“You’re early today,” Anna said, not looking up from her book, when the front door slammed shut.
Sergei glanced at her as he took off his shoes in the hallway.
“The meeting has been cancelled,” he said as he passed by.
His steps disappeared into the depths of the apartment.
Anna put the book down. A meeting? At 9 p.m.? She got up from the sofa, threw a blanket over her shoulders and went to the window.
The November slush washed out the city lights in the mirror of the asphalt. They used to love to hug each other in this place.
Something broke in the kitchen. Anna flinched.
“Is everything okay?” she asked, peering through the doorway.
Sergei stood with his back to the phone. There was a cup lying on the floor.
– Huh? Yeah, I just broke it… – he waved his hand casually. – We’ll order a new one.
For the last three months he had been like a ghost, coming home after midnight, often refusing to eat dinner, and staying on the edge of his bed at night.
He answered questions as if reluctantly. And sometimes Anna caught his gaze – as if he was amazed that she was still here.
Sergei yawned demonstratively.
— I’m going to shower and sleep.
No touch, no smile. As if he was avoiding an obstacle in his path.
Anna gathered up the pieces. It was her porcelain cup with the words “For the best wife” written on it. A gift for their first anniversary. She threw the pieces away and stood frozen at the sink.
Five years ago, when they moved into this apartment, Sergei carried her in his arms across the threshold.
He said that tradition dictated it. He called his a fortress, promised eternal happiness. Anna sighed. The apartment was her grandmother’s, her only inheritance.
———————————————————–
Anna opened the refrigerator. On the shelf lay a box of sweets that she never bought. Next to it was a bottle of wine of a type that Sergey always avoided. Strange.
She looked into the trash can – under the shards of a cup, a bottle of women’s perfume gleamed.
Her heart sank, but Anna immediately brushed off her suspicions. Probably for her mother or sister. The holidays are coming soon.
The sound of water came from the bathroom. Anna noticed Sergey’s phone on the table. The screen flashed – a new message. She didn’t want to look, she really didn’t want to. But her gaze caught the glowing text.
“Thank you for tonight. See you tomorrow at 7. Love. V.”
Anna recoiled. “V.” – who was that? “Kisses” – simple politeness or something more?
She took a deep breath. Maybe a colleague? Maybe a work project? Maybe she was hallucinating?
The bathroom door opened. Sergei came out, wrapped in a towel, with wet hair. He saw his wife at the table, noticed the phone – and his face transformed.
“Are you digging through my messages?” the voice rang out like steel.
“No, I… just saw the notification,” Anna felt heat on her cheeks. “Who is V.?”
Sergei clenched his jaw.
– Colleague. We are working on a project.
— At seven in the evening?
“Seven in the morning,” he snapped. “Early meeting tomorrow. And if you’ve finished your interrogation, I want to sleep.”
He grabbed the phone and disappeared into the bedroom. Anna was left alone. Something didn’t add up. She pulled out the drawer under the sink with cleaning supplies and froze – there was a new toothbrush. Bright blue. Not hers. Not Sergey’s.
In the morning she woke up from the sound of a slammed door. Sergey left without waking her. On the nightstand there was a white note: “I’ll be back late. Don’t wait up.”
Anna ran her hand over his pillow. It still smelled of shampoo and… something else. Floral. Feminine.
She stood up abruptly and headed to the bathroom. She turned on the shower and watched the water run for a long time. Then she washed her hair and wrapped herself in a terry towel. She needed to collect her thoughts.
The doorbell caught her by surprise. Maybe Sergey forgot his keys? Or the courier? Without looking through the peephole, Anna opened the door.
A well-groomed blonde in a leather jacket stood on the threshold. At her feet was a suitcase on wheels.
– Oh, do you still live here? – the blonde looked at Anna with a look in which bewilderment was mixed with poorly concealed irritation. – Sergey promised that the apartment would be free.
I’m his future wife, so it’s time for you to move out.
Anna caught her breath. Her fingers gripped the door handle. The absurd thought flashed through her mind: Maybe I just didn’t wake up?
The blonde frowned, her confidence wavering.
– You… you are Anna? Sergey’s ex-wife?
– Ex? – Anna felt the blood drain from her face. – I’m his wife. The current one.
The blonde’s face contorted with confusion. She double-checked the apartment number, then looked again at the confused Anna with her wet hair.
