“And just imagine how loudly she’ll scream when she finds out that I’ve already transferred our shared apartment into my mother’s name!” Dima bragged laughingly as he buttoned up his shirt.
Elena looked at him with a raised eyebrow while sitting on the edge of the bed, wrapped in a red satin robe.
“Maybe it’s time for you to move out, Dima. You promised to throw your wife out of the apartment, but you’re still sleeping with her,” Elena said, shaking her hair and lighting a cigarette.
“I’ll sort it out tomorrow, I promise. Today I’ll throw her out. She doesn’t have any rights anyway.
When I transferred the apartment into my mother’s name, she didn’t even bat an eye. She trusted me blindly. Naive.”
“Or maybe you’re just a coward and don’t even know how to get a divorce? I know men like you. They sell women dreams and in the end, end up back in the marital bed.”
Dima said nothing. He grinned smugly and walked out the door. On his way home, he played the scenario over in his head.
He throws Kata out, she cries, the kids scream, but in an hour it’s all over. By evening, he’s a free man.
When he entered the apartment building, he climbed the stairs with determination. He inserted the key into the lock but didn’t get to turn it—the door was opened from inside.
Kata stood there, pale but with a steely gaze. Next to her… was his mother.
Dima froze.
“Mom? What are you doing here?”
“Me? I came to look at my apartment. It belongs to me, doesn’t it?” the woman said coolly.
Kata stepped back and handed him a folder.
“We have a little problem, Dima. What you didn’t know is that although the apartment was transferred into your mother’s name, legally it was purchased during our marriage.
With joint money. And guess what? My lawyer was very curious about how you managed the transfer without my consent.”
“What…? You didn’t sign anything…”
“Exactly. And that’s why there’s now a criminal complaint against you. Fraud doesn’t just expire, my dear.
Oh, and in case you’re wondering—your mother agreed to cooperate with us. She didn’t want to be dragged into your foolishness.”
Dima’s mother sighed. “You were always a spoiled boy, Dima. I thought you’d grow up someday.
And now this—you want to throw your wife and children out on the street just to sleep with some cheap mistress? You’ve disappointed me.”
Dima was speechless. All he could do was breathe heavily and try to grasp how the ground was just pulled out from under his feet.
“Oh yes, one more thing,” Kata said, handing him another paper. “Court order. From today, you have to leave the apartment. The children stay here. With me.”
The door quietly closed behind him, and Dima was left alone in the hallway. The building seemed silent. Only the wind was heard between the doors. He had never felt so small.
