All Amazing Babies

Natalya carefully arranged the plates on the table, trying not to make the dishes clatter.

The workday had been unusually hard. At the supermarket where she worked as a cashier, the program was acting up again, causing lines to stretch halfway across the hall.

Oleg also came home very tired but, as usual, first asked the children how their day at school went.

“Dad, today we dissected a frog!” Alice babbled excitedly, waving her fork. Danila grimaced and demonstratively pushed away his plate of macaroni.

“Yuck, Aliska, I’m trying to eat!”

“You don’t understand anything! This is biology! When I grow up, I’ll be a doctor!”

“Then I definitely won’t come to you!”

The woman smiled, watching the kids’ bickering. In moments like these, she always thought how lucky she was with her family.

Her husband was just about to intervene in the argument when the doorbell rang.

Vitaly was standing in the doorway. Natalya immediately noticed something was wrong with her brother-in-law. Usually, he joked a lot and talked nonstop, bursting into the apartment with joyful shouts. But now he looked very downcast. Even his favorite red T-shirt seemed somehow wrinkled.

“Kids, go play in the room,” the woman gently but firmly sent Alice and Danila away. She quickly turned on the kettle and took out the festive cups from the top shelf. The couple used them only on special occasions or when they needed to discuss something important.

“Oleg, brother…” Vitaly sank heavily into a chair. “I’m in big trouble. I need help!”

The man explained that a few months ago he found an additional source of income: helping to drive expensive cars from China. Things were going well; he had even started planning how to pay off part of the mortgage. Then the accident happened.

 

“I was distracted for just a second. The phone rang. I lost control on a turn and crashed into a Lexus. New, luxury. Insurance won’t cover this damage.”

Natalya listened to her brother-in-law, unwilling to believe the reality of what was happening. And when he named the amount demanded by the car’s owner, her head started spinning. Even considering he had already borrowed half the money, the sum was overwhelming.

“I have nowhere else to turn,” Vitaly looked at his brother pleadingly.

Oleg was silent for a long time, spinning an empty cup in his hands.

“Give me a couple of days,” the older brother finally said. “I need to think it over.”

When the man left, the couple remained sitting in the kitchen. Only one thought was spinning in Natalya’s head: they had just yesterday made the last payment for their new bedroom set. Her parents had lent the missing amount; they hadn’t even handed over the IOU yet.

Where to find money now for Vitaly?

The woman looked at her husband. He sat holding his head in his hands. She knew this pose well. It always happened when some mess was brewing in his mind. And that made her uneasy: she instinctively felt that these thoughts would bring nothing good for her.

Laughter came from the children’s room. Alice and Danila were arguing about something while playing video games. How nice it was that everyone has moments when they don’t have to worry about anything.

After Vitaly left, Oleg couldn’t find peace: he would sit down on the sofa and immediately jump up, pace the hallway, grab his phone and put it down again. He didn’t even notice how the kids wished him good night and went to bed.

Natalya silently watched her husband’s pacing.

She understood him perfectly. Vitaly was his only brother; they had always been close. Since childhood, when their parents died in an accident, the brothers stuck together. Oleg helped his younger brother with studies, then with job hunting, was a witness at his wedding.

But the amount Vitaly named seemed simply unmanageable.

Closer to midnight, her husband finally sat down in the kitchen. His hands trembled slightly as he lit a cigarette. He only smoked in extreme cases, when his nerves were at the limit. The woman put a cup of hot tea in front of him and sat down nearby.

“Maybe you shouldn’t worry so much?” she cautiously began. “Vitaly is still an adult. Let him solve his problems himself. After all, there are banks, loans, his wife, his in-laws…”

Oleg sharply turned his head towards his wife. His eyes, red from fatigue and worry, flashed with rage:

“What are you saying?! What loans?! Do you even realize?! He has three kids to support! A mortgage! A car on credit! He’s like a hamster on a wheel trying to feed his family! And now this disaster!”

“I was just suggesting…” Natalya tried to explain.

“Better be quiet if you have nothing useful to say!” the husband cut her off, sharply stood up, and went out to the balcony.

The wife remained sitting in the kitchen, staring at one spot.

In ten years of marriage, she had learned to understand all the shades of her husband’s mood. Now he was on the edge. The last time she saw him like this was when his grandmother died.

The wife sighed heavily and decided not to interfere anymore. Let the brothers solve their problems themselves.

That night, the couple spent without sleep. Oleg never went to bed. She heard him pacing the apartment, mumbling to himself, dialing someone’s number several times. By dawn, he finally quieted down in the armchair in the living room.

Natalya got up early to get the kids ready for school. She tried to move quietly so as not to wake her husband, but he was already awake.

Alice and Danila quickly ate and went to get ready. When the front door closed behind them, the apartment became eerily quiet.

The wife began clearing the table, trying not to look at her husband. Her intuition told her that Oleg was about to say something she didn’t want to hear. And she was right.

“Sell your car,” the man suddenly said.

Natalya froze, holding an unwashed cup in her hands, not believing her ears. She slowly turned to her husband, hoping to see a hint of a joke on his face. But Oleg was utterly serious. He wasn’t joking.

“What?” the woman asked cautiously. “Sell the car? My car? Are you serious?”

“Absolutely,” her husband said calmly, as if talking about selling an old wardrobe. “Think about it yourself. It’s just gathering dust in the garage. When was the last time you used it? We only spend money on renting the garage and maintenance. Pointless!”

The wife leaned against the kitchen counter, feeling a wave of indignation rising inside her.

Yes, indeed, she had rarely gotten behind the wheel in recent months. Since she got a job at the “Vesna” supermarket across the street, the need for daily trips disappeared.

Before, she drove the kids to school, went to work downtown, and on weekends the whole family would go to the countryside. Now life had changed: school nearby, work a few steps from home. But that’s no reason to part with the car!

“Oleg, this is my car. A gift from my parents. I’m not going to sell it! You know how long they saved for it, how happy they were when they handed me the keys.”

“Listen,” the husband moved closer, trying to speak as convincingly as possible. “This is a way out. The car just sits idle, but at least it will be of some use. We’ll help Vitaly. After all, he’s family!”

“No!” the wife shook her head firmly. “Don’t even ask. I’m not going to part with the car for your brother. It’s my personal property.”

Oleg’s face changed at that moment. Calmness disappeared, giving way to fury and anger. The man started to “rev up.”

“Don’t you understand the situation? A person needs help! My brother! A blood brother! And you’re stuck on some piece of metal?!”

“Some piece of metal?” Natalya’s voice trembled. “It’s my car! My parents saved for it for three years! Remember how mom worked as a tutor in the evenings? How she denied herself everything? And why should I sacrifice my property?”

“Because it’s family! Because nothing is more important than close people!” Oleg was already shouting, his face crimson. “But what do you know! You’ve always been selfish! Only thinking of yourself!”

Tears glistened in the woman’s eyes. In ten years of marriage, her husband had never spoken to her in such a tone. She turned to leave, but her husband’s next words pinned her in place.

“So, here’s the deal,” his speech became very snake-like. “The choice is simple: either you sell the car and we help my brother, or pack your things and get out of the apartment.”

Natalya instinctively pinched herself, trying to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. She slowly turned to her husband, not recognizing the man she had lived with for so many years. Before her stood a complete stranger, ready to trample their marriage for his brother and money.

“Are you serious right now?” the wife barely whispered.

“Absolutely!” Oleg snapped. “Decide. I give you until evening.”

The husband left the kitchen, leaving the woman completely stunned. Natalya sank into a chair, feeling as if something inside her had snapped. It wasn’t resentment or fear. It was the certainty of a woman who had nothing left to lose.

The wife looked out the window at the garage she rented. So many happy moments were connected with the car parked there: trips to the sea, picnics in the forest, shopping with friends…

 

And now she was being forced to give it up for someone who got into trouble on his own.

Natalya sat in the kitchen for another hour after her husband left. She couldn’t stop thinking about his cruel and unfair ultimatum.

The woman could never have imagined Oleg was capable of such treachery.

“Pack your things and get out!” Did he say that to her? The mother of his children, the woman who had always been by his side. Who cared for his grandmother in the hospital after her stroke. Who gave up her career for his children.

Bitterness gradually gave way to cold rage.

“Well, if he wants to play dirty, she’ll show him how it’s done!”

Since childhood, watching her father work as a lawyer, Natalya had learned one thing: any relationship must be backed up on paper. How many times had her dad told her, “Natashenka, husband or brother, no money without a contract.”

Now she knew exactly what to do. Her father’s lesson hadn’t been in vain.

“Oleg,” the woman called her husband. He reluctantly came out of the room, clearly showing irritation.

“I agree to sell the car,” Natalya said calmly, looking her husband straight in the eyes.

The man’s face brightened.

“Finally, you understand! I didn’t even hope for that!”

“But I have conditions! Actually, several conditions!”

“What conditions?” Oleg frowned, crossing his arms.

“Very simple. I sell the car and give all the money to Vitaly. Every last kopeck. But it will be a loan. For a year. Under an IOU notarized by a notary.”

The man smirked self-satisfied:

“That’s all? Well, fine, let there be an IOU. No problem!”

“I’m not finished. You will be the guarantor. And if Vitaly doesn’t repay the money in a year, your half of the apartment goes to me. I become the sole owner of our home.”

Oleg laughed loudly:

“Are you serious? Some spy games! Go ahead, write whatever you want! Vitaly will pay back, I’m sure. He’s not a crook; he’s my brother!”

“So, agreed?” Natalya looked carefully at her husband. “If yes, we’re going to the notary tomorrow.”

“Of course!” Oleg still couldn’t stop laughing. “Draw up your papers. The main thing is that you agreed to help. I knew you’d understand. Good girl!”

The husband left the kitchen whistling some tune, pleased that everything was resolved. The woman quickly took out her phone and called an old acquaintance, the best notary in town.

“Alla? Hi. I need your help. Yes, urgently. It’s about a loan agreement secured by real estate. It needs to be drafted as precisely as possible, so it can’t be contested.”

Natalya discussed the conditions with her friend and, smiling with satisfaction, thought: “You started this, dear. Now don’t complain.”

She perfectly understood that Vitaly would never repay the money. Couldn’t! The amount was too large, especially given his salary and loans. Which meant that in a year she would become the rightful owner of their three-room apartment in the city center.

 

“Let’s see how you’ll sing then!” the wife whispered.

Her heart was heavy. She never thought their marriage could come to this. But Oleg had made his choice, putting his brother’s interests above the family’s. Now he shouldn’t be surprised by the consequences.

Exactly one year later, Natalya put the loan agreement in front of her husband. The sun was shining brightly outside. Just like on the day they made the deal at the notary.

“What’s this?” Oleg didn’t even glance at the papers, continuing to watch TV and chew a sandwich.

“A year has passed. Where is the money your brother owes me? The repayment deadline was yesterday.”

“Come on,” the husband waved irritably. “Vitaly will pay when he can. You know, he’s going through hard times now. Why are you acting like a stranger?”

“So, no money?” Natalya clarified, surprised by his carelessness.

“No, of course not! Where would it come from? His youngest child got into hospital; all savings went on treatment. Let’s not talk about it, okay? Look, what an interesting movie.”

Natalya silently gathered the documents and left. Oleg didn’t even notice how her expression changed, how much determination was in her eyes. And a week later, the man was summoned to court.

“What are you doing?!” her husband burst into the house, waving a court summons. “It was a joke! You can’t be serious… We are family!”

“I can,” the wife answered calmly. “And I will. You wanted this yourself and agreed to it!”

The court proceedings were brief. The agreement was flawless; all terms were clearly written, every comma in place. When the judge announced the decision making Natalya the sole owner of the apartment, Oleg turned white as chalk.

“You won’t do this,” the man whispered. “Think of the children…”

But she did. That same day, Natalya filed for divorce and called a locksmith to change the locks. When Oleg came home from work, he found all his things neatly packed on the landing: suits on hangers, shoes in boxes, books in stacks.

“Natasha, open up! Let’s talk!” the husband banged on the door until neighbors gathered.

Natalya opened it and looked firmly at her husband.

“Why?” was all he could say.

“Never threaten a woman,” she said calmly. “All your threats will backfire on you. You told me to get out of the apartment. Now it’s your turn!”

The door slammed loudly. The man stood for a long time looking at his suitcases, trying to comprehend how his life had fallen apart in a few days. Then he silently went downstairs and dialed a phone number.

“Vitaly? It’s me. Can I stay with you for a while?”

A month later, Oleg went north for shift work. He wrote letters to the children, sent gifts, but didn’t return home.

And Natalya began a new life. She renovated the apartment, changed jobs for a more promising one, started smiling more often. The children were worried at first but gradually got used to the new routine. Especially since their father regularly sent money and visited on weekends.

They say revenge is a dish best served cold. Natalya experienced it firsthand. And now she knew for sure that sometimes you have to lose something valuable to gain something more important — for example, self-respect and freedom.

“Lenochka, dear, a little more salad for this wonderful lady,” said my mother-in-law Tamara Pavlovna, her voice sweet like jam but felt more like burning Tabasco — a scorching pretense.

I silently nodded, taking the nearly empty salad bowl. The lady, my husband Slava’s third cousin, gave me a look full of irritation — the kind usually reserved for an annoying fly that has been buzzing around your head for ten minutes.

I moved quietly around the kitchen, trying to be invisible. Today was Slava’s birthday. Or rather, his family was celebrating his birthday in my apartment. The apartment I was paying for.
Family games

Laughter came from the living room in broken waves — the lively bass voice of Uncle Zhenya, the piercing bark of his wife. And over all of it — the confident, almost commanding tone of Tamara Pavlovna. My husband was probably sitting somewhere in a corner, forcing a tight smile and timidly nodding.

I filled the salad bowl, carefully decorating it with a sprig of dill. My hands worked almost automatically, while one thought kept spinning in my head: twenty. Twenty million.

Last night, after receiving the final confirmation by email, I just sat on the bathroom floor so no one could see me and stared at my phone screen. The project I had been working on for three years, hundreds of sleepless nights, endless negotiations, tears, and almost hopeless attempts — it all boiled down to one number on the screen. Seven zeros. My freedom.

“Well, where are you stuck?” my mother-in-law called impatiently. “The guests are waiting!”

I took the salad bowl and returned to the hall. The celebration was in full swing.

