Anna wearily sank onto the old sofa, massaging her aching legs after a long shift. Working as a nurse at the district clinic was exhausting, but there was no other choice—someone had to pay the bills. Anna’s gaze drifted across the peeling walls of their small two-room apartment. It desperately needed repairs, but there always seemed to be more pressing expenses.
“Sergey, are you home?” Anna called out, listening for any sounds in the apartment.
“Yes, in the kitchen,” came her husband’s voice.
Anna walked into the kitchen, where Sergey sat engrossed in his phone. His focused expression suggested he wasn’t playing games.
“How was your day?” Anna asked, opening the refrigerator and grimacing at its near-empty interior.
“Fine,” Sergey replied absently, not looking up from the screen.
Anna sighed. Lately, conversations with her husband had been reduced to monosyllabic phrases. Sergey worked as a minibus driver and constantly complained about his low wages, yet made no attempts to change anything.
“Listen, Anya,” Sergey suddenly perked up, “do you have a thousand rubles until payday? I’m short on gas money.”
Anna frowned. It was becoming a pattern—Sergey frequently asked her for money. At first, she didn’t think much of it, but now it was starting to worry her.
“Sergey, we just got paid yesterday. Where did you spend it all?”
Sergey twitched oddly and looked away.
“Just things here and there. You know how expensive everything is.”
Anna silently took out her wallet and handed him a thousand-ruble note. Sergey grabbed it with unnatural haste and immediately pocketed it.
“Thanks, dear. I’ll pay you back as soon as I can.”
Anya nodded, but a growing unease spread within her. Something was not right. But for now, Anna couldn’t get to the truth.
The next morning, Anna rushed to work. She hurried past the minibus parking lot when she overheard her husband’s voice. Anna almost called out to him, but something in Sergey’s tone made her wary.
“I understand,” Sergey’s voice was nervous. “But where am I going to get that kind of money? I just need a bit more time.”
A harsh voice responded:
“There’s no time. The boss doesn’t like to wait. Look, either you return the money in a week, or expect trouble. Got it?”
A chill ran down Anna’s spine. “What money? And who is this boss?”
“I’ll pay it back, I swear,” Sergey almost pleaded. “I just need a bit more time. I have a plan…”
“Your plans don’t interest us,” the other man interrupted. “The money. In a week. Or blame yourself.”
Anna heard footsteps receding. Her heart pounded wildly. She quickly stepped away from the corner, pretending she had just arrived.
“Sergey!” she called out to her husband, trying to sound normal.
Sergey flinched and turned around. A strange expression—a mix of fear and guilt—flashed across his face.
“Anya? What are you doing here?”
“I’m on my way to work,” Anna forced a smile. “Just thought I’d check on you. Here, you forgot your lunch. Everything alright?”
“Yes, yes, everything’s fine,” Sergey replied too hastily. “You should go, or you’ll be late for work.”
Anna nodded and walked on, feeling a tightening inside from a bad premonition. “What is Sergey hiding? And what has he gotten himself into?”
All day, Anna struggled to work, her thoughts constantly returning to her husband’s words. In the evening, she returned home and found Sergey in the kitchen with a stack of papers in front of him.
“You’re back already? How was your day?” Sergey asked.
“Fine,” Anna replied, eyeing her husband closely. “What are those papers?”
“Oh, this?” Sergey hastily gathered the sheets into a stack. “Just some nonsense. Listen, Anya, there’s something…”
He faltered, clearly searching for words. Anna felt everything inside freeze in anticipation.
“Basically, there’s something to sign,” Sergey finally managed. “Just a formality, nothing serious.”
“What to sign?” Anna asked suspiciously.
Sergey handed her the stack of papers, smiling unnaturally:
“Dear, just sign these papers, it’s for your own good.”
Anya grabbed the documents and began to read. With each second, her eyes widened in horror. It was a contract for the sale of their apartment.
“Sergey, what does this mean?” Anna’s voice trembled with barely contained anger.
“Anya, it’s just…,” Sergey clearly became nervous. “You see, we need money. A lot of money. And this apartment… well, it’s old, needs repairs. We’ll sell it, buy something smaller, and with the difference…”
“With the difference, what? Pay off debts?” Anna interrupted.
Sergey turned pale:
“You… you know?”
“I heard your conversation this morning,” Anna felt tears welling up. “Sergey, what have you gotten into?”
Her husband slumped into a chair, burying his face in his hands:
“I wanted to make things better, Anya. Honestly. Just… all these debts, the constant lack of money. I thought I could make a quick buck and fix everything.”
“Earn money, how?” Anna felt horror mounting inside.
“There was a scheme…,” Sergey spoke without looking up. “With transports. Illegal. They promised big money, and I fell for it. I borrowed from someone to start. Then everything went wrong.”
Anna struggled to listen to her husband. The world around her was collapsing. Anya was betrayed by the person she loved, trusted. Sergey had changed, dramatically.
“And now we need to sell the apartment to pay off the debts?” Anna asked quietly. “Why didn’t you consult with me before getting into this mess?”
Sergey nodded, his head still down:
“I was trying for us. But it didn’t work out… I have no other choice, Anya. These people… they’re not joking. If I don’t return the money…”
“Did you think about me?” Anna’s voice trembled with hurt and anger. “About the fact that this apartment is all we have? That I inherited it from my grandmother?”
“Anya, I’ll pay it back, I swear,” Sergey finally looked up, his eyes full of pleading. “Just sign. Otherwise, it’ll be bad for both of us.”
Anna felt everything inside contract with fear and disgust. She stepped back from her husband, as if from a stranger.
“No, Sergey. I won’t sign anything,” Anna said firmly, surprised at her own calmness. “And you’re going to tell me the whole truth now. Every detail.”
