Dima?» — Natasha saw her boyfriend through the peephole, threw on her robe, and opened the door. «So why did you come?»
«To talk.»
«About what? Are you going to freeze me out again? We’ve already discussed everything,» she took a step back, and Dmitry noticed something interesting in the bedroom: the rumpled sheets, two glasses with unfinished wine, and a bouquet. A bouquet that obviously hadn’t been given by Dima.
«I see you haven’t been wasting time…» he muttered, walking into the bedroom in his shoes.
On the nightstand next to the bed was a plate of strawberries, and it was clear that someone had eaten the berries. And next to the plate, «unobtrusively,» a man’s watch caught the eye. A watch that didn’t belong to Dmitry.
Obviously, there was another man in his apartment, and Natasha didn’t even try to hide it…
Natasha had moved to Moscow with great expectations. The job at the advertising agency, which she had taken initially, brought neither satisfaction nor decent pay, but it was there that she met Dmitry. Tall, self-confident, with a charming smile, a businessman who came to order some advertising.
«I’m opening a new office. I need the most beautiful sign,» he said.
At first, Natasha thought he was just showing off, but later, in conversation with colleagues, she learned that this man was the big boss. He was used to controlling everything himself, «from start to finish.» Even the issue of the sign was personally handled by him.
When the design was ready, Dmitry praised Natasha and invited her to the office opening.
«Look how well your work will look on my building,» he smiled and left.
Natasha didn’t hesitate — she accepted the invitation and charmed Dima not only as a designer but also as a young and attractive woman.
«If they haven’t taken him yet, take the bull by the horns. Men like him don’t stay available for long,» advised Anya, and Natasha followed her friend’s advice.
Dima turned out to be generous.
He immediately made it clear: he liked to take care of her. Within a month, he didn’t just give Natasha gifts; he gave her a card with money.
«So my girlfriend doesn’t have to deny herself anything,» he said.
She didn’t want to leave his apartment for her cramped rented one with «grandmother’s renovations.» She told all her friends this.
«What, can’t you make him offer to move in together?» Anya laughed condescendingly. «You have to teach him everything!»
«Teach me. I’m listening…»
«You take it and tell him that the rent’s gone up. Or better yet, say they’re evicting you because the apartment’s been put up for sale.»
«But that’s not true! What if he sees the ad when I move out?!»
«Pay for two months in advance. What’s his card for?»
«But he saw the transaction.»
«Take out cash! God, you’re so silly, Natasha!»
Anya’s plan worked.
A week later, Natasha came to Dima in tears.
«They’re evicting me… Looks like I’ll have to go back to my hometown, Ustzadryupensk. I won’t find an apartment so quickly. And I don’t have the money for rent, and I’m embarrassed to take yours. I’ve already spent so much… On shoes.» Natasha showed Dima the purchases she had made for a few pennies. Dima didn’t really pay attention and didn’t check the receipts. He fell for the bait about needing to «save» his beloved and handed her a keychain with spare keys.
«Here. You’ll live here.»
«Really?!»
«Really.»
Now Natasha went to work just to show off her new dresses and shoes, not to earn money. Her boss noticed, and soon the question of her dismissal arose.
«Why work yourself to the bone when there’s a man who can provide everything and give it all? Natasha, don’t make me laugh,» her friend said on the phone. «What did you find in advertising? Look at yourself — beautiful, young, living with a successful man. It’s a dream, not life. You’re lucky!»
And Natasha believed that, yes — she was lucky. She posted pictures on social media of huge bouquets that could have decorated an entire wedding, gifts, dinners at restaurants, and sunsets at seas, where they flew just to enjoy life.
Natasha lost many friends. Not everyone could handle such happiness. But she kept bragging about how lucky she was. But her friends noticed more and more that she was just a live-in girlfriend — without rights and guarantees.
«When’s the wedding, Natasha? Watch out, he’ll play around and leave you,» Anya said one day.
