– Vikul, how good that you found time to meet! After you both got married, we met too rarely. I don’t even know how and what you live for. If it weren’t for social networks, we would have completely disappeared, – Alena sighed and wrapped her lips around the straw, slowly sipping a cold milkshake.
– That’s for sure!.. So much has piled up. I didn’t think that with the opening of my dance studio I would be spending so much time at work. Even my husband rarely sees me, let alone meets with friends, – Victoria smiled and took a sip of coffee.
The girlfriends had been friends since childhood, studied at the same school, even went to the same university, in general, they were inseparable, until under the pressure of circumstances in adult life, there was a catastrophic lack of time.
Vika met Stepan, a young specialist in her father’s company, and fell in love with him. Thanks to his intelligence and relationship with the boss’s daughter, Stepan quickly rose up the career ladder and became Viktor Borisovich’s deputy. Three years ago, Vika and Stepan had a luxurious wedding. The young woman did not want to sit at home and do nothing. Her father, although he tried to arrange for his daughter to study at the University of Business and Communications, and was in no hurry to give her a job, told her to live on the full support of her husband. However, this seemed boring. Vika did not think long and decided to open her own dance studio. Dancing was her passion, the girl often took first prizes in various competitions, so she took additional courses and opened a studio where she could share her skills and teach other girls who loved dancing as much as she did. Perhaps this business did not bring in as much money as her father’s construction company, but it was still easy to live on this income and not need to know anything. Victoria’s mother supported her, her father turned a blind eye to her occupation, hoping that his daughter would get bored and stay at home supported by her husband. Stepan did not express any opinion about Victoria’s desire to earn money on her own. The man said that if his wife was comfortable and enjoyed doing it, then he was not against it at all.
– I’m thinking, maybe I should start going to your dances? Well, what of it? I’ll get in shape, I’ll make my husband happy with dancing after a hard day at work… and we’ll see each other more often.
– Sign up. Why not? You liked studying with me as a child, – Vika laughed.
Alena just smiled dreamily, remembering the carefree years when every little thing seemed like a tragedy, and now she really wanted to go back there.
– Well, I’ll think about it!.. The idea is generally not bad.
– Yeah! Think about it, – Vika nodded in agreement, finishing her coffee. The drink had already cooled down and gave off an unpleasant bitterness on the tip of her tongue.
— By the way, when are you going to invite me to the new apartment your husband gave you for your anniversary? Do you want to move there or are you going to rent it out? Or maybe you were planning to set up a studio there so you wouldn’t have to rent a place for it?
Alena bombarded her friend with questions, and she listened and did not understand at all what they wanted from her.
— An apartment? My husband? He didn’t give me any apartment… For our anniversary, Styopa gave me French perfume and a gold chain.
– Well, well …
Alena was ready to bite her tongue because she had blurted out too much, but then she wanted to pounce on Stepan with her fists and beat him up properly. Did he really have another beloved woman?
– Are you sure you haven’t mixed anything up? Are you sure it was Stepan? When I asked him to help me with money to pay the rent for the studio for a year at once, he said that there wasn’t enough money yet, but… – Victoria fell silent, thinking about what to do next. Did her husband really buy an apartment? But for whom? He hadn’t said a word to her about his plans to buy a place to live.
Victoria stood up from the table, her heart pounding wildly. She couldn’t believe what she heard and wanted to check everything, to make sure that Alyona wasn’t lying. But why would her friend lie?
“Alena, I’m sorry, I have to go,” Vika said in a hoarse voice. “I have to sort everything out.”
Her friend looked at her with alarm, but Victoria was already heading for the exit. Treacherous thoughts kept beating in her head.
The young woman didn’t remember how she got home. She went into the bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed, trying to calm her thoughts. Alyona’s words were spinning in her head: “He said it was a gift to his beloved for our anniversary!”
Victoria hurried to her husband’s office. She started to sort through the papers, hoping to find at least some clue. Suddenly, on one of the sheets, she saw notes: an address, numbers, the name of the realtor. Her heart began to beat faster. Could this really be the address of the new apartment?
Gathering all her strength, she dialed the number of the realtor listed in the records. Having called, Vika tried to hide the trembling of her voice.
