Tatiana’s life seemed flawless: a devoted husband, a comfortable home, and career success. However, one day she encountered a surprise—Maxim was hiding something. His frequent absences, mysterious excuses, and the enigmatic boy from the orphanage shook her world. Was she ready to face the truth that could change everything?
Tanya surveyed the spacious living room, where soft lighting created an atmosphere of coziness. The air was filled with the scent of fresh flowers, and champagne flutes glittered on the festive table. Her thirty-fifth birthday was meant to be a celebration of an ideal life: a loving husband, a luxurious setting, and a stable marketing career. What more could one ask for in happiness?
Maxim crept up from behind, wrapped his arms around her waist, and lightly kissed her temple. In his hand, an elegant case was displayed.
“Happy birthday, my love,” he said, handing her the gift.
Tanya opened the box with a gentle smile. Before her lay an exquisite gold bracelet with a tiny heart-shaped pendant.
“Simply wonderful,” she whispered, admiring the jewelry.
“Just like you,” Maxim replied, looking into her eyes.
“How lovely!” exclaimed Olga, their mutual friend who had helped organize the celebration. “This is what a true marriage looks like: an attentive, generous husband and an impeccable household… You have everything, my dear!”
Tanya nodded, but for a moment, a flicker of doubt passed in her eyes. Everything was perfect, except for one important element.
“The only thing missing is children,” Olga added, as she refilled the champagne flutes.
Maxim coughed nervously, as if he had choked, and lowered his gaze. Tanya tightened her grip on her glass a little more, trying to maintain her composure.
“We still have time,” she replied, though her voice carried a hint of tension.
Olga only snorted in response:
“You’ve been together for over ten years. What if he simply doesn’t want children?”
Maxim immediately pulled out his phone, as if he had found an excuse to flee.
“Excuse me, I have to leave immediately. A client is waiting,” he announced as he stood up.
“On a night like this?” Tanya exclaimed in surprise.
“It’s really important,” he mumbled, hastily kissing her on the cheek, and disappearing through the door.
As soon as his footsteps faded, Olga folded her arms across her chest and looked intently at her friend.
“Don’t you notice anything strange? He’s always disappearing—in the evenings, on weekends, even today. What if he has someone else?”
Tanya waved it off. “Olga, stop. It’s just work!”
“Are you sure? What if it’s not about work, but because you don’t have children? Perhaps he found someone who can give him a family?”
Tanya laughed, but inside, something tightened uneasily.
But what if her friend was right?
“Tanya, admit it—don’t you find this suspicious?” Olga continued, twirling a coffee spoon between her fingers.
Later, in a small downtown café where they met after the celebration, Tanya stirred her cappuccino thoughtfully. Outside, darkness fell and cars zoomed by leaving trails of light, but her thoughts were far away.
“Why now?” she asked aloud, returning to thoughts of her husband. “Why did he leave right on my birthday?”
“Because it has become a habit,” Olga retorted. “Remember, this isn’t the first time.”
Tanya sighed. Indeed, in recent months, Maxim had often disappeared in the evenings, came home late, and sometimes ignored her calls. She had always attributed it to work, but now she began to doubt.
“Work?” Olga snorted skeptically. “He’s a realtor, not a rescuer! Who needs apartments at ten in the evening?”
Tanya pondered. Perhaps her friend was right. But how could she uncover the truth?
“Okay, suppose he is hiding something,” she said slowly. “But where could he possibly be going?”
Olga smiled mysteriously and pulled out her phone. “Shall we check?”
“You mean… follow him?”
“Why not? You have every right to know what’s going on.”
Tanya hesitated. It seemed she was invading her husband’s privacy, but wasn’t it her right to understand what was happening in their relationship? If he was lying, then she needed to get to the bottom of it.
“All right,” she finally decided. “But how?”
They settled into a car on a side street, watching the entrance to an office building.
Maxim emerged after eight in the evening. Tanya and Olga watched intently as he got into his car and confidently set off.
“Keep an eye on him,” whispered Olga, though speaking softly was entirely unnecessary.
Maxim’s car moved through the city, leaving behind long streaks of light from its headlights.
“If he heads to a hotel, I’ll be the first to condemn him,” Olga remarked grimly, gripping the steering wheel tighter.
But instead of a hotel, Maxim turned toward a building that surprised them both.
“An orphanage?” Tanya blinked in confusion as his car slowed in front of a modest brick building.
Olga squinted. “This is getting more and more interesting.”
They stopped nearby and watched as Maxim got out of the car and walked toward the gate.
“Maybe he helps children? For instance, does charity work?” Tanya suggested, though the idea didn’t seem convincing to her.
“Hasn’t he mentioned anything like that before?”
“No…” Tanya shook her head, feeling unease creeping in.
The next morning, Tanya returned to the building alone. Introducing herself as a journalist preparing a piece on orphans, she received a warm welcome from one of the caregivers—a kind, middle-aged woman with a gentle smile.
