Natasha came home earlier than usual and, taking off her coat in the hallway, heard Kirill talking to someone on the phone in the kitchen. His voice sounded soft and quiet, and Natasha involuntarily stopped to listen.
«Yes, I got you, I’ll confirm tomorrow,» her husband said calmly. «Yeah, I’m glad too. See you.»
Kirill came out of the kitchen with the phone in his hand and looked at his wife with slight surprise:
«Why are you home so early?»
«The last patient canceled,» Natasha shrugged, trying to smile as usual. «Have you been home long?»
«Just now, there weren’t many clients today. Hungry?» Kirill asked, kissing her on the cheek and heading into the room.
«Not really. I’ll make something later.»
While Kirill changed in the bedroom, Natasha went to the kitchen to get some water. Her husband’s phone was lying on the table. Suddenly, the screen lit up, displaying a short message:
«Thanks for today, Kiryush. Already missing you!»
Natasha’s heart unexpectedly sank. She froze, staring at the bright «Marina» above the text. She had never heard of such an acquaintance of her husband. Natasha quickly looked away and took a step back, as if afraid Kirill might catch her doing something inappropriate.
«Natasha!» her husband called from the room. «I’ll order pizza. Do you want ham?»
She swallowed and answered as neutrally as possible:
«Yes, ham sounds good.»
Natasha took her phone and, without much thought, called her mother. Svetlana Pavlovna answered almost immediately.
«Daughter, what’s wrong? You usually don’t call at this hour.»
«Mom, hi. Nothing really, just… I wanted to hear your voice.»
Her mother paused for a second, as if sensing anxiety in her daughter’s voice:
«Well, daughter, tell me, what happened?»
Natasha sighed and quietly said:
«I don’t even know. I just saw a strange message on Kirill’s phone. From a woman. She misses him.»
Svetlana Pavlovna held a brief pause, then cautiously asked:
«What does Kirill say?»
«He doesn’t know I saw it, mom. I haven’t told him yet. Maybe it means nothing…»
«Means nothing or not,» her mother interrupted a bit sharper than usual. «Don’t rush yet. Watch, pay attention… But you know, daughter, such things usually don’t bode well.»
«Mom, stop it,» Natasha felt both irritation and anxiety at once. «I didn’t call you to scare me even more.»
«I’m not scaring you. Just be careful, Natasha. You know I wouldn’t give bad advice.»
«Okay, mom. We’ll talk later.»
Natasha hung up and returned to the room. Kirill was sitting on the couch, scrolling through the news feed. He smiled warmly and calmly at her, as always.
«The pizza is taking a while,» he said. «Maybe we watch a movie in the meantime?»
Natasha nodded and sat down next to him, feeling a tight knot form inside her. Kirill put his arm around her, and Natasha felt the question on her tongue that she dared not ask.
«Everything’s fine,» she told herself firmly, although her mother’s words kept echoing in her head: «Be careful, daughter.»
The message from the unknown Marina, like a small thorn, constantly reminded her of itself. Every evening Natasha tried to seem carefree, smiled warmly at Kirill, asked about work, while catching every word, glance, intonation.
Kirill seemed not to notice anything. He behaved as usual, but came home increasingly later than before. Little things he used to notice immediately now seemed to pass by him. Natasha reminded him twice about a doctor’s appointment, but Kirill conveniently forgot about it.
Finally, Natasha’s patience ran out, and she called Katya, her best friend.
«Katya, I think I’m going crazy,» she sighed as soon as her friend answered.
«What happened?» Katya asked calmly.
«I don’t know. Kirill is acting strange. Coming home late, becoming distracted, forgetting everything. And this message…»
«Natasha, maybe you’re overthinking? The message might mean nothing.»
«Maybe,» Natasha agreed, nervously adjusting her hair. «But I feel like something is wrong.»
«Then just ask him directly. Calmly, without scandals. If you accuse him right away, nothing good will come of it.»
That evening, Natasha decided to follow her friend’s advice. She waited for Kirill, prepared dinner, and, gathering her courage, quietly asked:
«Kirill, who is Marina?»
Kirill, cutting a piece of cutlet, suddenly stopped and looked at her surprised:
«What Marina?»
«I saw her message on your phone last week. Didn’t want to ask right away, but…»
«You snooped through my phone?» His voice instantly grew cold, and his eyes narrowed.
«No, I didn’t snoop. It was lying on the table, and the message popped up by itself,» Natasha felt her cheeks burning.
«And you immediately decided to interrogate me?» Kirill responded sharply, putting down his fork. «She’s just a colleague. There was nothing special in her message. And, honestly, Natasha, you need to stop imagining things.»
«I’m not imagining,» Natasha said quietly, trying not to lose her temper. «But you’ve changed, you stay out late, you’re always distracted. What’s going on?»
Kirill stood up, pushed his chair so hard Natasha flinched:
«I just have a pile of work, and I come home and get this instead! Thanks a lot.»
«Kirill, don’t avoid the conversation! I feel like something is wrong!»
«Nothing’s going on!» he snapped, putting on his jacket. «Everything’s fine between us. You’re just always looking for problems. I’m honestly tired of it.»
He quickly put on his shoes and left the apartment without looking at Natasha. She froze in the kitchen, feeling an unpleasant cold squeeze her chest. She dialed her mom’s number and, hearing the familiar voice, couldn’t hold back:
«Mom, I think you were right.»
Svetlana Pavlovna sighed softly into the receiver and gently said:
«I told you, daughter. A mother’s heart doesn’t lie. Just don’t rush. Give yourself time to think.»