“Good afternoon, this is Stepan Voronov’s secretary calling,” Vika said confidently, deciding to introduce herself that way. “The boss asked if you could make a copy of the documents for the apartment he recently purchased through your agency at 15 Lenin Street.”
The realtor thought for a moment before answering. The tense silence, broken only by the clicking of the keyboard keys on the other side, made his heart beat even faster. Could it really be that everything was going to be confirmed now?.. Really?
– Yes, of course. The deal was registered three weeks ago, so the documents have not yet been sent to the archive, and I can make a copy if necessary, – the man answered confidently.
Three weeks ago… Around that time, Vika asked her husband to help her pay the rent for the studio. He refused because he had invested the money in buying an apartment.
Victoria felt a chill run down her spine.
– Thank you. Then I’ll come to you within an hour.
Victoria hung up, her head spinning. She felt panic rising again. She couldn’t believe that Stepan had bought the apartment without her knowledge. For whom?
The woman went to the real estate agency office to get a copy of the contract and present it to her husband. This was the only way she could get the truth from Stepan. The documents were given to her quickly. It was surprising that they didn’t ask her to somehow prove that Stepan had actually sent them. However, if they had asked, Vika could easily have gotten them through her friend. Driven by the desire to quickly figure out what was hidden behind this purchase, Vika went to the address indicated in the contract.
She wandered around the entrance for a long time, figuring that the area was not bad at all for living. Just a wonderful quiet place. You could buy an apartment in such a place for someone really dear to you, without sparing any money.
Having finally reached the right floor, Victoria approached the door of the apartment, her heart pounding and her hands sweating with excitement. Pressing the doorbell, she felt the tension growing. The door was opened by a young girl with long blond hair, who, upon seeing Victoria, immediately turned pale and stepped back.
“Who are you?” she asked, trying to hide her fear.
“I’m Victoria, Stepan’s wife,” Vika said, trying to speak confidently, despite the rage that was gripping her at that moment and making her tremble.
——————————————————-
The girl, realizing who she was dealing with, became noticeably frightened and began to tremble.
“Oh, God,” she whispered, backing up against the wall as if seeking support. “I… I didn’t know you were coming.”
– Really? – Victoria couldn’t hide her anger and pain. – So… So you knew he was married?
“Yes, I knew,” the girl admitted, looking down. “My name is Katya. We’ve been dating for a year now…”
Katya’s words hung in the air, ready to crumble into a million tiny fragments that would pierce the heart and hurt even more.
“You knew he was married and you still continued dating him?” Victoria continued to press, trying to hold back her tears.
– Yes, but… – Katya took a step towards Victoria, her voice trembling. – He said that you had problems with him. He said that he was unhappy. I thought that everything was over between you…
Victoria felt her heart squeeze with pain. How could she trust a man who had been deceiving her for a year? Or maybe from the very beginning? What if Katya wasn’t the only one Stepan complained to about his “bad” family life?
“He said he loved me,” Katya said almost in a whisper. “He promised he would divorce his wife. I thought we could be happy together…”
Victoria couldn’t listen to this any longer. She turned around and hurried away, realizing that she wouldn’t get anything out of this girl. There was no point in attacking her with her fists and blaming her for her husband’s inability to restrain himself. It was Stepan’s fault. He alone. He had been turning the heads of two women and hoping that the truth wouldn’t come to the surface?
Returning home, Victoria felt an oppressive silence surround her. She sat down on the sofa, trying to collect her thoughts and prepare for the conversation with Stepan. Anger and pain overwhelmed her, but she knew she had to remain calm. There was no point in wasting her nerves on something she could not change. Her marriage with Stepan was over. She just had to admit it.
Time dragged on unbearably slowly, and finally a scraping sound was heard in the keyhole. Stepan entered the apartment, his face looking tired and his shoulders slumped.
“Hi, I was late at work,” the man said, unable to hold back a yawn. “Didn’t you cook anything today?”
“Hi,” Vika replied, trying hard to remain calm. “We need to talk.”
Stepan, noticing the tension in his wife’s tone, raised his eyebrows.
“About what?” he asked, trying to look nonchalant.
– About you and Katya. I know the whole truth, – Vika declared, raising her head.
