Galina was getting ready for work that morning without much enthusiasm. Her colleagues would congratulate her, they would expect that, as usual, after work they would all sit in a café together, but she had neither the strength nor the mood for it. For the first time, she did not see her birthday as a holiday, but only as a reminder that the years were rushing away and there was no way back.
Once, Galina had been an optimist. She had believed that age was no obstacle to happiness. But for a year now, she had been living in hopeless disappointment, realizing that not everything was as simple as it had once seemed. Galina stood in front of the mirror, looking at her reflection and sighing as she noticed new little wrinkles near her eyes. No, she definitely wanted nothing at all. If she had had the chance, she would not even have gone to work today, her soul felt so heavy she wanted to howl like a wolf. Well, never mind. She would stop by the bakery near the office, buy a couple of cakes, have tea with her colleagues, and maybe her mood would lift a little.
“Gal, happy birthday!” The door to the room opened, and Oleg, her still-husband for the time being, came out looking somehow strange.
Galya said nothing, and he continued:
“I don’t have a present. I know you wouldn’t accept it anyway, so I’ll just wish you happiness,” he faltered, “personal happiness, health, and all the very best.”
“Thank you,” Galina muttered and took her handbag from the dresser.
“Gal…” Oleg coughed, but she knew perfectly well that he always did that when he was nervous. Somewhere deep inside her, a thought flashed that now, at last, he was going to ask for forgiveness. But when he spoke again, everything inside her turned to ice. “I, well… I wanted to ask… could you let me have the apartment for the evening… I’m going to invite my woman over…”
Galina opened her mouth slightly and began gasping for air. She wanted so badly to slap him, to say everything that had been boiling inside her, but the words would not come. They seemed to have curled into one tight, salty lump and could not get out.
“Well, what?!” Oleg began speaking more confidently. “You’re the one who refused to exchange the apartment, and I have my own space here too. I don’t bring anyone home in front of you. And today, as always, you’ll be going to the café with your colleagues, right?”
As always! Those words pierced her heart even more painfully. He had always gone to that café with her too, with her colleagues. Then, on the weekend, they would invite relatives and friends home. But today, for the first time, she would have to celebrate her birthday alone among her colleagues, without her husband. And in truth, she no longer really had a husband. They lived like neighbors in the same apartment: he in one room, she in another. Neither of them was rushing to file for divorce, and neither wanted to exchange the apartment either. Oleg said that Galya was the one who had refused, but he understood perfectly well that, at best, they could only exchange their tiny apartment for two rooms in shared housing. And they also had a grown daughter who would return here after her studies.
His words made Galya’s head spin. He would bring a woman here? Into their apartment?! No, this was the height of insanity, but Oleg kept insisting.
“So you don’t mind? The door to your room will be closed. Agreed?”
Galina made some strange gesture that looked like a nod and rushed out of the apartment as if scalded. She sat down on the bench near the entrance, called a taxi through the app, and her thoughts carried her back a year.
It had been her birthday then too. Oleg was late. He said he could not get away, that there was an emergency at work. She was already at the café with her colleagues. Everyone was giving toasts and wishes, and she kept glancing out the window. Then someone sent a photo to her phone. Oleg was in his car, embracing a woman. When he finally rushed over with a bouquet of large white chrysanthemums, everyone was already leaving. Galya took the bouquet from his hands and dropped it into the trash bin standing near the café entrance. Then she showed him the photo on her phone and, saying that he could give the bouquet to his mistress, hurried away.
Oleg tried to stop her, tried to explain something, but she did not want to listen. Seeing the state she was in, he decided to wait. She wandered around the city for half the night, and when she returned home, Oleg was not asleep. He kept saying that it was someone’s cruel joke, that it was a fake, a montage, a deception, but she refused to listen. And so a long, terrible month dragged on. Galina could neither sleep nor eat. She took unpaid leave from work and became unlike herself. She rejected every attempt Oleg made to talk. Then one day she said that if he had confessed, it would have been much easier for her; but as it was, not only had he betrayed her, he was also afraid to tell the truth. And he broke down. He declared that yes, he was tired of her, that she had grown old, nasty, suspicious. He said words that only hurt her even more. But she decided to prove him wrong. Let him amuse himself with whomever he wanted; she would not disappear.