“We currently have twenty-two children,” the caregiver explained as she led Tanya down the corridor. “Some end up here as infants, others are taken from families…”
“Do children ever know nothing about their parents at all?” Tanya asked, trying to maintain her composure.
“Certainly. For instance, Dima.” The caregiver pointed to a boy by the window, carefully sketching something with colored pencils.
Tanya froze, as if struck by lightning.
Dima was an exact replica of Maxim as a child: the same dark hair, brown eyes, even a mole on his temple in the same spot.
The boy looked up.
“Who are you?” he asked, clearly surprised by her appearance.
Tanya hesitated, not knowing what to say. “I just… would like to get to know you.”
He shrugged indifferently and returned to his drawing.
“How long has he been here?” Tanya asked the caregiver, trying to hide her anxiety.
“Always. He was left at the maternity ward when he was just a few days old. His mother died during childbirth, and his father never showed up. But he is a wonderful child—smart, caring.”
“Do any of the adults visit him often?”
“There are volunteers… Although there is one person who visits him regularly. A tall man with dark hair, always neatly dressed. It appears he is one of our regular benefactors.”
Tanya felt a chill run down her spine.
Maxim.
Her legs moved automatically as she said goodbye to the caregiver and made her way out. Her head was spinning with countless questions.
“So, Olga was right after all…” she murmured as she sank into the driver’s seat.
If this boy was truly Maxim’s son… then he had been lying to her for years. Now, all that remained was to gather the facts and get honest answers from him.
“You are no longer my husband. Get out!” Tanya’s voice rang out sharply, like an icy gust of wind. She stood in the middle of the living room, arms crossed, with an expression of anger and resolve.
Maxim entered the house, clearly not expecting such a reception. He froze at the doorway, still clutching his coat on his shoulders.
“Tanya, what is happening?”
“What is happening?!” Her laughter rang out like bitter mockery. “Don’t you have any idea? Or should I remind you where you disappear to in the evenings while I wait for you at home?”
Her husband frowned, his face turning serious.
“What are you talking about?”
“About the orphanage!” she shouted, stepping forward. “About that boy who is your spitting image from childhood! I know the truth, Maxim. I was there. I saw him.”
His eyes widened in shock. His hand slowly slid across his face, as if trying to awaken from a nightmare.
“Tanya…”
“Don’t you dare lie!” she interrupted, her voice trembling with emotion. “You vowed your love, but for years you hid that you had a son!”
Maxim’s face contorted with pain.
“No… you’re mistaken…”
“Really?” Tanya exclaimed, throwing her hands up. “Then explain! Right now!”
She waited for an explosion of anger, a flood of excuses, or yet another lie. But instead, Maxim sank onto the sofa, covering his face with his hands. Several long seconds passed.
“Dima… is not my son,” he finally said in a hoarse voice. “He is my brother.”
Tanya froze, her thoughts in disarray.
“What?!”
Maxim raised his head. His gaze was filled with sorrow.
“My mother died when I turned twenty-three, before our wedding. I couldn’t cope with the loss, and my father… he simply lost himself. A year after her death, he met a young woman, fell in love, and wanted to get married.”
Tanya pressed her lips together. She had always felt that the subject of family was painful for him, but she had never asked any questions.
“The wedding never happened,” he continued. “She became pregnant and… died during childbirth.”
Tanya involuntarily covered her mouth with her hand.
“And the child?”
“A boy. Dima. My half-brother,” he replied with a bitter smile. “After that, my father began drowning his sorrow in alcohol. And then he simply disappeared from his son’s life. Dima ended up in an orphanage. I only found out about it recently.”
“How did you find him?”
Maxim took a deep breath.
“Six months ago, my father was hospitalized. That was our last conversation. He confessed before dying that I had a brother whom he had abandoned. I couldn’t leave it at that.”
“I saw Dima for the first time then,” he added, looking at her with pain. “It felt as though I was looking at my past. I didn’t dare to tell you right away… I was afraid of your reaction.”
Tanya was silent, digesting what she had heard. All the pieces fell into place to form a complete picture.
“You… you didn’t cheat on me,” she whispered, sitting down next to him on the sofa. “You were just afraid that I wouldn’t understand.”
Maxim nodded, his eyes filled with both sorrow and hope.
“Do you want me to leave?” he asked, with a barely perceptible smile.
Tanya shook her head, feeling a lump in her throat. “No.”
She looked at him, and now her eyes reflected not anger, but understanding.
“We will take Dima in. He will become a part of our family.”
Maxim blinked in surprise.
“Are you sure?”
“Of course,” she nodded, feeling a warmth inside from the realization of the right decision. “He is ours. Now, he is our son.”
Her husband embraced her tightly, and at that moment Tanya realized: their family was finally becoming complete, genuine, exactly as it had always been meant to be.