“You’re so slow, Lenochka,” the cousin drawled, pushing her plate away. “Like a turtle.”

Slava flinched but said nothing. As long as there was no scandal — his favorite life principle.

I put the salad on the table. Tamara Pavlovna, adjusting her perfect hairdo, loudly enough for everyone to hear, said:

“What can you do, not everyone is meant to be nimble. Office work is not the same as running a household. There you sit at the computer — and then home. But here you need to think, be resourceful, fuss around.”

 

She swept the guests with a victorious look. Everyone nodded. I felt my cheeks burning.

Reaching for an empty glass, I accidentally knocked over a fork. It clattered to the floor.

Silence. For a split second, everyone froze. Dozens of eyes — from the fork to me.

Tamara Pavlovna laughed. Loudly, cruelly, venomously.

“See? I told you! Hands like hooks.”

She turned to the woman sitting next to her and added, still in the same tone, sarcastically:

“I always told Slavik: she’s not a match for you. In this house, you’re the master, and she’s… just background dowry. Serve and fetch. Not a mistress — a servant.”

Laughter swept the room again, now even more malicious. I looked at my husband. He averted his eyes, pretending to be very busy with a napkin.

And I… I picked up the fork. Calmly. Straightened my back. And for the first time that evening, I smiled. Not a forced or polite smile — a real one.

They had no idea that their world, built on my patience, was about to collapse. And mine was just beginning. Right now.

My smile clearly threw them off. The laughter stopped as suddenly as it had started. Tamara Pavlovna even stopped chewing, her jaw frozen in confusion.

I didn’t put the fork down. Instead, I went to the kitchen, dropped it in the sink, took a clean glass, and poured myself some cherry juice. The very expensive one that my mother-in-law considered “nonsense” and “a foolish waste of money.”

With the glass in my hand, I returned to the living room and took the only free seat — next to Slava. He looked at me as if seeing me for the first time.

“Lena, the hot dishes are getting cold!” Tamara Pavlovna snapped back to herself. Her voice again rang with steel notes. “You need to serve the guests.”

“I’m sure Slava can handle it,” I took a small sip without looking away from her. “He’s the master of the house. Let him prove it.”

All eyes shot to Slava. He went pale, then red. Nervously, he cast pleading looks between me and his mother.

“I… Yes, of course,” he muttered and stumbled toward the kitchen.

It was a small but sweet victory. The air in the room grew thick, heavy.

Realizing her direct attack had failed, Tamara Pavlovna switched tactics. She started talking about the dacha:

“We decided to go to the dacha with the whole family in July. A month, as usual. To get some fresh air.”

“Lenochka, you need to start preparing next week, move the supplies, get the house ready.”

She spoke as if this had been decided long ago. As if my opinion didn’t matter at all.

I slowly set down my glass.

“Sounds wonderful, Tamara Pavlovna. But I’m afraid I have other plans this summer.”

The words hung in the air like ice cubes on a hot day.

“What other plans?” Slava came back with the tray, plates with hot food teetering on it. “What are you making up?”

His voice trembled with irritation and confusion. He was so used to me agreeing that my refusal sounded like a declaration of war.

“I’m not making anything up,” I calmly looked first at him, then at his mother, whose gaze was full of rage.

“I have business plans. I’m buying a new apartment.”

I paused, enjoying the effect.
Groceries

“This one, you see, has become too cramped.”

A deafening silence fell, first broken by, of course, Tamara Pavlovna. She let out a short, cawing laugh.

“She’s buying? On what money, may I ask? Going into a thirty-year mortgage? You’ll work your whole life for concrete walls?”

“Mom’s right, Len,” Slava immediately joined, feeling supported. He slammed the tray down with a crash that splattered sauce on the tablecloth.

“Stop this circus. You’re embarrassing all of us. What apartment? Are you crazy?”

I glanced around at the guests’ faces. Each one wore a look of contemptuous disbelief. They looked at me like an empty space that suddenly thought it was something more.

“Why a mortgage?” I smiled softly. “No, I don’t like debts. I’m paying cash.”

 

Uncle Zhenya, who had been silent until then, snorted under his breath.

“Did you get an inheritance? Did some old millionaire lady die in America?”

The guests chuckled. They felt in control again. That upstart is bluffing.

“You could say that,” I turned to him. “Only the old lady is me. And I’m still alive.”

I took a sip of juice, giving them time to absorb the meaning.

“Yesterday I sold my project. The very one you think I was ‘just sitting around the office for.’ The company I built for three years. My startup.”

I looked Tamara Pavlovna straight in the eye.

“The deal amount — twenty million. The money is already in my account. So yes, I’m buying an apartment. Maybe even a little house by the sea. To make sure it’s not cramped.”

The room fell into ringing silence. Faces elongated. Smiles vanished, revealing confusion and shock.

Slava looked at me with wide eyes, his mouth opening but making no sound.

Tamara Pavlovna slowly lost her color. Her mask crumbled before our eyes.

I stood up, took my purse from the chair.

“Slava, happy birthday. This is my gift to you. I’m moving out tomorrow. You and your family have one week to find new housing. I’m selling this apartment too.”

I headed for the exit. No sound followed me. They were paralyzed.

At the door, I turned and threw one last look.

“And yes, Tamara Pavlovna,” my voice was firm and calm, “the servant is tired today and wants to rest.”

Six months passed. Six months I lived like a new life.

I sat on the wide windowsill of my new apartment. Through the panoramic floor-to-ceiling window, the evening city shimmered — a living, breathing creature that no longer seemed hostile.

It was mine. In my hand, a glass of cherry juice. On my lap, a laptop with open blueprints for a new project — an architectural app that had already attracted its first investors.

 

I worked a lot, but now it was a pleasure because work filled me instead of draining me.

For the first time in many years, I breathed deeply. The constant tension I’d lived with for years disappeared. The habits of speaking quietly, moving cautiously, guessing other people’s moods were gone. The feeling that I was living as a guest in my own home was gone.

Since that birthday, my phone hasn’t stopped ringing. Slava went through all stages: from furious threats (“You’ll regret it! You’re nothing without me!”) to pathetic midnight voice messages where he sobbed about how “good their past was.”

Listening to this, I felt only cold emptiness. His “good” was built on my silence. The divorce went quickly. He didn’t even try to demand anything.

Tamara Pavlovna was predictable. She called, demanding “justice,” shouting that I “robbed her son.” Once she even ambushed me near the business center where I rented an office. Tried to grab my hand. I just walked around her without a word.

Her power ended where my patience did.

Sometimes, in moments of strange nostalgia, I would visit Slava’s page.

From the photos, you can see he moved back to his parents. The same room, the same carpet on the wall. A face with the expression of eternal offense, as if the whole world was to blame for his failed life.

No more guests. No more celebrations.

A couple of weeks ago, returning from a meeting, I received a message from an unknown number:

“Len, hi. This is Slava. Mom is asking for the salad recipe. She says she can’t make it taste so good.”

I stopped in the middle of the street. Read it several times. And suddenly laughed. Not angrily, but genuinely. The absurdity of the request was the best epilogue to our story. They destroyed our family, tried to ruin me, and now they wanted… tasty salad.

I looked at the screen. In my new life, filled with interesting projects, respectful people, and quiet happiness, there was no place for old recipes or old grudges.

I added the number to the blacklist. Without hesitation. Just removed it like a random speck of dust.

Then I took a big sip of juice. It was sweet, with a slight tart note. It was the taste of freedom. And it was wonderful.

Loud applause gradually died down, the glasses of champagne were half emptied, and the guests’ faces glowed with smiles. Fifty years of married life — a golden wedding anniversary. Around the long festive table gathered children, grandchildren, old family friends. They had all come to celebrate not just an anniversary, but a symbol of a strong family bond. At the center of the celebration were Mikhail and Valentina, the honored couple of the day. He wore a strict classic suit with a neatly tied golden tie; she wore an elegant cream dress, her hairstyle neat, smiling modestly.

“My dear ones!” — the eldest son raised his glass, his voice trembling with emotion. “You have become for us an example of true love and loyalty! Fifty years together — that’s rare! It’s a miracle!”

Toast after toast was made: memories of youth, funny stories from family life, warm words of gratitude, laughter and tears. Everyone asked Mikhail to speak. He slowly stood up, straightened his jacket, scanned the room with his gaze, then looked at his wife. A long silence fell, as if time itself froze.

“I want to tell the truth,” he said in a low, almost whispering voice. “These fifty years… I have not loved you.”

A dead silence hung in the room. Someone dropped a fork, the clang of metal echoed around the hall. Valentina went pale but stayed seated, not showing a single movement revealing her state. The guests exchanged glances, some even looked away, feeling awkward. The daughter-in-law wiped tears with a handkerchief; the grandchildren looked at the adults confused, not understanding what was happening.

“I have not loved you,” Mikhail repeated, not taking his eyes off his wife. “But the image you showed me on the very first day we met. That girl with the warm voice holding a volume of Akhmatova. The one who argued with me about Chekhov and laughed, with a candy clutched between her teeth. Since then, every day I saw that very her in you. Though years passed, though you changed — I have always loved that first you. And you know, you never betrayed her.”

Tears slowly ran down Valentina’s cheeks. She covered her face with her hands but did not sob — these were tears of relief, as if she had long awaited these words, wanted to hear them. The guests began to relax — now it was clear that the man was not talking about a breakup but about something much deeper. Someone smiled, someone sobbed, touched to the core.

Mikhail approached his wife, gently took her hand, like he did so many years ago when they had just started their journey.

“I did not love you — I loved everything real in you, and it was more than just love. It was — forever.”

The room burst into applause. Even the waiters, who were already ready to clear the tables, stood wiping tears secretly. The emotions were too strong to keep inside.

When the applause died down a little, Valentina still could not utter a word. Her lips trembled, her eyes were full of tears — not from resentment, not from pain, but from that strange, bittersweet feeling that arises when the heart suddenly remembers everything at once: the first meeting, the quarrels, peaceful evenings in the kitchen with tea, the birth of children, winter walks, illnesses, and joys.

She stood up, not letting go of Mikhail’s hand.

“And I…” she finally whispered, “all these years I was afraid you would stop loving that first me. That wrinkles, fatigue, illnesses would erase from your memory that girl with a candy in her mouth. But you kept her… Thank you.”

She turned to the guests, and confidence sounded in her voice:

“You know, I did not expect such words. He did not give compliments, did not give flowers without reason, forgot anniversaries… but once, when I had my gallbladder removed, he sat by my bed all night and whispered: ‘You will get better. I’m here.’ And I realized — that is love.”

The eldest grandson, a fifteen-year-old boy, suddenly jumped up from his seat:

“Grandpa, grandma! How did you even meet?”

Mikhail laughed, and that laugh sounded so light, as if he had become young again.

“She worked at the library. I came for a book, and left — with a life.”

The guests laughed again. The atmosphere became even warmer. The grandchildren began eagerly asking what grandma was like in her youth. Family friends recalled stories even the children didn’t know. It was as if the whole hall became a big family living room filled with memories and light.

Later, when almost everyone had left, Mikhail and Valentina sat on the veranda wrapped in blankets under twinkling garlands.

“What if you hadn’t come to the library then?” Valentina quietly asked.

Mikhail looked at the stars, was silent, then replied:

“I would still have found you. Because you are my only reality. No matter when and where.”

She smiled, leaned toward him and whispered:

“Then let’s meet in the next life at the library. In the same place.”

He nodded:

“And I will take ‘Anna Karenina’ again, to stay a little longer.”

But imagine a different version of this scene. Imagine that instead of tender words, Mikhail said something else entirely.

When Mikhail said:

“I have not loved you all these 50 years…”

—the room froze.

Valentina slowly lowered her glass. Her face showed nothing — no pain, no anger. Just cold, tired silence.

“I loved another woman,” he continued. “Since we were twenty… I met her before you. We planned to marry. But my parents insisted I choose a ‘practical’ one. And you… you were just that.”

Some guests began whispering among themselves. Some were already getting up from the table — awkward, frightened. Someone grabbed their phone to record what was happening. Some just sat stunned.

“Mikhail,” the eldest son intervened, “why are you saying this now?”

But the father just shook his head tiredly.

“Because I’m tired of living a lie. I lived my whole life with a woman I respected but did not love. And at the sunset of life, I want to say — I was wrong.”

Valentina did not scream. Did not cry. She simply stood up from the table, slowly approached him, and said:

“Thank you. For your honesty. Even if belated.”

She took off her wedding ring, carefully placed it next to the glass.

“And now you can be free. Late, but — free.”

Later.

The guests had left. The hall was empty. Only traces of the celebration remained — crumpled napkins, leftover food, overturned chairs.

Valentina sat on the balcony, wrapped in a blanket, with a cup of cooled tea in her hands.

Her granddaughter approached.

“Grandma, did you… did you love him?”

“Me?” Valentina smiled faintly. “Yes. At first — yes. Then — I got used to it. And then — we just lived. Like two people who lost the ability to speak heart to heart.”

“And what now?”

“And now…” she looked at the dawn, “I will live a little time for myself. Without illusions. Without masks. And maybe, for the first time — freely.”

Final scene

A few months later, on an early autumn morning, at the dacha where the whole family once gathered for barbecues, Valentina meets a neighbor — a widower, lonely and quiet, but with kind, attentive eyes. He hands her a jar of jam:
Family games

“Try it. Currant.”

“Thank you,” she smiles. “You know, Mikhail never liked currants. But I loved it.”

“Then we already have something in common,” he quietly laughs.

And in those eyes, for the first time in many years, Valentina felt… not just interest, but a promise. Small, but real. A promise of a new life. A life that will belong only to her.

Marina was going through the students’ notebooks when the phone rang in the kitchen. It was six o’clock on a Saturday evening—not the best time for calls. On the line was Anya’s worried voice, her neighbor from the stairwell.

“Marin, are you sitting down right now?”

“What’s wrong, Anya?”

“I saw Igor today near the real estate agency. He was talking to some woman. Then I heard him say something about your apartment.”

Marina froze. She and Igor had separated three weeks ago after twenty-four years of marriage. He had moved to his mother’s place but before leaving, he said he would come back when she “calmed down.”

“And what exactly did he say?” Marina tried to ask calmly.

