After kicking out his wife, the man laughed, saying all she got was an ancient fridge. Little did he know its walls were double-layered.
A thick, suffocating silence filled the apartment, heavy with the scent of incense and wilting lilies. Marina sat slumped on the edge of the sofa, weighed down by an invisible burden. Her black dress clung to her skin, pricking like a reminder of the reason for this stillnesstoday, she had buried her grandmother, Eiroida Anatolyevna, the last family she had left.
Opposite her, lounging in an armchair, was her husband Andrei. His mere presence felt like mockerythey were set to finalize their divorce tomorrow. He hadnt offered a word of sympathy, only watched her in irritated silence, as if waiting for this tedious scene to end.
Marina stared blankly at the faded pattern on the rug, feeling the last sparks of hope for reconciliation flicker and die, leaving icy emptiness in their wake.
“Well then, my condolences on your loss,” Andrei finally broke the silence, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “Now youre a wealthy woman. An heiress! Your granny mustve left you a fortune, eh? Oh waitforgot, her greatest legacy: that stinky old Zil fridge. Congrats on such luxury.”
His words cut deeper than a blade. Memories of endless fights, screams, and tears flooded back. Eiroida, a woman with a rare name, had despised her son-in-law from the start. *”Hes a fraud, Marinka,”* shed say sternly. *”Empty as a barrel. Carefulhell bleed you dry and toss you aside.”* Andrei had merely smirked, calling her *”the old witch.”* How many times had Marina found herself caught between them, smoothing conflicts, crying in vain, believing things could be fixed? Now she knewher grandmother had seen the truth from the beginning.
“Speaking of your *brilliant* future,” Andrei continued, relishing his cruelty, “dont bother coming to work tomorrow. Youre fired. Signed the order this morning. So, sweetheart, even your precious Zil will soon seem like a luxury. Youll be scavenging dumpstersmaybe then youll thank me.”
This was the end. Not just the marriagethe end of the life shed built around him. The last hope for even a shred of humanity in him died. In its place, icy hatred took root.
Marina lifted hollow eyes to him but said nothing. What was the point? Silently, she stood, grabbed her pre-packed bag, and walked out, ignoring his sneering laughter.
Outside, the wind bit into her. Under a dim streetlamp, she set down her heavy bags and stared at the gray, nine-story building aheadher childhood home, where her parents once lived.
She hadnt been back in years. After her parents died in a car crash, Eiroida had sold her own apartment and moved here to raise her. These walls held too much pain, and after marrying Andrei, Marina avoided the place, meeting her grandmother anywhere else.
Now, it was her only refuge. Guilt gnawed at herEiroida had been her rock, mother, father, friend. And yet, in recent years, work at Andreis firm and futile attempts to salvage their failing marriage had kept her away. Tears shed held back all day finally spilled. She stood shaking with silent sobs, small and lost in the indifferent city.
“Need help, lady?” A thin, slightly raspy voice startled her. A boy around ten, drowning in an oversized jacket and worn sneakers, stood before her. His cheeks were dirty, but his gaze was sharp, almost adult. He nodded at her bags. “Heavy, huh?”
Marina wiped her tears hastily. His bluntness caught her off guard.
“IIve got it,” she began, but her voice cracked.
The boy studied her. “Whyre you crying? Happy people dont stand on the street with suitcases.” His words werent childlike curiosityjust unflinching truth.
“Sergey,” he offered.
“Marina,” she exhaled, tension easing. “Alright, Sergey. Help me.”
They stepped into the dim, musty stairwell like allies in misfortune.
The apartment door creaked open, revealing dust-covered furniture under white sheets. The air smelled of old books and abandonment. Sergey set the bag down, scanning the room like a seasoned cleaner. “Damn. Weeks worth of work, easy.”
Marina almost smiled. His practicality was a lifeline. But she noticed his thin frame, the wary readiness in his eyeshed vanish back into the cold once this was done.
“Stay the night,” she said firmly. “Its freezing out.”
For a second, doubt flickered in his eyes. Then he nodded.
Over a simple dinner of bread and cheese, Sergey shared his storyno pity, no tears. Drunk parents. A fire. An orphanage hed escaped. “I wont go back,” he muttered. “They say its a pipeline to prison. Id rather be free.”
“Thats not true,” Marina said softly. “Where you start doesnt decide who you become. *You* do.”
He looked thoughtful. A fragile thread of trust formed between them.
The next morning, Marina left a note*”Stay. Back soon.”*and headed to court.
The divorce hearing was humiliating. Andrei painted her as lazy, ungrateful. She endured in silence. Walking out with the papers, she felt only numbness.
Then she remembered his taunt about the fridge.
The Zil loomed in the cornerdented, scratched, absurd. Sergey circled it, intrigued. “This thing works?”
“No,” Marina sighed. “Just memories.”
Yet, Sergey kept examining it, tapping the sides. “Weird. This walls thicker.”
Marina frowned. Running her hand along it, she felt the difference. A hidden seam. With a knife, she pried open a panelrevealing a secret compartment.
Inside: stacks of dollars, euros, and velvet boxes glinting with jewelsemeralds, pearls, diamonds.
They stood frozen.
Marina sank to the floor, piecing it together. Eiroida, whod lived through war and financial ruin, had distrusted banks. Shed hidden her fortuneher last giftinside this relic.
Tears came again, but now with gratitude. Marina pulled Sergey into a tight hug.
“Well be okay,” she whispered. “Ill adopt you. Well buy a home. Youll go to school. Youll have everything.”
Sergeys eyes brimmed with painful hope. “Really? You… want to be my mom?”
“Really.”
Years flew. Marina adopted Sergey, bought a bright apartment, rebuilt her career. Sergey thrivedstudying hard, excelling, earning a full scholarship to a top university.
A decade later, a tall young man in a sharp suit adjusted his tieSergey, now graduating with honors.
“Proud of you,” Marina said.
He grinned. “By the way, Lev Igorevich called again. Why do you keep refusing? You like him.”
“My sons graduation is more important,” she deflected.
The ceremony was packed. Among the guestsAndrei, now a bloated businessman. He gave a pompous speech, boasting about his companys opportunities.
When Sergey took the stage as valedictorian, he spoke calmly.
“Let me tell you how I got here. Once, I was a homeless boy. A woman took me inthe same day her husband threw her out, broke, jobless. That man told her shed beg on the streets. He was right. Because there, she found *me.*” His gaze locked onto Andrei. “So thank you. Your cruelty brought us together. If not for you, Id never be who I am today.”
The crowd erupted. Andrei flushed with rage.
“Thats why,” Sergey finished, “Ill never work for a man like him. Think hard before you do.” Thunderous applause followed him as he walked to Marina, hugging her tightly.
Outside, he handed her coat over. “Call Lev Igorevich.”
She looked at her sonstrong, kind, sure. For the first time in years, she felt truly happy.
Smiling, she pulled out her phone. “I will.”
