“You really thought I was going to pay for the apartment if it’s registered in your name?”
“You really thought I was going to pay for the apartment if it’s registered in your name?” my husband said, stunning me after yet another lunch at his mother’s place…
Ekaterina closed the front door and leaned back against it. The night shift had drained every last bit of strength from her. Three emergency surgeries in a row. She rubbed her reddened eyes. The apartment greeted her with silence.
“Sasha! Are you home?” Ekaterina called as she took off her outdoor shoes.
No one answered. On the kitchen table lay a note written in broad, sweeping handwriting: “Went to Mom’s. I’ll be back by evening.” Ekaterina sighed heavily. Lately, Alexander had been going to his mother’s house more and more often.
She went into the bathroom. The cold water revived her a little. A tired face with dark circles under the eyes looked back at her from the mirror. Ekaterina remembered the day she had received the keys to this apartment. Three years ago, she had crossed the threshold of her own home for the first time.
Back then, everything had been different. Ekaterina had just graduated from medical university. An interesting job in the cardiology department was waiting for her. Night shifts, overtime, advanced training courses — all of it had been worth it. The respect of colleagues, grateful patients, and this apartment in the city center.
Of course, the apartment was not perfect. Old wallpaper, creaky parquet flooring, cracked tiles in the bathroom. But it was her space. Ekaterina was happy to have a corner of her own.
Meeting Alexander turned her orderly life upside down. They met at a mutual friend’s birthday party. Ekaterina immediately noticed the tall guy with the open smile. Alexander worked as a physical education teacher. At a private school.
Once, he admitted:
“I have big plans. I want to open my own sports club for children.”
Sasha’s eyes lit up whenever he talked about his dream. Alexander seemed so easygoing, so relaxed. The complete opposite of her — strict and organized.
Their relationship developed quickly. At first, they rented an apartment. Alexander wanted to build a family in a new place. But renting was expensive. Ekaterina gently suggested that they move into her apartment. Alexander gladly agreed.
“The city center, everything nearby, public transport right at hand,” he said while moving his things in. “We’ll save up for renovations!”
At first, everything went smoothly. Ekaterina worked, paid the utility bills, and bought groceries. Alexander promised that he would contribute to the shared budget later.
“My salary isn’t the highest,” he explained. “But I’ll definitely catch up!”
Ekaterina did not insist. She liked their life together. Simple, but peaceful.
Everything changed when Marina Lvovna, Alexander’s mother, appeared in their lives. She was a domineering woman with firm beliefs about how a family should be arranged.
“A man is the head of the family, and a woman is the neck,” her mother-in-law liked to repeat during Sunday lunches. “That’s how it has always been, and that’s how it will always be!”
Ekaterina treated such statements as empty chatter. But with every visit to Marina Lvovna, Alexander became more and more influenced by his mother’s ideas.
“Why are you on duty again?” he would ask reproachfully. “You don’t think about the family at all!”
Ekaterina did not understand what was happening. Before, Alexander had supported her career ambitions. Now he constantly reproached her for being too busy.
“I work so we have enough to live on,” she would answer tiredly.
“You work too much,” Alexander objected. “And there’s no help from you at all!”
Ekaterina could not believe her ears. She paid all the bills, cooked the food, and cleaned the apartment. What else did Alexander expect from her?
“Katya, you don’t take care of your husband at all,” Marina Lvovna once declared after showing up at their home without ceremony. “A man must be cherished and pampered!”
“Mom is right,” Alexander agreed. “You’re always at work.”
With each passing day, the situation grew worse. Alexander went to his mother’s more and more often. He spoke less and less about his sports club. Ekaterina felt their relationship falling apart.
One sunny Sunday, when Ekaterina finally had a day off, Alexander suggested they go to his mother’s for lunch.
“Again?” Ekaterina blurted out. “We were there last week!”
“Mom is waiting for us,” Alexander insisted. “She made your favorite solyanka.”
Ekaterina wanted to object that dinner at Marina Lvovna’s was the last thing she wanted on her day off. But she kept silent. Perhaps she should try to improve her relationship with her mother-in-law?
Lunch at Marina Lvovna’s went as usual. Her mother-in-law fussed over her son, placing the best pieces of meat on his plate. Ekaterina ate silently, listening to their conversations.
“My son, you look completely worn out,” Marina Lvovna lamented, stroking Alexander’s shoulder. “Were you staying late with your students again?”
“It’s nothing, Mom,” Alexander waved it off. “Everything’s fine.”
“Katya should take better care of you!” her mother-in-law cast a displeased glance at her daughter-in-law. “A man shouldn’t look as if no one feeds him!”
Ekaterina clenched her teeth. Her gaze fell on Marina Lvovna’s well-groomed hands with the perfect manicure. Hands like those had never known the chaos of hospital corridors or night shifts.
“Alexander looks perfectly fine,” Ekaterina answered calmly. “And I feed him well.”
Marina Lvovna merely snorted in response. Alexander was silent the entire way home. Ekaterina could see that resentment was ripening inside him.