“He said he wants to sell the apartment. Claimed it belongs only to him and that you and your daughter would be moving out soon.”

Marina put down the phone, the pen dropping from her hands in shock. The apartment belongs only to him? That can’t be!

The phone rang again.

“Hi, Mom, it’s me, Katya,” her daughter’s tired voice sounded. “Did Dad call you?”

“No. Why?”

“He texted me that he found cheaper housing for us in the Southern district. They want me to convince you—that now we don’t need a three-room place.”

Something inside Marina turned over.

“Katya, we’re not moving anywhere. Did he decide to sell the apartment behind our backs?”

“Seriously?! Has he completely lost his mind?”

“I think so too. After all, we bought this apartment together!”

“Mom, but don’t we have a joint ownership certificate?”

Marina hesitated.

“No, Katya. It’s only in his name. Back then he said, ‘Why waste extra money? We’re family.’ And I, fool that I was, believed him.”

“Did you hit him or what?”

“Yes, just pure anger! Mom, I’m coming home.”

“No, you’re in exams, study. I’ll handle this myself.”

Katya snorted.

“You always say that! And then Dad does whatever he wants.”

“Not this time,” Marina answered firmly, unexpectedly.

She immediately called Igor. The phone rang for a long time, but he didn’t answer. Then she sent a message: “I know about your plans for the apartment. Either we talk now, or in court.” No reply.

The next day Igor showed up at home. Unshaven, in a crumpled shirt, but with the same arrogance.

“What have you been spinning to everyone?” he barged in rudely.

“Is it true that you want to sell it?”

Igor grimaced.

“So what? It’s my apartment—my rules.”

“Yours? We bought it together! I’ve invested money my whole life!”

“Where are the documents?” He shrugged. “Only my name is on paper. I bought it before the wedding.”

“You’re lying! We got married and three years later took out a mortgage!”

“Prove it. Where are the papers? No? Then leave.”

“I’m not going anywhere!” Marina gasped in anger. “Half of this apartment is mine!”

“Oh, scary,” he laughed. “Marish, if you could see yourself. A teacher with a miserable salary. Who needs you? And by the way, I’m helping—finding a place.”

“Get out of here!” she spat through clenched teeth.

“What?!”

“Out! This is my home! I’m staying here!”

Igor pointed a finger to his temple.

“I’ll come with a realtor in a week. Pack your things.”

After he left, Marina sank to the floor in the hallway and broke down crying. That was it—twenty-four years of marriage, twenty-one years in this house… And now what? Rent a room on her salary?

The phone rang again. Marina wiped her tears and answered.

“Marin, it’s Lena. I heard what’s going on. I’ll be waiting for you in an hour. My brother is a lawyer, he can help.”

“Lena, I don’t have any money…”

“No one asks for money right away. We’ll figure it out. But if you don’t come—I’ll come and drag you by the hand.”

“Okay,” Marina gave in. “I’ll be there in an hour.”

At the lawyer Sergey’s office—Lena’s brother—Marina nervously fiddled with a handkerchief. The room felt too small for all her worries.

“So, the apartment is only in your husband’s name?” Sergey drummed his fingers on the table. “And you contributed money?”

“Of course! I paid half the mortgage all these years!”

“Any proof?”

“What kind? We were a family… were.”

“Receipts, bank statements, contracts?”

“Not sure… Maybe some checks or papers survived somewhere?”

“Look around your home. Maybe old boxes in the attic?”

“I’m ready to search everything!”

“Good. Also, while you’re married, he can’t sell the apartment without your consent. We’ll file a counterclaim for property division.”

At home, Marina turned everything upside down. In an old box, she found yellowed documents—a payment schedule for the loan with the bank’s stamp, her signature on several forms.

That evening Katya called.

“Mom, news. Dad really filed a lawsuit. Grandma let it slip.”

“I know,” Marina replied quietly. “He demands that I vacate the apartment.”

“That bastard! I’m quitting my exams, coming home!”

“No, Katya, study. I have a lawyer. There’s a chance.”

The next day, a court summons arrived. Igor demanded the apartment be declared his sole property.

Calling Sergey, Marina was surprised by his calm.

“It’s even good he filed first. Now we have time to prepare.”

Three weeks flew by like a day. Marina barely slept, looking for documents, verifying every detail. At work, she mechanically conducted lessons, and during breaks ran to the bank or called her lawyer.

One evening Igor came.

“So, decided to move out quietly?”

“No. At court, I’ll prove the apartment is ours jointly.”

Igor laughed.

“You? Prove it? You can’t string two words together!”

“But I have documents.”

“What documents?..” He stopped. “Have you been digging through my things?”

“No. Our things.”

Something like fear flashed in Igor’s eyes, but he quickly recovered.

“Never mind. I have the ownership certificate. And a top lawyer.”

“I have a lawyer too,” Marina replied calmly.

“Who’s that?” Igor sneered.

“Sergey Vasilyevich Klimov.”

Igor choked on his sip of water.

“Klimov?! Seriously?”

“Absolutely.”

“Where does a poor teacher get money for such a lawyer?”

“That’s none of your business,” she snapped.

After Igor left, Lena called.

“How are you?”

“Okay, I think I scared him a bit.”

“Everyone knows Sergey in town. Of course, you scared him.”

“Lena, thank you. Without you, I’d be lost.”

“Come on! You’re much stronger than you think. And by the way, I’ll be a witness at the trial. I’ll confirm you always paid for the apartment.”

“Do you really remember?”

“Of course! You complained a hundred times about giving your whole salary to the mortgage!”

That evening Katya called.

“Mom, I finished early. Coming tomorrow.”

“Katya…”

“Don’t argue! I’m coming, period. I want to be at the trial.”

For the first time in a long while, Marina smiled—truly, from the heart.

The courtroom was small and stuffy. Marina sat straight, clutching a folder of documents. Sergey sat beside her, focused and confident. Behind them were Lena and Katya, both tense to the max.

Igor entered with a young, neatly dressed lawyer who whispered something in his ear. Both looked confident.

“Don’t pay attention to them,” Sergey whispered. “It’s just a show.”

The judge—a woman around fifty with a tired face—began the session.

“Plaintiff, state the claim.”

Igor’s lawyer stood and spoke. His voice was monotone and emotionless.

“My client demands the apartment be recognized as his sole property. He bought it before marriage. Here are the ownership documents.”

The judge examined the papers and addressed Marina:

“What does the defendant say?”

Sergey stood.

“Your Honor, we disagree. The apartment was bought during the marriage. There is a contract. Moreover, my client regularly made mortgage payments.”

Igor’s lawyer scoffed.

“Where is the proof? We don’t accept words.”

“We have it,” Sergey calmly said, pulling out a folder. “Bank statements, payment schedules signed by my client, and witnesses.”

The judge carefully examined the documents.

“Call the witnesses.”

Lena stepped forward, trembling slightly with nerves.

“I have known Marina for over twenty years. She constantly said she paid for the apartment. We often couldn’t go anywhere— all money went to the mortgage.”

“Are there specific facts?” Igor’s lawyer asked.

“Specific? I went with her to the bank several times. Saw her make payments. Once I even lent her money when she was short for the next installment.”

Igor whispered something angrily to his lawyer.

“Your Honor,” the lawyer interrupted, “the friend’s words mean nothing. My client claims the wife never contributed.”

“She’s lying!” Katya stood up.

“Silence in the court!” the judge hammered. “State your name.”

“Ekaterina Sokolova, daughter. I want to testify too.”

“What can you say?”

“Mom always paid. Dad said it was hard to carry the mortgage alone, and Mom gave him money.”

Igor’s face flushed.

“She’s lying! Katya, how can you?!”

“You’re lying!” the daughter shot back sharply. “You told me yourself: ‘Mom pays half, but we live like in a barn.’ Remember?”

The judge hit the gavel again.

“Silence, please! We continue.”

Sergey presented additional materials: old receipts, bank statements, photos of Marina and Igor together looking at a new apartment.

“Does the plaintiff object?” the judge asked.

Igor’s lawyer looked confused.

“Your Honor, the ownership is registered to my client. It doesn’t matter who paid.”

“If the apartment was bought during the marriage, it is considered joint property,” Sergey objected.

The judge called a recess. Marina felt her legs trembling.

“What do you think?” she whispered to Sergey.

“So far, everything is going in our favor.”

After the break, the judge announced the decision:

“Financial expertise on the mortgage payments is ordered.”

Igor jumped up:

“What expertise?! It’s my apartment! I bought it! She just wants to rob me!”

“Sit down, plaintiff!” the judge said firmly.

“I won’t! It’s a conspiracy! She arranged everything!”

Another gavel strike.

“One more word and you will be removed from the court!”

Igor collapsed into his chair, glaring angrily at Marina. She met his gaze without fear for the first time.

The expertise lasted three weeks. Marina barely slept; every day felt eternal. Igor sent a “generous” offer through his lawyer—he would take the apartment and give her a sum not enough even to rent a room.

“Don’t agree to anything,” Katya insisted. “We’ll break him.”

On the day of the final court hearing, heavy rain poured. Marina arrived soaked to the bone.

“How’s your mood?” Sergey asked, meeting her in the corridor.

“Fine,” she smiled weakly. “Just hope it’s all over.”

In the courtroom were only them, Igor and his lawyer, and the judge with an impassive face.

“According to the expertise results,” the judge began, “Marina Sokolova regularly made mortgage payments. Her share is 47%.”

Igor grimaced as if swallowing something bitter; his lawyer visibly tensed.

“The court rules: Igor’s claim is denied. The apartment is recognized as jointly acquired property. Shares are equal.”

Marina sat in disbelief.

“We… won?”

“Yes, we won,” Sergey smiled. “Congratulations.”

Igor jumped up:

“This is absurd! I will appeal!”

“That is your right,” the judge said indifferently.

In the corridor, Katya screamed with joy and hugged her mother.

“You’re a real hero! Well done!”

“We did it together,” Marina whispered, holding her daughter close.

A month later, they officially divided the property: Igor got the car and the dacha; Marina got the apartment. He no longer shouted and looked subdued.

“Well, satisfied?” he grumbled, signing.

“I just wanted justice,” Marina answered calmly.

Six months passed. The apartment became cozy—new wallpaper, curtains, a comfortable kitchen table. Katya helped with the renovations. Friends came over, they laughed and drank tea.

“You seem to have blossomed,” Lena noticed one day. “You even carry yourself differently.”

“Really?” Marina smiled shyly.

“Seriously. Like a huge weight has lifted off your shoulders.”

Marina thought. It was true. She no longer feared tomorrow. No longer waited for someone to decide for her. Now she was in control of her own life.

The mirror in the bedroom reflected a familiar scene: I was adjusting the folds of a modest gray dress that I had bought three years ago at an ordinary store. Dmitry stood nearby, fastening the cufflinks on his snow-white shirt — Italian, as he never tired of emphasizing at every opportunity.

“Are you ready?” he asked, without looking my way, busily brushing off nonexistent dust from his suit.

“Yes, we can go,” I replied, checking one last time if my hair was neatly styled.

He finally turned to me, and I saw in his eyes the familiar expression of slight disappointment. Dmitry silently looked me up and down, lingering on the dress.

“Don’t you have anything more decent?” he said in a tone tinged with his usual condescension.

I heard those words before every corporate event. Each time they stung like a prick — not fatal, but unpleasant. I had learned not to show how much it hurt. Learned to smile and shrug.

“This dress is perfectly suitable,” I said calmly.

Dmitry sighed as if I had let him down again.

“Alright, let’s go. Just try not to stand out too much, okay?”

We got married five years ago when I had just finished the economics faculty, and he was working as a junior manager at a trading company. Back then, he seemed to me an ambitious, purposeful young man with brilliant prospects. I liked how he talked about his plans, how confidently he looked to the future.

Over the years, Dmitry really climbed the career ladder. Now he was a senior sales manager handling major clients. The money he earned went toward his appearance: expensive suits, Swiss watches, a new car every two years. “Image is everything,” he liked to repeat. “People need to see that you’re successful, or they won’t deal with you.”

I worked as an economist at a small consulting firm, earned a modest salary, and tried not to burden the family budget with unnecessary expenses on myself. When Dmitry took me to corporate events, I always felt out of place. He introduced me to colleagues with a light irony: “Here’s my little gray mouse out on the town.” Everyone laughed, and I smiled, pretending I found it funny too.
Family games

Gradually, I began to notice how my husband had changed. Success had gone to his head. He started looking down not only on me but also on his employers. “I’m selling this junk made by our Chinese,” he said at home, sipping expensive whiskey. “The main thing is to pitch it right, and they’ll buy anything.”

Sometimes he hinted at some additional sources of income. “Clients appreciate good service,” he winked. “And they’re willing to pay extra for it. Personally, I understand, right?”

I understood but preferred not to delve into details.

Everything changed three months ago when a notary called me.

“Anna Sergeevna? This concerns the inheritance of your father, Sergey Mikhailovich Volkov.”

My heart skipped a beat. My father left our family when I was seven. Mom never told me what happened to him. I only knew that he worked somewhere, lived his own life, where there was no place for a daughter.

“Your father passed away a month ago,” the notary continued. “According to the will, you are the sole heir to all his property.”

What I found out at the notary’s office turned my world upside down. It turned out my father was not just a successful businessman — he had built an entire empire. An apartment in central Moscow, a country house, cars, but most importantly — an investment fund owning shares in dozens of companies.

Among the documents, I found a name that made me shudder: “TradeInvest” — the company where Dmitry worked.

The first weeks I was in shock. Every morning I woke up unable to believe it was real. I only told my husband that I had changed jobs — now I worked in the investment sector. He reacted indifferently, only muttering something about hoping my salary wouldn’t be less than before.

I began to study the fund’s affairs. My economic education helped a lot, but most importantly — I was genuinely interested. For the first time in my life, I felt I was doing something important, something meaningful.

I was especially interested in the company “TradeInvest.” I requested a meeting with the CEO, Mikhail Petrovich Kuznetsov.

“Anna Sergeevna,” he said when we were alone in his office, “I must be honest: the company’s situation isn’t very good. Especially the sales department has problems.”

“Tell me more.”

“We have one employee, Dmitry Andreev. Formally, he handles major clients, turnover is large, but profits are almost none. Moreover, many deals are unprofitable. There are suspicions of violations, but not enough evidence yet.”