«I’m afraid of destroying the family, mom,» Natasha whispered, feeling tears sting her eyes.
«It’s worse to live in deceit,» her mother replied calmly. «But the decision is yours.»
Natasha silently looked out the window, not knowing what choice to make.
The next few days, Natasha and Kirill barely spoke. In the evenings, he silently ate dinner, then sat in front of the TV, staring at the screen, trying not to notice his wife. Natasha kept herself deliberately calm but felt every minute deepen the chasm between them.
One day after work, Natasha met Katya at a café near the mall. She nervously stirred sugar in her cup, glancing at the clock.
«Katya, I can’t take it anymore. I want to figure it out, you know?»
Katya nodded, sipping her latte.
«Right. How long can you suffer from guessing?»
«What should I do? How to find out the truth? Kirill himself won’t tell me anything.»
Katya thoughtfully looked out the window, then suddenly brightened:
«Listen, Kirill has your old laptop, remember?»
Natasha tensed.
«So?»
«So your password is probably still there. If you log in, you can check who he’s messaging on social media.»
Natasha hesitated for a moment, then resolutely nodded:
«Okay, I’ll try.»
At home, while Kirill was late at work, Natasha opened the laptop. Logging into the social network, she clenched her fists in anxiety. The correspondence with Marina was at the top of the list: it had started a month ago and grew more personal and tender every day. Natasha felt burned by every word, every smile Kirill sent to another woman.
When Kirill came home, Natasha waited for him in the living room.
«Hi,» he said cautiously. «What’s wrong?»
«I know everything, Kirill,» she said quietly but firmly. «About Marina, about how you’ve been lying to me for a whole month. And don’t try to accuse me of paranoia again.»
Kirill slowly sat down on the couch, rubbing his palms on his face. His gaze darkened; it was clear he wasn’t prepared to justify himself.
«You followed me?»
«Don’t change the subject. You’re having an affair with her, and I want to know why you treated me like this.»
He was silent, avoiding her eyes, then with a heavy sigh admitted:
«I don’t understand it myself, Natasha. It all kind of happened on its own. I got confused.»
«Confused?» Natasha felt anger pushing out fear. «Confused is an excuse for a teenager, not an adult man. I’m your wife, you know? I thought we had a family!»
«Natasha, I’m sorry… I didn’t want to hurt you…»
«But you did, Kirill,» she interrupted sharply, trying to keep her dignity. «You already did.»
Kirill looked at her with eyes full of confusion:
«I don’t know how to fix everything now…»
«Not at all,» Natasha stood and looked at him with unusual firmness. «I’m not going to tolerate betrayal. Even if I love you.»
He tried to say something, but Natasha just shook her head, cutting him off with a gesture:
«It’s too late now, Kirill.»
She turned away and went to the bedroom, leaving him alone in the living room, stunned and lost. For the first time in a long time, Natasha felt she had done the right thing, despite the pain tearing her inside.
In the morning, Natasha took a bus to Lipetsk. Outside the window, fields, groves, and small villages flashed by, calming her with their simplicity and measured pace. She looked out and tried not to think about what she left behind. A feeling of freedom and bitterness strangely mixed inside, and Natasha barely held back tears.
Her mother met her at the bus station and immediately hugged her tightly.
«Well, hello, daughter. Let’s go home, have lunch, and rest.»
«Mom, I don’t really want to eat.»
«We’ll go anyway. We’ll decide what you want there.»
Her mother’s house always smelled of freshness and baking. As a child, Natasha often sat in this very kitchen, watching her mother knead dough or cut apples. Today she felt that warmth and coziness again, which she had been missing lately.
«Don’t think too much right now,» her mother said softly, pouring soup into bowls. «Rest for a couple of days. Everything will get better.»
«Better, mom?» Natasha smiled sadly. «I think my life is over.»
«Don’t say nonsense. You still have your whole life ahead.»
The first days Natasha slept a lot, trying to think less about Kirill. Her mother was nearby but didn’t press her with questions. Sometimes they walked in the park, discussing neutral topics — books, movies, summer plans. Natasha felt better.
One evening, sitting alone with her mother in the kitchen, Natasha couldn’t hold back and quietly asked:
«Mom, do you think I’m doing the right thing?»
Svetlana Pavlovna looked at her calmly and thoughtfully replied:
«I think you are, daughter. I left your father the same way once.»
Natasha looked up surprised:
«You? You never told me…»
«I didn’t want to upset you, thought you were still little. But now you’re grown and understand everything. Your father was a good man, but he liked to stray. I endured for a long time, thought he’d settle down. But then I realized I couldn’t do that anymore. And I never regretted leaving.»
«I never suspected…»
«No one knew,» her mother smiled sadly and warmly at the same time. «But sometimes it’s better to part than to suffer together.»
Natasha looked at her mother, feeling grateful for understanding and support:
«Thank you, mom.»
Returning to Voronezh a week later, Natasha knew what she had to do. The conversation with Kirill took place in a small café near their house. He looked calm but confused:
«Natasha, I understand there’s no turning back…»
«Yes, Kirill. I’m not angry anymore. But I want to be free from lies and doubts. It will be better for both of us.»
«I didn’t want it to end like this,» he said quietly, looking down at the table.
«Me neither,» Natasha answered sincerely. «But now at least I know what will happen next.»
When they said goodbye, Natasha felt a relief she hadn’t expected. It still hurt, but for the first time in a long time, she clearly saw a future full of uncertainty and new opportunities. Taking a deep breath, she walked down the street, smiling to herself, thinking that her life was just beginning.
