Svetlana felt like the happiest woman in the world. In just one year, her life had changed beyond recognition. A year ago, she lived with her aunt, who turned her into a slave. The aunt did nothing around the house or garden, simply coming in from the street and flopping onto the couch.
Sveta dreamed of finishing her education, finding a job, and escaping this life. Her aunt often reproached her for a piece of bread, even though she received some benefits for Sveta and made good money selling the harvest from the garden. Then a real miracle happened.
She met Alexey. A handsome, confident, and intelligent man. Alexey worked as a manager and had his own apartment. He was goal-oriented and didn’t put off decisions. Eventually, he told her:
«I can’t take it anymore. Your aunt doesn’t let you live properly, and that’s not enough for me. I want you to always be by my side. Move in with me.»
Svetlana didn’t hesitate for a second. Of course, he didn’t propose marriage, just suggested she move in, but she didn’t mind that. It seemed trivial compared to the fact that they could now be together. Her aunt screamed after her that she was no longer her relative, and that Sveta should never appear on her doorstep again, but Sveta didn’t even look back.
They were so happy together! Sveta made their apartment cozy, hurried home from work, knowing it would always be like this. Today she was returning from the clinic, buoyed with joy. Just yesterday, she had suspicions, and today she decided to take the day off to confirm them. Now she hurried home with wonderful news: she was carrying life, and not just one—she was expecting twins. This feeling filled her with happiness, and she was sure they had a bright future ahead.
When Sveta opened the apartment door, she smelled something strange. It was familiar, yet odd at this moment. Perfume. Exactly, it was her perfume, the ones Alexey had given her. She didn’t particularly like them and hadn’t used them for several months.
She walked into the room and stopped. Strange sounds came from the bedroom. Could it be a thief? After all, Alexey was supposed to return from work only in half an hour. Taking a mop for protection, Sveta headed to the bedroom. She opened the door and froze. It wasn’t a thief in the bedroom. It was Alexey. But he wasn’t alone. There was a young, striking girl with him, nothing like Svetlana. They didn’t even notice her presence right away.
When Lyosha finally saw her, the girl screamed and threw a sheet over herself. Alexey stood up and, as if nothing had happened, calmly said:
«Well, why are you looking like that? You’re not a child, you should understand that these things happen. There was love, but it’s gone. Though, to be honest, it was just infatuation, nothing more.»
Alexey’s words echoed in Sveta’s ears. She wanted to say something, to prove that he was wrong, that their love was real, but she couldn’t. Silently, she turned around and ran out of the apartment. Already on the stairs, she heard Alexey shout after her:
«I’ll pack your things, you can come and pick them up!»
What things? Why did she need things when her world had just collapsed, leaving nothing but emptiness that pressed in from all sides? Sveta woke up late at night. She looked around and saw an old, unfamiliar courtyard with crumbling two-story houses that seemed long abandoned. After some thought, she decided to go to her aunt’s. Surely she wouldn’t turn her out onto the street at such a moment?
She stood for a long time outside her aunt’s house, staring at the dark windows, recalling how her aunt had told her that Sveta would definitely end up in bad company, calling her «no good.» Those words her aunt had shouted when Sveta was leaving, shaking her fist and ordering her never to appear on her doorstep again.
The sky was beginning to lighten. Sveta sighed, turned around, and walked away from the house. Half an hour later, she found herself on the riverbank, watching the calm water as tears streamed down her cheeks.
«Forgive me… I just can’t… I can’t handle it,» she whispered, bidding farewell in her mind to the two lives that had just begun to form inside her.
Overcoming her tears, she got up from the grass and looked at her watch. It was about half past six in the morning. She decided that if everything went well, by the end of the day, it would all be over. Sveta wiped her tears, looked in a small mirror, fixed her hair, and headed to the bus stop. A long journey awaited her: first the bus, then the train.
