Victor walked away, satisfied with the outcome, while Natalie sobbed, couldn’t move from the spot, she was completely destroyed, morally killed and crushed. Although her attorney, earning his modest fee, mumbled something about the possibility of fixing everything, since the court gave time to file an appeal, Natalie no longer believed in it. Life for her split into «before» and «after.»
«Before» was a happy time, the young people got along well at first, although the difference in social status from the very beginning made itself felt. After all, Natalie was a girl from a not wealthy family, and Victor from a relatively well-off one. «Before,» her husband’s job was far more lucrative than hers.
Although the young couple started living separately right after the wedding, the mother-in-law visited them quite often, got along with her daughter-in-law, didn’t see any particular flaws in her. True, she was a bit worried about the lack of children, but she treated that with understanding, knowing about some problems in that regard for Natalie. But her husband sometimes couldn’t hold back, seemingly not offensively, but reproached her.
You work at a school surrounded by children, yet we still have none of our own. Although she tried to pretend she took these remarks as jokes, resentment lingered in her soul. Couldn’t he understand that it wasn’t from unwillingness, but from entirely different reasons? The woman persistently underwent treatment, took courses of medications that only made her feel worse and gain weight.
But she still couldn’t get pregnant. And from that, her soul felt even heavier. So now, life after the divorce was painted only in gray colors.
Essentially, dreams of happiness in marriage were cruelly trampled. And the sole culprit of this grief was Victor. Meanwhile, he hadn’t initially aimed for such radical actions toward Natalie.
It happened, as it does, due to circumstances. After all, Victor had truly fallen in love at first sight with the charming blonde while riding next to her on the bus. He lost his head so much that he ran after her for two stops to make an impression and introduce himself.
It was her modesty, purity, naivety that attracted the man then. Natalie asked for nothing and rejoiced at every gift like a little child. And his mom approved of the bride, thought Natalie wasn’t spoiled, would be a good homemaker and appreciate the comfort she had.
And Victor decided to get married. Well, what’s wrong with that? All his friends had families and even kids long ago. And he was no worse? At first, everything really suited him.
Natalie obeyed him in everything, tried to adjust to him, pleased him. She cooked very tasty food and kept the house clean. But over time, all this got so tiresome for Victor that it even started to irritate him.
And externally, she didn’t please him anymore, kept gaining weight and no longer resembled that petite Thumbelina from the beginning of their relationship. He wanted novelty of sensations, drive, emotions. At a corporate party where Victor came alone, he met a cute girl, fun, uninhibited.
Amid jokes and pranks, it somehow unnoticed transitioned to meetings. And from there, it quickly went to romantic relations. The man had no intention of leaving his wife; such a double life suited him just fine.
At home, a quiet harbor, everything long established, and Emily gave him unforgettable emotions and initially didn’t demand he leave the family. For her, it was just a little adventure, nothing more. Victor knew the girl was his boss’s daughter, but the boss didn’t suspect it for a while.
But, as usual, someone informed him, and then the dad flew into a rage. Calling Victor into his office, he firmly closed the door and stated bluntly. «Listen to me carefully, I won’t repeat twice.
Decide without delay who you’ll be with in the future – your wife or my daughter. I strongly recommend the second option. If you choose the first, say goodbye to your position immediately, right now.
I pay you a good salary, try finding another job like that. Moreover, and I promise this, you won’t be hired anywhere at all, I’ll make sure of that. Unless sweeping the yard with a broom, I won’t allow my family to be disgraced.
No fooling around behind your wife’s back and using my daughter. Look at you, nicely settled!» That’s how it was said to him, directly and unambiguously. And what was left to do? So he had to act drastically.
Especially since the boss’s daughter wasn’t against starting a family with Victor at all. And what’s there to regret, the still husband of Natalie reasoned frivolously. She’s from a small town, poor.
Pretty, yes. Married young, didn’t have the sense then to weigh all the pros and cons. And mom liked Natalie.
But now, if you think about it, pretty good prospects are opening up for me. It would be a sin not to take advantage of such a chance. That this would inflict irreparable trauma on Natalie, Victor didn’t even think about.