I asked to conduct an internal investigation, without revealing the real reasons for my interest in this particular employee.

The investigation results came a month later. Dmitry was indeed embezzling company money, arranging with clients for “personal bonuses” in exchange for lowered prices. The sum was substantial.

By that time, I had updated my wardrobe. But true to myself, I chose understated clothes — only now they were from the world’s best designers. Dmitry didn’t notice the difference. For him, anything that didn’t scream price remained “gray mouse-ness.”

Last night, he announced they had an important corporate event tomorrow.

“A reporting dinner for top management and key employees,” he informed me importantly. “The entire company leadership will be there.”

“I see,” I replied. “What time should I be ready?”

Dmitry looked at me in surprise.

“I won’t take you there; there will be decent people, not your level,” he declared, unaware that I owned the company where he worked. “You understand, it’s a serious event. There will be people deciding my fate in the company. I can’t afford to look… well, you know.”

“Not really.”

“Anyechka,” he tried to soften the tone, “you’re a wonderful wife, but you lower my social status. Next to you, I look poorer than I really am. These people must see me as their equal.”

His words hurt, but not as sharply as before. Now I knew my worth. And I knew his.

“Fine,” I said calmly. “Have fun.”

This morning Dmitry left for work in a high mood. I put on a new Dior dress — dark blue, elegant, which emphasized my figure but remained restrained. Did professional makeup and styling. Looking in the mirror, I saw a completely different person. Confident, beautiful, successful.

I knew the restaurant where the event was held — one of the best in the city. Mikhail Petrovich met me at the entrance.

“Anna Sergeevna, glad to see you. You look wonderful.”

“Thank you. I hope today we can sum up results and outline plans for the future.”

The hall was full of people in expensive suits and dresses. The atmosphere was businesslike but welcoming. I talked with heads of other departments, met key employees. Many knew me as the new company owner, although this was not yet public information.

I noticed Dmitry immediately as he entered. He wore his best suit, a new haircut, looked confident and important. He scanned the hall, clearly assessing those present and his place among them.

Our eyes met. At first, he didn’t understand what he saw. Then his face twisted with anger. He decisively approached me.

“What are you doing here?” he hissed, coming close. “I told you this is not for you!”

“Good evening, Dima,” I replied calmly.

“Get out of here immediately! You’re embarrassing me!” He spoke quietly but fiercely. “And what’s this masquerade? Wearing your mouse rags again to humiliate me?”

Several people began looking our way. Dmitry noticed and tried to compose himself.

“Listen,” he said in a different tone, “don’t make a scene. Just leave quietly, and we’ll discuss everything at home.”

At that moment, Mikhail Petrovich approached us.

“Dmitry, I see you’ve already met Anna Sergeevna,” he said with a smile.

“Mikhail Petrovich,” Dmitry instantly switched to obsequious mode, “I didn’t invite my wife. Honestly, it’d be better if she went home. After all, it’s a business event…”

“Dmitry,” Mikhail Petrovich looked at him with surprise, “but I invited Anna Sergeevna. And she’s not going anywhere. As the company owner, she must be present at this reporting event.”

I watched how the information sank into my husband’s mind. First confusion, then realization, then horror. The color slowly drained from his face.

“Owner… of the company?” he asked barely audibly.

“Anna Sergeevna inherited the controlling stake from her father,” explained Mikhail Petrovich. “She is now our main shareholder.”

Dmitry looked at me as if seeing me for the first time. I read panic in his eyes. He understood that if I knew about his schemes, his career was over.

“Anya…” he began, and in his voice appeared notes I had never heard before. Plea. Fear. “Anya, we need to talk.”

“Of course,” I agreed. “But first, let’s listen to the reports. That’s why we’re here.”

The next two hours were torture for Dmitry. He sat next to me at the table, tried to eat, keep up conversation, but I saw how nervous he was. His hands trembled as he raised his glass.

After the official part, he pulled me aside.

“Anya, hear me out,” he spoke quickly, ingratiatingly. “I understand you probably know… I mean, maybe someone told you… But it’s all not true! Or not entirely true! I can explain everything!”

That pathetic, humiliated tone was even more repulsive to me than his former arrogance. At least then he was honest in his contempt for me.

“Dima,” I said quietly, “you have a chance to leave the company and my life quietly and gracefully. Think about it.”

But instead of accepting the offer, he exploded:

“What game are you playing?!” he shouted, ignoring that people were watching us. “You think you can prove something? You have nothing on me! It’s all speculation!”

Mikhail Petrovich gestured to security.

“Dmitry, you’re disturbing the order,” he said strictly. “Please leave the premises.”

“Anya!” Dmitry shouted as they escorted him out. “You’ll regret this! Hear me?!”

At home, a real scandal awaited me.

“What was that?!” he yelled. “What the hell were you doing there? Trying to set me up? You think I don’t know what that was — a performance?!”

He paced the room waving his arms, his face red with rage.

“You won’t prove anything! Nothing! It’s all your inventions and intrigues! And if you think I’ll let some fool control my life…”

“Dima,” I cut him off calmly, “the internal investigation at the company was initiated two months ago. Before you knew who I am.”

He fell silent, looking at me suspiciously.

“I asked Mikhail Petrovich to give you a chance to resign without consequences,” I continued. “But apparently, in vain.”

“What are you talking about?” His voice became quieter but no less angry.

“The investigation showed that in the last three years you embezzled about two million rubles. But probably much more. There are documents, recorded conversations with clients, banking operations. Mikhail Petrovich has already handed the materials over to law enforcement.”

Dmitry sank into the armchair as if weakened.

“You… you can’t…” he muttered.

“If you’re lucky,” I said, “you might negotiate compensation. The apartment and the car should cover it.”

“Idiot!” he exploded again. “Where will we live then?! You’ll have nowhere to live either!”

I looked at him with pity. Even now, in this situation, he thought only of himself.

“I have an apartment downtown,” I said quietly. “Two hundred square meters. And a house in the Moscow region. My personal driver is already waiting for me downstairs.”

Dmitry looked at me as if I spoke a foreign language.

“What?” he breathed out.

I turned away. He stood in the middle of the room — confused, broken, pathetic. The same man who that morning considered me unworthy to be seen with him among decent people.

“You know, Dima,” I said, “you were right. We really are different levels. Just not in the way you thought.”

I closed the door behind me and didn’t look back.

Downstairs, a black car with a driver was waiting for me. Sitting in the back seat, I looked out the window at the city, which now seemed different. Not because it had changed, but because I had changed.

The phone rang. Dmitry. I declined the call.

Then came a message: “Anya, forgive me. We can fix everything. I love you.”

I deleted the message without replying.

A new life awaited me in the new apartment. The one I should have started years ago but didn’t know I had the right to. Now I knew.

Tomorrow I would have to decide what to do with the company, the investment fund, my father’s inheritance. I would build a future that now depended only on my decisions.

And Dmitry… Dmitry would stay in the past. Along with all the humiliation, self-doubt, and feelings of inadequacy he had given me all those years.

I am no longer a little gray mouse. And I never was.

“Take him, I beg you!” The woman practically shoved a worn leather suitcase into my hands and pushed the little boy toward me.

I almost dropped the bag with food—I was bringing treats from the city to our village neighbors.
“Sorry, what? I don’t know you…”

“His name is Misha. He’s three and a half.” The woman grabbed my sleeve; her knuckles turned white. “In the suitcase… there’s everything he needs. Don’t leave him, please!”

The little boy pressed against my leg. He looked up at me with huge brown eyes, his blonde curls messy, a scratch on his cheek.
“You can’t be serious!” I tried to pull away, but the woman was already pushing us toward the train car.
“You can’t just do this out of the blue! The police, child services…”

“There’s no time to explain!” Her voice trembled with desperation. “I have no choice, do you understand? None at all!”

A crowd of dacha residents caught us and pushed us into the crowded carriage. I looked back—the woman stayed on the platform, hands pressed to her face. Tears streamed down her fingers.

“Mom!” Misha made a move toward the door, but I held him back.

The train started moving. The woman grew smaller and smaller until she disappeared into the evening dusk.

We somehow settled on a bench. The boy cuddled up to me and sniffled into my sleeve. The suitcase pulled my arm down—it was heavy. What was in there, bricks?

“Auntie, will Mom come?”

“She will come, little one. She definitely will.”

 

The fellow passengers looked over with curiosity. A young woman with a strange child and a shabby suitcase—a sight, to be honest, unusual.

All the way, I kept thinking: What kind of craziness is this? Maybe some prank? But what kind of prank—the child was real, warm, smelled of baby shampoo and cookies.

Peter was stacking firewood in the yard. When he saw me with the kid, he froze, holding a log.

“Masha, where’s he from?”

“Not where from, who. Meet Misha.”

I told him everything while cooking semolina for the boy. My husband listened, frowned, rubbed the bridge of his nose—a sure sign he was thinking hard.
“We need to call the police. Immediately.”

“Peter, what police? What will I tell them—someone gave me a kid at the station like a puppy?”

“So what do you suggest?”

Misha was devouring the porridge, smearing it over his chin. He was very hungry but tried to eat neatly, holding the spoon correctly. A well-mannered boy.
“Let’s at least see what’s in the suitcase,” I nodded toward it.

We sat Misha in front of the TV and turned on “Nu, pogodi!” The suitcase clicked open.

I caught my breath. Money. Stacks and stacks of cash, tied with bank bands.

“My God,” Peter exhaled.

I grabbed a bundle at random. Five-thousand ruble notes, a hundred bills. I estimated—there were about thirty such bundles, no less.
“Fifteen million,” I whispered.
“Peter, that’s a fortune.”

We looked at each other—and at the boy laughing, watching the wolf chase the hare.

Nikolai, Peter’s old friend, found a way out. He came a week later, we drank tea and talked.

“You can register him as an abandoned child,” he said, scratching his bald head. “Like found at the gate. A friend works at child services, will help with documents.”

Though… it will require some… organizational expenses.

By that time, Misha was already settling in. He slept in our room on Peter’s old folding bed, ate oatmeal with jam for breakfast, followed me around the household like a tail.

He gave names to the chickens—Pestrushka, Chernushka, Belyanka. Only at night did he sometimes whimper, calling for Mom.

“What if his real parents are found?” I doubted.

“If they’re found, so be it. But for now, the boy needs a roof over his head, hot food.”

The paperwork was done in three weeks. Mikhail Petrovich Berezin—officially our foster son. We told the neighbors he was a nephew from the city; his parents died in an accident. We handled the money carefully. First, we bought Misha clothes—his old things, though good quality, were too small. Then books, construction toys, a scooter.

Peter insisted on repairs—the roof was leaking, the stove smoked.

 

“For the boy,” he grumbled, nailing down shingles. “So he doesn’t catch a cold.”

Misha grew like yeast. At four, he knew all the letters; at five, he was reading and subtracting. Our teacher, Anna Ivanovna, exclaimed: “You’re raising a prodigy! He should study in the city, in a special school.”

But we were wary of the city. What if someone recognized him? What if that woman changed her mind and was looking?

By seven, we decided—he went to the city gymnasium. We drove him back and forth; thankfully, we had enough for a car. Teachers couldn’t praise enough:
“Your son has a photographic memory!” the math teacher exclaimed.
“And his pronunciation!” the English teacher added. “Like a native Brit!”

At home, Misha helped Peter in the workshop. My husband started woodworking, making custom furniture. The boy could spend hours with a plane, carving wooden animals.

“Dad, why do all the other kids have grandmothers, but I don’t?” he once asked at dinner.

Peter and I exchanged glances. We had expected this question and prepared for it.

“They passed away long ago, son. Before you were born.”

He nodded seriously and asked no more. But I saw he thought sometimes, looking closely at our photos.

At fourteen, he won first place at the regional physics Olympiad. At sixteen, professors from Moscow State University came to persuade him to enroll in preparatory courses. They said: prodigy, future of science, a Nobel Prize winner.

But I looked at him and saw that scared little boy from the station. Frightened but trusting. I wondered—was his mother alive? Did she remember him?

The money was melting away. For studies, tutors, trips. We also bought a nice city apartment for him to live and study. The rest—about three million—was deposited in an account for university.

“You know,” Misha said on his eighteenth birthday, “I love you both very much. Thank you for everything.”

We hugged tightly then. A family is a family, even if it all started wildly.
Family games

A letter came exactly a year later. A thick envelope with no return address, inside handwritten pages and an old photo.
“To me?” Misha wondered, looking at the address. “I wonder from whom?”

He read silently for a long time. His face changed—pale, then flushed. I couldn’t stand it, peered over his shoulder.

“Dear Misha, if this letter has reached you, it means I am no longer in this world. Forgive me for leaving you then, on the platform. I had no choice—your father died, and his partners decided to take over our business. They wouldn’t have stopped at anything, even… I can’t write what threats they made. I watched the station for a long time, choosing. That woman seemed kind to me—a plain face, tired eyes, a wedding ring. And bags from the city—meaning she was going to the village, where it’s calmer. Your father, Mikhail Andreevich Lebedev, owned the investment fund ‘Lebedev-Capital.’ When he passed, I tried to hold the company, but your father’s partners started a real battle. Lawsuits, threats. Then they said—either I disappear, or something happens to you. I chose your life. I faked my death and left. All these years, I watched from afar—hiring people to send photos and reports on your progress. You grew into a wonderful person. Your foster parents are saintly people, may God bless them. Now those people are gone—their karma caught up. You can claim what belongs to you—52% of the fund’s shares, a huge amount of money. Find lawyer Igor Semenovich Kravtsov, firm ‘Kravtsov and Partners.’ He knows everything and is waiting for you. Forgive me, son. I loved you every day, every hour of our separation. Maybe someday you’ll understand and forgive me. Your mother, Elena.”

Attached was a photo—a young woman with a sad smile hugging a blond toddler. The same one from the platform. Only younger, happier.

Misha put the papers down. His hands trembled slightly.

“I suspected,” he said quietly. “Always felt something was wrong. But you became family to me. Real parents.”

“Mishenka…” I had a lump in my throat.

“That’s some inheritance,” Peter whistled. “No kidding.”

Misha stood, came to us, hugged tightly, like in childhood when there was a storm.
“You raised me. Took care of me. Spent your last. If anything comes, we split it three ways, period. You are my family. Real family.”