After that, Galina seemed to revive. She began taking even better care of herself, going out into the world, living for herself. She went to museums and exhibitions, came home pleased, and every time her husband tried to talk to her again, she did not give him the chance. She kept waiting for him to stop justifying himself and simply ask for forgiveness, to say that he had been wrong, that it would never happen again, that she was his one and only. But he, like a stuck record, repeated the same thing over and over: there had been no one and nothing, you forced me to say those awful things that day, I am not guilty of anything. And now he was planning to bring some strange woman into their home. It was beyond comprehension.
Later, Galina could barely remember how she had lived through that day at all. Everything seemed to be happening not to her, but as if she were watching someone else’s life from the outside, without the strength to interfere and without the ability to change anything.
She moved as if by inertia, like a wound-up mechanism: got into the taxi, got out near the office, went into the familiar bakery around the corner, bought two cakes — one with cherry cream, the other with chocolate glaze — mechanically paid by card, and did not even hear what the smiling saleswoman wished her.
Then she came to the office. Her colleagues greeted her cheerfully. There were many smiles, hugs, and wishes. Someone gave her a present, someone handed her a large bouquet. On an ordinary day, Galina would certainly have smiled, laughed, thanked them, answered with a joke. But today, all of it seemed to be happening to someone else.
It seemed to her that she existed separately from her body. As if the real Galina had remained there that morning, sitting on the cold bench by the entrance, while only her shell had come here, to the office.
Her colleagues raised plastic cups of tea and wished her health, happiness, love. Love… That word sent a chill down her spine. Galina looked away toward the window and watched for a long time as a raindrop slowly slid down the glass.
Her boss, noticing that she was unusually quiet today, unexpectedly came up to her after lunch.
“Galina Sergeyevna, why don’t you go home early? It’s your birthday, after all. Get some rest.”
She thanked him automatically, gathered her bag, and left the office earlier than usual. But as soon as she found herself outside, she stopped, not knowing where to go.
Home? No. The thought made her nauseous. To imagine that some strange woman was now walking around their apartment, sitting in their kitchen, perhaps drinking tea from her favorite cup, or lying on their sofa, embracing him — Galina’s husband… Her heart clenched at the thought.
But she did not want to simply wander the streets either.
Galina slowly walked to the bus stop and suddenly decided to go to her parents. Her mother opened the door and, as soon as she saw her daughter, threw up her hands.
“Galochka! Happy birthday, my dear! Why didn’t you tell us you were coming?”
She hugged her tightly, warmly, and from that simple touch Galya’s eyes suddenly began to sting. Her mother fussed around, put the kettle on, sliced a homemade roll, and kept trying to get her daughter to talk. Galina forced herself to smile, answered in monosyllables, and tried not to reveal her state. She stayed at her parents’ for about an hour, but she could not relax. Every minute seemed to push her toward the same thought.
Why should she be hiding at all? Why should she kill time while her own husband amused himself in their apartment with another woman?
The more she thought about it, the stronger a burning, sharp wave rose inside her. No. This was her home. And no other woman would sit there at Oleg’s whim. If anyone had to leave, it was both of them.
She walked home in a completely different mood — collected, determined, even combative, probably. Phrases were already forming in her head, things she would say to them. She would open the door, see his “guest,” and in a calm, indifferent voice ask them both to get out. Let them go wherever they wanted.
Approaching the entrance, Galina felt her heart begin pounding heavily. Even on the staircase, she heard music coming from the apartment. Not loud, but clear. So the celebration there was in full swing.
Clenching her teeth, she inserted the key into the lock and turned it, but the very next second she froze in confusion. In the hallway there were only men’s shoes. Two pairs.
Men’s voices came from the room. Galya stopped by the door, not understanding herself why she did not go in right away. Perhaps it was intuition. Something in the voices made her remain in the shadows and listen.
“It is her birthday, after all… maybe you shouldn’t have done that?” said Valentin, Oleg’s best friend.
His voice was a little hoarse, and Galya immediately understood: they had been drinking. Oleg answered sharply, with some accumulated resentment.
“And what about her? How long am I supposed to keep justifying myself to her? She has sucked all the blood out of me. A whole year! If she enjoys thinking I’m the lowest scoundrel, then fine. I decided to play along. Let her keep thinking I’m some womanizing bastard.”
“Have you ever thought about who could have sent her those photos?” Valentin asked after a short pause.
Oleg answered immediately, as if he had known for a long time.
“I think it was Tomka.”
At that name, Galya involuntarily frowned. Tamara. Oleg’s former university classmate. Toma, who had run after him even back in college, and later came to work at the same company where Oleg had been invited. Galina had seen her several times at corporate gatherings. Bright, lively, with an overly ringing laugh. But it had never occurred to her that, after so many years, this woman could play any role in her and her husband’s life.
