I won’t pay a single penny of your debts,” Karina said firmly. “Pack your things and get out.”
Karina came home at around ten in the evening. She was exhausted after a long day and wanted only to collapse onto the sofa. But something immediately put her on edge.
The apartment was dark. No lights were on anywhere, except for a faint glow coming from the kitchen.
She took off her shoes and listened. Silence. But not empty silence — tense silence, as if someone were hiding.
Karina walked into the kitchen. Her husband was sitting at the table, staring at his phone. He hadn’t turned on the light. Only the screen glowed in the darkness.
“Dima, why are you sitting in the dark?”
He flinched and raised his head. His face looked somehow guilty.
“Oh, hi. I didn’t notice it had gotten dark.”
Karina found the light switch. The harsh light struck her eyes. And then she saw it.
There were papers lying on the table. A lot of papers. With bank stamps. Carelessly spread out, as if someone had thrown them there and never cleaned them up.
She silently took off her jacket and hung it over the back of a chair. Then she came closer.
“What is this?”
“It’s… well…” Dmitry rubbed his face with his hands. “We need to talk about it.”
Karina picked up the first sheet. A loan. Three hundred thousand. Two months overdue. The second sheet — another loan. One hundred and fifty thousand. The third — a payday loan with insane interest.
“Dima, what kind of debts are these?”
He stood up and began pacing around the kitchen, nervously tugging at the edge of his shirt.
“It just happened. I miscalculated a little. I thought I’d manage to close them, but the deadlines caught up with me.”
“How much is there in total?”
“Well… around six hundred thousand.”
Karina slowly lowered herself into a chair. Six hundred thousand. Her salary for an entire year.
“And when were you planning to tell me about this?”
“I wanted to sort it out myself. But it turned out that… basically, I urgently need to pay off the interest. Otherwise they’ll add even more.”
She picked up the next document. The loan was in her husband’s name, but in the “co-borrower” field stood his mother’s name.
“And what is this?”
Dmitry hesitated.
“My mother took that one. Well, it was issued in my name. For convenience.”
“For whose convenience?”
“She has a bad credit history. They won’t give her anything. I helped.”
“Helped? You took on her debt?”
“Well, formally, yes. But she promised to pay it back.”
“And is she paying?”
“Not really at the moment.”
“So she isn’t paying at all.”
“She’s having a hard time right now.”
“And are you having an easy time? With six hundred thousand in debt?”
“Karina, she’s my mother.”
“And I’m not a bank for your mother.”
Karina frowned and began flipping through the rest of the papers. The picture became clear.
The first loan — a year ago. One hundred thousand. Partially repaid.
The second — nine months ago. Two hundred thousand. Overdue.
The third — six months ago. One hundred and fifty. Still fully outstanding.
The payday loans — over the past three months. One after another.
“Dima, do you understand what you’ve been doing?”
“I was trying to get out of it.”
“You were burying yourself deeper.”
“I thought it would work out.”
“And I thought we were living normally. Meanwhile, behind my back, you were drowning.”
“I didn’t want to upset you.”
“Well, you’ve done a wonderful job of upsetting me now.”
“Dima, do you remember asking me last month to pay for the internet?”
“Well, yes. I didn’t have money on my card.”
“You said your salary was delayed.”
“Well, yes, it was delayed.”
“And I paid the utilities too. Two months in a row.”
“Karin, I’ll pay you back.”
“And your phone bill. And gas for the car. And groceries for the last three weeks.”
“Those are little things.”
“Little things?” She began counting on her fingers. “Internet — one thousand. Utilities for two months — eight thousand. Phone — five hundred. Gas — four thousand. Groceries — at least twenty thousand.”
Dmitry was silent.
“And you also borrowed twenty thousand from me. You said it was for a week. Two months have passed.”
“I’ll pay it back.”
“When? When you have six hundred thousand in debt?”
“Well, this is just a difficult period.”
“A period lasting six months. I counted, Dima. You haven’t paid for yourself at all for the last six months.”
Dmitry stopped and crossed his arms over his chest.
“Karina, we live together. These are our shared expenses.”
“Our?” She slowly stood up. “Your mother’s debts are ours?”
“Well, since we’re family, we should solve problems together.”
Karina straightened. She gathered all the papers into a neat pile and placed them at the edge of the table.
Blood rushed to her face. But her voice remained even.
“I won’t pay a single penny of your debts,” she said firmly. “Pack your things and get out.”
Dmitry smirked, in disbelief, as if she were joking.
“What are you talking about? Are you serious right now?”
“Absolutely serious.”
“You’re throwing me out because of money?”
“Because you got yourself into debt, kept silent about it, took out loans for your mother, and now you plan to dump all of it on me.”
“I wasn’t planning to dump it on you!” His voice rose. “I’m just saying we can solve this together!”
“How together? Use my money for your debts?”
“Well, help temporarily. I’ll pay it back later.”
“Dima, you have six hundred thousand in debt. You earn forty thousand a month.”
“So what?”
“Even if you give away your entire salary, it’ll take a year and a half. Without food, without housing, without transport.”
“I’ll find a side job.”
“You haven’t been able to find one for a year. What side job are you talking about?”
“So you don’t believe me? Is that it?”
