Irina’s husband left early in the morning on a business trip. This time, it was just for a couple of days, but Irina couldn’t shake off her gloomy mood. After work, she came home, threw her bag onto the kitchen table, and opened the fridge. Cooking for herself was the last thing she wanted to do, but sitting in silence was even worse. That’s when she thought of Katya. They’d been friends for years, though lately, they rarely saw each other—something always seemed to get in the way. But tonight felt like the perfect opportunity to catch up.
Irina grabbed her phone and dialed her friend’s number.
“Hi, Ir…” Katya’s voice sounded so tired.
“Are you busy tonight?” Irina blurted cheerfully. “Come over! Igor’s away on business. We can drink some wine and chat!”
Katya was silent, and Irina thought she heard a sigh on the other end.
“Oh, Irina, I can’t. I’m sick!” Katya finally broke the silence.
“Is it bad?”
“No, not really. I think it’s just a cold. My throat hurts, my whole body feels weak, so I just want to stay in bed tonight.”
Irina hung up and drifted into her thoughts. She realized this had happened before. Not just once, either. Back in the spring, when Igor went away to a conference, Irina tried to meet up with Katya then too. Katya said she had urgent work and would be at the office late. Another time, when her husband visited his parents for the weekend, Katya claimed a relative had arrived so they couldn’t meet up again.
Irina frowned. It was starting to seem like a strange pattern. She even went through their messages from the past few months. Katya seemed to avoid meeting up every time.
“Come on, this is just silly…” Irina muttered, setting her phone aside.
She knew adults have plenty of their own things going on, and she truly understood that. But her mood had already soured.
Irina walked over to the window. She gazed outside, watching people returning home. Lights flickered on in other apartment windows, families were having dinner, and suddenly, she felt just how empty and lonely her own place was this evening.
“Looks like it’s going to be a fantastic evening…” she smirked.
She could have put on a movie, ordered in, or gone to relax in the bath. But she was too miserable. Irina grabbed her phone, checked her messages out of habit, then put it back. Her husband hadn’t texted either.
She stood for a while in the middle of the kitchen, then sighed heavily. There was nothing to do. She’d just have to spend the evening alone.
***
A week later, Irina finally managed to catch Katya. She called her several times, suggesting they meet, and Katya finally said yes.
They met at a small restaurant near Katya’s work. Irina immediately noticed something was off. Katya looked pale and tired—and she hadn’t even touched her food.
“Are you sure you’re better?” Irina asked.
“Yeah…” Katya replied slowly.
“You don’t look it. You seem exhausted.”
Katya just shrugged and sipped her water.
“It’s just work. Too much of it.”
“Katya, I’ve known you forever. Why are you lying to me?!”
Katya waved her off, staring down at the table. Irina didn’t like any of this, and she was determined to get to the truth.
“I’m starting to think I did something to upset you.”
“It’s not your fault…” Katya went completely pale.
“Then tell me what’s going on…”
Her friend looked up and met Irina’s eyes with a deep look of shame.
“I’m pregnant, eight weeks already…”
Irina froze for a moment, then her face broke into a wide smile.
“Are you serious?! Katya! Oh my gosh, finally! I was imagining all sorts of crazy things over here!”
She reached across the table and squeezed her friend’s hand.
“Congratulations! Why didn’t you tell me sooner?!”
But Katya didn’t smile back. Irina noticed, and gradually her own smile began to fade too.
“There’s nothing to congratulate me for. The baby’s father doesn’t want it…” Katya replied quietly.
“What do you mean, he doesn’t want it?”
“Exactly that. He said he doesn’t want a baby.”
Irina frowned deeply.
“Hold on. What about you?” She searched her friend’s face.
“I’m scared I won’t be able to do it alone. I honestly can’t imagine being a single mom…”
“Maybe he’ll change his mind?” Irina tried to reassure her.
Katya shuddered and shook her head. Irina decided not to push her anymore, but instead of asking about this man, she felt it was more important to make sure Katya was healthy.
***
Irina was just about to turn off her work computer when the phone rang. The number was unfamiliar. She answered, and a woman introduced herself as a nurse from the ER. She explained that Igor, Irina’s husband, had been in an accident.