A month and a half later, the lawyer confirmed—Mikhail Lebedev really was the main shareholder of the huge fund. Former partners of the father sued and threatened, but all their claims were dismissed.

“Mom was right,” Misha said at the celebratory dinner. “On that entire station, she chose the best people. Who weren’t afraid to take in a stranger boy with a suitcase of money.”

“What stranger?” Peter objected. “Our own!”

And we hugged again. A strong family, created not by genes but by love—and a desperate act of a woman on a twilight platform.

“I won’t let that money be divided among three,” lawyer Kravtsov cut in, adjusting his glasses. “Mikhail Andreevich, you are an adult, but such sums… the tax office will be interested.”

We sat in his office—me, Peter, and Misha. Outside the window, a Moscow street buzzed, and we couldn’t believe the reality of what was happening.

“And what about my parents?” Misha leaned forward. “They should get their share.”

“There are options,” Kravtsov pulled out a folder. “You can make them consultants of the fund with a salary. Or transfer shares gradually. Or buy real estate in their name.”

“Let’s do it all at once,” Peter smirked. “Consultants, real estate, and shares later.”

We went home silently. Each thought of his own. I—how our quiet village life would change.

Peter—about his workshop, which could now be expanded. And Misha… he stared out the train window as if saying goodbye to the past.

The first changes began a month later. Some people in expensive suits came to the village, walking the streets, photographing our house.
“Journalists,” our neighbor Klavdiya guessed. “They smelled out your wealth.”

We had to hire security. Two strong guys now stood guard by the gate, checking all arrivals. The villagers first sneered but then got used to it.

“Mom, maybe we should move?” Misha suggested at dinner. “To the city, closer to the office.”

“And what about the household? Chickens, garden?”

“We can buy a house in the suburbs. With a yard.”

Peter poked his cutlet silently. I knew he didn’t want to leave. His workshop was here, established customer connections, friends.
“Let’s live here for now,” I said. “Then we’ll see.”

 

But we couldn’t live in peace. Journalists climbed over the fence, some ‘partners’ called with offers. And then the thing we feared happened.

“Mikhail Andreevich?” A woman about fifty in a mink coat stood at the door. “I’m your aunt, Larisa Sergeevna. Your father’s sister.”

Misha froze. In all these years, no living soul had looked for him, and suddenly—relatives.

“I have no aunts,” he said coldly.

“Oh, come on!” The woman rummaged in her purse, pulling out yellowed photos. “Look. This is me with your dad, about twenty years old.”

In the photo, indeed two young people, and the man looked like Misha—the same cheekbones, same eye shape.
“What do you want?” Peter stood behind Misha.

“What do you think?” the aunt huffed. “I’m blood! I searched for my nephew all these years, couldn’t find peace!”

“Sixteen years and no luck,” I muttered.

The woman threw up her hands:

“But Elena deceived everyone! She said the child was gone long ago! We believed, mourned… Then I read in the papers—the heir Lebedev appeared! My heart told me—this is my Misha!”

Misha silently turned and went into the house. The three of us stayed.

“Leave,” Peter said firmly. “Where were you when the boy cried at night? When he had angina in the hospital? When he went to Olympiads?”

“I didn’t know!”

“Now you know. When the money showed up. Convenient.”

The aunt left but came back the next day with a lawyer. Then some other ‘relatives’ showed up—cousins, nephews. All with photos, all with proof of kinship.

“We’re moving,” Misha decided after the next visit. “We’ll find a house in a gated community near Moscow. We can’t live here anymore.”

Peter surprisingly agreed:

“I’ll open a workshop there. More orders in the capital.”

The move took two months. We found a great house—three floors, a hectare of land, an hour from Moscow. Peter immediately claimed the outbuilding for the workshop, I chose a spot for greenhouses.
“Chickens?” I asked Misha.

“Of course, Mom. Whatever you want.”

Life in the new house was different. Misha went to the office, got involved in fund affairs. It turned out he had real talent for investments—increased capitalization by twenty percent over time.

“Genes,” Kravtsov said. “Your father was a genius financier too.”

Peter opened a furniture factory. First small, about twenty people. Then expanded—exclusive handmade furniture was in high demand. And me… I just made our new house cozy. Planted a garden, a rose garden. Got decorative chickens with crests. In the evenings, we gathered on the veranda, drank tea, talked.

“You know,” Misha said once, “I want to find Mom’s grave. The real mom. To lay flowers and say thank you.”

“That’s right,” Peter nodded. “We have to.”

We found the grave in a small town by a lake. We went there together. On the gray stone was a simple inscription: “Elena Lebedeva. Loving Mother.”

Misha stood silently for a long time, then laid a bouquet of white roses.

“Thank you,” he said quietly. “For choosing to trust me to them.”

We flew back in silence. The circle closed—the boy from the station became who he was meant to be. But he remained our son.

“Listen,” Misha turned to us on the plane. “Let’s create a fund? For orphaned children. So everyone has a chance at a family.”
Family games

“Let’s,” I smiled. “Call it ‘Platform of Hope’?”

“Exactly!” Misha blossomed. “And the first contribution—the money from the suitcase. Well, what’s left.”

Peter chuckled:

“The whole suitcase went on you, fool. For the apartment.”

“Then we’ll fill a new suitcase. And not just one.”

So that’s how we live now. A big house, a successful business, a charity fund. But most importantly—we stayed a family.

The very one that started with a strange meeting on a train platform.

Sometimes I think—what if I had been scared then? Hadn’t taken Misha? But my heart tells me—everything happened as it was meant to.

That woman on the platform didn’t make a mistake in her choice. And we didn’t make a mistake opening our doors to a stranger child.

Who became the dearest in the world.

“Katya, where is my blue tie?” Dmitry shouted from the bedroom.

Ekaterina was standing in the kitchen, stirring oatmeal. Seven years of marriage, and every morning felt like Groundhog Day. He rushed off to the office chasing success and money, while she stayed between the stove and the washing machine.

“In the closet on the second shelf!” she called back.

“I don’t see it! Katya, where is it?”

She sighed and went into the bedroom. Her hand in the pocket of his yesterday’s jacket felt something cold. A key. A normal apartment key, but definitely not from their house.

“Dim, where is this from?” she showed him the find.

Her husband turned around and was momentarily confused. But quickly recovered and shouted:

“Go back to the kitchen! Don’t be rummaging through my things! It’s from the new archive at the office.”

But he did not expect what would happen next.

At breakfast, Dmitry didn’t take his eyes off his phone. He was typing something, smiling, even giggling a couple of times.

“Who’s texting?” Katya asked innocently.

“Colleagues. Discussing a project,” he replied without looking up.

But Katya noticed that on the screen there weren’t work messages, but some hearts and emojis.

“I’ll be late today. Presentation, then dinner with partners. Don’t wait for me.” — Dinner with partners on a Saturday?

“Business never sleeps, dear.”

He kissed her on the cheek and rushed off, leaving behind the scent of a new expensive perfume.

Katya cleared the dishes and sat down with a cup of cold coffee. Seven years ago, she had graduated with honors in economics, worked at a bank, built a career. Then she got married.

“Why do you need that job?” Dmitry had persuaded her back then. “I’ll earn well; take care of the home. Soon we’ll have kids, and you won’t have time for a career.” They still had no children. Meanwhile, Katya knew all the TV series and sales in all the stores in the neighborhood by heart.

But today something clicked inside. A key to someone else’s apartment, emojis on the phone, new perfume, “business” dinners on weekends…

She needed to find out the truth. And she knew how.

Ekaterina opened her laptop and searched: “Horizont Business Center vacancies.” That’s exactly where Dmitry worked — on the seventh floor, in the office of the IT company “Progress.”

She scrolled through job listings. There it was! The cleaning service “Clean Office” was hiring cleaners for the Horizont business center. Evening shift.

Her heart beat faster. Perfect! Cleaners work when the main staff go home. But someone always stays — managers who “stay late for meetings”…

Katya dialed the number.

“Hello, regarding the cleaning job at Horizont…”

The next day she sat in the cleaning company’s office opposite Nina Vasilyevna, the team leader.

“Do you have experience as a cleaner?”

“I’ve been cleaning at home for seven years,” Katya answered honestly.

“Why Horizont? We have jobs closer to your area.”

Katya was ready for that question:

“It’s convenient schedule-wise. I’m… getting divorced. My husband will be home with the child at that time.”

Nina Vasilyevna nodded sympathetically:

“I understand, dear. Divorce is hard. We’ll take you. Just register your documents under the name… what is it? — Valentina. Valentina Petrova.”

In three days, Ekaterina Kovaleva became Valentina Petrova, cleaner at the Horizont business center. She got a uniform, supplies, and detailed instructions:

“The main rule — we are invisible. Employees work late and must not be distracted by us. Quiet, careful, unnoticed. Seventh floor. IT company Progress. Office with the plaque ‘D.A. Kovalev, Development Manager.’”

“Nina Vasilyevna, can I have the seventh floor?” Katya asked. “Fewer offices there, I’m still learning…”

“Of course, dear. Lyuda has a hard time — too many offices there.”

And so Katya stood at the door of her husband’s own office holding a mop. Eight o’clock in the evening, the workday long over, but voices could be heard behind the door.

The game had begun.

Two weeks working as a cleaner in her husband’s office opened Katya’s eyes to many things. Dmitry stayed late every evening not for his career, but for Alina Kramer — a marketer from the seventh floor.

The key from his pocket really was to an apartment. Not the office archive, but Alina’s one-room flat in a new building.

“Dim, I’m tired of all these secrets,” Alina complained while Katya washed the floor in the neighboring office. “When can we be together openly?”

“Soon, dear. The lawyer says we need to prepare the documents properly. Otherwise, at the divorce, I’ll have to give up half the apartment.” Katya clenched her teeth. So he not only had an affair but also planned to rob her in the divorce.

And the day before yesterday, she stumbled upon something worse. Cleaning Dmitry’s office, she accidentally knocked over a stack of papers. The reports scattered on the floor.

While picking them up, Katya noticed strange notes in the margins. Thanks to her economic education, she quickly understood — these were the company’s internal reports. Plans, budgets, development strategies.

On the desk lay a second phone — a work phone. The screen lit up with a notification from “Irina S.”

Katya looked around — no one was in the office. She quickly opened the chat:

“Dima, I need data on the ‘Northern’ project. I’ll transfer the usual amount.”

“Ira, the information price went up. Now 50 thousand for the package.”

“Agreed. Just faster, we have a presentation Tuesday.”

Katya’s hands went cold. Irina Somova — deputy director of “Vector,” Progress’s main competitor. And Dmitry was selling her trade secrets.

Katya took photos of the chat and several documents with notes. At home, studying the materials, she realized the scale of the betrayal. Her husband leaked information to competitors worth at least half a million rubles.

“How’s work?” she asked at dinner.

“Fine. Working on a promising new project,” Dmitry answered indifferently, not looking up from his phone. “Promising”… the one he had already sold to Vector.

The plan did not mature immediately. She could simply report her husband to management and file for divorce. But Katya wanted justice on all fronts.

Tomorrow was the corporate party celebrating Progress’s successes. Dmitry had been preparing for a week — new suit, a speech for the toast, plans to impress the bosses.

“Dim, what will you tell colleagues about me?” Alina asked yesterday.

“What’s there to say? You know — I’m getting divorced. Soon we’ll be officially together.”

“What if your wife shows up at the party?”

“She won’t. She’s shy about such events. Says she feels awkward among my colleagues.” Katya smiled listening to this conversation. Her husband had no idea his “shy” wife was watching office life from the inside every day.

On the day of the party, Katya came to work as usual. But instead of her uniform, her bag held a black cocktail dress. And in the folder — all the proof of her husband’s double betrayal.

At seven in the evening, when the celebration began in the conference hall, she changed in the staff restroom. Fixed her makeup, let her hair down.

Through the glass doors, you could see Dmitry in a new suit flirting with Alina at the buffet table. General Director Pavel Romanovich was giving a congratulatory speech.

The time for a surprise had come.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Katya said entering the hall. “May I have a moment?”

The conversations stopped. Dmitry turned and froze.

“I am Ekaterina Kovaleva, wife of your employee,” she calmly continued. “For the past two weeks, I worked here as a cleaner under the name Valentina Petrova.”

“What are you doing here?!” Dmitry hissed, rushing at her.

“I was gathering evidence, dear. Of your affairs and something worse.” The hall froze in tense anticipation.

“Pavel Romanovich,” Katya addressed the director, “your manager is selling commercial information to the company Vector.” She handed him a folder with printouts.

“That’s slander!” Dmitry shouted. “She’s revenge for my affair!”

“Transfer amounts, photos of documents with your notes,” Katya listed calmly. “Everything documented.” Pavel Romanovich silently studied the papers. His face hardened with every page.

“And this,” Katya added pulling out another folder, “photos of using the office for non-work purposes.” Seeing the pictures where she kissed Dmitry, Alina squealed and ran out of the hall.

“Dmitry Kovalev, you are fired,” the director said coldly. “And you will answer according to the law. Security!” When Dmitry was escorted out, silence hung in the room. Pavel Romanovich approached Katya:

“Thank you for your help. We couldn’t find the source of the leak for six months.”

“I was just looking for the truth about my husband. Found more than I expected.”

“Do you have an economics degree?”

“Yes, but haven’t worked in the field for seven years.” The director nodded thoughtfully:

“We need a new security analyst. Someone who can find what others hide. Interested?”

Katya smiled:

“Very.”

A month after the corporate scandal, Katya’s life changed drastically. She worked as a security analyst at Progress, earning three times more than Dmitry in his previous position.

Her ex-husband disappeared from her life. After his dismissal and exposure, his resume got blacklisted by recruitment agencies.

At the court session, Katya felt confident. Dmitry sat in the corner, avoiding her gaze. He looked pitiful — wrinkled shirt, unshaven face. Alina dumped him a week after the scandal.

“The court’s decision,” announced the judge, “is to dissolve the marriage. According to the parties’ settlement, the apartment is split in half.” Two months later Katya celebrated her housewarming in her two-room flat. She sold half of the three-room apartment and bought a cozy place in a good area.

Her work brought her pleasure. Katya developed a new information security system, preventing several industrial espionage attempts.

