Pavel and Karina had been dating for several months. When he handed his beloved the keys to his apartment and told her she could come over whenever she wanted, she felt frightened. It was a serious step in their relationship. She suddenly became afraid that something might go wrong. Pavel reassured her and said that one day she would become the mistress of that apartment anyway, because his intentions were serious and he had no plans to break up with the woman he loved.
Karina had no intention of using the keys. She only visited Pavel when he was home, but the simple fact that the key ring was lying in her handbag made her feel happy.
“You silly girl,” her friend laughed one day. “He didn’t give you those keys for nothing. He was hinting that he wants to see you at his place more often, even without warning. Go over there and surprise him. While he’s at work, set the table and arrange a romantic candlelit dinner.”
Karina liked the idea. Why not? She wanted to do something nice for the man she loved. After asking her boss for permission to leave work early, she went to the supermarket near Pavel’s building. She decided to cook his favorite dishes, show off her skills, and surprise him.
After buying everything she needed, she walked toward the right building with a wide smile on her face. Karina did not warn Pavel that she was coming to his apartment. That was the whole point of a surprise. There was no need to tell him in advance.
Opening the door to her fiancé’s apartment with her own key, she stepped inside. But before she could even take off her shoes or take more than a couple of steps, a tousled little boy of about five ran out of the room. He stared at Karina with his huge eyes and looked surprised.
“Are you the delivery lady? Did you bring our groceries?” the boy asked.
“Delivery lady? Groceries?” Karina repeated, thinking that Pavel had never mentioned having any brothers or nephews. Who was this child?
“Mom is in the shower right now, and Dad is at work. You can leave the order and go.”
From the bathroom, the loud sound of running water could indeed be heard. Music was playing too.
Dad?
A sharp pain pierced Karina’s chest. What dad? Why? No… This had to be some kind of mistake. Karina had been to Pavel’s apartment before, and there had never been a single sign of family life there. He couldn’t have been lying to her, could he? Why would he give her keys if there was any chance she might run into… No. The boy definitely couldn’t be his child.
“What’s your dad’s name?” Karina asked carefully.
“Dad Pasha!”
Her heart struck so violently that it felt as if it might break through her ribs. Karina felt sick. She nodded and quietly left the apartment, leaving the bag of groceries on the small ottoman. She did not understand where her feet were carrying her. Only one painful thought pulsed in her head: she had been deceived.
But could something like that really be true? It was cruel. It was wrong. Completely wrong. Why would Pavel give her the keys if there was a chance his family might come there? Her thoughts tangled together, turning into complete chaos. She kept walking, but she could no longer recognize the road in front of her. She did not even remember how she called her friend and asked to meet.
The café where the friends agreed to meet was warm and smelled pleasantly of freshly ground coffee beans. A soft, relaxing melody flowed from the speakers, but it did nothing to calm Karina down. She sat at a table by the window, clutching a mug of cold coffee in both hands without taking a single sip. Inside, there was only emptiness. A huge, heavy emptiness that left no room even for thoughts.
“Karina!” her friend Alina burst into the room, slamming the door without even noticing the annoyed waitress. “You scared me to death! What happened?”
She dropped into the chair opposite Karina and grabbed her icy fingers. Karina raised her clouded, unfocused eyes to her and breathed out:
“He has a son.”
“What?” Alina froze for a second, then exhaled sharply. “A son? Your Pavel?”
“He’s about five,” Karina said, her voice trembling, though there were no tears. “He called Pavel his dad. And he thought I was a delivery woman.”
“Oh my God…” Alina leaned back in her chair, then quickly bent forward again. “And the mother? Did you see his mother?”
“No. She was in the shower.”
“And you didn’t wait?”
Karina slowly shook her head, feeling everything inside her tighten from a fresh wave of pain. It was as if she herself were guilty for not wanting to face that other woman.
“Karina!” Alina almost jumped from her seat. “That was your chance! You could have seen her, talked to her, found out whether she even knows you exist. And you just left? Ran away? Left everything as it was? If he really has been lying to you, then he’s probably been lying to her too. She deserves to know who she’s living with!”
“I couldn’t stay there,” Karina whispered. “I was scared. I was in shock, so I ran away. I don’t even remember leaving the groceries there. I barely remember anything.”
Alina clenched her teeth but said nothing. She pulled herself together and took a breath. Then she asked more quietly, but more firmly:
“Have you called him?”
“No.”
“Why?”
Karina lowered her head. Her shoulders trembled, but still no tears came. The emptiness inside her grew even larger.
“I don’t know what to say to him, Alina. How am I supposed to ask, ‘Pavel, do you by any chance have a wife and child?’ He gave me the keys himself. Himself! Why would he do that if…”
“I don’t know,” Alina said, tapping her fingernail against her cup. “But I know one thing for sure. If he deceived you… If he has a family and was building a serious relationship with you, and on top of that shoved the keys into your hands…” Her voice rang with anger. “This cannot be left like this.”