“Please, try to stay calm. There’s no threat to his life. He has a concussion and some bruises. The doctors checked him over. He doesn’t need to be hospitalized, but he shouldn’t be going home alone. Could you come pick him up?”
“Yes, of course. Please give me the address!”
Irina got to the hospital as quickly as she could. She quickly found the right department and practically ran down the hallway. Suddenly, she saw someone there who absolutely shouldn’t have been there.
Sitting on the bench outside the doctor’s office was Katya.
“What are you doing here?”
“I…” Katya went pale and didn’t know what to say.
Irina moved closer.
“How did you find out about Igor?”
Katya didn’t answer. And then Irina noticed a fresh scrape cutting across Katya’s forehead. Instantly, everything clicked—the whole picture snapped together in Irina’s mind.
“You were in the car with him?”
“Irina…”
“You were in the car with him?!”
Katya shamefully lowered her gaze, and that was answer enough. No more explanations were needed.
On the way home, Irina and Igor rode in silence. Back in their apartment, Irina coldly asked her husband:
“How long?”
“Irina…” But she cut him off.
“I asked you: how long?”
Igor sat down on a chair and buried his head in his hands.
“About a year.”
Irina let out a weird, nervous laugh.
“I wanted to end it…”
Irina suddenly remembered her conversation with Katya at the restaurant, and that, in fact, her friend was pregnant.
“Is the baby yours?”
Igor closed his eyes and nodded.
“She told me the father didn’t want the baby…” Irina said quietly.
“I couldn’t destroy our family.”
At that, Irina burst out laughing.
“You spent a year having an affair with my best friend, got her pregnant, and you’re talking about family?!
Igor jumped up, trying to hug his wife, grabbing her hands, but she wouldn’t let him. She felt repulsed by his touch. Suddenly, a strange strength surged within her, and she pushed her husband away, forgetting all about his concussion.
“Pack your things! And get out! Get out of my house!”
Her husband tried to talk to her, but she stood her ground. Inside, pain and resentment boiled, and she couldn’t do anything about it. Irina couldn’t bear to see the face of the man she once loved. In the end, she gathered some of his belongings and simply threw them out onto the staircase. Igor had no choice but to surrender.
***
Two days later, the doorbell rang. Irina peeked through the peephole and saw Katya. She couldn’t talk to her right now, so she quietly stepped aside and sat on a stool. Katya kept ringing the doorbell.
“Ira, I know you’re home!”
Irina stayed silent, but tears betrayed her, streaming down her face.
“Please. I need to talk to you…” Katya pleaded.
Sobs choked Irina’s chest.
“There’s nothing to talk about!” she shouted. “Leave!”
Suddenly, it was quiet behind the door. Irina stood up and quietly looked through the peephole. Ekaterina was standing with her back against the wall, crying too.
“I understand you hate me…” Katya said softly.
Irina didn’t respond. She had no desire to comfort someone who had deceived her for a year and betrayed her so deeply.
Then Katya said:
“I… I… There won’t be a baby!”
Irina closed her eyes. In that moment, the pain was overwhelming, as if she herself had committed that terrible mistake, as if she had lost the child she could have loved so much. Irina was silent for several seconds.
“Well, too bad!” she yelled out in anger and condemnation.
She went into her bedroom and slammed the door. She didn’t want to hear Katya’s sobbing anymore. She just wanted to hide away from all this filth and betrayal.
Igor and Irina divorced quite quickly. She didn’t even attend court to avoid seeing his face, leaving everything to the lawyer. She tried to rebuild her life brick by brick, but it wasn’t easy. She visited a psychologist, tried to meet new people, and started a renovation at home to change the environment, so nothing would remind her of her husband. Then her birthday came. She decided to go to a restaurant with colleagues, where she unexpectedly ran into her ex-husband.
Igor was sitting at a table with a stunning blonde, who was cozied up to him while he stroked her hands. Then Igor spotted Irina. As she left the restaurant, he approached her, wished her a happy birthday, and started making excuses. But Irina wasn’t interested in any of it.
“You have the right to do whatever you want. You’re a free man now.”
Igor even brightened, realizing she held no grudge. But Irina added:
“I only feel sorry for Katya, that she wasted her time on someone like you…”
Those were the last words she ever said to her ex-husband. Their paths never crossed again.