environment, began a new life — calm, dignified, and filled with joy.