Irina Pavlovna, hello,” Alina rarely called her mother-in-law. They lived in different cities and hardly communicated. Irina Pavlovna wasn’t particularly interested in her son’s family, and Alina kept her distance from Irina Pavlovna, scared by stories of evil mothers-in-law.
They exchanged holiday greetings, Irina Pavlovna came for her granddaughter’s discharge from the maternity hospital, then realizing her participation was no longer needed, quickly packed up and went home.
Their relationship could be considered ideal, but recently, Victor, Alina’s husband, had been complaining more about his mother.
“She’s asking for money. I can’t refuse her,” he said, justifying the lack of finances.
“You sent her a large sum last month.”
“I know, but this month she needs even more.”
“For what? She’s healthy, a working woman…”
“They cut her salary, and utility costs have risen.”
“The amount you spend on your mother could have bought a new apartment, not just paid for utilities!” Alina rebelled.
“Besides utilities, there’s also food, clothes, household needs… the other day my mom’s fridge broke and she urgently needed a new one.”
Alina sighed. Victor always found justifications for new expenses, and they were plausible.
Alina would have believed him further if not for an incident. Recently, as usual, she opened the envelope with set-aside money to add her salary and… noticed a significant amount missing.
“Where did the money go, Victor?!” she immediately called her husband. Were we robbed?!
“No. Everything’s fine.”
“Everything’s fine? No, it’s not! Money is disappearing, consistently! I set it aside, and it leaks away like sand through fingers! We agreed this was an untouchable reserve! You even forbade me to spend a small part of it on shoes for our daughter!”
“Because shoes for our daughter can wait. Now is an extreme case,” Victor declared.
“Yeah? And what kind of ‘case’ is this?”
“Mom has serious problems.”
“What kind this time?”
“She flooded the neighbors below. They’re threatening to sue. There’s significant damage, and she has no money to pay for everything that was spoiled.”
Alina didn’t know what to say. The amount that disappeared was quite large. Alina had been saving that money for a long time; she planned to buy an apartment and was saving for the down payment. While Alina thought, Victor continued to press, describing all the horrors of the lawsuit.
“They’ll take her apartment if we don’t help her pay for the damages. There’s an option to do this directly, pay the neighbors, avoiding the court.”
“I don’t like this idea,” Alina finally squeezed out.
“Like it or not, no one cares. I can’t leave my mother in trouble,” said Victor.
Alina realized that arguing with her husband was pointless. He took the money from the family savings without asking permission and decided for them both. But the more Alina thought, the more she understood that she was not comfortable with this situation. Victor too often took money from the budget, never replenishing it and not even asking his wife’s opinion.
She was also surprised that the mother-in-law accepted the money from her son but never said “thank you” for the help nor refused the money, even knowing the spouses were saving for an apartment.
Alina decided to talk to her mother-in-law, explain to her that the family savings were not meant to be squandered on the mother-in-law’s household needs. And that if she herself works, she should pay for herself from her own salary.
“Irina Pavlovna, hello,” she said, dialing her mother-in-law’s number.
“Hello, Alina. How are you?”
“I don’t even know what to say.”
“Tell it as it is. What happened?”
“You need to return the money you took from us,” Alina stated directly.
“What money?”
“You consistently demand money from Victor, he can’t refuse you. But I can. So, from today, you will not receive a single penny.”
“But Alina, I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”
“What’s there not to understand? You took money for the fridge, for repairs, for compensating financial damage… Victor is forced to help you at the expense of his own family! He denied Milana a new jacket, even though she really needs it, but he constantly transfers money to you!” Alina listed.
“I’ll transfer everything I received from my son right now. He didn’t tell me you had financial problems,” said Irina Pavlovna.
“Good, thank you. That’s exactly why I called you.”
The mother-in-law kept her word. Five minutes after the call, Alina’s balance was replenished. But the amount transferred by the mother-in-law literally made Alina laugh, and she called Irina Pavlovna again.
“Yes?” she answered.
“Are you going to repay the debt in parts?” the daughter-in-law clarified.
“No. I transferred all that I received from Victor. If you doubt it, I can send you the bank statement right now.”
Alina didn’t believe her, but doubts crept into her mind.
“Alright, maybe I was mistaken. I apologize.”
“Alina, you know, I recently noticed that Victor has been behaving differently. Is something wrong?”
“I don’t know, Irina Pavlovna. But I really want to find out.”
“Tell me, how much money has ‘disappeared’?”
Alina named the amount.
“That’s very, very much. Maybe he bought something? For himself? Something he’s long dreamed of?”
“I would have seen it. Nothing new appeared with him.”
“Maybe he wanted to make a gift for your daughter?”
“I don’t think so. Victor hardly deals with Milana. She reaches out to him, and he finds more important things to do,” complained Alina.
“That’s very unpleasant and strange,” said Irina Pavlovna. “Alina, I think you should watch his behavior.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t want to draw conclusions yet, but I hope I’m wrong,” said Irina Pavlovna. “Let’s just observe him.”
Alina shrugged. She didn’t understand what her mother-in-law was hinting at, but decided to watch her husband. It was clear: someone was deceiving Alina. Either the mother-in-law, claiming she didn’t take the money, or Victor, saying he helped his mother with money.
