It hurts to hear inhuman words from the person with whom you’ve spent twenty years, weathering every hardship and trying to preserve your marriage. Looking at her husband sitting on the couch with his head in his hands, Inga felt tears rising to her eyes. She already knew what Herman had decided to discuss. She knew and waited for him to work up the courage to say those cruel words himself.

“I’ve found someone else. She’s better than you and younger. She’s brimming with life, while lately you’ve been more and more like a soulless puppet. I know how that sounds, but I don’t know how to dress things up nicely. That was always your job. You knew how to smooth the rough edges, even when you felt the end was near.”

Inga looked at her husband and forced a smile. Even now, as he spoke those cruel words, he was still the dearest person to her. Twenty years together. For better and for worse. They had raised a handsome son. Inga had been happy in her marriage; she had nothing to complain about. She had chosen Herman to be her husband herself, and she had never regretted it. The last few years, though, had been hard. Her husband had suddenly grown distant, and even then Inga had suspected something was wrong. At first Herman spent more time with his friends, and then he met a young employee at the office who turned his head. It was obvious she felt nothing for him; she was trying to get close because she believed he possessed untold wealth. He, however, didn’t see it, and Inga… she didn’t want to cause a scene, understanding that the end had indeed come and she needed to find the strength to accept it. It was hard to ignore the rumors and smile to the employees’ faces, but Inga waited—waited for her husband to confess everything himself.

“It’s good you found the strength to admit it. I won’t try to keep you. If you’ve found someone else, I’ll just let you go. I won’t curse you.”

Of course she wanted to snap back at his insults. She’s better? Younger? Well, he hadn’t gotten any younger either… and age had taken its toll: gray at his temples, wrinkles at the corners of his eyes and on his forehead. Herman didn’t look fresh. His belly had rounded out. Inga had suggested they go to the gym together, but he always refused, preferring to spend time at home on the computer. She didn’t press him; she told herself she would love him no matter what. And although the years had left their strokes on his body, Inga never allowed herself to look at other men. She had suitors younger than her husband, ready to lay the whole world at her feet, but she turned them down and stayed true to her vow to walk life’s path with one person. Inga believed to the last that she could save the marriage, but it didn’t work out. And that’s all right. Not frightening. By now she feared nothing. She had had time to prepare and soften the blow for herself.

“I appreciate that you aren’t putting on some cheap hysterics and that you accept things as they are. You’re smart. You always were, Inga. I’m glad we can part like civilized people. I won’t ask much—leave me the apartment after the divorce. You’ll have the house, and Olga and I will need somewhere to live. I’ve decided to propose to her after the divorce, and we’ll get married. No point dragging it out; she’s dear to me now, as you once were.”

Inga smirked. Everything she and her husband had managed to earn over the years was in her name. It belonged to her. Herman was well aware of that. He had entered the family of a successful businessman as a mere student and gave Inga’s father his word that if he ever decided to divorce his daughter, he wouldn’t take a single kopeck. He’d spoken beautifully, sworn eternal love, but… eternity proved out of reach. They wouldn’t even make it to half a century together. Inga hadn’t been ready for such a turn, but so it was.

“Remember how you once signed a waiver of all claims? Our joint property would not be divided between us. Every time we bought real estate, you signed away your share. So what are you asking me for now? To let you live with another woman in the apartment I earned with sweat and blood?”

“But I worked too! I slaved day and night and did everything you told me. Does that not count?” Herman flared up.

“It counts, of course. You did your work like a staff employee. You were well paid for it. You have plenty of expensive branded things, a watch collection… I won’t touch any of that; you can take it all, but I wouldn’t count on the apartment. You say you two have nowhere to live? Our son doesn’t either. As soon as Vlad gets back from his practical training, I’ll give the apartment to him. No woman my husband traded me for will ever live in my property. On that note, I consider the conversation over. I’m tired and would like to rest, because tomorrow is a hard day. I’ll find you a replacement at the office. I don’t think I need to explain that you and I can’t keep working together… You’ll have to try to find a job where they’ll lead you by the hand, step by step, the way I once did.”

Maintaining a cold indifference, Inga went to her room. Her heart ached, but this was a period she simply had to live through. Nothing lasts forever. She had prepared herself for this unpleasant event. And now that it had happened, she felt awful. The pain was hard to quiet; she had to force herself to accept that it, too, would not last forever—that it would one day melt away like the snow in spring.

In the morning, Herman tried to negotiate with his wife. He understood he couldn’t lay claim to property he had repeatedly signed away. The burden of the past weighed on him, reminding him of a life in which year after year he had felt like a marionette. He himself didn’t understand how it had happened that his wife suddenly turned into a soulless doll in his eyes, how his desire for her disappeared. Now he realized—he was simply tired. He sought comfort on the side because he didn’t feel like a man or a member of the family. Of course, Inga tried to do everything so her husband would feel comfortable, and their son loved and respected his father, but that was all. Every purchase reminded him that everything belonged to his wife. Herman looked for consolation elsewhere and found it in the dark-brown depths of beautiful Olga’s eyes. Only even now he understood that with empty pockets he was of no use to this young, ambitious beauty. He needed to win one last concession, to persuade his wife to leave him at least the apartment. But Inga seemed far too cool.

