Lera pressed herself tightly against the wall and tried to breathe as quietly as possible. The nurses were talking about her — who else could they speak about so loudly and without fear of being overheard? Naturally, someone who would never respond, never defend herself, never stand up for herself.
“I heard some girl came for internship in the ENT department. Incredible! I wonder how Valeriya feels now, knowing that her husband is cheating on her right where she works?”
“She doesn’t have her own opinion at all. And even if she did, no one would care.”
Lera closed her eyes. If it had been someone else in her place, those gossipers would surely have gotten what they deserved. But she was just not that kind of person — she couldn’t answer back, she lacked strength, determination, confidence.
Since childhood, she had been constantly reminded: she was born by accident. Her parents wanted a son. Even among relatives, there were whispers that her father tried to convince her mother to leave the newborn girl at the maternity hospital. Whether it was true or not, Lera never found out, but never dared to ask.
At home, no one ever cared about her opinion. She wore what was bought for her, ate what others liked, received gifts she didn’t want. Even before school, she had a clear idea: she was worse than others, dumber, nobody cared about her.
She liked studying. Since first grade, Lera had straight A’s. But in high school, when her father glanced at her report card, he threw out:
“Why bother? Nothing good will come out of you anyway.”
Her desire to study well vanished, but she continued out of inertia. In her final year, she tried to ask her parents about applying to university. They replied:
“Apply wherever you want, but don’t expect any help from us. Nothing will come of you anyway. Every profession requires character, and you have none.”
Still, Lera enrolled in medical university. There she met Sasha. She fell in love like never before. When he proposed, she proudly introduced him to her parents.
That night, after their meeting, she accidentally overheard her parents’ conversation:
“What do you think of Lera’s fiancé?”
“It’s clear he loves her. For her, he’s a convenient option. Maybe it’s good — otherwise, she would never get married, just haunt us like a pale shadow her whole life.”
Lera buried her head in the pillow and cried for a long time. By morning she calmed down and convinced herself: her parents just didn’t understand, they couldn’t see the real love between them.
From the start, she realized she had made a mistake about Sasha. He paid less attention to her than she wanted. But she found an excuse: he had a lot of work.
After university and residency, Sasha stayed at a large clinic. Three years later, he was appointed head of a department. Lera also got a job at the same hospital, though in a different department. She was a good doctor, loved her work, but there was no talk of promotion — nobody noticed her.
Nurses had to repeat assignments several times — no one listened to her; everyone was busy with their own things.
The nurses’ voices grew quieter and faded away. Lera cautiously started breathing again. How painful, how shameful! Although maybe deserved. She understood perfectly well that her husband was cheating on her, that it was wrong, that she should resist. But she didn’t know how otherwise — all her life she had only obeyed.
She did her duties, did the housework. She did everything carefully, so no one could blame her, so she wouldn’t become a target of attention. At meetings, she sat in the farthest corner and was glad when their department wasn’t even mentioned.
Valeriya Pavlovna looked into the empty corridor. Only a couple of hours left and the shift would be over. Tomorrow vacation would start. Of course, she wasn’t going anywhere — she would stay home, avoiding going outside as much as possible.
A fleeting thought to visit her parents crossed her mind, but she immediately remembered the last visit. Her father, looking over his glasses, asked:
“When will there be grandchildren?”
And answered himself:
“A girl like you wouldn’t be able to give birth anyway.”
She immediately understood: that was the last place she wanted to go.
“Valeriya Pavlovna, you’re urgently requested in the emergency room!”
Ten minutes before the end of the workday. She sighed and hurried. The head of the department was already waiting.
“Valeriya, I want you to see a patient. I’m completely confused — the symptoms look like poisoning, but something’s wrong.”
The girl was very young, semi-conscious. Her mother was crying outside the door, her father sitting nearby looking grim.
Four hours passed waiting for test results, figuring out how the substance got into the stomach, while the girl explained that friends had given her a new drink, while the police were called.
Valeriya Pavlovna stepped outside near midnight. She checked her phone — no missed calls from her husband. Either he didn’t care where she was, or he hadn’t come home yet. Both equally unpleasant.
Lera stepped off the porch and headed toward the road. The street was empty and icy cold pierced through her. She looked around and made a decision — she wouldn’t call a taxi, she would walk. On such a frosty night, hardly any hooligans would dare to come outside.
She walked slowly down the narrow street. Not a single person met her the whole way, only a few cars passed by. Her thoughts were tangled: why had her life turned out this way? Her parents never loved her, her husband didn’t appreciate her either.
She remembered the girl they barely saved from death today — her parents adored her. The mother even tried to kiss Lera’s hands. But she and Sasha had no children — her husband said it would be unnecessary for now. But when will it be necessary? She was already thirty-five.
Valeriya stopped. From afar came a strange sound — like a grunt or a faint squeak. She looked around scared — no one there. The sound seemed to come from the bushes. Could it be an animal? Maybe a puppy or a kitten? It would freeze in this frost!
She stepped toward the bushes but hesitated. What would her husband say if she brought home some animal? He definitely wouldn’t approve. But how could she just leave it there?
Lera decisively went behind the bushes and shouted loudly. There was a regular baby stroller — not the most expensive, but decent and neat. And inside, someone was groaning and squeaking.
She came closer, looked inside, and froze. A real living baby was lying in the stroller!
She quickly picked up the baby. The child cried, but the voice was barely audible — apparently had been crying for a long time. She ran out from behind the bushes and looked around — where was the mother? The street was completely empty.
Valeriya thought for a second. The house was very close — literally a few meters away. She quickly returned to the stroller — there was a small bag at the feet. Surely it had a bottle or some things.