For the next hour, Anna listened to her husband’s disjointed story about his failed attempts to get rich quick, about debts and threats. With each word Sergey said, the woman felt their future together crumbling.
Finally, Sergey’s story came to an end. A heavy silence hung in the apartment. Anya looked at Sergey in amazement. Anya no longer recognized the husband with whom she had lived five years in marriage.
“I need to think,” Anna quietly admitted. “Pack your things. You better leave.”
“Where to?” Sergey asked bewildered.
“To your parents, to friends—I don’t care. Just not here.”
Sergey wanted to object. But Anna’s face allowed no room for compromise. The husband cast a pleading look at Anya. But the woman did not yield. Within an hour, Sergey left the apartment.
Alone, Anna finally allowed herself to burst into tears. All the tension of the past hours poured out in a stream of bitter tears. But even through the sobs, a plan of action was already forming in Anna’s mind.
In the morning, Anna got up tired and sleepless. She dialed her cousin’s number. Maxim was a lawyer.
“Max, I need your help,” Anna began without preamble, “Urgently.”
Soon, Anna and Maxim met in a cafe. The woman told the whole story. Maxim nodded, then said:
“Alright, first thing we do is file for divorce. Then we start the property division process. The apartment was yours before the marriage, so Sergey has no rights to it. But we need to act fast, before he makes even bigger mistakes.”
The following days passed like in a fog. Anna, taking leave from work, rushed between various institutions, signing papers and gathering documents. Maxim was by her side, guiding and supporting his sister.
Sergey constantly tried to contact his wife. But Anna didn’t answer. After careful consideration, the woman decided to talk to her husband on neutral ground:
“I filed for divorce, Sergey.”
“Anya, please! Don’t do this,” Sergey pleaded. “I’ll fix everything, I swear!”
“It’s too late, Sergey,” Anna cut him off. “You’ve destroyed everything yourself. Now deal with your problems on your own.”
They talked for a long time, but the woman’s decision was unchanged.
A week later, Anna received a message from an unknown number: “Did you sign the papers? Time is up.”
Anna’s insides clenched with fear. The woman forwarded the message to Maxim.
“Don’t worry,” her brother reassured. “A report has already been sent to the police. Now these guys will think twice before trying to scare my sister again.”
Anna was glad that Maxim was so confident in success. But the woman decided to take some steps herself. Anna changed the locks and asked her neighbor to watch the apartment while she was away.
A month passed. The divorce process was in full swing. Sergey finally realized that he was losing everything. And then the almost ex-husband decided to challenge Anna’s decision. Even Sergey’s parents got involved:
“He just got confused,” Sergey’s mother said with tears in her eyes. “He’ll improve, you’ll see.”
But Anna was unyielding. Sergey had destroyed the marriage, trust, and respect with his own hands.
Anna tried her best to distract herself from heavy thoughts. And extra money was needed. So the woman began helping neighbors: administering injections, doing dressings. Soon, Anna had regular clients. And the earned money pleasantly warmed her soul.
Anna returned home from work. The woman froze, seeing her ex-husband at the entrance. Sergey looked straight at Anna.
“Wait, don’t run away,” Sergey stopped when he saw his ex-wife flinch. “Let’s just talk?”
“There’s nothing to talk about, Sergey,” Anna tried to walk around the man. “It’s all over.”
“But everything has changed!” Sergey exclaimed. “I found a steady job, I’m paying off debts! Give me another chance, please!”
Anna looked at her ex-husband. Sincerity was evident in his eyes, but Anna could no longer trust him.
“Sorry, Sergey,” she said quietly. “But I can no longer trust you. You almost left me without a roof over my head. I can’t risk it again.”
Anna sharply opened the entrance door, leaving Sergey alone. In the apartment, Anya looked out the window for a long time. The woman watched as Sergey’s figure gradually disappeared into the darkness.
Six months passed. The divorce was finalized, the apartment officially remained Anna’s. Life was gradually getting back on track. Anna even began to renovate the apartment—a small but long-awaited one.
One day, while painting the walls in the living room, Anna found an envelope behind the old wallpaper. Inside were old photos and letters from her grandmother.
“My dear granddaughter,” wrote the grandmother. “Know that this apartment is not just walls. It’s your fortress, your support in life. Take care of it and don’t let anyone take away what rightfully belongs to you.”
Anna pressed the letter to her chest. Tears rolled down her cheeks. Anya realized that she had almost made a monumental mistake. She was proud of herself for being able to defend the apartment and not fall for her ex’s persuasions.
That evening, Anna finished painting the walls. Later, the woman settled down in the kitchen. She opened a clean text document on her laptop. Anna’s fingers fluttered over the keyboard. Anya was writing her story—her story—about trust, betrayal, and finding herself.
“I learned to love and value myself,” Anna wrote. “And now I won’t let anyone interfere. No one has the right to control my life, my property.”
Anna leaned back in her chair and took a deep breath. Dawn was breaking outside—the beginning of a new day and a new chapter in her life. A life in which she was the mistress of her own destiny.
The phone vibrated—a message from Maxim: “How are you, sister? Maybe we’ll meet on the weekend?”
Anna smiled. “Yes, life goes on.” And now she knew for sure that she could handle whatever fate had in store.
Closing the laptop, Anna approached the window. The city was waking up, filled with morning bustle. Somewhere out there, in that stream of people, was Sergey—with his problems and debts. But that was no longer her concern. Now she was confident and independent. Anya knew she deserved more. Anna ran her hand over the freshly painted wall.
“Thank you, grandma,” Anna whispered, looking at the old photo. “I’ve kept the gift and found myself.”
With these thoughts, Anna began to get ready for work. Ahead was a new day, full of opportunities and hopes. And she was ready to meet it with an open heart and a clear mind.
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