– But Sergei said… – the girl hesitated. – He claimed that you broke up six months ago. That this apartment now belongs to him alone. That…
Anna took a deep breath. This woman did not look like a schemer. Her eyes showed the same shock that Anna herself was experiencing.
“I believe we have something to talk about,” she retreated into the depths of the hallway. “Come in.”
The girl hesitated, but then decisively carried the suitcase into the apartment.
“My name is Victoria,” she introduced herself, unbuttoning her jacket. “You can just call me Vika.”
“V.” flashed through Anna’s mind. So it was her.
“Let’s go to the kitchen,” Anna suggested, trying to sound collected. “I need to change.”
A few minutes later, they were sitting opposite each other. Two cups of green tea were steaming between them. Vika was nervously twisting a silver ring – not a wedding ring – on her other hand.
“I met Sergei about a year ago,” she began, looking at her cup. “He came up to me in a café and said that I was strikingly reminiscent of an actress from his favorite TV series.
Anna felt a prick under her ribs – a year ago she still believed that their marriage was strong. A year ago they discussed plans for a child.
“Sergey told me that he had recently gone through a divorce,” Vika continued. “That his wife had left him for another man.”
He said how difficult it was for him, but he managed. He… he showed me this apartment several times. There were almost no women’s things here.
“He was putting them away,” Anna guessed. That’s why her photographs would periodically disappear from the shelves, only to mysteriously return later.
“He proposed to me three weeks ago,” Vika looked up. “We chose rings. He said we needed to wait a little while until the cosmetic repairs were finished, and then I could move in.
— And you decided to come earlier?
“I wanted to make it a surprise,” Vika smiled bitterly. “Well, it worked out.”
Anna felt a wave of anger rising inside her – not at Vika, but at Sergei. What a two-faced game he had started, deceiving them both.
– And you… – Vika hesitated. – You really didn’t suspect anything?
“I felt that something was wrong,” Anna admitted. “But I couldn’t even imagine the scale…”
She didn’t finish. The sound of a car parking came from the street. Both women froze.
“This is his car,” Vika whispered, turning pale.
Anna stood up.
– Stay here.
Soon she heard the key turn in the lock. Sergey entered with a bouquet of scarlet roses. Seeing Anna, he froze in mid-step.
“You’re not at work?” he asked in surprise, hiding the bouquet behind his back.
“I have a day off,” Anna answered calmly. “Don’t you have a meeting at seven in the morning?”
Sergei’s whole body tensed.
– They moved it. Listen, I need…
“Change clothes?” Anna finished for him. “To go on a date with Vika?”
Sergei’s face hardened. His gaze darted toward the kitchen.
– What are you talking about? Which Vika?
“A stunning blonde, twenty-eight years old, your future wife,” Anna listed with unexpected calm. “The one for whom these roses are. The one to whom you lied that I was your ex-wife.
The bouquet slipped out of his hands.
– She… she’s here?
Vika appeared in the kitchen doorway.
– Yes, I’m here, – her voice trembled with tension. – Explain, Seryozha, what’s going on? Why did you lie to me about the divorce? About the empty apartment?
“What are you doing here?” Despair distorted his features. “We agreed…”
– No, – Vika interrupted him. – You explain this to me. You promised rings, a wedding, a future together! And all this time you lived with your wife!
“I can explain,” Sergey put his palms out in a protective gesture. “Vika, wait in the car, please.”
“Don’t you dare command me,” she snapped. “I’m not a doll that you can control at your own discretion.”
Anna crossed her arms over her chest.
– And I want to hear your explanations, Sergey. How did you manage to lead a double life? How did you expect to get married while you were married?
“It’s not as it seems to you,” Sergei instinctively retreated to the door. “I just… I was going through a difficult period. I got confused.”
– Confused? – Vika gave a nervous laugh. – You lied to me for a whole year! A whole year! – She turned to Anna. – And it seems you turned your life into an illusion.
“Vikulya, my darling, listen…” Sergey stepped towards her.
“Don’t you dare call me that,” she recoiled. “It’s over. Do you understand? It’s over between us!”
She grabbed her bag from the kitchen table and headed resolutely to the hallway to her suitcase.
“Anna, forgive the intrusion,” she said over her shoulder. “I swear, I never even thought…”
Sergei rushed after him.
