— Are you waiting for someone? — Her voice sounded even, without a trace of excitement.
Taras looked up, and his face showed neither surprise nor confusion. He simply smiled.
— You, of course.
— Me?
— Olesya felt the ground slipping out from under her feet. — Or maybe Zhanna?
— All men are the same, — Anna lowered her voice to a whisper, as if sharing a secret. — Every single one of them!
At some point, they get bored, and they start looking for… new sensations.
— Ulyana caught her Renat with some girl yesterday! Ten years of marriage — and all down the drain! — Anna indignantly put her cup on the table and stared at her friend, waiting for a reaction.
Olesya shook her head.
She loved Anna, but sometimes her friend got too carried away with other people’s problems. Olesya didn’t know Ulyana and Renat very well – they’d met at get-togethers a couple of times.
– Poor Ulyana… And what, did she catch them right in the bedroom? – Olesya stirred her cold tea with a spoon, feeling strangely awkward.
– No!
I saw them by chance in a restaurant. Imagine – walking hand in hand, and this girl is so young! A student, a first-year student, I think, – Anna moved closer.
– Ulyana had suspected something for a long time. It was as if Renat had changed – he started staying late at work, surrounded himself with secrets. And the weekends – always some kind of business meetings!
On Sunday, can you imagine?
Olesya nodded absentmindedly, thinking about her own. Taras also started staying late more often… But he really does have a lot of work. He was recently promoted.
– All men are like that, – Anna lowered her voice again.
– Every single one of them! At some point they get bored and look for… new experiences.
“Don’t talk nonsense,” Olesya objected weakly. “Taras is not like that.”
Anna leaned back in her chair and raised an eyebrow skeptically.
“Really?
Are you sure?”
Olesya felt a wave of irritation rising inside her.
“Absolutely. We’ve been together for ten years. We have two beautiful children.”
“So what?
Ulyana and Renat also have a child. That didn’t stop them.
“Taras loves me,” Olesya said firmly, but somewhere deep in her soul a treacherous shadow of doubt crept in.
Anna grinned, as if she had read her friend’s thoughts.
“Let’s check your husband?” she suggested. “Then you’ll find out if he’s faithful to you!”
– What nonsense?
– Olesya frowned. – I’m not going to spy on my own husband.
– And who’s talking about spying? – Anna leaned forward.
– There’s an easier way. Let’s create a fake account of some hottie, write to him, see how he reacts…
– No! – Olesya decisively pushed the cup away.
– It’s… unfair. And anyway – I trust him.
– Well, well, – Anna nodded indulgently. – Ulyana trusted him too.
The first signs of doubt seeped into Olesya’s consciousness like water through a cracked dam.
Little things she hadn’t paid attention to before suddenly took on an ominous meaning.
Taras really did start staying late at work more often. Sometimes she tried to call him in the evening, but he didn’t pick up. “A meeting,” he would explain briefly later.
Ten years of marriage flew by like one day.
She met Taras at the university – he was studying law, she was studying psychology. She was attracted by his confidence, some kind of inner dignity. He didn’t flirt with her like other guys, but simply invited her to the movies – politely and directly.
Then there were three years of a relationship, and now ten years of living together.
They argued, of course. It was especially hard after Arseniy was born – Olesya couldn’t cope with her new role as a mother, Taras also wasn’t ready for the fact that a child requires so much attention. The second child, Maya, was born when they had already overcome the crisis, learned to be parents… And then it became difficult again.
Now Arseny is five, Maya is three.
The children are wonderful, but there is almost no time left for themselves. And most importantly – time for them with Taras. When was the last time they went somewhere together?
Six months ago? A year?
Olesya often caught herself thinking that she was gradually turning into a wound-up machine that spins between work, washing, cooking and putting the children to bed. And Taras increasingly sits on the phone, answering work emails even on weekends.
And now — the children have finally fallen asleep, and Taras is in the living room, engrossed in his smartphone, typing something.
Olesya came up quietly, but he still heard — and immediately turned off the screen.
“What’s so interesting?” she asked, trying to sound casual.
“Oh, just some work correspondence,” Taras answered, but his eyes avoided her gaze. And Olesya’s heart sank with a bad feeling.
“I still think this is a bad idea,” Olesya nervously bit her lip, watching Anna create a new profile on a social network.
“Relax! We’ll just test his reaction,” her friend waved her hand.
“If he’s loyal to you, he’ll ignore the message or politely refuse.”
“And who are we…” Olesya hesitated, “going to be?”
— I think a young unmarried girl, — Anna filled out the form enthusiastically. — About twenty-five, not too young, but not the same age either. What do you think?
Olesya winced.
— I don’t like this… If I do it, at least do it honestly.
Let her be about the same age as me.
— Boring! — Anna snorted. — Men are attracted to the young… So, a compromise — twenty-seven years old, okay?
Olesya nodded reluctantly.
After all, she was sure of Taras. This idea would simply prove that Anna was wrong.
— Where are we going to get the photos?
— I have an idea, — Anna smiled. — Do you remember Katya?<
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