Andrey had always felt proud of his family.
Together with his wife, Tatyana, they had spent seven years of life side by side—making plans for the future and dreaming of having children.
They lived in a standard apartment building, but thanks to caring hands and the warmth of their family hearth, their home had transformed into a truly cozy haven. Their relationships with the neighbors were excellent—everyone helped one another and offered support in difficult times.
They shared an especially warm bond with the downstairs neighbor, Oleg.
This good-natured man, who lived one floor below, was the life of the party: always in high spirits, quick with a joke, and invariably ready to offer his help in any situation.
Andrey trusted him so much that on more than one occasion he even left his car keys with him for minor errands around the courtyard.
Never would he have imagined that one day his very car would become the key to unveiling a shocking truth.
A small detail that turned everything upside down. That day, Andrey returned home significantly earlier than usual.
A scheduled meeting at work had been suddenly canceled, and he decided to surprise his wife—stopping by a pastry shop to pick up her favorite cream puffs.
When the taxi dropped him off at home, his attention was caught by his own car. The very car he had scarcely used recently, since he had been commuting to work in a company vehicle.
“Tanya mentioned that she’d taken it a few times for errands.”
Andrey lifted the box of pastries onto the hood, retrieved his keys, and unlocked the door.
Inside the car, there was a faint but unmistakable scent of an expensive men’s cologne.
Not his own scent.
His eyebrows furrowed.
Then his gaze dropped, and he noticed something unusual on the front passenger seat.
There lay someone else’s lighter.
Black in color, with an engraved letter “O” on its body.
“Oleg…”
Andrey picked it up, feeling a wave of uneasy premonitions rising within him.
Could it be that his neighbor had been using this car?
At that moment he realized that today’s pastries would remain untouched.
The first blow to his trust. Andrey clutched the lighter in his hand, trying to find a rational explanation.
“Maybe Tanya was just giving Oleg a ride?”
“But why? He has his own car.”
“Why didn’t she tell me anything?”
He forcefully closed the door and strode purposefully toward the entrance.
When he entered the apartment, Tanya was just engaged in a phone conversation.
She was smiling.
— Yes, yes… I miss you too.
Andrey froze in the doorway.
His wife had never spoken to him in that tone.
When Tanya finally noticed her husband, she started in surprise.
— You’re home already?!
— The meeting was canceled.
She hastily ended the call, tucking her mobile into the pocket of her bathrobe.
— Who were you talking to? — Andrey asked calmly on the surface, though his eyes betrayed his suspicion.
— A friend.
He slowly approached, took the lighter out of his pocket, and placed it on the table in front of her.
— And what’s this?
Tanya paled like a sheet.
The lie that had failed her left Tanya frozen, staring at the lighter.
Her lips trembled, as if she was trying to concoct an excuse.
But Andrey had already read everything in her eyes.
— Why are you silent? — his voice was icy.
— Ah… this? — she tried to force a nervous smile.
— Exactly. This. How did it end up in my car?
Tanya straightened up, crossing her arms in a defensive posture.
— Well, maybe someone forgot it there. You do lend your car to friends sometimes.
Andrey leaned forward slowly, resting his hands on the countertop.
— Tanya. Don’t lie to me.
His wife looked away, but moments later she turned her gaze back to him.
— Alright. I did give Oleg a ride. He asked for it.
— When exactly?
— Well… several times, when his car was in the shop.
Andrey clenched his fingers into fists until his knuckles turned white.
— Oleg takes the subway to work. And his vehicle is parked in the yard.
Tanya was painted with the hue of shame.
— I only wanted to help…
— You’re not capable of lying convincingly, Tanya.
— You think I’ve been unfaithful to you?!
She launched a counterattack, raising her voice.
But Andrey already knew the bitter truth.
“You didn’t just give him a ride.”
“You were secretly seeing him.”
“You betrayed me behind my back.”
Facing the harsh reality, Andrey drew a deep breath, trying to maintain his composure.
— Tell me the whole truth, Tanya.
— I’ve already explained everything!
— You continue to dodge the truth.
— Why do you say that?!
— Because your lover left physical evidence right in my car.
Tanya abruptly raised her head.
Her eyes were full of fear, her lips tightly pressed together.
She no longer denied it, but she did not rush to confess either.
— Just tell me straight that nothing happened between you.
— I…
— Speak!
Tanya hesitated.
And that hesitation became the most eloquent answer.
Andrey let out a choked laugh.
— I see. So you were “having fun” with him behind my back while I was working?
— No, it’s not like that at all…
— Then how? Enlighten me—how did it all happen?
— I…
She stumbled over her words.
Her eyes became lifeless, her shoulders slumped.
— You shouldn’t have found out about this… — she whispered barely audibly.
Those words were the final blow.
Andrey quickly stepped back, looking at her as if she were a stranger.
— Pack your things.
— Andrey, wait…
— Gather your belongings, Tanya. You’re no longer living in this apartment.
She did not try to object.
She simply got up and walked toward the bedroom.
Andrey stepped out onto the balcony, lit a cigarette, and tried to steady his emotions.
He had no idea what he would do next.
But one thing was clear—there would be no forgiveness.
An abrupt breakup. Without any explanation. Andrey settled on the balcony, listening to the sounds of packing: the slamming of wardrobe doors, the rustling of items thrown into a suitcase.
He didn’t even try to stop her.
It no longer made any sense.
After a few minutes, she appeared in the hallway.
She looked at him but remained as silent as a fish.
— And where are you going now? — he asked, not turning his head.
— It doesn’t matter anymore.
— To him?
Tanya lowered her gaze.
— You won’t be able to forgive me, will you?
— Never in my life.
She exhaled, opened the front door, and disappeared.
Their paths never crossed again.
Andrey was left alone in an empty room.
Now he realized that he would never be able to trust anyone again.
Existence after the betrayal. Three months passed.
Andrey continued to live in the same apartment, but it no longer felt like home.
Rumors reached him that Tanya had indeed moved in with Oleg.
He had seen the former neighbor a couple of times in the yard, but Oleg would evasively turn away, hiding behind the cars.
“A coward, that wretch.”
One day, Tanya tried calling him.
The number was instantly added to his blacklist.
Now his existence flowed differently.
Without betrayal.
Without deceit.
And if the past sometimes came back to haunt him, he simply drowned those thoughts with one simple question:
“Was it worth keeping her?”
The answer was always unequivocal: “No.”
Time passed, and the wounds gradually healed, though the scars remained forever. Andrey began to understand that sometimes a loss could mark a new beginning. Now he was learning to live again, discovering different facets of existence and slowly restoring his faith in a better future.
