Natalya stared at the phone screen, unable to move. The red end call button was still lit, and muffled female laughter was coming from the speaker. So young, so carefree… not at all like her tired voice after a twelve-hour shift at the hospital.
– Andrey, stop it! – an unfamiliar voice whispered playfully. – We really have to get to work…
Natalia’s fingers grew cold. Fifteen years of marriage flashed before her eyes like frames of an old film: their first meeting in the university library, a modest wedding, the birth of Mashenka, sleepless nights by the baby’s crib… All this time she thought she knew her husband.
“I told you I’d be late today,” Andrey’s voice sounded unusually soft. “An important project…”
Natalya smiled bitterly. An important project. Of course. For the last six months, he had only talked about work, about the new young team, about modern approaches to business. And she was happy about his success, proud of him.
The woman’s voice laughed again, quieter this time, more intimately. Natalya finally found the strength to press the red button. A dead silence reigned in the apartment, broken only by the ticking of the wall clock – a wedding gift from his parents.
She slowly sank down onto a kitchen chair. Their last family photo from their vacation was still hanging on the refrigerator: tanned, happy faces, Mashenka between them, holding both of their hands. Natalya remembered how long they had spent choosing a place for this trip, how Andrey had insisted on this particular resort…
The phone vibrated – a message from him: “Sorry, I’m late. An important meeting has dragged on. Don’t wait for dinner.”
Natalya looked at the set table, at his favorite dish, which she had been preparing all evening after her shift. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she quickly brushed them away. She had to decide what to do next. Mashenka would soon be back from training, and her daughter shouldn’t see her like this.
Getting up from the table, she went to the window. It was starting to rain outside, drops were slowly trickling down the glass, blurring the lights of the evening city. Natalya took out her phone and opened her contacts. Her finger hovered over the name of her lawyer – an old friend who had offered to help more than once, noticing Andrey’s strange behavior lately.
“Mom, I’m home!” Mashenka’s clear voice rang out from the hallway.
Natalya took a deep breath, put the phone in her pocket and forced a smile. She had time to think about what to do. But now she needed to be strong – for her daughter, for herself. After all, life does not end with betrayal, even if it seems that way now.
“How was training, sunshine?” Natalia asked, going out into the hallway and helping her daughter take off her backpack.
– Great! The coach said I’m ready for the competition. Will dad come to the performance?
Natalya froze for a moment, but quickly pulled herself together:
– Of course, my dear. He will definitely come.
– Where is he now? – Mashenka looked around the empty kitchen. – At work again?
“Yes, he has… an important meeting,” Natalya turned to the stove. “Will you have dinner?”
– Mmm, it smells delicious! – the girl sat down at the table. – Can I call dad? I want to tell him about the training!
“Let’s do it later, honey,” Natalia answered softly, setting out the plates. “He’s very busy right now.”
Mashenka shrugged and started eating, and Natalya looked at her daughter and thought about how much she would have to explain. And how much she would have to hide in order to protect her childish heart from the cruel truth of adult life.
When her daughter left to do her homework, Natalya took out her phone and dialed her mother-in-law’s number.
– Hello, Vera Nikolaevna? Good evening.
– Natasha, did something happen? – There was concern in the mother-in-law’s voice. – You don’t usually call so late.
Natalia took a deep breath:
– Tell me… Lately Andrey hasn’t spoken to you… well, about me? About our relationship?
There was a heavy pause on the other end of the line.
– Natasha… – Vera Nikolaevna’s voice trembled. – Did you find out something?
Natalia’s heart sank. So her mother-in-law knew. Knew and kept quiet.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” she whispered.
“I hoped he would come to his senses,” Vera Nikolaevna answered quietly. “She’s just a girl, his new assistant. I thought it was just a midlife crisis…”
Natalya abruptly hung up. There was a ringing in her ears. The assistant. Of course. That same “promising employee” he always talked about at dinner. How could she be so blind?
The phone vibrated again – this time it was Andrey calling. Natalya looked at the screen where their joint photo was smiling and thought about how strange life is: you live with a person for years, trust him with all your secrets, make plans for the future… And then at one point you realize that even his smile in the photo seems alien and unfamiliar.
The call ended and a few seconds later a message came: “I’ll be home soon. We need to talk.”
Natalya went up to the bedroom and quickly checked Mashenka’s homework.
– Honey, it’s late. Time to sleep.
“And dad?” the daughter asked sleepily, crawling under the blanket.
– Dad is late. I’ll tell him you were waiting.
Having kissed her daughter, Natalya went down to the kitchen. The sound of a key turning could be heard in the hallway. She remained sitting at the table, looking at the cold dinner.
Andrey entered hesitantly, as if he were entering someone else’s apartment. He smelled of expensive perfume – not the one she had given him for their anniversary.