He was more worried about the boss stopping being angry. And even better, if as a bonus for marrying his daughter, he thought about promoting his son-in-law in position. And Victor acted like a scoundrel, no other way to put it.
Natalie was simply stunned when her husband pulled such a stunt. He came home late from work, and not alone, but brought some floozy with him. And worse, this brazen girl turned out to be her husband’s mistress, which he, hugging her by the shoulders right in front of Natalie, told her straight out.
This is Emily, my beloved woman. I’m tired of you, so I’m filing for divorce, and also for apartment division. Yes, yes, what did you think? Actually, I’m fully confident the apartment will stay with me.
And let’s have no hysterics. This is life. Just pack your things and leave right now.
Natalie was speechless, watching as Emily brazenly strolled around the house, twirled their family portrait in a frame in her hands, and reasoned. Yeah, the wallpaper here isn’t great, and I don’t like the bedroom layout. But whatever, we’ll fix that.
But the view from the window is stunning, park and river, like in the palm of your hand. Don’t forget to change the lock, dear. We don’t need strangers coming in here.
This is now our family nest with you. And the impudent one looked meaningfully at Natalie. The husband fawned over his mistress and agreed with her in everything.
They generally acted as if Natalie wasn’t there anymore, and yet she hadn’t even inserted a word into her husband’s monologue. But it seemed they didn’t need that. They had already decided everything for her.
Natalie choked on tears and packed her things. They left her no choice. She spent one night in a hostel.
Not great either, mixed crowd. All night she kept her phone, ID, and wallet under the pillow so they wouldn’t be stolen. Like it or not, she had to urgently solve the housing issue.
Couldn’t live together, turns out, the three of them. So the next day toward evening, Natalie moved to a small guest house on the outskirts of the city. She ran around looking for affordable housing.
Thanks to a school acquaintance who tipped her off. She looked. The landlady, who had recently inherited this guest house, didn’t ask much from the tenant.
Not like the apartment, of course, modest, but what to do, everything in a hurry, and with her finances, she couldn’t splurge on comfort and coziness. And transporting the most necessary things was no trouble, she hadn’t accumulated much in the marriage. The woman, of course, prepared for the trial as best she could, looked for strong arguments to convince the jury of her equal rights to the apartment with her husband.
But what could she counter Victor’s evidence with? She hoped more on the attorney’s help here, after all, he was a specialist in all legal subtleties. However, honestly, she hoped, but not much. From the modest salary of a school nurse, could she carve out a decent sum to pay for a reputable attorney’s services? She hired whoever she could.
He, even before the process started, after reviewing Natalie’s documents on the apartment, assessed the success of the case somewhat skeptically. Although he promised, of course, to do everything to protect her property rights. And here’s the sad outcome.
Now she was left without a husband and without housing. Natalie just couldn’t wrap her head around it all and digest it. All worn out from the hard day, already in the twilight, Natalie trudged home.
And that’s not close at all from the city center. Approaching the guest house, she was about to open the lock, but somehow the key wasn’t in her bag. She lowered her head, searching for it, and suddenly noticed a white sheet of paper sticking out from under the front door.
What is this, she wondered, maybe a utility bill? But the landlady said the bills would come to her. She would tell me later how much to pay extra for electricity, water, and heating. She bent down, picked it up, but in the twilight, it was hard to see what was written.
No, this is clearly not a bill. Already inside the house, in the light, she read. Natalie Nicole, what you will read is very serious for you.
Big troubles await you at school, they’re digging under you, want to remove you, be careful. What news. Who brought this note? After all, even at school, few knew where she had moved.
Racking her brain on how to interpret the warning from the unknown well-wisher, Natalie still tidied up the house, forced herself to have dinner, and went to bed, because tomorrow she had to go to work. The woman didn’t believe what was written in the note was true, but her job wasn’t the kind to dig under. But who was she? A doctor, judge, prosecutor? No, a simple nurse in an ordinary school.
Funny, really. Vaccinations, routine check-ups, and helping children, that’s all her duties. What could possibly be dug up there? But as soon as Natalie entered her office the next day, the principal called her in.
It must be said that he was an arrogant person, ignored the opinions of the staff. Such a petty tyrant, greedy and power-hungry. He could easily drown anyone just to stay afloat himself.