«What do you mean, leave? He’s under my thumb. I make him pancakes every morning for breakfast, and I wait for him at home in the evening, dressed to the nines, in heels. Men don’t leave women like that.»
«Yeah? You’re naive, Natasha. Even husbands leave. And you’re not even a wife. Maybe he’s married? Are you sure he doesn’t fly to visit his family for weeks at a time, and not just on business trips?»
«What, should I look at his passport?!»
«Look at it. And his phone. And meet his parents. What are you, a little girl? You can’t keep a man with lace alone. You need a stamp in the passport and a mother-in-law for a best friend.»
Anya’s words firmly planted themselves in Natasha’s mind. That same evening, she began searching for her boyfriend’s passport, and… didn’t find it. He also kept his phone away from her, never letting her touch it. And every time the phone rang, he’d leave the room to talk in his office. Natasha was terrified.
«If he’s acting like this, start acting the same way! Make him jealous,» advised Anya, who knew all the latest news about Natasha. «Show him you’re not sitting by the window. Let him get jealous. Men love to hunt, did you forget? He’s used to you being there, so shake him up!»
And Natasha began the game. As soon as her man left, she posted photos on social media with a glass of wine and ambiguous phrases like «Sometimes everything starts with a random meeting. Thanks for the evening.» Dmitry watched silently, not commenting, but one day, when he saw a message from Anya, whom Natasha had renamed «Vanya,» he asked:
«Do you have someone?»
«What’s it to you?» Natasha deliberately made her voice soft but cold. «I’m not really… a wife. And anyway, I’ve been asking you to introduce me to your parents! But you… You keep ignoring me!»
He didn’t answer. He just left. He said he’d give her time to think about her behavior.
Natasha cried all night, and the next morning, he came with a bouquet and said:
«Let’s go. I want to introduce you to my mom.»
Natasha was overjoyed — it worked! He wasn’t indifferent to her!
However, the meeting with Dima’s mother didn’t go well. The woman didn’t see Natasha as a potential daughter-in-law. They had a polite breakfast at a restaurant and parted ways. No matter how much Natasha tried, nothing more than polite phrases came from the potential mother-in-law.
After the introduction, Natasha redoubled her efforts with hints about marriage.
«Natasha, I’m not ready for marriage, can’t you see? We’ve only been dating for a year! I’m 32, I want to stay single for a little longer,» Dima said.
«How long is ‘a little’? Ten years?!»
«No, at least a year or two… At 35, I’ll probably decide. Don’t pressure me.»
«Fine! If that’s the case, you’ll sleep on the couch for the next three years. For now, go to the couch.»
Natasha stopped meeting her dream man in aprons and high heels. She stopped being the perfect woman, almost a wife. Dima tolerated it, but in the end, he said he wanted to clarify their relationship.
«We’re either together, or we’re not,» he said.
«Agreed. Either we get married, or I’m free.»
Natasha went to the bedroom. Dima… Dima looked at her in surprise and shrugged.
He didn’t want to kick Natasha out. He thought she was just having her critical days. They’d pass, and she’d be back to being normal, sweet Natasha. But instead of the sweet girl, it was like a demon had possessed Natasha. She started behaving provocatively, constantly answering him that he wasn’t her husband.
«You know, I think we need to live separately,» he said eventually, and left. From his own apartment.
They lived apart for a month. Natasha still used his card, drove his car, and lived in his apartment.
A few times during the separation, they crossed paths. Natasha behaved well, especially on the day when they met by accident, and Dima suggested going for a walk. She agreed.
The evening went well, just like before. Without pomp or masks. Natasha left for home in tears, but Dima didn’t suggest they start over. He just let her go, although something clicked in his heart. He realized he missed her.
«I don’t know what to do,» Natasha complained that night.
«Find someone else,» said Anya, realizing things weren’t looking good.
«But I love Dima. I’m tired of pretending to be offended. Actually, everything was fine for me. The main thing was that he was there.»
«Natasha, are you stupid? The main thing is that he marries you! Don’t settle for less! Pressure him until the end, or he’ll know you’re weaker.»