“Did you ever wonder why our marriage failed? Why I didn’t want to come home? First your father kept me in an iron grip, and then you took his place. All these years you forced me to prove I was with you not for money or property. But I’m a person. It hurt to be treated like that. And you see what it led to. Can’t you, in memory of the years we lived together, make a concession now? I’m asking for little… just the apartment.”

Inga looked at her husband with detachment. Perhaps, in part, he was right. Maybe it really had been hard for him to live under those conditions, but taught by bitter experience, she had been forced to act that way. She knew perfectly well what had happened to her aunt—how her husband had taken the roof from over her head, thrown her out into the street, and made her taste every misfortune. She had loved him, trusted him, started a business with him, and in the end was left with nothing. Inga had no desire to follow in her footsteps. She played it safe and didn’t consider that wrong. Besides… even if her husband found such treatment unpleasant, he never complained. Herman acted as if he was fine with everything. He never showed offense. He kept it all inside. That was a huge mistake. They had made many mistakes together, but… Inga had no intention of giving up. It hadn’t been easy for her either. When she tried to talk, Herman brushed her off, saying he was just tired from work. When he moved out of the marital bedroom, he justified it by the need to get proper rest. He never once spoke heart-to-heart with her. And now it was too late to look for the guilty party. They were both to blame for failing to preserve their marriage, but it was over now. As for giving up what she had achieved by hard means, at the cost of her health and private life—Inga had no intention of doing so.

Arriving at the office, Inga immediately summoned Olga. Rumors about her affair with Herman had long been circulating, but Inga had tried to put a lid on them. Now there was no point pretending. People would soon learn of their divorce; the reasons were already clear to everyone. There would be whispering, but no one would dare say to her face what they really thought, and then… then it would all quiet down and return to normal.

“Inga Vladimirovna, what did you want? Why did you call me? I actually report to Herman Aristarhovich…”

Olga smiled smugly and lifted her chin. Inga had never tried to belittle her husband at the office. Many even thought the business belonged to him. Only a small part of the staff knew he merely held a position and had no say. Olga wasn’t among them. She surely dreamed that Inga would be pushed out and she would become queen.

“Herman Aristarhovich no longer works at this company. And neither do you,” Inga said in an icy tone.

“How dare you fire him? He’s the owner of this company! You’re lying! You’re trying to turn me against him!”

“That never crossed my mind. Write a resignation letter of your own accord and leave. If you refuse, I’ll find a clause and mark your employment record accordingly,” Inga said crisply, masking her emotions.

It was hard to keep it together, but she shouldn’t show her emotions and bitterness. Inga was a grown woman, and she understood that a tantrum wouldn’t save anyone or make anything better. Since fate had unfolded this way, she had to accept it and move on.

Olga tried to make a scene, but security escorted her out. The head of HR persuaded her to write the resignation quietly, explaining what a refusal could cost her in the future.

Herman didn’t want to accept this state of affairs. He promised his young flame that he would definitely win half of his wife’s property in court. He found a good lawyer and planned to fight, but… the waivers he himself had written and notarized worked against him. In the clash with the woman he had come to hate and replaced with another, Herman lost. He started blaming everything on Inga and her family. Forgetting the love they had once had, he decided he had been used all along. Herman felt no guilt and didn’t realize that both of them had destroyed the marriage.

After the divorce, Inga decided she needed to focus on her personal life and her own interests. She could no longer disappear into work, understanding that the time allotted to us is not so great. She had to enjoy life and not allow herself to give up.

For Vlad, accepting his parents’ divorce was the hardest of all. He had long seen that a black cat had crossed between them. He tried everything he could to mend his parents’ relationship, but all efforts proved futile. Vlad didn’t take sides, because Inga asked him to respect both parents equally. She found the right words to explain to her son that life doesn’t stand still and that both were at fault for failing to preserve their love and carry it in their hearts to the end of their days.

Olga broke up with Herman, because a man without housing and a good position was of no use to her. Herman blamed Inga for all his misfortunes. He wanted to hurt his ex-wife even more, not realizing how much pain he had already caused. Behind her cold composure, Inga successfully hid all her bitterness and decided to work through it alone. She and her husband had made many mistakes in the past and come to an inevitable end. Inga recognized her own mistakes and didn’t want to repeat them. She didn’t give up, promising herself to be happy. Many men paid attention to her, but she wasn’t yet ready to step back onto the road of relationships, content for the time being with compliments, gifts, and the looks directed her way. To open your heart to new love, it’s important to close the previous chapter completely.

From time to time running into Herman at work, Inga would look at her husband and see no remorse in his eyes. He still hadn’t recognized his share of guilt and continued to blame her alone for everything. It was a pity, but there was nothing Inga could do about it. She hoped that someday he would let go of his grievances, understand exactly where he had stumbled, and become happy. That was what Inga wished him—for they were not strangers to each other. And although they didn’t divide their joint property, Inga still couldn’t leave Herman out on the street and bought him a small studio. She let go of all her grievances, and that allowed her to move on. Only a bright future lay ahead; she just had to get ready to meet it.