When she boarded the train, it was almost empty—just a few passengers and one elderly woman. Almost immediately, a conductor appeared, and Sveta noticed how the old woman hesitated, looking around fearfully. She realized: the woman didn’t have a ticket.
«Grandma, do you not have a ticket?» Sveta quietly asked.
«Yes, dear. I forgot my wallet at home again, I’ve become so scatterbrained. But it’s so important for me to see my grandson, I baked him some pies,» the old woman replied embarrassedly.
Sveta smiled involuntarily and, without hesitation, approached the conductor to pay for both their fares. The female conductor, understanding the situation, accepted the money, and Sveta returned to the old woman. She smiled at her gratefully.
«Thank you, dear. I don’t know what I would’ve done if they’d dropped me off in the middle of the road.»
«Well, you could have called your grandson to come get you.»
«Oh, what are you saying,» the grandmother said, waving her hands in fear. «He always scolds me for traveling across the city to see him. He says I need to rest, to walk, not to drag myself around the city. Seryozha is a good boy, has a tough job, little time, but he tries to come, though rarely.»
From the grandmother emanated such warmth and care that Sveta felt something she had long not experienced—a sense of home comfort that she had never known. Her parents died when she was very young, and her aunt, who took her in, never showed her a drop of kindness.
«And where are you heading, dear? Did something happen? Your eyes are all teary.»
Sveta wanted to deny it, but suddenly she couldn’t hold back and burst into tears.
«I thought everything was fine, that I would be happy… but he… he betrayed me. I don’t want to get rid of them, they are so tiny, but they are mine. But I can’t condemn them to such a life. I can’t…»
Everything was confused in her mind, but Sveta understood each of her own words, and the grandmother silently stroked her head, trying to calm her.
«It’s hard for you right now,» the old woman whispered, «but I see you have a kind soul. You’ll regret it if you do this now.»
«Maybe,» Sveta quietly replied, «but I have nowhere to live, not to mention taking care of them.»
They got off together at the next station. Sveta quickly said goodbye and went her way, while the grandmother stood for a long time, watching her leave. While Sveta was submitting tests and signing papers, more than an hour passed. She ran to the hospital, where they told her that if she could make it by 10 am, they might take her today. If not, she would have to wait until tomorrow.
Svetlana stopped at the entrance to the hospital, her heart painfully squeezed, but she gathered her strength and pushed the door. Entering inside, she immediately noticed the grandmother—the same one who had been on the train with her that morning. The old woman seemed to have been waiting for her and immediately approached:
«I was hoping you’d reconsider!»
«Grandma, please, don’t torment me, I came to do everything before I change my mind,» Sveta replied, barely hiding her agitation.
«Dear, wait, come with me first, I want to introduce you to my grandson.»
«But I don’t have time!» Sveta objected.
«You’ll make it, don’t worry,» the old woman confidently said, taking Sveta by the hand and insistently leading her somewhere.
Nurses passing by smiled at them, and Sveta realized that the grandmother was clearly a familiar face here. They walked down a long corridor, and the grandmother confidently reached for the door handle marked «Chief Physician.»
«Wait…» Sveta managed to say before the door opened, and a man, not as old as she expected, appeared on the threshold.
Usually, it seems that bosses, especially in a hospital, are always nearly of retirement age. But this one was younger than Sveta had anticipated.
«I’ve been waiting for you. Grandma has already told me all about you,» he said with a light smile. «Come in, grandma, have a seat for a while.»
«Alright, Seryozha, I’ll sit, my legs are tired,» the old woman responded, grinning slyly.
They entered the office. Sveta felt out of place, as if she were guilty of something.
«Have a seat,» the man offered, pointing to a chair.
Sveta shook her head slightly:
«Trying to dissuade me is useless, I’ve already decided.»
«Allow me to disagree,» he gently countered. «If you had really decided firmly, you wouldn’t have ended up in this office. You knew that grandma was trying to dissuade you, but you still let her bring you here.»
Sveta suddenly looked up, realizing he was right.
