Sergei snorted with satisfaction as he stared at his smartphone screen. The bank notification read: “Transaction completed successfully. Balance: 12,478.16 ₽.”
The amount that had still been sitting on their joint account five minutes ago — from the sale of grandma’s old apartment — had simply disappeared. It had been transferred to his own new bank card, which Lena didn’t even know about.
He leaned back in his office chair and dialed a familiar number. It was answered almost immediately.
— Hi, darling — he purred into the phone, lowering his voice, even though the office was empty. — You can’t imagine the day I’ve had!
— What kind of day? — Alina’s voice, young and playful, always affected him like an addiction.
— The day of the big catch — Sergei laughed. — I just withdrew all the money from our joint account. Down to the last kopeck. Our seaside two-room apartment is one step closer.
— Seryozha! Seriously? — Alina squealed with joy. — And her? She won’t find out?
— Lenka? — Sergei snorted disdainfully. — Come on, a silly little mouse. She just scurries around the house all day, cooks borscht, and believes I’m stuck in meetings.
She even turned off the SMS alerts so she wouldn’t stress over every penny — saving, you know. Idiot.
The money was hers, now it’s ours. And if she notices, I’ll just say I invested it and it’s gone. She’ll swallow it. These house hens always swallow it.
As he spoke, he almost drunkenly enjoyed his own cunning. Lena, his wife, with whom he had lived for seven years, now seemed like a simple, naive woman in his eyes. She believed him blindly. And he had traded that faith for a young body and the dream of a new life.
— Listen — he continued. — I’m coming straight from work to you. We’ll order dinner, wine. We’ll celebrate the start of a new era. Tonight we’ll figure out how to tell her about the divorce.
There will be crying, a scene — you know how it goes. Then she’ll calm down. Where would she go?
He spoke, but he didn’t see that his office door was slightly ajar. That in the gap stood a woman holding a basket filled with fresh strawberries, which she had bought on the way to surprise her husband after a hard day.
Lena froze as if turned to a pillar of salt. The strawberries suddenly felt heavy, earthy, in her hands. Her husband’s words pounded in her temples like hot nails.
“Mouse,” “house hen,” “she’ll swallow it”… And most importantly — the money. All the money. Grandma’s, which they wanted to use for a new apartment, the children’s future… Everything.
Her first instinct was to storm in, smash the phone, and throw the truth in his face. But some cold, new strength stopped her. She remembered his laughter. Happy, triumphant laughter. So self-satisfied while looking down on her.
Lena silently closed the door. She put the basket on the hall cabinet and quietly left the office.
A single thought raced through her mind: “You have no idea, darling. Your happiness won’t last long. I’m preparing a surprise for you.”
Sergei arrived home after midnight, the smell of wine and someone else’s perfume surrounding him. Lena had not slept. She sat in the kitchen with a book, calm, almost too calm.
— Why aren’t you going to bed? — Sergei asked, avoiding her gaze.
— I was waiting for you — Lena smiled that “silly” smile he so despised. — Tired? It’s late.
— Had a meeting — he waved and headed toward the bathroom. — Go to bed, I’ll be there soon.
Lena nodded. As soon as the bathroom door closed, she approached the jacket hanging on the chair. From the inner pocket, the corner of a new bank card peeked out. She memorized the number.
The next morning Sergei left for work feeling satisfied. Lena was calm, kind. She saw him off, kissed him, wished him a good day. “Idiot” — Sergei thought as he got into the car. — “She doesn’t suspect a thing.”
He intended to go to the bank to make the transfer for the apartment in Spain. He wanted to see the seven-figure sum one more time. But when he opened the app, he froze. Balance: 0.00 ₽.
— What the hell… — he whispered. He refreshed the page. Zero. He called the bank. The kind representative informed him that all the money had been transferred to another account that morning at 09:15.
— That’s impossible! — he shouted. — Only I have access!
— The login was made from your device — the woman replied. — Perhaps someone knows your password?
Sergei hung up. The password was known only to… Lena? No, impossible. She doesn’t know how to do this.
He immediately called her. She didn’t answer. Over and over again — unreachable. He ran home in panic.
The apartment was empty. On the table lay an envelope. On it: “Surprise.”
With trembling hands, he opened it. Inside was a copy of the transfer receipt — all the money had been returned to the joint account. And a short letter, in Lena’s neat, tidy handwriting:
“Seryozhenka. You were right, I was foolish. I was for a long time. Seven years. But even fools can learn. Thank you for the lesson. I put the money back where it belongs. I also took yours as moral compensation.
I’ve already deducted the realtor’s fee — with the kids we found a new apartment. Smaller, but ours.
You can take your things when you come to your senses. I already filed for divorce. It will be quick. We’ll sell the apartment. We’ll divide the money. You get one quarter.
You wanted a new era. Start it. Without me.
P.S. Your phone password is 1111. You were too confident to change it.”
The paper slipped from Sergei’s hands. He stood in the empty kitchen, and his happiness — which had lasted less than a day — crumbled to dust.
Yesterday he was still laughing at his wife. Today, that same “house hen” had taken everything from him in a single, perfect move.
And the most painful thing wasn’t even the money.
But that, rereading the letter, he realized: the “foolish” woman was smarter, stronger, and more deserving than him in every way.
And this “surprise” she will remember with a smile for the rest of her life.
And he… with bitterness.