Six months later, a new IT director appeared at the company — Andrey Volkov. He moved from Moscow, divorced, raising a school-age son. They often worked together on projects. Andrey treated her as a professional.

“Katya, can you recommend a good school for my son?” he asked once.

“Sure. Shall we take a walk after work? I’ll show you some options.” Thus began their friendship. Two adults who valued honesty and understood the price of betrayal.

A year later Katya accidentally met Dmitry at the metro. He worked at a car wash, lived in a rented room.

“Katya… How are you?” he started.

“Good. And you?”

“Tough. Can’t find a better job… Maybe we can try again? I’ve really changed…” Katya looked at him closely. Yes, he had changed — become miserable, broken.

“No. I have a different life now. And the main rule in it is to respect myself.” In the evening, she told Andrey about this meeting over a cup of tea.

“Don’t you feel sorry for him?”

“I feel sorry for the woman who spent seven years thinking she was a worthless housewife. And he got what he deserved.” Andrey took her hand:

“Good thing that woman found the strength to change everything.” Outside, snow was falling, and the apartment was warm and cozy. Katya was finally home — where she was valued and respected.

It was late. After putting the children to bed, Liza went to the kitchen. She boiled water in the kettle, poured herself some tea, and sat down at the table. Her husband Roma still hadn’t come home — in recent weeks, he had a lot of work and often had to stay late. His wife felt sorry for him; she tried to shield him from household chores, surrounding him with care and affection. Roma was the sole breadwinner in their family.

As soon as the couple got married, they agreed that the husband would provide for the family, while the wife would take care of the household and their future children. That’s how it turned out. They had three children, the husband worked and earned well, and the wife kept the home front. Roma was happy about each child’s arrival and dreamed of having more, but Liza was very tired — all the little ones demanded attention, and there was always a pile of diapers waiting for her in the bathroom; there wasn’t enough breast milk, so every night she had to prepare formula. She had long decided that three children were enough and it was time to stop.

Her husband came home late at night, a little drunk. When Liza asked about it, he said that they had all been very tired with the kids and stopped by a bar to relax.

“My poor dear,” his wife soothed the tired husband, “Let’s have dinner.”

“I’m already full; we had plenty of snacks. I’ll just go to sleep.”

International Women’s Day was approaching. Liza asked her mother to watch the children while she went shopping. She wanted to buy groceries and arrange a romantic evening. She would leave the children with her mother and cook something delicious. After buying groceries and gifts, the woman wanted to buy herself a new outfit since her clothes were quite worn out and she had nothing festive to wear.
Family games

She left her bags in the cloakroom and entered a popular store. She chose several dresses and went to the fitting room. She started taking off her nylon jacket when suddenly she heard her husband’s voice coming from the adjacent fitting room:

“I want to undress you right now.”

In response came a loud laugh and a gentle female voice — perhaps overly sweet:

“Not much longer to wait. Go buy something for your wife instead.”

“She doesn’t need anything. Her only interest is the kids. I’ll buy some kitchen appliances; she loves to spend all day in the kitchen.”

Liza stood there, unable to breathe, as if hit on the head with something heavy. Then she tried on the dress but thought she didn’t even want to buy it anymore. Meanwhile, the conversation continued.

“What if your wife asks what you spent so much money on?”

“I don’t report my expenses to her. I give her money for the household, and she doesn’t really know how much I have.”

Footsteps were heard. The fitting session ended, and the couple left. Liza cautiously peeked from behind the curtain and saw her husband paying for the goods. Next to him stood a slender, beautiful blonde, and Roma’s hand was resting on her waist.

“Are you okay?”

 

Liza shuddered. She had been sitting on the bench in the fitting room for a long time. Apparently, everything was written on her face because the saleswoman became concerned. Liza bought all the dresses she liked and went home. There she sent her mother away, put the children to bed during lunch, then lay down and started thinking.

Maybe she was to blame? She had completely neglected herself. But in any case, this was betrayal — an unexpected stab in the back. She would have never thought that her husband was cheating. And the tone he spoke about her in? As if she were nothing or, worse, a maid. He even wanted to buy her a gift suitable for work.

Liza was strongly tempted to get a divorce. But by doing that, she would only make things easier for them. He would leave for his mistress, and she would have no means to raise the children; alimony would probably be minimal. The woman decided to keep silent for now and observe.

That day Roma came home late again, saying he had a lot of work. Liza looked at him indifferently and said nothing. She felt like she was talking to a completely different person, not her beloved Roma. Her heart cooled instantly.

The next day Liza prepared a resume and sent it everywhere she could. Days of waiting followed. Every morning she started by checking her email. Many didn’t reply; others declined. After a few days, she was invited to an interview at a company — the same one where her husband worked. Liza hesitated for a while but then decided to go.

She made a good impression on management; they offered her a good position. The salary was small at first, but she could feed her children. Inspired by this offer, Liza flew home full of happiness. Seeing her, her mother bombarded her with questions.

“Roma has a mistress!” the young woman announced with joy.

Her mother thought her daughter was in shock, poured her tea, and sat her at the table to talk.

“Sweetheart, what are you saying? He stays late at work for you and the kids, and you accuse him of who knows what.”

“He’s with a young lady,” Liza giggled, then told her mother everything.

“Do you want a divorce?”

“Of course. But first I need to organize my day. I got a good job with a flexible schedule. The kids need to be enrolled in kindergarten; then I’ll work full time.”

“Well, daughter, it’s your decision. I won’t try to talk you out of it. Someone who betrays once will do it again. Do what you think is right. I’m disappointed, didn’t expect it, and he even discusses the mother of his children with a stranger. I’ll help you with the kids.”

“Mommy, what would I do without you!” Liza hugged her mother tightly.

Before the holiday, Roma again came home long after midnight. The wife didn’t ask him anything; her face showed complete indifference. He started explaining that he had worked a lot and then went to the bar with friends. Liza interrupted him and told him to go to sleep.

In the morning, while feeding the children, her husband tried to give her a kitchen food processor with the words:
Kitchen supplies

“Look at the gift. I want to help you a little with the housework,” said the husband and tried to kiss her, but she turned away.

Liza didn’t unpack the gift and instead solemnly announced to Roma that she also had a gift for him and called him to the hallway. There on the floor stood two suitcases.

“These are your things. I’m divorcing you. Now you won’t have to make up stories about how you stayed late with friends and, poor thing, want to relax. So go, relax, don’t keep your blonde waiting.”

“Who told you?” The husband did not expect such a turn of events.

“I saw it with my own eyes when you were choosing her a gift. By the way, you can give her the food processor too. Maybe she’ll like fiddling in the kitchen?”

Cornered, Roma got angry:

“Look at yourself! She’s beautiful and does such things in bed! You don’t even dress properly, you’ve let yourself go, you’ve become a clumsy woman. And the funniest thing — you live on my money. Or do you count my money and don’t want me to spend it on someone else? You don’t have that right!”

“My money, my money! And what is your goal in life? To reproach me with a piece of bread? You didn’t give me money; you gave it for the household; you ate it yourself,” Liza was already tired of this pointless conversation and pushed the furious husband out the door with the suitcases, “Don’t you dare come back.”

 

Surprisingly, that night she slept well, and when she woke up in the morning, she felt reborn. That very day she filed for divorce and alimony. A few days later, the doorbell rang, and soon her mother-in-law barged in and immediately started yelling.

“What are you doing! You kicked my son out of the apartment and now want to squeeze money from him? He owes you nothing. Take back the alimony claim!”

“How interesting. And why do some men think they pay their ex-wives, not their children? Maybe he won’t have enough for his mistress? Anyway, that’s no longer my problem.”

“Look at you, getting all businesslike! You haven’t worked a day since you got married. You’ve leached off him and got comfortable. Don’t think you’ll get rich on alimony. He’ll tell his boss to pay him in cash, and you’ll get pennies.”

“Get out of here. Like mother, like son. I’m sorry I only realized this now,” Liza pushed the raging woman out the door. “One more word and I’ll call the police.”

Her mother-in-law left, and Liza breathed a sigh of relief. Soon, the children were given places in kindergarten, and they started attending. Liza began working full-time. Her husband already knew they worked at the same company. One day, they ran into each other face to face.

“Hello,” the ex greeted. “Let’s talk.”

“Don’t be offended, but I have to work,” the woman answered without looking at him.

“Then let’s have lunch together.”

“The word ‘together’ no longer applies to us,” Liza cut him off.

She looked at him. Roma looked somewhat worn out. His mistress had left him when she found out half of his money would go to support the children.

Valery made one last walk around the empty hall of his restaurant. Today, he had sent all the staff home, and now only a small amount of food remained in the establishment. He decided that in a couple of days he would come back, gather everything necessary, and donate it to a charitable shelter.

His restaurant had existed for only five years. At the very beginning, things went well — people came, the place was popular. But a year ago, a fast-food café opened nearby, and customers started drifting there. Fast and inexpensive food became preferable to the refined dishes his restaurant served. Valery thought the fast-food craze would soon pass — after all, no one could eat just that all the time. However, it turned out the main problem was not that: guests started coming less often because the head chef planned to move to another place and stopped monitoring the quality of the dishes.

Valery regretted that he had long stopped tasting every new dish before adding it to the menu. When he finally realized the food was no longer the same, the place was almost empty. He fired the cooks immediately, but it didn’t help — the reputation was already tarnished. Valery tried to take over the kitchen himself; he cooked well, but never reached the previous level.

In the end, he had to decide what to do next — close or sell the business. He chose to sell because at the start he had taken a loan, and without the restaurant’s income, he couldn’t repay it. The premises were filled with a dreary atmosphere of neglect. To find a buyer, everything had to be put in order.

In the courtyard, he recalled how not long ago the waitresses would gather there for smoke breaks, chatting and laughing, and he could hear their laughter from his office, whose windows faced the yard.

 

 

Suddenly, he noticed movement behind a bush and headed that way.

“Hello, sorry…” came a voice from the bushes.

Before him stood a woman with a worried look, next to her a little girl about five years old.

“Why are you hiding here?”

The woman sighed:

“We didn’t know the restaurant was closed. The girls used to sometimes bring us something to eat… We will leave.”

She had already taken a step away, but Valery stopped her:

“Wait. Don’t you have a permanent place to live?”

She smiled slightly and replied:

“Not right now, but it’s temporary. I will definitely find a way.”

He wanted to ask for details, but from her eyes, he understood it was better not to pry.

“Which girls helped you?” he asked.

“Do you want to punish them?”

“No, just curious. Was it Tamara, Olya, and Sveta?”

The woman nodded.

“Do you know how to clean and tidy up a place?”

She was surprised but answered:

“I think every person is capable of that.”

“Then come with me,” Valery said, pointing to the restaurant. “See for yourself — everything here has become dilapidated. If you want, you can live here for some time and help me get everything in order. There’s enough food to last a while.”

“Can we cook?”

“Yes, as much as needed. I’ll leave you the key to the back door so you can come and go freely. There’s a couch, pillow, and blanket in the office.”

The woman smiled:

“I promise everything will shine here.”

Valery showed her the kitchen, the food supplies, and cleaning equipment. Before leaving, he asked one more question:

“Sorry if this sounds too personal… You don’t look like a homeless person.”

The woman, whose name was Lera, lowered her gaze:

“My husband started seeing another woman, and for complete family happiness, he only lacked our daughter. He never cared about Rita; he only cared about his image. Now I can’t fight for the child, so I left and wander.”

Valery shook his head — he had heard such stories before. In his thoughts, he asked himself: “Why do you all put up with such men?”

Lera seemed to hear his inner question:

“I know what you’re thinking, but he wasn’t always like that. Or maybe I just didn’t notice before. We met when I was twenty. I had housing that the state gave me as an orphan; we sold it to buy a house. Of course, he also invested money, but now he has a roof over his head, and I have nothing.”

Valery grabbed the door handle:

“All right, I won’t keep you longer. In the desk drawer in my office are business cards with a number. Call if you need anything.”

Lera gently touched his hand:

“Tell me, why did you decide to close the restaurant? It was a good place, popular.”

Valery smiled sadly:

“That’s how it happened. Do you think only women get betrayed? Friends and partners betray too. I need a couple more weeks to find a buyer.”

As he left, he felt they were no longer strangers to him. Now he cared about what would happen to them.

Three days later, he stopped by again. Inside, there was a businesslike bustle — tables were neatly pushed to the walls, curtains taken down for washing.

“Looks like they’re not relaxing here but working seriously,” he noted.

Lera looked fresher, energy shining in her eyes.

“And even lunch is set?” Valery was surprised to see a laid table.

“There’s so much delicious food here,” Lera replied shyly.

Little Rita helped her mother set the plates, sticking out her tongue in concentration. Watching them, Valery smiled — he hadn’t eaten anything tastier in recent days.

“Did you study cooking professionally?” he asked.

Lera laughed:

“Of course I studied. And honestly, if I could, I would spend all day just cooking. I love turning ordinary products into real works of art.”

Valery sighed:

“It’s a pity we didn’t meet earlier. Together, we could have made this restaurant truly successful.”

Lera looked at Valery carefully, in her eyes was not only worry but also hope — the kind that doesn’t fade even in the darkest times. She sat at an old wooden table where once glasses of wine stood, and now documents about the restaurant’s closing lay.

“Why not try again?” she asked quietly but with such confidence in her voice that Valery involuntarily shuddered.

He thought. His gaze fell on the empty hall where music, guests’ laughter, rustling tablecloths, and muted conversations of waitresses had recently sounded. But now it was quiet. Too quiet.

 

“That’s too risky,” he finally answered, trying to find the right words. “If I make a mistake, I’ll be in debts I can’t get out of. I just don’t have the right to fail.”

Lera took a deep breath, as if gathering strength. Her voice trembled:

“It’s a pity… I always liked this place. My husband and I used to come here in the first years after our wedding…” She paused, recalling the days when everything was different — when love was real and promises strong. “Don’t worry, I’ll manage to get everything in order. Just give me a heads-up.”

Valery visited several more times but never dared to go inside. Every time the thought of selling the restaurant surfaced, his heart ached. He felt as if he was losing a part of himself, the part that held memories, warmth, and meaning.

The day of the deal came. Valery, gathering courage, went to the restaurant with the buyer and several assistants. The bank owner, who was providing a substantial loan for the purchase, also came. Everyone was serious, businesslike, ready to negotiate.

