Vera looked at Alexei in disbelief, hardly trusting her ears.
“Lyosha, don’t you see you’re making a huge mistake?”
Alexei waved her off impatiently.
“Let’s not turn this into a melodrama. I’m tired of your constant complaints—it’s the same every day. Milana is different. She’s like fresh air to me. And you… I’ve been too generous, even giving you time to pack and find a place to live. You have no right to demand anything. You’ve never worked, so my money isn’t yours.”
“Lyosha,” Vera whispered, “it was you who forbade me to work. You said that for a wife of your status, having a job was beneath me.”
“Yes, I did,” Alexei admitted coldly. “But that was when you were my wife. Now Milana will take your place. You’ll finally have the chance to earn your own living.”
Years later, Vera recalled those words as she stood before his fresh grave. His happiness with Milana had lasted barely three years. She remembered all too well the suffering of their last year together, and the mysterious illness that plagued him. He had even told her once that he suspected Milana of slipping something into his food. He had begun his own investigation, but never finished it.
Just a month before his supposed death, Alexei had visited Vera. He had looked weak and ill, but he asked her forgiveness. She could still see his eyes, full of pain, as he spoke.
Now, standing in the cemetery, Vera turned her gaze toward Milana, veiled in black, clinging to a much younger companion. Whispers circled around—people condemned Milana’s coldness. Vera sighed. Whatever Alexei had done to her, he didn’t deserve such an end. The investigation had to continue.
At the cemetery gates, Milana stopped her.
“Don’t expect anything from my husband’s inheritance,” she hissed.
Vera didn’t reply. But later, when she was called to the will reading, she went. She expected nothing—but wanted to see Milana’s reaction.
As expected, everything was left to Milana. But then came the surprise: a small house in a remote village, one hundred kilometers away, was left to Vera.
Milana laughed mockingly.
“Old wife—old junk! Keep your shack, Verochka. Consider it your new apartment.”
Vera only smiled faintly. A shack or not, she was determined to see it.
The road was long and poorly marked. When she finally reached the forgotten village, she found the house. It looked abandoned, yet there were tire tracks and flattened grass near the porch. Curious, she stepped inside—only to be overwhelmed by the aroma of fresh coffee. The house was clean, lived-in.
“Don’t be afraid,” a familiar voice said.
Vera turned—and fainted.
When she awoke, Alexei sat before her, alive. He explained everything: Milana and her lover had poisoned him slowly. With help, he had faked his death. The funeral had been staged with a mannequin.
“You’re the only one I can trust,” he said softly.
Despite the pain of betrayal, Vera agreed to help. That night, they spoke for hours. Before leaving in the morning, he held her hand.
“I’m sorry.”
“I forgive you,” she whispered.
Soon after, the truth began to surface. Milana fought viciously, insisting all was hers. But Alexei revealed himself at the right moment, exposing her crimes. She and her accomplice were arrested.
Later, Alexei divided his property, giving half to Vera. He spoke humbly of moving away, but she realized she still loved him deeply. Love had survived everything.
One evening, she drove back to the village, afraid of rejection. But when Alexei met her at the gate, his eyes told her everything.
“I hurt you,” he said. “That isn’t forgivable.”
“It’s hard,” Vera admitted. “But I want to try again.”
He pulled her into an embrace.
“I had to lose everything to understand how much I love you. If you forgive me, I’ll never hurt you again.”
“Let’s start over,” she whispered. “We’re only forty—we still have time.”
Three months later, Milana and her lover stood trial. Vera couldn’t attend; she felt unwell. When Alexei rushed home after the hearing, she greeted him with a radiant smile.
“Not just me, Lyosha—us,” she said mysteriously.
He blinked. “Us?”
“In seven months, someone new will join us.”
His eyes widened in disbelief, then joy. Lifting her into the air, he laughed through tears.
“Every day with you, Vera, life grows brighter. I thought happiness had limits. But with you—it’s endless.”
