Waking up at four in the morning, Masha “couldn’t find” her husband in bed, and strange sounds were coming from the kitchen. When she came closer, she “froze” in the doorway.
Masha missed her husband terribly. Every day she cooked dinner and waited impatiently for Maxim, but more often than not she would simply receive a message saying he was held up and couldn’t come home.
She would have to finish the meal she had prepared with her daughter and the dog, and then go to bed. The worst part was falling asleep without him. In moments like that, Masha felt as if she were returning to childhood, when she was left alone in bed and dangerous demons seemed to live somewhere around her. But usually Maxim came back before nightfall, and they would fall asleep in each other’s arms.
Then one day Masha woke up from a terrible dream at four in the morning. Out of habit, she wanted to reach for her husband to calm herself down, but under her hand there was only a cold sheet. Masha sat up in bed and realized that her husband was not there.
She decided to wait until he came back. He had probably gone to the kitchen to drink some water. But ten minutes passed, and he still hadn’t returned. Masha decided to go and check. Maybe he couldn’t sleep either, or maybe something had happened. As she left the bedroom, Masha heard some sounds coming from the kitchen. She walked toward it carefully and realized that Maxim was talking to someone. Had someone really called him in the middle of the night? Or was he just talking to himself?
Masha was just about to enter the kitchen and ask Maxim what was going on when she heard a phrase that made her stop dead in the doorway.
“Darling, I really can’t see you on the twenty-fifth. It’s my wife’s birthday.”
Darling? Who was he calling darling? Had Masha heard him correctly?
Maxim sighed.
“I know, bunny, I know. You have to understand that it’s not that simple. I’ve told you this more than once already. I’m afraid that if she and I divorce, she won’t let me see our daughter. And even though I love you very much, I love my daughter more than anything in the world. You have to understand me.”
Silence followed. Apparently, Maxim’s conversation partner was answering him. Meanwhile, Masha was thinking that everything happening right now was unreal. She had woken up from one nightmare and fallen straight into another. Was her husband really cheating on her? Was he admitting that he loved another woman? And when had all this started? What had Masha done wrong? Everything had always been fine between them…
“Well, you see, everything is all right,” Masha heard him say.
Those were the very words Maxim often repeated to Masha when she woke up from nightmares. But now he was not saying them to her at all. He was saying them to some unknown woman on the phone.
Masha realized that she was about to burst into tears, so she quietly returned to the bedroom. There, she turned to face the wall. A few minutes later, she heard Maxim come back. He lay down beside her, lightly put his arm around her shoulder, and kissed the back of her head.
Masha could barely keep herself from shaking with sobs. He had just been confessing his love to another woman, and now he was calmly lying beside his wife, embracing her, kissing her? Masha simply could not wrap her mind around what was happening.
She lay there all night until morning, and in the morning she pretended she still hadn’t woken up. Maxim didn’t try to wake her. He reheated yesterday’s food for breakfast and left for work.
That day, Masha didn’t want to get out of bed. The sleepless night had left its mark. There were no tears left; she had quietly cried them all out. Only one thing could make her get up. Masha heard Alisa playing with her dolls.
She was arranging a wedding for them. They were saying they would love each other forever. Masha wanted to run into the living room and scream that it wasn’t true. They would not love each other forever. Ken would definitely cheat on Barbie and leave her with a little daughter.
When Maxim came home, Masha tried with all her strength to pretend that nothing had happened. But he noticed anyway and asked what was wrong.
“Oh, I just had a nightmare. I slept badly today. Same as always.”
“My poor girl,” Maxim said, kissing her on the forehead. “It’s a pity I didn’t wake up when it happened. I would have calmed you down.”
Of course. Because it was because of you that I couldn’t sleep.
All week until her birthday, Masha thought about what she should do. She understood that on her birthday, she would not be able to pretend that everything was fine. Especially when Maxim stayed late at work. After all, now Masha wondered: was he really staying late at work? And it was no coincidence that he had told her not to come there. Maybe the woman was his colleague, and he was afraid Masha would figure everything out? Masha decided that on her birthday she would tell him everything she had heard that night.