Alina developed a whole strategy. First, she started eavesdropping on his conversations, then she went through his phone. But there was nothing there, as in his social networks.
Nonetheless, Victor continued to behave provocatively.
“I’m meeting a friend today, don’t wait for me for dinner,” he took his wallet and left. A couple of hours later, she started receiving messages about where the money was spent. It turned out that her husband had a good time at a trendy restaurant.
Alina realized that Victor accidentally or deliberately “mixed up” cards and took his wife’s card, where part of her salary remained.
Alina was very curious who among his friends loved oysters and also took her card, which her husband so successfully used.
“It looks like a romantic date…” she noted, having managed to piece together the logic of her husband’s movements, and built a “route” to her husband and his “friend.”
Alina spotted Victor from afar. She looked closer and realized that her husband was not alone. Next to him was an unfamiliar woman in a fur vest, on heels, and with a designer handbag. Alina could only dream of such a bag. Victor would not allow Alina to spend so much money “on nonsense,” so the woman wore a practical, but terribly ugly, backpack.
However, dreams of the bag took a back seat when Victor hugged his companion and tenderly looked at her, probably confessing his love.
Alina’s first thought was to rush to the couple and separate them. But she restrained herself. Alina waited until her husband saw his “beloved” off to the end of the park and saw them say goodbye. Watching the farewell was disgusting. Tears clouded her eyes, but Alina took several photos to show her mother-in-law and husband when he would deny everything.
Meanwhile, the couple stopped hugging. Victor quickly left the park, and his companion walked towards Alina. The women crossed glances, and Alina blurted out:
“I saw everything! You are my husband’s mistress. How are you not ashamed to destroy a family?!” she yelled.
“Not ashamed. So what? What’s next?” the woman looked mockingly at Alina.
“You… the very monster! You have no conscience!”
“Why do I need a conscience? I live well without it. Look at you, for example: ring, handbag, fur vest, boots… all this my husband bought. Yours,” she laughed. “And you? Conscience? Well, keep it to yourself. And your husband too… you can take him back. I don’t need him.”
Alina did not expect such a turn. She didn’t immediately find a response.
“So, you’re not going to keep Victor anymore?”
“I never held onto him. He clung to me himself. I choose wealthy men who can support me, pamper me… and yours… one word, a man. And, as it turned out, he had nothing behind him. All this,” she waved her hand with the jewelry, “was bought with your family budget. Here’s how… While you work, your husband spends money on me,” the new mistress declared.
Alina looked at the insolent woman and barely restrained herself from grabbing her hair. She still didn’t consider her husband guilty; she thought the root of evil was exactly in this unfamiliar woman. And the lady wasn’t even holding onto Victor. What mattered to her was the presence of money, not love.
“You’re a calculating scammer. Don’t approach my husband. We have a child, a family, real feelings… and with you, he has just… a fleeting attraction.”
The unfamiliar woman looked meaningfully at Alina and didn’t respond. She just nodded and left. Nearby in the park, a small red car awaited her, a gift from one of her past suitors—the fat cats who always ran after her.
Only with Victor did she have bad luck—he turned out to be a cheater and a married man.
Alina stomped a bit and went home. She didn’t know how to live on, how to behave with her husband, and yet she felt like a winner in this skirmish with her husband’s mistress.
Victor came home late. Alina tortured herself with thoughts about where he had been. But given that her husband came home angry and upset, Alina decided that he and the mistress had parted, and she exhaled.
She prepared dinner for her husband, endured his growling and reproaches, and waited for him to change, to understand that there was no better woman than Alina. But deep down, her sense of self-worth was hurt. Alina remembered the words of the unfamiliar woman and realized that there was a grain of truth in the woman’s words. Alina was left with nothing but pride and conscience.
Her husband had long been a stranger, shamelessly spending money on another, while Alina and her daughter made do with little—wearing old clothes, waiting for the beloved man at home, and hanging on his every word. And he entertained himself at their expense, deceived them, and considered them nothing.
“Alinochka, well, how are you?” calling, asked Irina Pavlovna. “I talked to my son, he said he had to lie. He’s having some problems at work… in short, don’t be mad at him. He’s just… a bit tired. Wait, and everything will be fine between you.”
“Irina Pavlovna, things will no longer be fine. There’s no need to cover up his lies, I know about the affairs.”
On the other end, there was a puff.
“Well, think about it, who hasn’t it happened to? How many times did his father cheat on me? Countless. And we were still happy! Together until old age…”
“You were happy? No, Irina Pavlovna. Your husband was happy. And you were just a miserable sufferer. I don’t want to be that. Sorry.”
Alina hung up. She packed her things, took the remaining amount she had saved, and went to her parents with her daughter.
Alina knew that true happiness was still ahead. And the past could go away with Victor where he belonged.
The divorce was finalized without unnecessary tears, although Victor claimed he needed a chance. But Alina realized that she would neither give him a chance nor a penny of money anymore.
“Good luck to you, Victor. Now you can go on a free journey and support mistresses at your own expense. I’m no longer participating in this,” she said proudly and walked away. After some time, Alina met another man… he accepted Milana, was liked by the potential mother-in-law, and, quite possibly, everything would work out for Alina and him.