“I don’t. Because for a year you’ve been saying, ‘I’ll find one,’ ‘I’ll get something,’ ‘it’ll work out.’ Nothing has worked out.”
“How are you going to pay back the twenty thousand you borrowed from me two months ago?”
Dmitry clenched his fists.
“That was different.”
“How was it different?”
“I was saving for a gift for Mom.”
“A gift? You told me it was for car repairs.”
“Well… and for repairs too.”
“You’re lying. The car was repaired for free, under warranty.”
He turned away.
“Karina, do you even understand what you’re saying? We’ve been together for three years!”
“That’s exactly why I understand. For three years you kept dumping more and more expenses on me. First little things. Then bigger ones. And now look — six hundred thousand.”
“It’s not all mine! Half of it is Mom’s debt!”
“Which you took out in your own name. Out of the kindness of your heart.”
“She’s my mother!”
“And I’m not your piggy bank.”
Silence hung in the air. Dmitry was breathing heavily, looking at her with incomprehension.
“You really want me to leave?”
“Yes. Right now.”
“In the middle of the night?”
“You’ll find time. Pack.”
He tried to come closer and take her hand.
“Karinchka, come on, let’s discuss this calmly. I understand you’re tired, you’re shocked. But this can be solved.”
She pulled away.
“No. Solve it yourself. With your mother.”
“But where will I go?”
“To your mother. The one whose six hundred thousand is hanging on you.”
“Karina, you’re being heartless right now!”
“Heartless?”
“Yes! You’re throwing a person out onto the street!”
“A person who has lived at my expense for six months and racked up six hundred thousand in debt.”
“I didn’t do it on purpose!”
“But you kept silent. You paid interest with my money. And you planned to keep staying silent.”
“I didn’t plan that! I just didn’t know how to say it!”
“But you knew how to ask me to pay for the internet. And utilities. And your phone.”
Dmitry’s eyes flashed angrily.
“Now you’re counting every penny! As if I’m a stranger!”
“You are a stranger. With someone else’s debts.”
She opened the closet in the hallway. Took out his travel bag. Began packing his clothes.
“What are you doing?”
“Helping you pack.”
“I’ll handle it myself!”
Karina silently continued folding things. A shirt. Jeans. A T-shirt.
“Karina, stop it!”
“Then pack yourself. Faster.”
“You have no right!”
“This is my apartment. I pay for it. I have every right.”
“What about us? Three years together!”
“For three years I fed you, gave you drink, and clothed you. That’s enough.”
“I contributed too!”
“When? Show me even one receipt you paid in the last six months.”
Dmitry fell silent.
“Exactly. Then go deal with it. Time’s ticking.”
Dmitry stood there, not knowing what to do. Then he abruptly turned around and went into the room.
Karina methodically packed his things. Shirts. Jeans. Socks. Everything neatly, without rushing.
Half an hour later, he came out with his backpack. His face was angry.
“You’ll regret this. I’m telling you, you’ll regret it.”
“Maybe.”
“You’ll feel awful alone.”
“We’ll see.”
Karina placed the bag with his things by the door.
He grabbed the bag and backpack. Then he stood on the threshold.
“I’m asking one last time. Are you sure?”
“Absolutely.”
“Then go to hell.”
The door slammed shut.
Karina leaned against the wall. Her heart was pounding. Her hands were trembling.
But inside, she wasn’t scared. It felt right.
She inhaled deeply. Exhaled. Then went to the kitchen.
She gathered all his papers into one folder. Tomorrow she would take them to a lawyer. Let them check whether she had been listed anywhere.
She sat at the table and made tea.
For the first time in three years, the apartment was truly quiet.
Not the tense silence of waiting. But a calm one. Her own.
Karina stood up and walked through the rooms. She looked at the newly freed space in the closet.
Half the hangers were empty. Good.
On the bathroom shelf, his razor, shaving foam, and gel were gone. Even better.
There was more space in the refrigerator. No need to buy his favorite sausage for five hundred anymore.
She returned to the kitchen and picked up all his debt documents.
She photographed every page. Just in case.
Then she neatly put everything into the folder. Tomorrow, to the lawyer. To check whether she had been listed as a guarantor anywhere.
Karina looked at the clock. Half past eleven.
The day had been long. But it had ended correctly.
She picked up her phone and wrote to her friend:
“Dima moved out. I’ll tell you tomorrow. Everything’s fine.”
The reply came immediately:
“Finally! Hang in there. I’ll come over tomorrow.”
Karina smiled.
Her friend had been saying for a year: “He’s using you. Leave him.”
She hadn’t listened. She thought love was more important than money.
It turned out it wasn’t about money. It was about respect.
He didn’t respect her. Didn’t value her. Saw her as a cash cow.
And she had turned a blind eye to it for a year.
But today her eyes opened. And that was good.
Karina finished her tea. Washed the cup. Went to bed.
For the first time in a long while — without anxiety.
Without thoughts like, “Where is he?” “What is he doing?” “How much has he spent again?”
Without the question, “Will there be enough money until payday?”
Just sleep. In her own apartment. In her own bed.
Tomorrow would be a new day. Without debts. Without manipulation.
And that was a relief.
A real, deep relief.