“— Where are your dresses? And why did you put away your jewelry?” — My sister-in-law was rifling through my closet again without knocking, but this time I was expecting her.
Arina glanced at the clock. Five minutes to six. Maria should be arriving any minute now.
She kicked off her shoes and tossed her bag onto the sofa, then walked to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator — and, as she expected, found only cold light and nearly empty shelves. After a full day at the warehouse, sorting out the mess in the accounting department, she had completely forgotten about food.
The doorbell rang. Arina took a deep breath, trying to steady herself.
“— Oh, bride-to-be, hi there! I was passing by and thought I’d drop in,” Maria’s cheerful voice rang out, and she stepped into the hallway without waiting for an invitation.
“— I have a name,” Arina said coldly. “And I just got home from work.”
“— I won’t stay long!” — her sister-in-law waved her off, slipping easily into the living room. “Can you imagine? I have an interview tomorrow, and I have nothing to wear!”
Arina closed her eyes and began silently counting to ten.
“— And what do you suggest?”
“Well, take a look at your wardrobe?” Maria was already opening the wardrobe doors. “You have so much stuff that you won’t even notice if one blouse goes missing temporarily!”
Arina smiled briefly to herself. Just as expected. The word temporarily would smoothly turn into forever. Though Maria didn’t bother with such nuances — she simply took what she wanted.
“— Wow!” Maria exclaimed, pulling a silk blouse from the closet. “It’s Chanel! And look — the price tag isn’t even cut off… How much is this wonder?”
Arina remembered buying this blouse at the boutique, saving up for two months.
“— Fifty thousand.”
Maria whistled.
“— Does Kostik know you spend that kind of money on clothes?”
“— I spend my own money,” Arina snapped. “And these aren’t just clothes.”
Her sister-in-law moved to the dressing table, sifting through the jewelry.
“— Hey, can I have these earrings? They’ll match the blouse perfectly!”
“— No,” Arina replied firmly. “They’re a gift from my mother.”
“— Stingy!” Maria pouted. “And that bottle of perfume I borrowed last week is all gone. Can I have a new one?”
“— That bottle cost twelve thousand.”
“— Well, sorry! How was I supposed to know? Everything is so expensive here,” her sister-in-law snorted. “By the way, I noticed your little silver bracelet. Can I wear it?”
The hallway door slammed. Konstantin had returned from work.
“— My favorite women!” he smiled, peeking into the room. “What’s the conversation about?”
“— Your sister came for my things again,” Arina said, crossing her arms.
“— Here we go!” Maria rolled her eyes. “Kostik, tell your wife she should share. Didn’t your mother teach you that as a child?”
Arina looked at her husband, silently begging for support.
“— Arish, come on, why do you care?” Konstantin shrugged. “Your sister has an important interview tomorrow. Let her take the things.”
“— Last time she took Mom’s brooch. And didn’t return it,” Arina hissed.
“— You’re exaggerating again,” her husband waved it off. “It was a cheap brooch. You probably knocked it somewhere yourself.”
“— It was a handmade silver brooch — not cheap,” Arina stated firmly. “Maria, give it back.”
“— I don’t have anything,” her sister-in-law snorted. “She’s lying, Kostik!”
“— You know what,” Arina said slowly, looking at her husband. “If she doesn’t return my things, she’ll go to her interview wearing whatever she came in.”
“— Don’t overreact,” Konstantin frowned. “You see, Maria has nothing. We didn’t grow up wealthy, she wants nice things. Give her what she asks for — you won’t go broke!”
Arina realized it was time to draw a line. This conversation had gone far enough.
“— I see you’ve made your decision,” she said, crossing her arms and stepping toward the door. “Then there’s nothing for me to do here. Have dinner without me, whatever you like.”
Arina left the apartment, ignoring her husband’s shouts. She needed air, space to think. She wandered the evening city until midnight, analyzing her marriage. By the time she returned home, she had formed a plan.
The next morning, after waiting for Konstantin to leave for work, Arina called the office and took a day off.
“— My God,” Arina said, opening the wardrobe doors and beginning to pull hangers with dresses. “Two years of collecting, and now I have to rescue it all in one day.”
She methodically removed everything valuable from the closets: evening dresses, suits from renowned designers, shoes from limited collections. The items were carefully packed into suitcases.
Finishing with clothes, Arina opened the dresser. Earrings her husband had given her for their anniversary, gold bracelets, sapphire necklaces — all went into a special jewelry box.
“— First clothes, now jewelry,” Arina muttered, gathering antique figurines. “What’s next? The apartment?”
Vases, figurines, and other decor were carefully wrapped in towels and placed into boxes. Everything Maria had ever taken an interest in disappeared from the shelves.
By midday, three large suitcases and several boxes were lined up in the hallway. Arina called a taxi.
“— Hi, Mom,” she said, hugging the woman who opened the door. “Sorry for the sudden visit.”
Lyudmila Sergeevna glanced at the taxi loaded with belongings.
“— Arisha, what happened?” Her eyes filled with concern.
“— Long story,” Arina sighed. “Help me bring in the things, and then I’ll tell you.”
Her mother silently helped her place the suitcases and boxes in a spare room. Arina took off her jacket and sank onto a kitchen chair.
“— Did you leave your husband?” Lyudmila Sergeevna asked bluntly. “But the apartment is yours.”
“— No, Mom. I’m just saving what I earned with my own hard work,” Arina explained, telling the story of Maria’s raids and her husband’s inaction.
“— Wow,” her mother shook her head. “But you haven’t solved the problem, daughter.”
“— I know,” Arina nodded. “But right now, I need space to maneuver.”