There was no time to think. Holding the baby with one hand, she grabbed the bag with the other and ran home.
It was a girl, about two months old. Small, pretty, very cold. It took almost an hour to warm her up, feed her, wash her, and wrap her in a warm blanket.
That moment marked the beginning of all the following events.
Taking the phone, Lera wondered who to call now. In her mind was the woman who came for the child. The police had already found the stroller and a letter from the mother saying the newborn was disturbing her life.
“To the hospital. Where else? You understand how dangerous hypothermia is. She must be hospitalized.”
“And the documents?”
The woman took off her glasses and looked carefully at Valeriya:
“Calm down, you did well saving the baby from certain death. But you don’t need to worry further. Now the girl will go to an orphanage, and new parents will be found. She’s no longer needed by her original parents.
My advice is to take a sedative and get some rest.”
“And which hospital will you take her to?”
“To the children’s hospital on Petrovskaya. They accept all abandoned children there.”
Valeriya stood by the window and looked at the yard. She didn’t want to sleep at all. Her thoughts scrambled chaotically — from the little girl to her husband, from him to work, from work to her parents.
Around four in the morning, the sound of a key in the lock was heard. Lera went into the hallway. Her husband clearly did not expect to see her, he was a bit flustered but quickly composed himself:
“You’re not asleep?”
“Where have you been?”
Alexander was stunned. This was the first time his wife asked him such questions and in that tone.
“With friends. Do I have to report to you?”
“Friends — is that the intern from the ENT department?”
Sasha looked noticeably embarrassed:
“Don’t talk nonsense, go to sleep.”
Lera silently watched him undress and disappear into the bedroom. He smelled faintly of female perfume.
She closed her eyes. She felt like an amoeba — shapeless, powerless.
She made a bed for herself in the living room, didn’t even go to the bedroom. In the morning, when she started to make coffee, Sasha came into the kitchen:
“Did you sleep in the living room last night?”
“Yes.”
He looked around the table, saw nothing:
“And where’s breakfast?”
Lera put down the cup, didn’t even wash it, and headed for the door:
“Make it yourself, I don’t have time today.”
“Valeriya! Come back immediately!”
She slowly returned, looked straight into her husband’s eyes and quietly said:
“Don’t you dare yell at me. I don’t deserve it.”
Sasha left the house irritated.
“Sonya is much better now, she’s sleeping. The worst is behind,” the doctor smiled, watching Valeriya, who had barely left the baby’s cradle for the past three days.
“Yes, sure. But can she stay here?”
The doctor gently replied:
“Come with me. I live nearby. Probably don’t want to go home?”
“No, I don’t.”
They found themselves in the neighbor’s cozy kitchen, drinking tea and talking. Mostly Lera spoke, and Natalya Nikolaevna mostly listened.
“This turned out to be a very difficult story. What do you plan to do now?”
Lera looked at the woman questioningly:
“I don’t know. Honestly, I can’t imagine.”
“Valeriya, your main problem is that all your life you’ve lived not your own life. First, you depended on your parents, then on your husband. You were comfortable with this situation because you changed nothing. And now you are at a crossroads — either change your life drastically and start living independently, or go back to your refuge and continue existing without decisions.”
“Maybe you’re right. But it’s scary. I don’t know what to do.”
“That choice is only yours. No one can decide for you.”
They made a bed for Lera on a small sofa. She plugged in the charger and turned on the phone. One message after another from her husband — first questions, then apologies, and finally threats that he would leave.
Reading the last message where Sasha called her an “amoeba” and said she should be grateful he married her at all, Lera smiled:
“Thank you, Sasha. Now I know exactly what to do.”
Three years passed.
“Sonya! Where are you running? There’s a puddle!”
The girl laughed joyfully:
“A puddle! Come with me!”
Lera hesitated a bit, then smiled too:
“We’ll go around.”
Together they still jumped into the puddle, splashing water. Sonya laughed so loudly that Lera couldn’t hold back laughter either.
“Valeriya?”
She slowly turned. Sasha was standing before her.
“Hello.”
They hadn’t seen each other since the divorce. Back then he was shocked and kept saying Lera had gone crazy.
The ex-husband had lost weight. He wore a coat they bought together when they were a family.
“How are you?”
Lera smiled broadly:
“Everything’s great.”
Sasha doubted it. During the divorce, Lera gave up all the property, so it was hard to believe she could have good living conditions.
“Mom! Mom! Grandpa! Grandpa’s mom!”
Sasha almost fainted. He looked toward where the girl pointed and was completely confused. There was Lera’s father, who used to treat her with indifference and even disdain.
The man picked up his granddaughter, kissed Lera, and looked at Sasha:
“And what are you doing here?”
“Just passing by.”
“Then go with God.”
Turning to his daughter, he said:
“Let’s go, daughter. Mom’s already worried, you’re still not back.”
Lera laughed, took her father’s arm, and they walked out of the park without even saying goodbye to the ex-husband.
As she walked, she remembered how three years ago she came to her parents, told them everything that had happened, and asked:
“Dad, Mom, I have no one else to ask for help. If you refuse, I won’t change my mind. I’ll take Sonya and rent an apartment.”
Her father didn’t let her finish:
“No need to rent anything. I’m glad it happened this way. Apparently, you needed this shake-up.”
He looked at his wife and added:
“And so did we. Welcome home. Now you can always count on us.”
Only then did Lera know what real family warmth was. Only then did she understand what it meant to live in love and care.
Her parents apologized many times, but Lera said she was not offended. She went through all this to understand how to live right.