Stepan turned pale, his confidence instantly evaporated. Just recently the man had not even doubted his own infallibility, but now he looked at his wife with a hunted look.
– What truth? What Katya? I don’t understand anything!..
– I know that you’ve been dating her for a year. We met and had the opportunity to discuss your unearthly love. I know that you bought her an apartment, taking money, by the way, from our family budget, – Vika said, pulling a copy of the documents out of her bag. – And here’s the confirmation.
She handed him the papers, and Stepan, looking at them, tried to brush them off.
“It doesn’t matter,” the man said sharply. “You won’t dare leave me. You can’t cope without me. Katya is just a stupid girl. I was having fun with her and decided to thank her. There’s nothing wrong with that. I’m not going to ruin our relationship for her sake.”
Victoria felt her anger boiling up even more. Her husband dared to say such merciless words without regret or feeling guilty.
“Don’t you dare underestimate me, Stepan,” Victoria said, looking her husband straight in the eyes. “I’m not going to continue living with a traitor. Just know that.”
Stepan took a step towards his wife, his face distorted with hostility.
– Do you even hear yourself? – he said, trying to impose his point of view on Vika. – You depend on me, and you know it. You love me too much, that’s why you depend on me and you can’t live a day without me. So stop talking nonsense already. Carnal pleasures are just pathetic nonsense compared to the spiritual unity that binds us together.
Vika gathered her strength and closed her eyes, trying to suppress her tears.
“I won’t tolerate your lies. Get out. I don’t want to see you around anymore,” she said decisively, feeling her voice grow stronger.
Stepan stopped, his face turned purple with rage for a moment, but then he just nodded:
“Okay,” he said quietly, turning toward the door. “You’ll regret this.”
When Stepan left, Victoria was left alone in silence, feeling a heavy weight lift from her shoulders. She knew she had made the right choice, and although many difficulties lay ahead, she was ready to deal with them.
A few days later, Victoria found the strength to go to her father. Her heart was pounding with excitement, but she knew she had to tell him the whole truth. Viktor Borisovich was working in his office when she entered. He looked up from his papers, and his face changed instantly as soon as he saw his daughter pale and tired.
– Vika, what happened? You look worried, – the man noted, putting the papers aside.
Victoria took a deep breath and told her father what had happened. She told him about Stepan’s betrayal, how she found out about his affair with Katya, and how he had been deceiving her for a year.
Viktor Borisovich, listening to his daughter, became more and more angry with each new word. When she finished her story, he stood up and began to pace the office, clenching his hands into fists.
“This unworthy man! I have long suspected him of financial fraud,” said Viktor Borisovich, barely containing his anger. “I did not dig deep, but now I understand how wrong I was.”
“Dad, I beg you, help me find a good lawyer to divorce him as quickly as possible. I don’t want to see this man in my life anymore,” Vika said, feeling tears welling up in the corners of her eyes again.
Viktor Borisovich stopped and looked at his daughter with determination.
– I’ll fire Stepan. He doesn’t deserve to remain a part of our family and company. I’ll take that apartment he bought for Katya. He must understand that he will be held accountable for his actions. If he doesn’t agree to a divorce, I’ll force him. You can be sure of that. He came here with nothing, and he’ll leave like that… and if he doesn’t listen, I’ll send him to jail for all his shady deals.
“Thank you, dad,” Vika said, hugging her father.
“Everything will be fine, daughter. I will make sure that this man does not cause you any more pain,” Viktor Borisovich nodded, his voice full of confidence.
Although Viktor Borisovich wanted to tear the traitorous son-in-law to shreds, he still held back. He shouldn’t have become like an unworthy person. As he had promised his daughter, the man quickly received Stepan’s consent to a divorce, forced him to sell the apartment he had bought for his mistress and the car his father-in-law had given them for their wedding. The man was not going to leave anything to this lying man who had hurt his daughter. Stepan tried to apologize, said that he realized his guilt and repented, but no one wanted to listen to him anymore. Stepan was left with nothing, because without money and a good position, even Katya’s “love” for him instantly faded away.
Vika continued to work at her dance studio. She gradually managed to let go of the resentment, realizing that it was gnawing and destroying her from the inside. She had to enter the new life without the burdens of the old one.