– Vika, wait! I’ll fix everything!
But she had already rolled the suitcase out onto the stairwell.
“Goodbye, Sergei,” she said without turning around. “I hope you get what you deserve.”
Anna watched this scene with a calmness that surprised her. When the door slammed behind Vika, Sergey turned to his wife with a guilty look.
– Anechka, it’s not at all what you…
“Shut up,” she raised her hand, stopping the flow of lies. “Don’t even try.”
“Let me explain,” Sergei took a pleading step toward her. “This is a terrible misunderstanding.”
– Misunderstanding? – Anna smiled bitterly. – You had a parallel relationship for years. Proposed to another woman. Planned to bring her to our apartment. And you call this a misunderstanding?
“I’m really confused,” Sergei ruffled his hair with a familiar nervous gesture. “After all our unsuccessful attempts with the child…”
You distanced yourself, withdrew into yourself. And Vika… she surrounded me with care and attention.
“And that gives you the right to a double life?” Anna shook her head. “Instead of talking to me honestly, you chose to lie to both of us for months?”
Sergei looked down.
– I was afraid of losing you.
“So you decided to play it safe and have a backup plan?” Anna felt a searing wave of anger rising inside her, but she kept her voice under control. “How thoughtful.”
“Don’t make it easy,” he winced. “I love you, I really do.”
– And Vika?
“It was a fleeting infatuation,” he tried to touch her hand, but Anna pulled away.
– Don’t lie at least now, Sergey. Infatuation is when you turn around to look at a beautiful stranger.
And what you did was methodical betrayal. You lived a double life for a year. You deliberately deceived me every single day for a year.
“Give me a chance to fix this,” he pleaded. “I’ll find a way.”
Anna looked at him and suddenly realized that she no longer felt any mental pain. Only fatigue and a desire to put an end to it.
“Pack your things,” she nodded towards the bedroom. “You have an hour.”
“What?” He blinked, as if he didn’t understand what he heard. “Are you kicking me out?”
– Yes, – Anna nodded. – This is my apartment, remember? An inheritance from my grandmother. So pack the necessary things and leave.
– Where should I go?
– Maybe to that woman you were planning to start a family with? – Anna suggested. – Or rent a place. It doesn’t concern me anymore. I want you out of here.
Sergei looked at her with distrust.
– You can’t do that. We’ve lived together for five years.
“And you’ve been systematically betraying me for a year,” Anna reminded. “Time has come, Sergei. Either you pack your things yourself, or I’m calling the police.”
He opened his mouth to object, but something in her gaze stopped him. Sergei turned sharply and headed for the bedroom.
Anna heard him pull out the chest of drawers and open the closet doors. She sank down onto the sofa and closed her eyes.
Surprisingly, she didn’t feel crushed. More like liberated. As if she had thrown off an unbearable burden that had been weighing on her shoulders for years.
Forty minutes later, Sergei came out of the bedroom with two large bags.
“Can I pick up the rest later?” he asked in a neutral tone.
“I’ll collect it and send it by courier,” Anna answered without getting up. “Put the keys on the nightstand, please.”
He took out the bundle and put it in the indicated place.
“You’ll regret this decision,” Sergei said, looking at her reproachfully. “We were happy, after all.”
“We were,” Anna bowed her head slightly. “Until you decided that one life for two wasn’t enough for you.”
He froze in indecision, as if waiting for her to change her mind, call her back, throw herself into his arms. He didn’t wait. He grabbed his bags and left.
Silence. Anna did not move. She did not reach for the switch – let the room drown in semi-darkness. Inside, a strange, almost forgotten light was still flaring up.
She went to the window. Sergey methodically packed the bags into the trunk. He raised his face to her windows, as if he sensed something. But Anna had already slipped into the shadows.
In the kitchen, the kettle boiled and clicked off. She took out a cup – with a gold rim, from her grandmother’s tea set. She cupped it in her hands, feeling the warmth. She took a deep breath and suddenly realized that she could breathe.
She will endure. No, she will blossom. Without pretense, without looking back, without that dull splinter that the man who once promised to protect her from pain had driven under her heart for years.
Anna approached the door. She leaned her back against the cool wood. The corners of her lips twitched and crept upward.
For the first time – from the feeling of absolute freedom.
