Vera looked at Alexei in confusion.
“Lyosha, you do realize you’re making a mistake, right?”
Alexei waved his hand, showing his irritation.
“Let’s skip the drama. I’m tired of your perpetually dissatisfied expression. It’s always the same. Milana is completely different. She’s like a breath of fresh air for me. And you… I’m still too kind to you, giving you time to pack your things and find yourself a place to live. You do realize you have no right to demand anything? You’ve never worked, so don’t expect any of my money.”
“Lyosha, but you’re the one who wouldn’t let me work. You said that for a wife of someone like you, working was out of the question.”
“Yes, I said that because back then you were my wife. But now Milana will take your place, so you’ll have the chance to earn a living on your own.”
Vera remembered all these words as she stood in the cemetery in front of a fresh grave. Alexei’s happiness with his new wife was short-lived—only three years. And Vera knew for sure: he had been unhappy during the last year. Alexei’s illness also left many questions unanswered.
She knew that Alexei suspected Milana of adding something to his food or drinks. He even started his own investigation and told Vera about it, but he never got to finish it…
A month before his death, he came to Vera, apologizing. He shared details of his life, looking unwell, and Vera’s heart ached seeing his suffering. Now she shifted her gaze to the mourning widow—elegantly dressed Milana with a dark veil over her face and a young man supporting her by the arm.
Vera heard the whispers of those at the funeral, condemning Milana for her lack of conscience. Vera understood—the investigation needed to continue. Although Alexei had betrayed her, she still loved him. Yes, he had behaved despicably, but he did not deserve death. Vera sighed and headed towards the cemetery gate. Someone touched her shoulder. She turned around and saw Milana.
“I hope you realize you won’t get anything from my husband’s will,” she said coldly.
Her face was filled with malice, although Vera had given no reason to think otherwise. They stood in silence for a moment, like two adversaries ready to fight. Then Vera turned and continued on her way, hearing Milana hiss through her teeth:
“Don’t even dare try to achieve anything!”
Alexei was treated in a clinic chosen by Milana, but Vera knew that wasn’t all. It turned out, Alexei had secretly been seen elsewhere, which almost no one knew about. Everything was shrouded in secrecy, and it seemed he realized that it should not be disclosed.
“Hello? Vera Nikolaevna, you need to be present at the reading of the will.”
“The will?” Vera smiled bitterly. “Did my ex leave me something?”
“Sorry, Vera Nikolaevna, but I can’t discuss this over the phone. Can you come in?”
“Yes, of course, I’ll come,” she replied.
Vera smiled to herself: she didn’t need his money, but she really wanted to see Milana’s reaction at the reading of the will.
Milana was in a great mood. Beside her was the same young man, smugly looking at Vera and smirking. As Vera had expected, all the property, including real estate, had gone to Milana. However, at the end, the notary announced that there was one more item—a house located in a remote village, a hundred kilometers from the city.
Milana burst out laughing:
“To the old wife—the old junk. But don’t worry, Verotchka, I won’t take that shack from you. After all, you have nowhere to live, since you rent. Now you have your own ‘apartments’!”
Vera didn’t respond, silently took the documents, and left the office. “Well, this looks like the start of a little adventure,” she thought. Getting into her car, she looked at the address again.
“I have a day off, might as well take a look,” Vera decided, especially since she didn’t even know Alexei had a house in such a backwater.
The drive took nearly three hours, she got lost twice, and even started to get annoyed:
“How can you mark the road so poorly? No signs, just turns.”
Finally, she saw the sign she needed:
“Finally!”
The village was odd. Just a few kilometers back, there was something resembling civilization, but here were old wooden houses, most of them abandoned. “I wonder which house is now mine?” Vera thought, checking the photo. The house was at the very end of the village. She sighed—there was no road in the village, just trampled grass and car tracks.
She slowly drove over the grass, her small car snagging on bumps and roots. Stopping at the house, Vera didn’t immediately get out, looking around. The house seemed abandoned, except for a path leading to the porch. The grass was trampled as if people regularly walked here, and there were tire marks at the gates—cars sometimes came here.
“Did Lyosha leave me a house with tenants?” she thought. Decisively turning off the car, Vera got out and approached the gate, which emitted a piercing creak. The unexpected sound even made her flinch. She stepped onto the porch. The door was unlocked, which made her smirk:
Of course, it’s a village. The house seemed empty, so locals come in and take whatever isn’t nailed down.
“The door’s unlocked. They took everything they could,” Vera muttered to herself.
She pulled the door and entered the house. And then she was overwhelmed by surprise—the room smelled of freshly brewed coffee, though such a scent in an abandoned house seemed impossible. She looked around: inside it was clean and cozy, a laptop sat on the table, the house was clearly inhabited.
“Don’t be afraid,” a familiar voice said.
Vera turned sharply and… everything went dark before her eyes.
“Vera, wake up! Please forgive me for frightening you like this, but I had no other choice.”
She opened her eyes with difficulty. In front of her sat Alexei, and Vera herself was lying on the couch. She raised her hand, touched him—alive, warm. And he looked much better than during their last meeting.
“Lyosha… am I dead?” she managed to say.
He smiled:
“Of course, not. No one is dead.”
“Then who did we bury?” she asked, shocked.