First, they agreed to inspect the restaurant inside, then discuss the price. Valery understood: he wanted to sell for a decent amount, but the buyer hadn’t agreed to his terms yet. However, opening the door, everyone was stunned. Inside was perfect cleanliness; fresh flowers stood on small side tables; the air was filled with a faint scent of lemon and mint. The bank owner looked at Valery puzzled:

“Is your restaurant really closed? This looks like the best working establishments!”

“Today we made an exception, especially for you,” Valery replied with a slight smile, inviting the guests to sit.

Then he headed to the kitchen. Little Rita, sitting in his office, was drawing on her lap while a cartoon played nearby. He found Lera in the kitchen — she was standing by the stove, carefully stirring sauce. Her face was pale, her gaze anxious.

“Did something happen?” he asked with concern.

“Yes… among your guests is my ex-husband. The one who tried to take my daughter away and left us homeless.”

“Really? Which one?”

“The one in the blue suit.”

“Interesting,” Valery said thoughtfully, “because he’s the buyer.”

“How did he manage to get the money to buy the restaurant?”

“He’s taking a loan. Leave it, I’ll carry everything out myself so he won’t see you.”

Fifteen minutes later, the hall was silent — everyone was focused on eating. The dishes were amazing, each one seeming a masterpiece. Finally, one of the guests exclaimed:

“Oh my God, it’s so delicious I didn’t even notice I ate everything!”

The bank owner nodded and added:

“If you decide to buy this restaurant, be sure to persuade whoever cooked this to stay with you. Otherwise, it will be extremely difficult to find someone of that level.”

All eyes turned to Valery, who hesitated slightly, as if not knowing what to say. But at that moment Lera entered the hall. Her appearance was unexpected and almost theatrical.

“Hello,” she said softly, carrying herself with surprising confidence.

The buyer jumped up, his face twisted with shock:

“Lera! What are you doing here?”

“I’m cooking here,” she replied calmly. “And please, don’t shout.”

“How?! Since when did you dare to do this?”

Lera shrugged:

“Maybe since you brought another woman into our home? Or when you left me and our daughter out on the street?”

“How dare you!” exploded the ex-husband. “You kidnapped my daughter!”

The bank owner, watching the scene, looked at Valery, who just nodded:

“I know. If you want, I can tell you more.”

The banker stood up and calmly stated:

“Sorry, but I don’t want to deal with such people. The loan is denied.”

Valery, smiling, turned to the buyer:

“You know, I’ve changed my mind about selling the restaurant. With such a head chef, we will restore its former glory.”

The buyer turned red:

“You’ll regret this. And you, Lera, too. I’ll take your daughter away from you. You have neither money nor a home.”

“You’re wrong there,” Valery said firmly. “Lera is now my fiancée, and Rita will be under my protection.”

The ex-husband left, casting a last spiteful glance, and Lera quietly cried from relief. The bank owner, smiling at Valery, said:

“I’m ready to provide you a loan on the best terms. Just make sure there’s always a spot for me in this place.”

Three months passed. Changes in the restaurant hall were minimal — everything kept its former cozy look. But in the kitchen, a real revolution took place: new equipment, modern technology, new recipes and ideas. Valery called his former waitresses, and those who could, returned to work. The restaurant was expecting guests again.

The day before reopening, the kitchen was bustling with work. Valery peeked in a couple of times but was immediately sent away because “it’s important not to interfere.” He sat in the hall, looking around — everything looked perfect. He knew it was thanks to Lera. She felt every detail, every little thing, every nuance.

Rita came over and, keeping the conversation, said:

“They don’t let you in there?”

“They don’t,” Valery sighed.

“Don’t be sad, they don’t let me either,” the girl smiled, imitating adult seriousness. “When mom cooks, she doesn’t notice anyone around.”

Valery smiled:

“Even you?”

 

“Even me,” Rita answered seriously. “But I don’t mind. Mom is passionate.”

He understood that Rita might not fully understand all the expressions, but her sincerity and purity were worth more than any knowledge.

Lera and Rita now lived with Valery. He took them in right after Rita had an accidental encounter with Lera’s ex-husband. Valery hired an experienced lawyer and handled Lera’s property division, though her ex-husband interfered with the process. Lera didn’t yet know it, but today she officially became a free woman, and the ex transferred compensation for her share in the apartment to her card.

“Rita, how about some ice cream?” Valery suggested.

“Let’s! Just don’t let mom see! She always says sweets are bad in the evening,” the girl answered.

An hour later, Lera came into the room and, smiling while watching Valery and Rita happily eating ice cream, noticed the empty box and nearly lost her speech:

“Are you crazy? You ate it all!”

Rita quickly glanced at Valery and giggled, then ran after him as he cheerfully headed for the exit. They walked together to the embankment, where Lera, having caught up and caught her breath, walked alongside Valery. Suddenly he stopped unexpectedly and, smiling at her, said:

“You know, today you’re officially free. It’s all over. Maybe now you’ll be skeptical about marriage?” he teased.

“I don’t know, I haven’t even thought about that,” Lera replied.

“Then think about it,” Valery turned her to himself and kissed her gently. “But not for too long. I already bought a ring.”

— “Not one more step into that restaurant, understood?” she hissed through her teeth, her sharp nails digging into the granite surface of the counter.

— “Of course, Ekaterina Pavlovna. As you command,” I replied, displaying a calm smile, although inside, I was already filled with the warmth of anticipating triumph.

The “White Swan” restaurant was once the pride of the city’s main boulevard. Now, its grandeur remained only in memories: marble columns and crystal chandeliers casting dim reflections on the half-empty hall, where waiters moved like ghosts, trying to avoid the scrutinizing gaze of the owner. The few patrons whispered among themselves, as if afraid to disturb the oppressive silence.

I leisurely headed to the car parked around the corner, where Artem was waiting for me. My heels rhythmically tapped on the cobblestone, counting down the seconds until I could allow myself a relaxed laugh.

— “So, still as unbearable?” he asked, opening the car door for me.

 

— “Absolutely. Only now her kingdom is beginning to crumble right under her nose,” I said as I settled into the passenger seat.

Three years ago, I sat in the kitchen of our home, struggling with a cold dinner. Father and Ekaterina had long finished their meal and moved to the living room, where her artificial laughter mingled with the sounds of the television.

— “Anna, why didn’t you clean up after yourself yesterday?” her voice suddenly sounded close.

— “I did,” I retorted, looking up from my plate. “I washed the dishes and wiped the table.”

— “Then what’s this?” She pointed to a barely noticeable stain on the tablecloth.

— “Ekaterina… maybe that’s enough?” my father’s weary voice came from the living room.

— “No! A daughter must understand what it means to respect someone else’s work. I am not going to live like a maid!”

My fists clenched under the table. At twenty-two, I was still hearing these remarks as if I were a little girl. And father… He just preferred to go back to his TV show.

— “Prepare the documents,” I said, handing Artem the flash drive. “It’s time to show her who’s really in charge here.”

— “Are you sure?” He looked at me attentively. “We could wait a bit longer until she’s completely in the debt pit.”

— “No,” I shook my head. “I want to see her reaction now, when she’s confident she still controls the situation.”

Artem smirked and started the engine. The car smoothly pulled away, leaving behind the restaurant with its faded sign. Ekaterina had no idea that over the last six months, I had acquired the controlling share of her “baby” through shell companies. She didn’t know that all her attempts to find investors had been thwarted by my interference.

The moment for the final chord had arrived. And I was going to enjoy every detail of this spectacle.

— “Ekaterina Pavlovna, there… this…” Lisa nervously fidgeted with a folder of financial statements, shifting from foot to foot at the door of her office.

— “What ‘this’?” Ekaterina snapped irritably, not taking her eyes off her laptop screen. “I don’t have time for riddles.”

— “The investor has arrived. The very one you’ve been searching for so long. He’s waiting in the VIP room.”

Ekaterina froze, slowly closing the laptop lid. For the last three months, she had been unsuccessfully knocking on the doors of banks and meeting with potential saviors of her business. And now, when the long-awaited buyer of the controlling stake had finally appeared, she felt as if she was standing on the edge of a cliff.

Alright,” she carefully ran her fingers through her perfectly styled hair. “Bring the coffee over there and notify the chef that we need the best appetizers from our menu.”

Her heels clicked distinctly across the empty hall, where bustle usually reigned at lunchtime. “The White Swan” continued to slowly fade—Yekaterina knew this, although she never allowed herself to admit it even in thought. Young restaurants with innovative concepts and avant-garde chefs were attracting more customers, and her old connections were crumbling one by one.
Groceries

The VIP room greeted her with soft dimness and a barely audible classical melody. At a table by the window sat a familiar figure, and for a moment, Yekaterina thought her vision was betraying her.

“You?” The words escaped before she could restrain them.

Anna turned slowly, and her smile was sharper than a razor.

“Please, sit down, Yekaterina Pavlovna,” she said in a soft, but steely voice. “We have a lot to discuss.”

“Is this some kind of silly joke?” Yekaterina froze, gripping the back of the chair. “You can’t be…”

“An investor?” Anna pulled out a thick stack of documents from her leather folder. “Sit down. You really should.”

Yekaterina’s knees trembled as she sat down. Impossible. Simply impossible. The girl she had ruthlessly kicked out of the house three years ago now sat before her in an elegant Chanel suit with a predatory smile.

“Fifty-one percent of the business,” Anna slid the documents across the table. “Of course, through a whole network of companies. I wouldn’t want to deprive you of the pleasure of surprise.”

Lisa appeared silently with a coffee pot, but Yekaterina dismissed her with a sharp gesture:

“Get out!”
Don’t take out your dissatisfaction on the staff,” Anna noted calmly. “By the way, about the staff. You’ve delayed the salary payment for last month. And suppliers have already started inquiring about your financial report for the last quarter.”

“Have you been watching me?” Ekaterina paled with anger.

“I’ve just been carefully studying my investment,” Anna replied, sipping her coffee. “And I must say, the picture is quite dire: high staff turnover, decreasing revenue, problems with the sanitary inspection… The list goes on indefinitely.”

Ekaterina laughed hysterically:

 

“And what now? Decided to take revenge? To destroy what I’ve worked on for years?”

“On the contrary,” Anna smiled even wider. “I want to save the restaurant. But on my terms.”

She pulled out a new document:

“A new management contract. With all duties and restrictions. No humiliating staff. No fiddling with reports. And no personal expenses at the expense of the restaurant.”

“And if I refuse?” Ekaterina looked at her defiantly.

“Then I’ll withdraw my money. And we’ll see how long ‘The White Swan’ lasts without financial support. A month? Or less?”

A heavy silence hung in the room. Outside, rain began, the drops slowly streaming down the glass, like tears.

“You know,” Ekaterina suddenly said, looking out the window, “I always knew you’d get back at me. But I never imagined it would be… like this.”

“It’s not revenge,” Anna shook her head. “It’s business. I’m offering you a chance to fix the situation. To start with a clean slate.”

“Under your control?”

“Under our partnership.”

Ekaterina was silent for a long time. Outside, the rain intensified, washing the dirt off the city roofs. Finally, she reached for the documents:

“Where do I sign?”

“Here,” Anna handed her a pen. “And here. Also on the third page.”

When the papers were signed, Ekaterina stood up:

“What’s next?”

“Now we’ll work together,” Anna also stood up. “Tomorrow at ten, there’s a meeting with the staff. Don’t be late… partner.”

At the exit, she paused:

“And yes, Ekaterina Pavlovna… Don’t try to kick me out of this restaurant again.”
Groceries

Left alone, Ekaterina filled her cup with coffee, her hands trembling. She couldn’t understand what she felt more—fear or relief. But for the first time in many months, she was sure of one thing: “The White Swan” would not disappear. At least, not today.

Across town, Anna sat in Artem’s office, watching the nighttime city through a panoramic window. Its silhouette was illuminated by the reflections of a million lights, and the dark-red wine in their glasses seemed to reflect the depth of the events they had just lived through.

“How did it go?” he asked quietly, handing her a glass.

Anna accepted the wine but did not rush to drink. She twirled the stem of the glass between her fingers, watching how the dark liquid left thin trails on the glass.

“You know,” she finally began, “I imagined this moment hundreds of times. Thought I would feel… I don’t know, triumph? Satisfaction?” She smiled joylessly. “Instead, I saw just a frightened woman, clutching at straws.”

“Isn’t that what you wanted?”

“I guess,” she replied, taking a small sip. “But when her hands trembled over the documents… it reminded me of my mother when she was ill. For a moment, I even wanted to…” Anna shook her head sharply, as if to dispel the thoughts. “Never mind. What’s next?”

“The hardest part,” she continued, spinning the glass. “Turn her into someone who can work honestly. Show that business can be conducted without manipulation and deception. It will be… an interesting process.”

“For whom more interesting—for her or for you?”

“For both of us,” Anna said, checking the time on her watch. “Tomorrow’s the first meeting. We need to prepare a financial plan.”

“Are you sure you can handle it? Working with someone who made your life hell…”

“I’m no longer that frightened girl, Artem,” she said, setting down her glass. “And she’s no longer the all-powerful stepmother. Now we’re just partners. Nothing personal.”

But they both knew—it was a lie. It was all personal. And it always would be.

Within a week, “The White Swan” was transformed beyond recognition. Live flowers appeared in the hall, the music softened, and the staff no longer flinched at every sound. Ekaterina squeezed out strained smiles and tried to speak calmly, although everyone noticed how she clenched her teeth, seeing Anna.

“Revenue increased by fifteen percent,” Liza reported at the morning meeting. “And three corporate orders for next month.”

Ekaterina silently stared at her cooling coffee. She remembered how a month ago she had yelled at Liza for much better figures. Now, she had to silently watch as her former stepdaughter turned chaos into order.

“Excellent,” Anna said, reviewing the reports. “By the way, starting next week we’re raising the waitstaff’s salaries. And adding bonuses for positive reviews.
It’s unnecessary,” Ekaterina couldn’t hold back. “They already…”

“They already work beyond their means,” Anna interrupted her. “And they deserve fair pay.”

Ekaterina hastily gathered her papers, avoiding the gazes of those around her. The meeting had drained her—every polite smile, every controlled tone was given with great difficulty. She had almost reached the door to her office when she heard the familiar click of heels. That sound now sent a chill over her skin.