“I thought she was married?” Valentin said in surprise.
“She is,” Oleg snorted. “But that doesn’t make things any easier for me. She won’t leave me alone. I even thought about changing jobs, but where would I find a salary like that? I told her directly: you’re not my type, everything is fine at home. But she clings like a leech. That evening she knew I was going to the café to see Galya. Galya was already waiting. And then Tomka caused a commotion: supposedly some important papers had gone missing. The whole department searched for them, management was in a panic. Of course, they were found. But by then I was already late. And then those photos… It was definitely her. There’s no one else.”
“Let’s go to her right now,” Valentin suddenly perked up. “We’ll press her, make her confess.”
“It’s useless,” Oleg answered tiredly. “I already tried. I tried to draw her into a conversation this way and that, wanted to record it and let Galka listen. She looks at me with innocent eyes: ‘I don’t understand what you’re talking about.’ Like a harmless little lamb.”
Galina leaned against the wall so as not to fall. Could it be… could it be that all this time Oleg had really been telling the truth? Could it be that he had not cheated? Could it be that the picture had been staged, and she herself, blinded by pain and resentment, had not wanted even to try to figure it out?
All their conversations over the past year spun through her head. His attempts to explain, his excuses that had seemed meaningless to her then, his bewildered face. And the way she had shut herself off again and again, not allowing him even to finish speaking.
And Tamara… Galya could not imagine that this woman still had feelings for Oleg, that after so many years she was capable of such meanness.
Galina did not know what she felt more strongly — relief, or horror at how much could be destroyed by a single photograph.
And at that moment, Galina felt as if she had been struck by lightning. Suddenly, one after another, details began surfacing in her mind — details that had once seemed accidental and insignificant, but now formed a picture that was far too clear.
Denis, her colleague, who had been especially attentive over the past few months. Sometimes he would bring her coffee when she stayed late with reports; sometimes he would, as if by chance, end up beside her at the elevator; sometimes he would offer to drive her home. She had noticed his looks — long, persistent ones that made her uncomfortable. She understood the hints too, but tried to pretend nothing was happening.
And that evening, a year ago…
Now Galina remembered it so clearly, as if it had happened not twelve months ago, but yesterday.
They were sitting in the café with her colleagues. The appetizers had already been brought, someone was opening champagne, and Oleg still had not appeared. Galya looked at her phone every five minutes, but it remained silent. Then Denis moved closer to her. She had even been surprised — usually he kept a little distance and did not impose himself.
“Your husband isn’t here? He’s delayed?” he asked, as if casually, but there was something strange in his voice. Not sympathy. Rather… curiosity.
“Yes, he should already have arrived,” she answered, trying not to show her anxiety. “But something happened at work.”
She dialed Oleg again. The line rang, but no one answered.
Denis shook his head and said with feigned concern:
“Don’t worry. A man wouldn’t just be late on his beloved wife’s birthday for no reason. There must really be a serious reason.”
And now Galina suddenly understood: it was as if he had deliberately been pushing her toward the worst thoughts.
Then Denis excused himself and said he would step out for a minute. And it was at that very moment that Galina’s phone quietly chimed with a message. The very message with the photograph that had turned her life upside down.
This morning, Denis had been near her again. He had come up to congratulate her, held his gaze on her longer than usual, and offered to celebrate her birthday in a restaurant. She had refused then, saying she was tired.
And now the puzzle came together. Galina felt her heart beating fast and unevenly. So it had been him, not Tamara.
She quietly left the apartment, went down the stairs without even waiting for the elevator, took out her phone with trembling fingers, and dialed Denis’s number. He answered immediately, as if he had been sitting with the phone in his hand, waiting.
“Galya?” Hope sounded in his voice.
She forced herself to speak calmly.
“Is your offer still open? About the restaurant.”
There was a brief pause on the other end of the line, and then Denis answered far too quickly:
“Of course. Of course it is. I’m actually nearby. I’ll be waiting.”
The restaurant was small and cozy, with dim lighting and soft music. When Galina entered, Denis was already sitting at a table by the window. In front of him stood a bouquet of bright red roses. Too lush, too festive, somehow even provocative. Seeing Galina, he rose so hastily that he almost knocked over his glass.
“I’m glad you changed your mind,” he said, trying to smile casually.
She nodded and sat down opposite him.