“What do you want to do?” Karina whispered.
“What?” Her friend smirked bitterly. “Teach him a lesson. One he’ll remember for the rest of his life. So that the next time he wants to play with someone’s heart, his hands will shake from fear. Men like that, Karina, shouldn’t be pitied. They should be punished. Otherwise they’ll keep twisting women around their fingers.”
Karina remained silent. Alina covered her hand with her own.
“But first…” she frowned. “You need to find out the whole truth. What kind of fool would give a woman the keys to his apartment if another woman could suddenly show up there? Your Pasha always seemed like a serious man, so now I want to figure out with you what’s really going on. We’re going there right now. We’ll confront that other woman. Let her tell us who she is and how long she and Pavel have been together. And after that… we’ll decide what to do.”
Karina reluctantly nodded. She did not want to return to that apartment. She did not want to face the little boy who called the man she loved “dad” again. But she needed to learn the truth.
Her phone rang. Karina looked at the screen but did not want to answer.
“Is that him? Your Pasha?” Alina narrowed her eyes.
Karina only nodded.
“Don’t answer yet. First we’ll talk to her and find out who she is, and then we’ll give him a proper beating with words. He’s probably afraid now that she might find out the truth too. That is… if he was cheating. Enough. We’re wasting time, girl. Let’s go!”
This time Karina did not open the door with her key. As soon as they arrived and went up to the right floor, Alina began pounding on the apartment door with her fists. A pretty blonde woman opened it. She looked anxiously at the two friends and stepped aside, gesturing for them to come in.
“Who are you?” Alina asked without greeting her, staring straight at the pale young woman.
“I… I’m sorry. I know what happened while I was in the shower. My son… It isn’t what you thought. Please come into the kitchen. I’ll pour some tea, and we can talk calmly. Please. I’ll explain everything. You must be Karina, Pasha’s fiancée?”
Karina glanced at her friend, who was far too determined and ready to start a battle if necessary.
“Everything is completely different from how it may have looked,” the woman, who introduced herself as Ira, began explaining once Karina and Alina sat down at the kitchen table. “Pasha is actually my second cousin.”
She poured fragrant tea, placed the mugs in front of the guests, and tried to smile.
“And your son calls him dad? Is that supposed to be normal?” Alina snorted, as if she did not believe a single word Ira said.
Karina remained silent the entire time. She simply listened, noticing a certain resemblance between Irina and Pavel.
“I understand how it looks, but Pasha… he is Vanyushka’s godfather. When we were children, Pasha and I spent a lot of time together at our grandmother’s house. He was always like a real brother to me. I wanted him to become my son’s godfather, and he didn’t object. Vanyushka’s biological father abandoned us. Somehow, my son started calling Pavel ‘dad.’ He knows that Pasha is only his godfather… It’s very complicated. Truly. When I came out of the bathroom and my son told me that a delivery person had come, I got so scared that I immediately started calling Pasha. Of all times, something made me go take a shower and turn on music right then. I never imagined anyone would open the apartment door! I was so frightened!”
“So you’re Pavel’s relative?” Karina whispered, feeling a strange aching spark appear in her chest.
“That’s right. Please forgive me for making you worry. Who could have imagined something like this would happen? Pasha is beside himself too! I need to call him and tell him that we’ve cleared everything up!” Irina suddenly remembered.
But she did not manage to make the call, because Pavel burst into the apartment like a hurricane. His frightened eyes were burning. He looked anxiously at Karina but could not find the words. It was obvious that his hands were trembling and that he was feeling terrible after such intense stress.
“We’ve already talked about everything, Pash. Everything is fine. I explained why Vanyushka calls you dad,” Irina hurried to calm her cousin down.
“Maybe we’ve established that you’re supposedly his relative…” Alina interrupted. “But tell me something. Why are you living here?”
Karina flinched and looked at her friend. She had not even thought about that, still caught in her strange emptiness.
“I only came here for one night. My son and I live in a small town. Tomorrow we’re flying to the capital. I asked my cousin if we could spend the night here. Everything simply happened to coincide in the worst possible way, but at least we’ve met now. I’ll be glad if you and my cousin build a serious relationship, and one day invite us to the wedding. Now, if you don’t mind, I’ll go to my son. He got scared too. I scolded him a little for not calling me right away and for talking to strangers alone.”
Irina left. Karina and Pavel looked at each other. After catching his breath, Pavel said he had seen his fiancée’s location, realized she was back at his apartment, and rushed over because she had refused to listen to his explanations over the phone. He had been terrified that something irreversible might happen.
Feeling like a third wheel, Alina apologized. She advised her friend next time not to panic first, but to learn all the details before deciding how to punish the guilty party. Then Alina left.
For some time, Pavel and Karina sat together in the kitchen, holding each other. The awkwardness gradually faded, and Pavel said that from now on, he intended to introduce his fiancée to all his friends and relatives so that a misunderstanding like this would never happen again.