She pretended to be busy with her keys, deliberately fiddling with the lock slowly. Perhaps, if she didn’t turn around, everything would just pass on its own…

“Ekaterina Pavlovna.”

The voice sounded unexpectedly soft. Ekaterina turned around. Anna stood there, adjusting the cuff of her blazer, and something almost human flickered in her flawless demeanor.

“Let’s have coffee,” she suggested simply. “And talk. No masks.”

Ekaterina froze. It was this simple humanity that scared her more than any threat.

“About what?” she asked tiredly, sinking into a chair. “You’ve already decided everything for me.”

“Not everything,” Anna replied, sitting opposite. “I want to understand.”

“Understand what?”

“Why did you hate me so much? What did I ever do to you?”

Ekaterina paused. This question had haunted her for years, but she had never allowed herself to answer it honestly.

“Do you really want to know?” her voice trembled. “Fine. I’ll tell you.”

She walked to the window:

“Have you ever worked as a waitress, Anna? Can you imagine what it’s like—to smile for hours at people who look right through you?”

Anna was silent, and Ekaterina continued:

“For ten years, I served food to people like you. Girls from wealthy families who got everything just because they were born into the right families. I smiled when they complained about cold coffee, apologized when they dropped their thousand-dollar bags…”

Ekaterina abruptly turned to face Anna:

“And then I met your father. And I thought—here it is, my chance. Finally, I’ll be on the other side of the barricade. I’ll be the one waiters smile at.”

“And then there was me,” Anna quietly added.

“Exactly!” Ekaterina almost shouted it. “You! A carbon copy of your mother in every way: just as refined, educated, with those manners and knowledge of French. My new husband loved you more than me, and it drove me insane.”

She sank back into the chair, as if running out of strength:

“I thought, if you disappeared, he would finally love me the way I wanted. But instead, he just… stopped smiling.”

A heavy silence filled the office. Anna stood by the window, looking at the bare branches of a maple swaying against the gray autumn sky. Somewhere in the distance, someone laughed, and cars honked below, but their world remained enclosed.

“Funny, isn’t it?” Anna traced her finger across the fogged-up glass, leaving a faint trail. “When I left home, I had three hundred rubles in my pocket and a backpack with my belongings. Do you know where I lived at first?”

 

Ekaterina remained silent, but her gaze was fixed on Anna’s back.

“In a hostel on the outskirts of the city. Six people in one room, a communal kitchen with cockroaches. I worked in a 24-hour cafe,” she bitterly smiled. “Four days on, two off, double shifts during holidays. I remember how I broke a whole tray of cups on my first day. I was afraid they’d fire me.”

She turned around. Ekaterina sat, clutching the armrests of her chair until her knuckles turned white.

“But they didn’t fire me,” Anna continued more softly. “They taught me how to work. How to properly hold trays, how to interact with customers. How to smile, even when everything inside is cracking.”

She took out a worn folder from her bag:

“There was a girl, Marina. Manager. One day she caught me in the storage room after a particularly tough shift. She saw me crying, and do you know what she did?”

Ekaterina slowly shook her head.

“She poured me a cup of coffee and said, ‘Now let’s think about how you can get out of this.’ We spent the whole night making my first business plan,” Anna placed the folder on the table. “Then Artem appeared, and everything took off. But I’ll never forget that night. Sure, I could have taken my father’s money, lived comfortably, but I had to do it all myself. He chose his new life, and we’ve hardly spoken for years.”

She opened the folder, showing sketches, charts, and calculations for the revival of “The White Swan.”

“I don’t want to take your restaurant away,” Anna started, sitting on the edge of the table. “I want it to become a place worth visiting again. Where waiters smile sincerely, and chefs take pride in their dishes. Where…” she hesitated, searching for words, “where we both can start afresh.”

“My experience?” Ekaterina bitterly smiled. “In what? In intimidating people?”

“In understanding kitchen work, in contacts with suppliers, in thousands of details you know better than me. Let’s just try to do it differently.”

She extended her hand:
— Partners?

Ekaterina stared at the extended hand for a long time before slowly shaking it:

— Partners.

A month later, the “White Swan” was transformed beyond recognition. New lighting enlivened the interior, and the updated menu attracted more visitors. Ekaterina sometimes still burst into shouts, but she quickly composed herself and apologized.

— How’s your stepmother? — Artem asked as he dined with Anna at another place.

— Strange, — she said thoughtfully, swirling her wine glass. — I went there for revenge. I wanted to see her break. But now…

— What now?

— Now I see myself in her. That little scared girl I once was. She just wanted to be loved.

Artem looked at her intently:

— So, what are you going to do?

— What no one did for me, — Anna replied with a slight smile. — I’ll give her a chance to become better.

That evening, as she walked past the “White Swan,” she noticed Ekaterina through the window. She was sitting at a table with an elderly couple, genuinely smiling and chatting. There was no falseness or malice in that smile.

Anna moved on, feeling a strange sense of calm. Revenge is a dish that often cooks too long. But sometimes, it’s better just to let it go uncooked.

— Mom, where’s the cake? — a child’s voice rang from the kitchen.

— Just a moment, dear. Let Aunt Kate decorate it, — Anna watched as Ekaterina meticulously created patterns with cream on the cake’s surface.

Ten years since Anna had bought a controlling stake in the “White Swan” and turned revenge into an unexpected partnership. Now they had a chain of five restaurants, but that seemed no longer the main thing.

Little Marina fidgeted at the table impatiently. Ekaterina winked at her and added the final touch—a sugar butterfly on the very top.

— Done, — she straightened up, stretching her stiff back. — Think dad will like it?

Anna paused, hearing those words. Even after ten years, any mention of her father stirred mixed feelings. He had tried to contact her initially, but she ignored his calls. Then, he just stopped calling.

— Are you okay? — Ekaterina asked softly, as if afraid to disrupt the fragile balance.

It was amazing to realize how much this woman had come to understand her. That very stepmother who once turned her life into hell was now… what? A partner? A friend? Part of the family?

— Yes, just… — Anna shook her head. — He called yesterday.

Ekaterina carefully set down the pastry bag:

— And what did he say?

— Wants to meet. Says he’s sick.

Marina, who had been sitting on a high kitchen stool swinging her legs, froze. She looked from her mother to Aunt Katy, then picked up her worn plush rabbit and silently slid off the stool. The only sound was the slap of her soft home slippers on the parquet as she disappeared into her room. Seven-year-olds always know when adults need to talk alone.

— Will you answer? — Ekaterina asked, trying to be as delicate as possible.

— I don’t know, — Anna ran her hand over the cool surface of the table. — And you… do you keep in touch with him?

Ekaterina turned to the window:

— Sometimes. We divorced five years ago, you remember. But he calls every few months. Asks about you.

Anna bitterly smiled:

— Funny. He never cared about me before.

— People change, — Ekaterina whispered so quietly that Anna barely heard her. — We are proof of that, right?

Rain drummed on the tin ledge outside, and the kitchen was filled with the sweet scent of the underbaked cake. From the nursery came the muffled voice of Marina: “No, princesses don’t sit like that!” Anna absently ran her hand over the table, as if gathering non-existent crumbs.

— It’s all so strange, — she murmured almost to herself. — For many years, I harbored resentment inside me, and now… now there’s just emptiness. I don’t even have the strength to be angry. It’s like something burned out.

Ekaterina stepped closer, placing a hand on her shoulder:

— Maybe it’s forgiveness?

— Possibly, — Anna covered her hand with hers. — Or fear.

— Fear?

— Yes. Fear of seeing him not as the monster from the past, but just… a sick old man.

At that moment, Marina burst into the kitchen:

— Mom, dad’s already here! Can I give him my gift first?

Anna smiled, wiping away a sudden tear:

— Of course, dear. Go ahead.

As the girl ran off, Ekaterina quietly added:

— Whatever you decide… I’m here.

In those words was more warmth and support than in all the letters from her father over the years.

The hospital corridor was steeped in the smells of antiseptic and old age. Anna sat on a plastic chair, examining her shoes and trying not to think about who was behind the ward door — a person she hadn’t seen in ten years.

— Coffee? — Ekaterina handed her a cardboard cup from the vending machine. — Just a warning, it’s terrible.

— Like everything here, — Anna accepted the cup but didn’t take a sip. — You know, I’ve been here before when mom… — She stopped, unfinished.

Ekaterina sat down next to her:

— I didn’t know how to behave then. I was afraid that if I showed even a drop of sympathy, you would take it as hypocrisy.

— And I thought you just didn’t care, — Anna gave a humorless smile. — We were both pretty foolish, weren’t we?

Behind the ward door, the sound of a falling object and a nurse’s footsteps were heard. Anna flinched.

— You don’t have to go in, — Ekaterina said quietly. — We can just leave.

— No, — Anna shook her head. — Marina asked yesterday why she doesn’t have a grandfather like other kids. I couldn’t answer. Maybe it’s time to stop running.

She stood up, straightening invisible wrinkles on her dress — a gesture, like an echo from the past, always revealed her anxiety. Ekaterina remembered how, ten years ago, before signing the partnership documents, she had similarly fussed over her skirt, as if trying to organize not just her clothes but her thoughts.

The ward door opened silently, as if the very space was afraid to break the silence. On the hospital bed, entwined with wires and tubes, lay a man Anna barely recognized. Gray hair, hollow cheeks, deep wrinkles — it all made him a stranger. She paused at the threshold, unable to step forward.

— Anya? — his voice was raspy, barely discernible. — You came after all.

She didn’t respond. For years she had imagined this meeting, rehearsed monologues filled with anger and pain. But now the words seemed unnecessary, as if time had already put everything in its place.

— Hello, dad, — she finally said, feeling a lump rise in her throat.

He tried to sit up, but his body wouldn’t cooperate. Anna instinctively stepped forward, still clutching the strap of her bag as if it could keep her from falling into an abyss of old grievances.

 

— Don’t, lie down, — she said, approaching closer. — How are you?

— Lousy, — he weakly smiled. — Doctors say I have about three months left.

Ekaterina, standing behind, quietly squeezed her elbow. It was a gesture of support that Anna didn’t even realize she needed.

— I… I’ve thought a lot, — he continued, struggling to find the words. — About everything. About how I messed it all up. How I betrayed you when you needed me the most.

— Dad… — she began, but he interrupted.

— No, let me finish. I don’t have much strength left, — he coughed, and Anna handed him a glass of water. — I saw your restaurant. What you and Katya created. How you managed to overcome… all this. And I just hid. Pretended everything was fine. Even then, I didn’t care about you.

Ekaterina quietly left the ward, leaving them alone. This was their moment, their conversation.

— You know, — Anna sat on the edge of the bed, — I’ve thought a lot too. About why you never took my side. And you know what’s funny? Now I understand — you were just scared. Scared to be alone, scared to make tough decisions. Just like I used to be.

She saw tears glint in his eyes.

— Forgive me, daughter.

Those words, which she had waited for so long, sounded so simple that Anna felt something inside her release.

— Grandpa, look, I drew all of us! — Marina burst into the ward, waving a sheet of paper. On the child’s drawing, angular strokes depicted stick figures holding hands. Each was labeled with names — mom, Aunt Katya, grandpa, dad.

Oleg carefully took the drawing with trembling hands.

— Beautiful, sunshine, — his voice trembled. — But why does Aunt Katya have a blue dress?

— Because it’s her favorite color! — the girl explained importantly. — She told me so.

Anna, standing in the doorway, caught Ekaterina’s surprised look. She really loved blue, but she had never mentioned it before. At least, not in the past.

— Marina, darling, — Ekaterina called, — let’s go buy grandpa some juice? The one he likes.

As they left, Anna sat next to her father.

— She’s attached to you.

— She’s wonderful, — he was still looking at the drawing. — Just as bright as you were at her age. Remember how you used to draw butterflies on all my business papers?

— I remember, — Anna smiled. — Mom then scolded you for not throwing them away.

— I kept them. Still do, — he coughed. — In a box in the attic. Along with your school photos and first certificates.

Anna felt a lump rising in her throat.

— Why? You never showed that they meant anything to you.

— Because I was a coward, — he took her hand. — I thought if I pretended everything was fine, then it would be. When your mom died, I just… broke down. Ekaterina seemed like a lifebuoy. And then it was too late to change anything.

Outside, a light autumn rain drizzled. Somewhere in the corridor, Marina’s laughter could be heard — she was telling Ekaterina another kindergarten story.

— You know what’s the most amazing? — Anna adjusted the blanket on his legs. — How everything changed. When I came to the restaurant ten years ago with a plan for revenge, I thought hatred was forever. But now…

— Now you’re a real family, — he weakly squeezed her fingers. — More real than we ever were. I see how she looks at Marina. How she takes care of you, even when you don’t notice.

— Remember the day I left home?

— Every second, — he closed his eyes. — I sat in the office and heard the front door slam. And I didn’t come out. Didn’t stop you.

— And I waited, — Anna quietly admitted. — I stood in the rain, waiting for you to run out after me. Silly, right?

Ekaterina and Marina returned to the ward. The girl was carrying a bag of juice like the greatest treasure.

— Grandpa, we found pomegranate! Your favorite!

Anna stood up, making room for her daughter. Ekaterina approached her quietly.

— Everything okay?

— Yes, — Anna suddenly hugged her. — Thank you.

— For what?

— For teaching me to forgive. Myself included.

Marina was animatedly telling her grandfather something, waving her hands. He listened with such attention, as if it was the most important conversation of his life. Maybe it was.

— You know what’s funny? — Ekaterina whispered. — I wanted revenge too. Back in the beginning. Wanted to prove I was worthy of being part of this family. And in the end…

— In the end, you became it, — Anna finished. — Truly.

Outside, the rain gradually subsided. Somewhere in the distance, a rainbow flickered — rare for late autumn. Marina jumped up to show it to her grandfather, and he, with effort, propped himself up on the pillows.

Anna watched them and thought about the oddities of life. How revenge can turn into forgiveness. How enemies become family. And how a little girl’s love can mend the fragments of broken relationships, turning them into something new, unexpectedly beautiful.

In the end, maybe that’s the real secret to happiness — the ability to let go of the past, not forgetting its lessons. The ability to see the good even in those who once caused pain. And the readiness to start all over again, even if there’s very little time left.