– I knew you would come. This bouquet was always for you, – he said quietly. – It’s just a pity that you came not as a loving wife, but as an investigator.
And there was so much bitterness in his words that Olesya felt her heart squeeze with pain.
The house was quiet.
Nonna put the children to bed and left. Taras silently walked into the living room, Olesya put the bouquet in a vase, not knowing what to say. A tense silence hung between them like fog.
– Taras, – she finally said, gathering her courage.
– I know that I acted stupidly. But it seemed to me…
– That I am like Renat? – he smiled bitterly, not looking at her.
– That ten years of marriage mean nothing?
– No, of course not! — Olesya came closer. — It’s just that lately you’ve always been somewhere, always on your phone…
Taras raised a tired gaze to her.
— I was saving up for a down payment on an apartment.
I took on additional projects, consulted on weekends. And on the phone I was texting realtors, looking at options.
Olesya felt a lump rising in her throat again.
— I didn’t know… You didn’t say anything.
— I wanted to surprise you. I thought you’d be happy.
— What?
The complete lack of attention? After Maya was born, I started to feel insecure anyway. The children, the daily routine, everything is on me.
It seemed to me that I’d let myself go, constantly in home clothes, tired… And it seemed to me that you looked at me differently. And then these eternal additional projects. Sometimes we saw each other for twenty minutes at a time for weeks: you came, drank tea and went to bed.
That’s it! And then Anya with her “Let’s check.” I refused at first, but then you didn’t come home on time even once in a week. What was I supposed to think?
Taras finally turned to her.
“Olesya, this is nonsense.
I look at you the same way I did ten years ago.”
“Really?” she raised her wet eyes to him.
Taras nodded, and at that moment Olesya’s phone rang. Anna. Olesya had hung up.
“Don’t you want to talk to her?” Taras asked.
“Not now,” Olesya shook her head.
“I… I still blame her. If it weren’t for her idea with this stupid test…”
“Don’t blame Anna,” Taras said unexpectedly softly. “The problem wasn’t her.
The problem was your doubts. And my work schedule. I was so carried away by the idea of giving you a surprise that I didn’t even think about how it would look from your side.
Olesya thoughtfully ran her finger along the edge of the vase with flowers, then took out the card and reread it.
“Do you know what struck me most?” she said quietly.
“The fact that you signed this card in preparation for the meeting. You knew that I would come, that I had arranged this stupid test, and you still continued to love me.”
Taras put his arm around her shoulders.
“Do you want to see photos of our potential new apartment?”
Olesya nodded, feeling how the weight of the last few days was finally receding.
Taras took out a tablet and began showing her photos of a spacious, bright apartment. And while they discussed the layout of the rooms and the view from the window, Olesya felt how the warmth between them, which she was afraid of losing forever, was gradually returning.
That evening, Olesya understood a simple truth: true loyalty cannot be tested – it can only be believed in.