“Natasha…” he began, but she interrupted.
“How old is she?” the voice sounded surprisingly calm.
Andrey froze in the doorway:
– What?
– Your assistant. How old is she?
“Where are you from…” He stopped short, noticing her gaze. “Twenty-six.”
Natalia smiled bitterly:
– Fourteen years younger than me. Almost like the age difference between Masha and me.
– Natasha, listen…
– No, you listen, – she finally looked up at him. – I know everything. I know about the late-night meetings, about the “important projects.” Today you forgot to hang up after our conversation.
Andrey turned pale and sank heavily into a chair.
– I didn’t want you to find out like this.
– And what did you want? – Natalya felt her voice tremble treacherously. – After you finally decide that a young mistress is better than an old wife?
“Don’t say that,” he tried to take her hand, but she pulled away. “You don’t understand anything. Everything has changed at work, new opportunities have appeared, a young team…”
– And a young mistress to boot? – Natalia stood up from the table. – Do you know what’s the worst thing? Not that you betrayed me. But that you betrayed Masha. She asked today if you would come to her competition.
– Of course I’ll come! – Andrey exclaimed. – I’m her father!
– Really? And I thought you were a talent manager now.
Andrey jumped up from his chair:
– Stop it! You don’t understand how hard it is for me right now!
– Are you having a hard time? – Natalya lowered her voice to a whisper so as not to wake her daughter. – And what about me? What will Masha feel when she finds out that her dad…
“I’m leaving you,” Andrey suddenly said quietly.
These words hung in the air like a thunderclap. Natalia felt the ground slipping away from under her feet.
– Just like that? – She sat back down on the chair. – Fifteen years of marriage, and that’s it?
“Katya is pregnant,” he looked away.
Natalya covered her face with her hands. So that’s her name. Katya. And she’s already carrying his child.
– Mom? Dad? – Masha’s sleepy voice made them both shudder. – What’s going on?
They turned around. The daughter was standing in the kitchen doorway, looking from one parent to the other in confusion.
– Why are you shouting?
– Mashenka, darling, go to bed, – Natalya tried to smile. – Dad and I are just talking.
– You’re arguing, – Masha frowned. – Because of that woman from work, right? I heard grandma talking on the phone…
Andrey turned white:
– What did you hear?
– That some Katya took you away from your family, – the girl’s voice trembled. – Dad, that’s not true, is it? Do you love us?
Natalya watched as her husband – now ex – helplessly opened and closed his mouth, unable to find the words. For fifteen years she had loved this man, trusted him, built a family with him. And now he could not find the words to explain to his own daughter why he was destroying her world.
“Daddy loves us very much,” Natalya said firmly, approaching her daughter. “It’s just that sometimes adults… get confused. Come on, I’ll put you to bed.”
– I’m not going anywhere! – Masha stubbornly shook her head. – I want to know the truth!
Andrey took a step towards his daughter:
– Mashenka, my sunshine…
“Don’t come near me!” the girl shouted and ran out of the kitchen.
In the ensuing silence, the door to her room could be heard slamming and the key turning in the lock.
“I’ll talk to her,” Andrey moved towards the kitchen exit.
– No, – Natalia blocked his way. – You’ve done enough. Pack your things and go.
– This is my home too!
– I was. Before you decided to start a new family, – she looked him straight in the eyes. – I’ll send you my lawyer’s contact information in the morning. And don’t even think about starting a custody battle – you saw my daughter’s reaction.
Andrey dropped his shoulders:
– I really didn’t want it to turn out this way.
“But that’s exactly how it turned out,” Natalya felt a cold determination growing inside her. “You have an hour to gather the essentials. You can take the rest later.”
While her husband was packing his things in the bedroom, she went up to her daughter. She knocked on the door:
– Masha, it’s Mom. Can I come in?
The click of the lock. Natalia entered the room. Her daughter was sitting on the bed, hugging her knees with her hands.
“I don’t want to see him,” she said dully.
– And there is no need, – Natalya sat down next to her, hugging her daughter by the shoulders. – Today, daddy will leave. But you should know – he loves you. It’s just… sometimes adults make mistakes.
– Big mistakes, – Masha sniffed. – You know, Lenka from the parallel class is also crying about this. Her dad also has a new family.
Natalya hugged her daughter tighter. The front door slammed downstairs – Andrey was gone.
“Mom,” Masha called quietly. “Can we handle this?”
– Of course, honey, – Natalya kissed her daughter on the top of her head. – We’re together. And you know what? Tomorrow I’m taking a day off from work. We’ll have a pizza and ice cream day, like the good old days.
– What about my training?
– And we will definitely go to training. And at the competitions you will show everyone how strong you are. We both will show.
Masha finally smiled weakly:
– Do you think Grandma Vera will communicate with us?