«Indeed… Grandma is a complete stranger to me, but for some reason, I listened to her,» she said, confused.
«See,» said Sergey Anatolyevich, the chief physician, pushing a glass of water towards her, «not everything is lost yet. You have five minutes, don’t rush. Sit down.»
Sveta sat back down on the chair, feeling tears well up in her eyes again.
«There, you say that you’ve decided everything,» he said with a light smile, sitting down beside her. «Svetlana, tell me honestly, have you decided to get rid of the child only because your fiancé betrayed you? Forgive my bluntness, but grandma told me everything.»
«Not just because of that… Now I have nowhere to live, I can’t go back to my aunt’s,» Sveta said, sobbing. Sergey Anatolyevich handed her another glass of water.
«What if I offer you a solution? You see, I really treasure my grandmother; she’s the only one I have. But she’s so restless—every time she rushes across the city to see me, I worry about her. It’s impossible to stop her. The whole hospital lives on her pies, but she needs someone to care for, someone to be nearby. Today, when grandma told me about you, I thought: maybe God sent you to me?»
He paused for a moment, then continued:
«Agree to become her companion. Not for free, of course. You’ll live with her, take care of her, have your babies… and continue living together. Grandma spent her whole life as a pediatrician—she can help you with the children, and you’ll be there for her. Well, Svetlana, agree. Save your babies, and I’ll save my nerves.»
Sveta forgot about her tears, looking intently at Sergey Anatolyevich, not knowing what to say.
«I… I’m just not sure…» she murmured.
Two hours later, they were on their way to Sergey’s grandmother’s. Her name was Evdokiya Semyonovna, and she was so delighted she couldn’t calm down.
«Seryozhenka will now come to visit us, and we’ll bake pies for his arrival. We’ll arrange a room for you and the babies. Don’t worry, Svetochka, everything will be wonderful, you’ll see.»
Sveta felt as if she had entered some absurd play, but resisting the elderly woman proved futile, and she was already too tired to fight the circumstances. Sergey indeed visited them often, and although Sveta was initially embarrassed by his presence, she eventually got used to it.
They went together to Alexey’s to collect her things. When he opened the door, he simply froze in confusion, seeing Sveta with a noticeably pregnant belly and a serious young man beside her, who looked at him in a way that boded nothing good. Sveta quickly gathered her things, and Sergey, taking the bags, nudged her towards the exit.
«Let’s go,» he said curtly.
Alexey suddenly rushed towards Sveta, pointing at her belly:
«This… this is mine!»
Sveta felt Sergey’s hand on her shoulder, and she immediately felt calm.
«No, Lyosha, this is mine, and it’s no longer your concern,» she firmly replied.
Sergey looked at Alexey in such a way that he immediately backed off, saying no more.
When the time came, Sveta gave birth to two charming girls—little and so sweet. The first to visit her after the birth was Sergey. His eyes gleamed with joy:
«I saw them! They are simply amazing, strong and healthy!»
Sveta smiled weakly:
«Thank you, Sergey Anatolyevich… If not for you and Evdokiya Semyonovna…»
Sergey chuckled:
«Speaking of Evdokiya Semyonovna… She is a wise woman, but she recently told me something: she said we should get married.» Sergey blushed slightly. «And I told her, ‘Sveta is twelve years younger than me, why would she want someone like me?’ But grandma insists that it’s my duty. So there you have it…»
Sveta took his hand:
«Wait, Sergey, are you proposing to me?»
Sergey, growing even more embarrassed, looked at her:
«I… I don’t know how to do this properly. You don’t have to agree. I’ve wanted to say it for a long time but was always afraid. I just decided to take a risk today… I understand everything: the age, and surely you love someone else…»
He kept talking, as if it helped him deal with his nerves, and Sveta had to wait for a moment to speak:
«I agree,» she said quietly, catching a pause.
Sergey froze and looked at her in surprise:
«Why?»
Sveta smiled:
«Because you’re the best. I realized that from the moment I walked into your office that day.»