A few days later, the utility bills arrived. The amount was considerable. Heating season, meter replacement, increased tariffs. Ekaterina decided it was time to talk to her husband. Enough hints and unspoken issues.
At dinner, Ekaterina placed the receipts on the table. Alexander lazily picked at his food with a fork, paying no attention to the papers.
“Sasha, we need to talk,” Ekaterina said, sliding the bills toward him. “The utility bills came. Maybe we can split them together?”
Alexander raised his head. Something cold flashed in his eyes. Her husband placed his fork on the plate and leaned back in his chair.
“Why would I? You really thought I was going to pay for the apartment if it’s registered in your name?” His voice sounded calm, but every word hurt.
Ekaterina froze. The phrase was so unexpected that for a moment it took her breath away.
“After the last lunch at Mom’s, I realized a lot,” Alexander continued. “This apartment is yours. So you pay for it.”
Ekaterina sat at the table, silently staring at her husband. Thoughts spun in her head, each one more frightening than the last. How long had Alexander thought this way? Why had he never said it before?
“And what, you live here for free?” Ekaterina asked quietly.
“That’s different,” Alexander cut her off. “Mom is right. You demand too much.”
What had seemed like equality turned out to be an illusion. Alexander did not see them as partners. He considered the apartment “not his” — and therefore believed he was not obligated to help maintain it.
“I understand,” Ekaterina said slowly, removing the bills from the table. “Then it would be fair if you moved out.”
Alexander stared at her in disbelief.
“You’re kicking me out? Over some bills?”
A strange calm came over Ekaterina.
“No, Sasha. Not because of the bills. Because of your attitude. This apartment really is mine. And I also get to decide who lives in it.”
Her husband snorted, not believing Katya’s words.
That same night, while Alexander was sleeping, Ekaterina took out his suitcase. She carefully folded his things and zipped it shut.
In the morning, Ekaterina calmly informed Alexander, who had just woken up, that he was moving out. A look of offense and confusion appeared on her husband’s face.
“You can’t do this to me!” Alexander protested. “Where am I supposed to go?”
“To your mother,” Ekaterina shrugged. “She’ll be happy.”
Alexander left, slamming the door. An hour later, Marina Lvovna called.
“What are you doing?!” her mother-in-law screamed into the phone. “You kicked my son out! Ungrateful woman! He sacrificed so much for you! His career!”
Ekaterina listened silently, without interrupting. What career? Dreams of opening a club that had remained nothing but dreams? This man had simply grown used to drifting with the current. Now Katya understood that.
“Now he’s broken!” Marina Lvovna continued. “You destroyed everything!”
Ekaterina did not answer. She simply pressed the end-call button. Then she deleted Alexander’s number and his mother’s from her phone. Her workday began in an hour. She had to get ready.
Over the next few months, Ekaterina immersed herself in work. She was respected at the hospital, and patients valued her. She participated in conferences and published articles. Six months later, the chief physician called her into his office.
“Ekaterina, the position of department head is becoming available,” he said. “You would be the ideal candidate.”
Ekaterina agreed without hesitation. The new position meant more responsibility, but also more opportunities. The first thing she did was renovate the apartment. Something she had long dreamed of — light walls, new tiles, comfortable furniture. The apartment was transformed, becoming truly cozy.
One day, returning from duty, Ekaterina noticed a familiar figure on the bench near the entrance. Alexander sat hunched over, staring at his feet. He had noticeably lost weight, and his clothes looked careless. Seeing his ex-wife, he stood up.
“Katya, can we talk?” His voice sounded uncertain.
Ekaterina stopped. Alexander looked lost.
“I miss you,” he said without waiting for an answer. “I was wrong. Everything will change, I promise.”
“What happened, Sasha?” Ekaterina asked.
“It’s impossible to live with Mom,” Alexander admitted. “She controls every step I take. I’m suffocating there.”
Regret was visible in his eyes. But was it sincere? Or had living with his mother simply become inconvenient for Alexander?
“I understand,” Ekaterina nodded. “But I can’t take you back.”
“Why?” Offense sounded in his voice. “You don’t love me anymore?”
Ekaterina thought about it. Had she stopped loving him? Or had she simply grown used to his absence?
“It’s not about love, Sasha,” she finally answered. “It’s about respect. About partnership. We never had that between us.”
Ekaterina smiled softly and walked toward the entrance. Alexander did not try to stop her. Once she reached her apartment, she closed the door behind her and leaned against the wall with relief. A quiet whimper sounded in the hallway.
“Rex, I’m home,” Ekaterina bent down to the warm little bundle pressed against her legs.
The small puppy she had taken from the shelter a month earlier joyfully wagged his tail. Now she had company that demanded nothing in return except love and care.
Ekaterina walked into the living room. Paintings she had chosen herself hung on the walls. Books she loved stood on the shelves.
The woman knew: there was no road back. She had her own home. And now it contained only what she truly chose for herself.