“Dad, is she pretty?”
Alexander smiled. What a relief—it was finally possible to tell his daughter about his intention to marry. He hadn’t dared to bring up the topic for a whole week, even though he knew the bride would move in with them in a month.
Sonya was an exceptionally smart child. Sometimes her thoughts even amazed adults. Even Alexander himself, a successful businessman, often got lost in her questions or conclusions.
“Of course, she’s very pretty! You’ll definitely get along. She’ll be able to teach you different girly things—like how to dress, what goes with what…”
Sonya laughed:
“Dad, better if you don’t talk about that at all—it’s just funny!”
Alexander laughed too. Of course—his daughter set the fashion tone among her friends. Sometimes he just blinked in surprise at her outfits but tried not to show it. And when Sonya’s friends admired her, and their mothers asked who dressed the girl so stylishly, he looked at his daughter differently—proudly and a bit confused.
Sonya had always been a leader. Alexander sometimes thought: maybe it’s because he spent so little time with her? The girl grew independent and organized. While her dad was away, she read, drew, and crafted something interesting. The nanny who had worked with them for six years often exclaimed, “I’ve never had a child like this! She only needs something explained once—and she understands everything. And how she recites poems! As if she wrote every word herself and knows why it’s there.”
Alexander was proud of his daughter but understood that his personal involvement in this was almost none. He was rarely home. Sonya grew up with the nanny and housekeeper Natasha. However, during their vacations together, they were inseparable. Then Sonya would glow with happiness and never let her dad out of sight, and he was just glad to be with her—even leaving his laptop at home.
“Dad, when will she arrive?”
“In about a month.”
“What’s her name?”
“Alice.”
“I’ll definitely prepare a surprise for her!”
“Think of something, Sonya. I’m so glad you took it calmly. I was afraid you’d be against it…”
His daughter looked serious:
“No, Dad. I understand—a woman should be in the house.”
Alexander hesitated a little. What to say? Fortunately, a phone call distracted him. Sonya waved cheerfully and disappeared into the house.
She already knew what surprise she would prepare for her new mom. Of course, a nice one! She would learn her language. You can’t master everything in a month, but she would manage—starting with the most needed words and phrases. She immediately called her former nanny, asked for help, and the nanny gladly agreed.
Alexander was driving to the office and thinking about life. When Lena died a year ago, he was sure it was over. Only Lena’s mother helped him come out of that state. She mourned but didn’t abandon Sonya. And back then, he saw nothing around him.
He remembered the day when his mother-in-law came into his office, where he sat with a glass of brandy in front of Lena’s photo. She glanced around, swept everything off the table, put the baby cradle down, and said:
“You’re selfish! No, you’re worse—a beast! Lena definitely wouldn’t want you to forget your daughter like this! I lost my daughter… my only one. But I’m here for Sonya. And you—you’re weak. This is your daughter! I’m leaving. I’ll be back in a week.”
And she left.
He sat stunned while Sonya looked at him with wide-open eyes. Then she started crying. Alexander was frantic, not knowing what to do. He read the note left by his mother-in-law: instructions—how to feed, how to care. He started acting, and after a couple of days, he realized: it wasn’t so scary. He smiled at his daughter:
“We’ll manage!”
Two weeks passed. The mother-in-law did not return. Sasha went to her place—no one was home. Neighbors said she was hospitalized with a heart attack. He wanted to scream: “Why didn’t anyone tell me?!” but remembered—his phone was broken near the cemetery.
He buried Lidiya Mikhailovna next to Lena. Sat by the grave:
“Thank you for standing on your feet and bringing me back to life. I promise—for Sonya’s sake, I’ll do everything. She will be happy.”
In seven years, he turned a small company into a large corporation. Now he was among the country’s most successful entrepreneurs.
At the office, Rita greeted him—his right hand, Lena’s former friend, Sonya’s godmother.
“Sasha, I ordered a ticket for your fiancée. The plane leaves the first at 5 p.m.”
“Great, thanks.”
“How did Sonya take the news?”
Alexander tensed slightly:
“Why do you ask?”
Rita sighed:
“Just curious…”
She was about to leave, and Sasha realized he was too abrupt:
“Sorry. She took it fine. She even seemed happy.”
Rita smiled:
“Sonya is smart. I hope they’ll get along.”
It seemed there was sadness in her voice, but maybe he just imagined it.
In the evening, Alice called. After usual greetings, she asked:
“Sasha, where does your daughter study?”
“Where else? At the lyceum.”
“Have you thought that the child needs a good education? Maybe send her to study abroad?”
“Alice, let’s agree once and for all—I don’t want to hear such words again.”
Silence hung on the other end. Then Alice’s voice softened:
“Sorry. I just wanted the best. Thought about the girl’s future.”
Sasha felt irritated. Today everyone worried about Sonya as if he couldn’t provide everything she needed.
He noticed Sonya had been studying hard for a month: flipping through books, listening to something in headphones. He realized—she was learning French. He smiled to himself: Alice would appreciate it. But he said nothing to his fiancée—it was Sonya’s surprise! Although Alice spoke Russian fluently, she had lived abroad all her life. Her parents moved there when she was only two.
