“Mom, Dad came here. But he wasn’t alone — he brought some unfamiliar woman. I’ve never seen her before,” called Darya’s eldest daughter from work.
“What? I didn’t understand,” the woman was confused. “And who is this woman, Katyusha? A realtor, or what? Are they looking at our house? Tell me, what are they doing?”
“They’re unpacking suitcases in your bedroom. And Dad showed this lady the house, explaining where everything is,” the ten-year-old daughter revealed. “He took her around the rooms and said — here’s the kitchen, there’s the bathroom, and in the yard, we’ll grill meat today. That’s what he said to her.”
“No, she’s not a realtor,” Darya muttered aloud to herself.
Worried, the woman immediately rushed home. Luckily, she worked nearby from home, so it wasn’t a long run.
“Come in, Evelina, don’t be shy, come to the kitchen. Make yourself at home, my kitty. Let’s have a snack, okay? All this moving around is such a hassle. So, what have you prepared, Darya? Oh, nothing yet. The pots are empty. Well then, we’ll have some tea, alright? Sit down, my dear, I’ll put the kettle on.”
“So, what’s going on here?” At that moment, a disheveled and out-of-breath Darya rushed into the kitchen, still in a mild trance from what she saw.
Her ex-husband Igor was serving tea to the stranger. Pouring it into tea cups from Darya’s expensive and beloved set, by the way. Judging by everything, they hadn’t even brought their own tea leaves. So they used the ones Darya had bought recently with her meager salary. God, they even ate her homemade jam! The one she made in the summer from raspberries picked in her mother’s village. The woman could no longer tolerate such audacity. She was ready for a serious confrontation.
The girls shyly pressed themselves against the kitchen door, watching their father and the stranger. But Darya quickly sent them to the kids’ room.
“Oh, what a meeting. Hello, Dasha, hello,” Igor said casually, sipping tea. “Already here? Evelina and I are having tea here. Tired from the move, just awful. So many worries and problems.”
“Who is she? What move!? What on earth is going on here?” At that moment, Darya snatched her teacup from the stranger’s hands and poured the drink down the sink.
“Hey, don’t get cheeky! What kind of behavior is this?” the woman protested.
“Dasha, what are you doing? Behave yourself. Are you stingy with tea? This is my wife Evelina, meet her. And don’t embarrass yourself, honestly, I’m even ashamed of you. We just moved here to live together. So you need to accept that fact and act accordingly.”
“Live? With her? Here!? Have you completely lost your mind, Danilov? Your little kids live here! You’re going to carry on your debauchery right in front of them? Do you have no humanity left at all?” Darya shouted, at that moment wanting to throw a hot kettle at her ex-husband’s head.
“Wait, calm down. You’re too upset, Dasha. Let’s get everything straight. We’re not savages to be fighting, especially not resorting to violence. Calm down.”
“You’re wrong. You’re the real savage for coming up with this! You, Igor, not me!” Darya yelled.
“Here we go again. Stop shouting, please. There’s no one deaf here, and Evelina will think you’re a complete hysteric. Don’t scare my wife.”
“Yeah, that’s exactly what she thought. I mean, you didn’t even let me drink tea,” the previously silent new wife of Igor said offended.
“Both of you get out of here immediately before I call the police!” Darya wouldn’t calm down, dreaming of throwing these intruders out of her house.
“On what grounds, darling?” Evelina asked more boldly now.
“Wait, no one’s asking you. Sit quietly,” Igor shut her down, also starting to get nervous.
“What have you done here? No conscience at all? Is this your revenge for the house not selling for so long? What do I have to do with it? And your kids too? Don’t you understand the real estate market is really bad in this city right now?”
“What revenge? Why are you dramatizing?” Igor deliberately spoke calmly and even flatteringly to provoke his ex. “You won’t deny that part of this house belongs to me? You won’t because it’s true.”
“When I was alone, I could wander corners and hotels. Though it was very inconvenient and expensive, to be honest. But now everything has changed. I got married, if you haven’t noticed.”
At that moment, Igor went to the Evelina sitting opposite and hugged her, showing Darya their tender relationship.
“Come, darling, to our room. I’m so tired of these confrontations, nerves all the time,” Igor prepared to leave the kitchen.
“Are you serious about all this?” Dasha, upset and tired of the quarrels, still couldn’t believe what was happening.
“Absolutely. Keep in mind — my wife and I took your bedroom. We can’t move into the kids’ room, think about it yourself. So you don’t live there anymore, move to the living room. I’ve already moved some of your things.”
“How long do you intend to torment us? Me and my children?” the poor woman barely managed to say.
“You ask strange questions. How long? I don’t know how it will go. You have to understand I need money to buy new housing. The funds I have aren’t enough even for a one-room apartment. And admit, it’s unfair that you alone will use the whole house while my wife and I will have to rent.”
“Alone? There are three of us living here!” Darya wanted to cry from hurt and despair but held herself together. “You’ve already written off your kids, haven’t you? Or they’re just like stray puppies with no home at all?”
“Don’t hide behind the kids! I could easily live here myself with our girls and take care of them no worse than you. And you would look for other housing. But you didn’t agree to that. I can still offer you the same option. Especially now that Evelina will help me. Right, dear?”
“Yes. Why not,” Igor’s wife answered roughly. “Nothing complicated.”
“God, what nonsense! Has she even held a child? Maybe she has!” Darya was sarcastic. “And why would she need your kids? They’re strangers to her.”