The waiter brought drinks, salads, and a hot dish. Denis talked about ordinary things: work, a new project. But Galina was not listening. She looked at him and, for the first time, noticed what had previously escaped her: the overly attentive gaze, the barely noticeable self-satisfied smile that appeared when he thought she was not looking.
She looked out the window and said, as if in passing:
“Can you imagine, this morning my husband asked me to give him the apartment for the evening. He said he wanted to bring another woman home.”
Denis, who at that moment was lifting his glass to his mouth, froze for a second and failed to hide his smile. It flashed across his face quickly, but Galya noticed. True, he immediately caught himself and frowned, pretending to be outraged.
“Wow… That is some nerve.”
“Yes,” Galina replied calmly. “But you know… I’m grateful to the people who opened my eyes a year ago.”
She lifted her gaze and looked straight at him.
“I trusted Oleg so much. And if not for that photo, I would never have found out what he was like.”
Denis squared his shoulders, straightened up, and lifted his chin slightly. Apparently, he decided that she was grateful to him and was finally ready to appreciate his “care.”
“Gal…” he said quietly, leaning slightly across the table. “I’ve wanted to tell you for a long time. I like you very, very much.”
And then it was as if something burst open inside him. He began speaking quickly and incoherently.
He said that he had been watching her for a long time, that he had seen Oleg not treating her attentively enough. He said he knew men like her husband; they were never faithful.
“And I wasn’t wrong,” Denis said confidently, no longer hiding his involvement. “You see for yourself what he turned out to be. But I… I would never do that to you. Give me a chance. Let’s start seeing each other. I’ll do anything for you. If you want, I’ll lay the whole world at your feet.”
Galina listened and felt everything inside her grow colder. Sitting in front of her was a man who, for the sake of his own desires, had destroyed someone else’s family. Not out of love, but out of calculation.
She slowly rose from the table. Denis stopped short and stood up too.
“Galya, where are you going? What happened?”
“You stole an entire year of my life from me.”
“What?.. I didn’t…”
She did not listen. She turned and quickly walked toward the exit. Behind her, Denis said something, called out to her, but Galina did not turn around even once.
When she returned home, the apartment was quiet. The music was no longer playing. The light in the living room was on. On the table were two place settings, plates with leftover snacks, an open bottle, and sliced lemon. There had, of course, been no woman. Oleg was asleep right on the sofa, fully dressed. One hand hung down, and beside him on the floor lay a family photo album.
Galina stood in the doorway, looking at him. For the first time in a long while, she looked not with resentment, not with irritation. She simply looked and thought about how easily trust could be destroyed, and how difficult it was to repair everything afterward.
In the morning, Oleg woke up gloomy, clearly suffering the consequences of the previous evening’s drinking. In the kitchen, he drank water for a long time, then sat down at the table, rubbing his temples.
Galina placed a cup of coffee in front of him and asked as if casually:
“Well, how did the evening go?”
Oleg smirked without raising his eyes.
“Wonderful. Thank you for understanding.”
“Did Valentin get home all right?” she added. “It looked like the two of you drank quite a bit yesterday.”
Oleg froze.
“How do you know?”
Galina sat down opposite him. For several seconds she was silent, gathering her strength, and then said quietly:
“I heard everything. And… I know that the photograph was not Tomka’s doing.”
Oleg frowned.
“Then whose?”
“Denis’s. My colleague. I found it out myself yesterday.”
Oleg said nothing. He only looked at her without blinking. And suddenly she felt that she could calmly say the simplest words.
“Forgive me, Oleg. I didn’t give you a chance. I believed a ‘well-wisher’ more than the person I had lived with for so many years.”
Galina covered his hand with hers.
“And one more thing… I’ve decided to quit. You’ve been asking me to join your company for a long time. Is the vacancy still open?”
Oleg carefully squeezed her fingers, and they both felt that there were no more barriers between them.
A month later, Galina really did transfer to the same company where Oleg worked. To a different department, but in the same building. Tamara soon moved to a branch on the other side of the city. There were rumors that it was due to family circumstances, but Galina was not interested in the details.
Life did not return to its former place immediately. It does not happen that one conversation erases a whole year of insane pain. But gradually, everything began to change. They started having dinner together again. At first in silence, then they began to talk. In the evenings they went for walks and discussed simple things. One day, Oleg brought white chrysanthemums again. And Galina, pressing them to herself, looked at him with special gratitude.
Sometimes the most frightening thing in life is not betrayal, but how easily one can believe in it when people fail to speak honestly with each other in time. They both learned that lesson very well.