“Of course it will,” Natalya remembered her mother-in-law’s trembling voice. “She loves you no less than before.”
Outside the window, dawn was breaking. Natalia watched the first rays of the sun paint the sky pink, and thought that this morning was the beginning of their new life. A life in which they would have to learn to be strong and happy without him.
Two weeks later, Natalya came to the address her husband had given her. Marina Stepanova, her lawyer and her friend, was with her. The two women sat in a stylish office, waiting. On the table lay documents about the division of property.
“He insists on selling the apartment,” Marina tapped her pen on the papers. “He says he invested more money in it.”
– But that’s not true! – Natalya squeezed the armrests of the chair. – We bought it with the money from the sale of my parents’ apartment.
“I know,” Marina nodded. “We have all the documents. But his lawyer demands that we take into account that the mortgage payments for the last five years have been made from his salary.”
“And did they take into account my round-the-clock work around the house and raising the child?” Natalya smiled bitterly.
Familiar voices were heard in the corridor. Andrey appeared on the threshold accompanied by his lawyer – a young, tenacious lawyer. Behind him loomed that same Katya, already with a noticeable belly.
“I asked you to come alone,” Andrey said discontentedly, looking at Marina.
“And I asked you not to destroy our family,” Natalia retorted. “But we don’t always get what we ask for, do we?”
Katya demonstratively put her hand on her stomach. Marina Stepanovna frowned:
– Let’s get down to business. My client agrees to an equal division of property, but the apartment remains hers and her daughter’s.
“This is a violation of my client’s rights!” Andrey’s lawyer intervened. “He has the right…”
“Your client has the right to provide decent housing for his child,” Marina interrupted. “And we’re not talking about a future child, but about an existing one. Or should I remind the court that your client hasn’t paid child support for a month?”
Andrey turned pale:
– I’m having difficulties with work now…
– Yes, – Natalia nodded. – I heard. They say that when your boss finds out that you’re sleeping with a subordinate, it’s bad for your career.
Katya flinched, but remained silent.
– So, basically, – Marina opened the folder with documents. – Either you agree to our conditions: the apartment stays with Natalia and Masha, the car is yours, plus we determine the schedule of meetings with the daughter and the amount of alimony. Or we go to court, where I will tell you a lot of interesting things about corporate ethics and abuse of office.
Andrey’s lawyer whispered something in his ear. After a few minutes of tense silence, he nodded:
– Okay. I agree to your terms.
– And one more thing, – added Natalia. – Masha doesn’t want to date you. Not yet. It’s her decision, and you will respect it.
– But I’m her father!
“The father who betrayed her trust,” Natalya stood up. “Give her time. Maybe one day she will want to restore the relationship. But it should be her decision, not yours.
Half a year passed. Natalya was sitting in the auditorium of the sports complex, where rhythmic gymnastics competitions were taking place. Vera Nikolaevna was fidgeting excitedly next to her.
– Look, look! Mashenka is coming out now! – the former mother-in-law squeezed her hand tightly.
After the divorce, Vera Nikolaevna often came to them, helped with Masha when Natalya was late on duty. “You’re like a daughter to me,” she said. “And the fact that my son is a fool is not your fault.”
Masha appeared on the carpet in a sparkling blue suit. The music began, and the girl began to spin in her dance with a ribbon. Natalya held her breath – her daughter seemed to be flying above the carpet, and her every movement was confident.
“Oh, my God, how similar she is to you,” Vera Nikolaevna whispered. “Just as strong.”
At the other end of the hall, Natalya noticed Andrey. He came alone, without Katya, and shifted unsteadily from one foot to the other. This was his first appearance at his daughter’s performance after the divorce – previously, Masha categorically refused to see him at competitions.
When the performance was over, the audience burst into applause. Masha had won first place in her age category. She stood on the podium with the medal around her neck, beaming and happy, and then suddenly looked over to where her father was standing.
Andrey hesitantly raised his hand in greeting. Masha froze for a moment, but then nodded slightly in response.
“Mom,” she said later, as they walked home. “Can… can I call Dad? I want to tell him about the new elements I learned.”
Natalia felt her heart squeeze: “Of course, honey. It’s your decision.”
In the evening, after putting her daughter to bed, she sat in the kitchen with a cup of tea and leafed through photos from the competition. The phone rang quietly – a message came from a colleague from the hospital, Mikhail. For the second month, he had been persistently inviting her for coffee.
“I saw the photos from the performance. Masha is a real champion! Maybe we should celebrate her victory with dinner? I know a great family restaurant…”
Natalya smiled, looking at the screen. Maybe it was time for her to take a step forward. Life doesn’t end with betrayal – she told herself that on that terrible night. And now, six months later, for the first time she truly believed it.