She didn’t know what to do. Divorce him? What other choice could there be? But what would happen afterward? She didn’t even have a job. Should she go back to her father? Maybe she could at least get child support from Maxim so there would be money for their child. As for herself, she would somehow survive.
When Masha returned from the store with groceries on her birthday, she saw rose petals scattered around the apartment. There was a bottle of wine on the table, electric candles, and Maxim was sitting with their daughter on his lap. A gift lay on the table. He came up to Masha, kissed her on the cheek, and wished her a happy birthday.
“Open it. I can’t wait to see your reaction,” he said with a smile, gesturing toward the gift.
Masha could not understand how he could be so hypocritical. When she opened the gift, she saw drawing supplies inside — the very ones she had wanted to buy. At that moment, tears began streaming down her face. How could Maxim be so attentive and at the same time cheat on her with another woman?
Maxim looked at his wife in confusion and rushed to ask her what was wrong, but she brushed him off. A few minutes later, Masha managed to calm down, if only for Alisa’s sake, because her daughter had become frightened. Masha understood that this could not go on any longer. She couldn’t endure it anymore. So Masha called her father and asked him to pick up Alisa. She and Maxim needed to have a serious talk.
“Masha, what’s going on?” Maxim asked anxiously, inviting her to sit down on the sofa, but Masha continued nervously pacing back and forth across the room.
“That’s what I should be asking you,” she said. “Don’t you want to tell me anything?”
Maxim merely shrugged and looked at Masha in confusion.
“Masha, I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about.”
Masha only gave a bitter smirk.
“Of course you don’t. But maybe that tramp you were talking to on the phone has some idea? She is also a member of our marriage, after all. In essence.”
Maxim even jumped up from the sofa.
“You heard my conversation?”
Masha smirked bitterly again.
“Yes. A week ago. I woke up, and you weren’t there. I went looking for you and discovered the whole truth about my dear husband.”
Maxim rushed toward Masha, but she pulled away from him.
“Mash, you don’t understand what this is about.”
“Do you think I’m stupid? You literally told her you loved her. That you couldn’t leave me only because you were afraid of losing your daughter!”
“Mash, it’s not like that at all…” Maxim pleaded.
Masha crossed her arms over her chest.
“Fine, then enlighten me. What exactly is going on?”
Maxim sighed and began to explain.
“You see, I… I lost my job.”
Masha’s eyes widened in surprise.
“That’s right,” Maxim spread his hands. “I don’t have a business anymore. I haven’t for two years. I didn’t tell you, but we started having serious problems. But I couldn’t let you down. How could I lose my job and leave my wife and daughter without support? And I had an acquaintance. A wealthy one. She had always liked me very much. From time to time she would contact me and invite me on dates. Even after you and I got married. And when she did it again, I realized this was my chance.
“She’s not a poor woman, Masha. So I decided that if I played along with her, I could get money from her. Then, once I saved up the amount I needed, I could invest in the business again and start everything over. You understand,” he took Masha’s hand. “I did all of this for us.”
“For us?!” Masha shouted, pulling her hand away. “For us, you cheated on me?”
“Why don’t you understand? What money do you think those gifts were bought with? What money did you use to go to the store and buy clothes for our daughter? All of that was earned through my backbreaking labor.”
“Backbreaking labor in another woman’s bed? How could you even come up with something like that? I don’t want to see you anymore!”
Masha could no longer stay in the same apartment with Maxim. She went to her father’s place and stayed there overnight with Alisa. Maxim called her persistently, but she didn’t pick up. Masha had time to think. She knew it would not be easy for her. But how could she stay with a husband who had decided to sell their relationship for money? How could she forgive the fact that instead of being honest with her, he had taken such a step? And even if a difficult divorce and an equally difficult life as a single mother awaited her, at least her life would be real.
