Chapter 3 - The Cold Reality Sets In
The front door slammed shut behind Alexandra with a sharp, definitive bang that echoed through the stairwell. She dragged her heavy suitcase down the five flights of stairs, her heart hammering against her ribs, tears of sheer exhaustion and vindication stinging her eyes. She didn't go to a hotel; instead, she drove straight to her loyal friend Marina’s apartment on the other side of the city.
Marina welcomed her with open arms, a hot cup of tea, and a sympathetic ear. For the first time in four months, Alexandra slept through the night without hearing someone bark orders at dawn.
Meanwhile, back in the three-bedroom apartment, a very different kind of morning was unfolding.
Saturday morning arrived without the smell of fresh pancakes or coffee brewing. Galina Artemovna woke up at eight o'clock, shuffled into the kitchen, and expected to find breakfast waiting on the table. Instead, she found an empty, silent kitchen. The sink still had yesterday’s dirty dishes piled high. The refrigerator was nearly bare because Alexandra hadn't done her weekly grocery run yet.
“Yevgeny!” Galina shouted, storming into the living room where her son was still snoring on the sofa. “Get up! Where is your wife? Who is going to make breakfast?”
Yevgeny groaned, rubbing his eyes and squinting at the daylight. “She probably went to stay with her friend. She’ll come back by afternoon once she cools down.”
“She better!” Lyubov snapped, walking into the room in her bathrobe. “I have laundry that needs washing, and she hasn't touched the shared basket yet. Honestly, her attitude has gotten completely out of hand.”
By Sunday evening, however, the panic began to set in.
Alexandra’s phone had been buzzing nonstop with text messages and missed calls from Yevgeny. The first few messages were arrogant demands for her to return immediately. Then came the bargaining. By Sunday night, the tone had shifted entirely to desperate pleading.
“Sasha, please come home. Mom has high blood pressure and can’t cook. Yegor is crying because there’s nothing to eat for school. I’m sorry, okay? Just come back.”
Alexandra read the messages while sitting at Marina’s kitchen table, sipping coffee and scrolling through a real estate app to find a small studio apartment for rent. She didn't reply to a single one.
Monday morning brought the true reckoning.
Yevgeny needed to pay for Yegor’s school lunch program, buy groceries for the household, and cover the monthly utility bill installment that fell on the tenth of the month. Usually, Alexandra handled the budgeting and transferred the necessary funds from her account. But now, she had locked down her finances completely.
When Yevgeny checked his mobile banking app on Monday morning, his jaw dropped in horror. The shared household account balance was practically zero—depleted by the weekend utility automatic deductions that Alexandra had no intention of topping up with her own salary.
In a panic, Yevgeny dialed her number. It rang three times before going straight to voicemail.
He tried again. Voicemail.
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By Tuesday afternoon, the electricity company sent an automated text warning about an overdue utility payment. The refrigerator was running on empty, with only half a carton of milk and a stale crust of bread left. Galina Artemovna was screaming at Lyubov, Lyubov was blaming Yevgeny for driving his wife away, and Yegor was complaining that he had nothing for lunch.
The parasite was starving because the host had finally walked away.