Alexei shrugged:
“A mannequin. Very expensive and meticulously made.”
Vera shook her head:
“I don’t understand. What’s going on here?”
Alexei leaned back in his chair and began to explain. Vera already guessed much. Milana’s lover had interned in India, and, in Alexei’s opinion, that’s where he had brought back a slow poison, with which the doctor chosen by Milana was gradually poisoning him.
At first, Alexei couldn’t imagine anything was wrong. Suspicions that his wife was poisoning him came later, when most of his property had already been transferred to Milana.
“You see, I had to do something to stop this. I discussed everything with Mishka. You remember, he has a clinic on Vasilyevsky? So we decided I needed to ‘die.’ There was a risk that at any moment Milana would decide to use the last dose of poison. Basically, everything worked out. There are a few nuances left. I realize I hurt you very much and don’t deserve your help, but you’re the only one who can help me.”
They talked until late at night. Alexei detailed his plan, and Vera immediately agreed. How could she refuse when her living husband, whom she mourned almost every night, sat in front of her?
They spent that night together. Vera approached her husband, and he silently buried his nose in her hair. The only thing he said:
“Sorry.”
In the morning, Alexei was preparing to leave. Holding his hand, she quietly said:
“I forgive you.”
Vera looked with a slight smirk at Milana, whose face turned red with rage:
“What new will? This is absurd! What gifts? Everything you’re listing already belongs to me!”
“There’s suspicion that Alexei was given some kind of drugs. How else to explain that he transferred property to you that had already been gifted?” Vera calmly said.
Milana jumped up:
“What nonsense? What drugs? All this is mine, and I’m going to sell it all tomorrow!”
The notary coughed:
“Sorry, but the sale will have to be postponed. All this requires careful investigation, and at the moment all documentation is frozen.”
Milana glared at Vera:
“You’ll pay dearly for this, and very soon!” she hissed, grabbing her lover by the hand and suggesting:
“Shall we talk?”
“Of course, let’s talk,” Vera calmly replied.
Milana smirked:
“Think I’ll give you anything? You’re gravely mistaken. I didn’t spend so much time on your Alexei for nothing. You’ll end up where he is.”
Vera, smirking, replied:
“Are you going to slowly poison me, like him?”
Milana looked at her with interest:
“You’re smarter than I thought. Yes, I poisoned Alexei slowly, to get as much as possible. But you, I don’t need. The faster you die, the better. There are poisons in India that act instantly and leave no traces in the body. Our doctors will never detect them.”
She laughed loudly, but suddenly Alexei appeared in the room. Just as Milana’s lover almost reached Vera, Alexei struck him, knocking him out. Milana screamed in horror, seeing whom she thought was dead, and tried to run away. But she was immediately grabbed by people in uniform.
Vera shivered slightly, and Alexei took her hand:
“Thank you. But now we have one more unfinished business.”
They went back to the notary again. Judging by his reaction, he was aware of all the events, as he was not at all surprised. Alexei transferred half of the property he had to Vera, then stood up and quietly said:
“Forgive me. It’s the least I could do for you. I guess I’ll go to the village. I don’t want to be in your sight.”
Vera aimlessly wandered around the apartment. “But why?” she thought. It seemed she should be happy: Alexei was alive, she was now very well-off and, most importantly, an independent woman. But a void remained in her soul. Something was wrong. And suddenly she realized: she needed Alexei, her Lyosha. Even if it brought pain, she still loved him.
Vera rushed out of the house, got into the car, and sped away. Now she knew exactly what she needed to do. Driving into the village, she noticed that lights were starting to come on in the houses. She stopped at a small rise, caught her breath. She saw the light come on in Alexei’s house and smiled:
“Good. Everything is going as it should.”
A few minutes later, she parked at the gate, turned off the engine, and got out. Her movements were mechanical, as if she was operating on autopilot. Suddenly a thought occurred to her:
“What if he doesn’t need me? What if he doesn’t love me?”
But she immediately decided that everything would become clear now. Opening the gate, she saw him—Alexei was already coming down the steps to meet her. He approached and looked at her attentively.
“Are you sure? I hurt you deeply. Such things aren’t forgiven.”
“You’re right, they aren’t forgiven,” Vera replied. “But I’m willing to try.”
Alexei hugged her tightly and sighed softly:
“Maybe I had to go through all this to realize how much I need you. To understand that we are one whole. If you can forgive me, I promise I’ll never let you down again.”
Vera also sighed:
“Lyosha, let’s try to forget all this. As if it never happened. We’re only 40 years old, we have a chance to start over.”
Three months later, Milana and her lover were tried. Vera couldn’t attend—she felt unwell. Alexei was very anxious and, as soon as they began to announce the verdict, rushed home. Vera met him with a new, glowing smile.
“Vera, how are you?”
“Not ‘you,’ but ‘we,'” she replied with a mysterious smile.
“We? What are you talking about? Did someone come?”
“Not yet, but in about seven months they will.”
Alexei looked at her for a long time, then, stunned, asked:
“Is this a joke?”
“No, this is serious.”
Alexei, disbelieving his luck, lifted her in his arms and spun her in the air as if she were the lightest feather. Finally, putting her down, he said:
“You know, every day with you brings me more happiness. I thought it was impossible to be happier. But now I realize I was wrong.