“That’s it! This conversation is pointless! My wife and I will live here until the house sells. Well, there’s another option,” the ex-husband continued in a different tone. “You can buy my share. Then we’ll move out.”
“Buy your share? Where would I get that?” Darya was sincerely surprised, now barely making ends meet to feed her daughters after the divorce.
“That’s not my problem anymore, as you understand,” Igor answered cynically.
“Well, I’ll call our district police officer right now, and he’ll evict all strangers from here,” Darya threatened. “I’ll find a way to deal with you! Acting all smart!”
“Go ahead, call! Let him laugh at you. Petka’s my classmate. He’ll come here, scold us for order’s sake, make Evelina leave. She won’t argue. She’ll promise, of course, but won’t do it. Right, my kitty?” Igor confidently said, hugging his smiling wife.
They went to the bedroom. Dasha tiredly sat down on a chair. At that moment, her daughters — Katya and Sonya — ran to the kitchen.
“Mom, why were you and Dad fighting? And who is this woman? Is she going to live with us now?” they bombarded their upset mother with questions.
“Oh, my girls, we’ll have to endure a little while,” she said sadly, hugging them.
But what happened next was like a real nightmare.
That very evening, Darya called the district officer. He came only the next day. After checking Evelina’s passport, he ordered her to leave the чужой (someone else’s) house. He whispered something in the kitchen with Igor and left.
Darya realized she would have to file a lawsuit. There was no other way. It’s not easy to evict these barbarians from the house!
Igor left for work every morning, while his new wife stayed home. It turned out she didn’t work anywhere. She did whatever she wanted all day.
Coming home from work in the evening, Darya was horrified by what she saw. Mountains of unwashed dishes in the sink — it seemed Evelina was hosting guests every day, mess in the kitchen and bathroom, things scattered all over the house.
“Why didn’t you wash the dishes? Explain to me! You’ve created a mess in someone else’s house!” Darya was outraged.
“Why should I wash your dishes?” the impudent woman retorted.
“Because you dirtied them!” the owner yelled.
“Oh yeah? And how will you prove that?” the shameless woman laughed. “I’m on a diet anyway! And your dishes — I don’t care.”
“And the mess all over the apartment? Did I make that?”
“No, that’s your daughters. Such slobs, just terrible. They need to be raised better — these are girls, future homemakers, but they behave terribly. And don’t clean up after themselves either,” Evelina said, demonstratively going to her room.
With tears in her eyes, Darya cleaned the house, convinced tomorrow would be the same.
Food she bought for the children with her low salary constantly disappeared from the fridge. She couldn’t catch anyone red-handed, and accusing without proof was useless. There was no reaction at all.
Now it was impossible to get into the bathroom or toilet in the mornings. Igor and his wife deliberately occupied the common spaces for a long time, trying to drive the owner crazy. They openly hugged and cuddled, not even shy in front of the kids. They constantly whispered and laughed, bringing Darya to a boiling rage.
Sometimes she felt close to losing control and hurting someone. Only her daughters held her back.
Exhausted by what was happening, Darya shared everything by phone with her only friend.
“Vera, this is like some horror movie. I can’t take it anymore! I understand they want us and the kids to move out. Or for me to quickly find money for Igor’s half of the house. But living like this is impossible!”
“Listen, did you check her passport? Is she really his wife, not a fraud?” her friend advised.
“The district officer checked. I’ve called him several times already. But he’s useless! He comes, tells her she has to leave, and that’s it. Now we have to wait for a court decision and forcibly evict the impudent woman. And I don’t know how that will go. They’re crafty, Igor and Evelina — they’ll come up with something else. There’s no way to fight them! How is this even possible?”
“Don’t get upset. Endure a little longer. The truth is on your side. Where else would you go with two little kids? Not to your parents in the village, right? I think there isn’t even a school there. So you’ll have to find another way to solve this problem.”
“Oh, don’t say that, Vera! The village is not an option at all. But how to endure all this? I don’t even understand how I could love him once. He’s not a person — he’s a real scoundrel! Doesn’t even care about his own kids! How is that possible?”
Finally, Darya awaited the court decision, which ordered Evelina to leave their house. That very evening, Dasha again had to call the district officer.
“If you don’t evict this woman today, I’ll file a complaint against you for inaction and complicity with criminals!” the desperate woman did not spare words.
Packing her bags, Evelina left the house with Igor.
“I’ll be back, remember that, dear. And I’ll make your life hell!” he hissed in Dasha’s ear.
It’s unknown how it would have ended, but fate decided to help the poor mother with two children. A few days later, a woman called, saying she saw the ad and urgently wanted to see their house.
“Please, we’re waiting for you,” Darya replied, hardly believing such happiness.
An elderly couple arrived within an hour. They got acquainted. Dasha learned that the husband was retired but the woman still worked.
“Vasya and I dreamed of a house like this. With a small garden and flowers around. We lived in an apartment all our lives. Now that my husband is retired, we decided to make our dream come true. And the kids supported us. I still work, and you know, it’s very convenient that my office is in this district. Just ten minutes walking. So we’re buying your house,” the woman said simply, smiling at the owner.
So Darya finally sold the house, which had become an apple of discord and brought her so much suffering. She bought a cozy two-room apartment for herself and the children. And she gave her ex-husband his share of the house.
Now Darya completely forbids him to communicate with the children. They aren’t needed by their father anyway. The man is building a new life. And ex-spouses, children — those are mistakes of youth. He wants to forget all that as soon as possible, so nothing distracts him from the main thing. That’s what Igor thinks, intoxicated by his new love.