In fact, that was almost all Alexander knew about his fiancée. Well, also that she owned a small chain of shoe stores currently struggling. Of course, he would help—invest as much as needed. But after the wedding. Or maybe suggest closing those stores and opening new ones here in Russia. After all, they would live together now.
Sonya insisted that Alice come to meet together with Dad. Alice didn’t forget the girl—she brought her a set of children’s French perfumes. Sonya was delighted. Alexander relaxed a bit: looks like everything would work out well.
But from the very beginning of their acquaintance, doubts plagued him: how would they get along? The thing was, Alice seemed not to like children much. He heard it from her herself when she talked to a friend. The friend invited her somewhere, and Alice asked if there would be children. Learning there would be, she refused.
When she hung up, Sasha cautiously asked:
“You don’t like children much?”
Alice shrugged:
“Not that I love them. More indifferent. I prefer to avoid them.”
They met a few days ago and only then left the hotel for dinner for the first time.
“Why do you ask?”
“Just curious. I have a daughter.”
Alice frowned slightly:
“Maybe you also have a wife?”
Sasha sighed:
“No. No wife. She died many years ago.”
Alice immediately put her hand on his:
“Sorry… I didn’t know…”
There was genuine warmth in her voice, and Sasha just nodded. “At least honest,” he thought. “Speaks straight.”
However, Alice quickly entered his life, filling it completely. In a couple of weeks, he could no longer imagine how he lived without her before. Beautiful, smart, perfect—it seemed everything about her was just right.
At home, a festive table awaited them. Alice raised her eyebrows in surprise:
“Aren’t we going to a restaurant?”
Sasha smirked:
“No restaurant in the world can compare with our homemade pies! We’ll go later, but today—a family evening. Just you, me, and Sonya.”
Alice smiled:
“You’re right. And I’m tired today. Home is better.”
In the morning, Alexander left for work. Sonya was preparing for something—repeating words again. Alice came out to the living room, speaking on the phone in French. She clearly thought no one understood her.
Hearing fragments of the conversation, Sonya immediately turned away and buried herself in a book. Actually, she was intensely translating, trying to figure out what it was about. When Alice disappeared into the bedroom, the girl ran to herself.
“Rita! I need help!”
“What happened, Sonya?”
“Come pick me up and take me to Dad. But don’t let him know beforehand! I need to talk to him urgently.”
“What’s happened?”
“Please, Rita, come!”
Fifteen minutes later, Sonya was already in the car. She was writing something in a notebook, checking something on the phone.
“Sonya, who hurt you?”
The girl looked at her godmother with wide-open eyes:
“No one hurt me. But they’re going to deceive Dad!”
Sasha was shocked to see Sonya and Rita in his office.
“Are you serious?! What are you doing here? How did you get here? What’s going on, Rita?!”
Rita replied firmly:
“Be angry later. Listen to your daughter now. And don’t act like a TV hero who thinks kids are always wrong.”
Sasha froze. He didn’t expect such a tone from Rita. And Sonya kept writing.
“Here! Done!”
“Done what?!”
“Translation! I heard Alice talking on the phone. I understood almost everything. Only a few words I didn’t know.”
Sasha took the paper:
“And which ones?”
“This means ‘weak poison,’ and this—‘small.’ About me…”
Alexander went cold. He looked at his daughter:
“Tell me everything!”
He paced the office, not believing his ears. Alice was married?! She spoke to her husband, who urged her to make Sasha sign papers for financial help for her business sooner. And she wasn’t going to marry him—because she was already married!
A security check confirmed everything. Alice had a second husband. From her first marriage—two children living with their father. And Alice didn’t even visit them. There were large gambling debts. To pay them off, she needed all of Alexander’s money.
Sasha slammed his fist on the table:
“Bitch! I’ll kill her!”
A week later, he and Sonya sat at home. He sent Alice away the same day, briefly saying: “If you don’t leave—I’ll deal with it.” She realized what was what and disappeared.
“Dad?”
“What, sweetheart?”
“Did you forget something?”
Sasha furrowed his brow:
“What else?”
And then it dawned on him—it was Sonya’s birthday today!
At that moment, the doorbell rang. Behind it stood a huge pink teddy bear, and behind it—Rita with gifts.
Sasha whispered:
“Rita… I completely forgot…”
She answered silently with her lips:
“I guessed. Let’s say it was planned that way.”
Sonya was thrilled. She twirled slowly with the bear—this was the first time in her life a life-size doll came to her! And what wonderful gifts her dad and godmother gave her!
Before going to sleep, the girl whispered:
“How wonderful it would be if Rita lived with us…”
Sasha looked at his daughter in surprise, then looked at Rita for a long time. And couldn’t hold back:
“Rita, why aren’t you married?”
She blushed:
“That’s not important. Better I’ll go.”
He stepped closer, took her by the chin:
“Wait. This isn’t what I think, right? Am I really such an idiot?”
Rita sighed:
“You can stay that way…”
And Sonya was already asleep, unaware that her random wish would come true in six months.