Returning home, she walked through the unusually empty apartment. The empty shelves looked at her with silent reproach, but inside, Arina felt a strange relief.
“— My territory,” she murmured, sinking into the armchair with a cup of tea.
Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Maria stood on the doorstep, wearing her usual wide smile.
“— Arish, hi! I was just passing by…”
“— As usual,” Arina said dryly, stepping aside.
“— Oh, I just got back from my interview,” Maria babbled, walking into the apartment. “I’m so tired, so hungry! Don’t you have anything to snack on?”
“— There’s something,” Arina nodded, heading to the kitchen.
While the hostess reheated a store-bought casserole in the microwave, Maria, citing the need to “touch up her makeup,” disappeared into the depths of the apartment.
A minute later, an outraged scream came from the bedroom:
“— Arish! Where did you put everything?!” Maria stormed into the kitchen, her face twisted with anger. “Where are your dresses? And why did you hide the jewelry?”
Arina calmly transferred the reheated casserole to a plate.
“— What are you talking about?” she raised an eyebrow.
“— Don’t play dumb!” Maria raised her voice. “I saw your Chanel collection! And those brooches with the stones!”
“— I know nothing about any brooches,” Arina shrugged, setting the plate on the table.
At that moment, the front door clicked. Konstantin appeared on the threshold, and behind him stood the imposing figure of Tamara Pavlovna.
“— Surprise!” Kostya smiled broadly. “Mom decided to drop by for dinner!”
“— How unexpected,” Arina thought with a smirk. “The whole clan has arrived.”
Tamara Pavlovna immediately assumed command. The hefty woman marched into the kitchen and gave the modest dinner a disdainful glance.
“— And this is all you feed my son?” the mother-in-law shook her head. “Konstantin works hard, and you serve him a casserole?”
“— Mom, don’t start,” Kostya winced, avoiding his wife’s gaze.
Maria immediately jumped to her mother’s side, grabbing her hand.
“— Mom, do you know what she did?” Masha whispered, but loud enough for everyone to hear. “She hid everything! Yesterday there were plenty of dresses and jewelry, and today the closets are empty!”
Tamara Pavlovna slowly turned to her daughter-in-law. Her gaze pierced through Arina.
“— Is this true?” she asked sharply.
“— What’s the big deal?” Arina shrugged. “It’s my stuff. My right to decide.”
“— Your stuff?!” Maria shot up. “In Kostya’s family, everything was always shared! Right, Mom?”
“— Absolutely,” Tamara Pavlovna pursed her lips. “In our family, there was never this bourgeois ‘mine-yours.’ We shared everything.”
Konstantin stepped closer to his wife and took her by the elbow.
“— Arish, why did you do this?” his voice reproached her. “You have three clothing stores! Can’t you spare a few dresses for Masha?”
“— A few?” Arina freed her arm. “Konstantin, your sister has taken items worth almost half a million!”
“— Oh, she’s lying!” Maria waved her hand. “It’s nothing — just a few little things now and then.”
“— Little things?” Arina crossed her arms. “A forty-thousand-ruble silver brooch, a designer dress for one hundred and twenty thousand, twelve-thousand-ruble perfume — is that little?”
“— Selfish!” spat Tamara Pavlovna. “It was obvious right away that you weren’t one of us! All the rich are like that — hoarding their stuff, can’t share!”
The storm escalated. The mother-in-law waved her arms, recalling how generous her own mother had been, sharing the last piece of bread. Maria sniffled, playing the victim. Konstantin spoke of family values.
Listening to this chaos, Arina felt a strange calm, as if all doubts had vanished. She waited for a pause in the collective shouting.
“— You all must leave my home,” Arina said evenly. “Immediately.”
Silence fell over the kitchen. Tamara Pavlovna opened her mouth but made no sound.
“— What are you saying?!” Konstantin was the first to react. “I’m your husband, this is our shared home!”
“— No, Kostya,” Arina shook her head. “This apartment is my property. I bought it before our marriage.”
“— You’re kicking out your husband’s own mother?!” Tamara Pavlovna gasped in outrage. “This is outrageous!”
“— Heartless!” Maria chimed in. “Kostik, how could you marry such a woman?”
“— Arina, you don’t understand what you’re saying,” Konstantin tried to grab his wife by the shoulders. “We are family! Family, you understand?”
Arina stepped back. She opened a kitchen drawer and pulled out a leather-bound notebook. She began to read aloud:
“— Here is a list of items that have disappeared from my home over the past months: diamond earrings, eighty thousand rubles; a dress, forty-five thousand…”
“— Masha, really?” Konstantin stared at his sister in disbelief.
Maria squealed, but her cheeks betrayed her, turning red:
“— She’s making it all up!”
“— The total value of what’s been taken is four hundred and eighty-three thousand rubles. If you don’t leave now, I will call the police and file a theft report.”
Tamara Pavlovna gasped:
“— You wouldn’t dare!”
“— Want to find out?” Arina pulled out her phone.
Kostya quietly gathered his things, avoiding her gaze. Maria cried, blaming her sister for everything. Tamara Pavlovna hissed curses and promised to tell everyone she knew how heartless Arina was. An hour later, Arina slammed the door behind her mother-in-law, sister-in-law, and husband.
Alone, Arina slowly sank onto the sofa. The silence enveloped and soothed her.
“— Maybe I really am a bad person,” she murmured into the empty room. “But I will no longer let anyone walk all over me.”
Her phone buzzed with a message from Kostya: “I don’t understand how you could do this. We loved each other.”
Arina deleted the message without replying. Suddenly, she realized that there had been no real love in their relationship. There had been habit, convenience, but no respect and no love.