Anya kept talking for a long time. In the end, they came up with a plan. But Natasha couldn’t think that Dima had already bought the ring. And that he preferred a gentle wife over the promiscuous girl that Natasha was planning to become, based on Anya’s advice.
Deciding to bet everything, Natasha stopped answering his calls and messages and waited for a personal visit.
She didn’t have to wait long. Dima arrived on the second day of silence. Natasha was ready. She had already bought a bouquet, set everything up to make it look like she had a suitor. She even placed a watch on the nightstand.
«What, you’re a free woman, you can go on dates,» Anya reassured her. «And if you want to really piss him off, draw a bruise on your neck, let him figure out who did it.»
Natasha followed her friend’s advice to the letter. But Dima wasn’t the man she thought he was.
He came to talk and even… give her the coveted ring. To settle things so there would be no more misunderstandings and quarrels. But he saw something entirely different from what he expected.
«Yes, yes. If you think I’ll wait for you alone, you’re wrong,» noticing the effect the bouquet, the men’s watch on the nightstand, and the other details had on her fiancé, Natasha added fuel to the fire of his jealousy.
«What is this?! What am I asking you? Did you dare to bring men into my house?!» Dima turned his head and looked at Natasha with such disappointment, as if he were looking at a fallen woman. «Did someone sleep in my bed?!»
Natasha shrugged her shoulder:
«We broke up. You don’t live here anymore. I said I don’t need a relationship on those terms. Either you marry me, or I’ll arrange my future without you. And believe me, I won’t mourn. The world doesn’t revolve around you. There are plenty of men.»
Dmitry quickly shortened the distance between them and grabbed Natasha by the chin. He noticed a small red mark on her neck, another sign of a fun night. His fingers tightened slightly around her neck, and Natasha recoiled.
«What’s this?» she was scared. She hadn’t expected such a reaction.
«Get out of here! Out of my apartment!»
«But, Dima…» All her arrogance disappeared.
«I said get out! You have one hour to pack your things! Or go as you are, since everything you have is my gifts. You haven’t earned a penny this year! And I’m the fool, I really wanted to marry you.» He pulled out a box from his pocket, and Natasha’s heart skipped a beat.
«Is this the ring?!» she gasped. «For me? An engagement ring?»
«Not for you anymore. I’m not going to marry a ‘God forbid.’ I didn’t find myself in the trash.» Dima snapped the box shut, hiding the ring with the large diamond. The very one that could have been hers.
«Dima, wait… You misunderstood!» she ran after him, but he just laughed.
«Uh-huh. This is all ‘not what I think.’ Save these fairy tales for the person who left this mark on your neck!»
Dima left, and Natasha rushed to the bathroom. Ice-cold water, soap, and… the «makeup» of the red mark washed away.
Why did she even make it? Why set up this circus?!
She just listened to her friend. Went too far. Now Dima would never believe her. And happiness was almost in her pocket.
When the door closed behind Dima, Natasha cried for a long time. Then she called Anya and told her everything she thought.
«You ruined everything yourself,» Anya squeaked when Natasha tearfully told her everything. «How was I supposed to know he was serious? And anyway, don’t make me the scapegoat!»
«It’s true. I’m the one to blame,» Natasha sighed. «I shouldn’t have listened to advice from those who don’t even have a man!»
No matter how hard Natasha tried to make up with Dima, he wouldn’t listen. Eventually, she moved out.
She settled into a rented one-room apartment again. She started working again to pay the bills and buy groceries. Dima wouldn’t let her take any of the gifts, as punishment for betrayal and lies. Natasha was left with nothing.
Sometimes she would check Dima’s page: six months later, he posted a photo with a new girlfriend, someone who didn’t resemble Natasha. The caption under the photo read: «When you meet the one.»
Later, the very same girl posted a photo from their wedding. Just one. Then she simply deleted her social media page. Unlike Natasha, she was firmly convinced that happiness loves silence.
