House Arrest or The New Dad Next Door

“Mommy, who is that?” whispers the daughter, hiding behind my legs. I look from the man in handcuffs to the man in uniform. “Ivan Dmitrievich Aronov, citizen of this district, will serve his house arrest at his place of registration,” the policeman informs me in a set voice. “What?” I blurt out in shock. “But the owner of the apartment is a woman.” “Half of the apartment,” smirks “citizen Aronov” and brazenly walks into the hallway, dumping a sports bag onto the floor. “And it’s fine here. I thought it would be worse. My ex-husband and my mother-in-law want to take my daughter from me. So to make sure it doesn’t happen, I have to buy half of the apartment and get a job at a pharmacy. But in the new place, I’m expecting a surprise…”