Gazing at the display window of a children’s shop, Veronika smiled. Such tiny clothes—like they were made for dolls. Her hand slipped of its own accord to her still-small belly. She had just received her blood test results and confirmed her pregnancy. She was so excited and wanted to share the happy news with her husband as soon as possible. They were going to be parents. They had been trying for a year and a half, and now the long-awaited two lines had finally appeared on the test, and the labwork showed the pregnancy was going well. Deciding she didn’t want to wait until evening, Veronika stopped by the café where her mother worked and bought a delicious lunch for her husband: his favorite steamed meat buns and some Korean salads. Wanting to make Maxim happy as soon as possible, she headed to his office. She didn’t call to warn him. She decided to give him a double surprise. The smile wouldn’t leave her lips; it only grew wider, and she felt like twirling from sheer happiness. She was pregnant! Soon their family would welcome a long-awaited miracle.

Entering the office, Veronika greeted a few employees she knew. She used to bring her husband lunch quite often and had even come with him to corporate events. Maxim never forbade his wife from dropping by during work hours; every time he was delighted and proudly introduced her to anyone who didn’t yet know her.

“Mr. Maxim Viktorovich is in an important meeting right now. Please wait for him on the sofa,” his new secretary announced as soon as Veronika approached his office.

“I can wait for him in the office.”

“You can’t. This is a work area, after all, and I’m not allowed to let anyone in without the boss’s permission.”

The secretary tipped up her chin, curled her lips, and gave Veronika an appraising look. The introduction didn’t go well, but Veronika had never aimed to befriend everyone anyway. It wasn’t as if she’d be christening children with these people; she didn’t plan to be close with them. Her husband, too, never formed close friendships at work. He had only a few friends in general—he couldn’t bring himself to trust strangers and tested friendships over years.

Sitting down on the sofa, Veronika leaned back, picked up a magazine, and decided to flip through it to pass the time. Since they hadn’t let her into the office, she didn’t want to argue or make a scene—why create extra problems for her husband at work?

“Masha, are you going to the restaurant with the boss again after work today? Or maybe we’ll go home together?” another young girl Veronika hadn’t seen before approached the secretary.

Her heart skipped a beat. What did “again go to the restaurant” mean? Yesterday her husband had indeed come home late—he had been at a restaurant—but he said he was meeting a business partner there. Why would he bring a secretary to an important meeting?

“Don’t shout,” the secretary hissed. “His wife is here. Probably won’t work out today. He said right away that we can’t meet every day. We had a lovely time yesterday, though. I have nothing to complain about. After the restaurant we went to a hotel… It was wonderful. Maxim is so considerate. I’m very lucky with him. It’s just that he isn’t rushing to divorce yet. He says we need to find the right moment.”

Veronika clenched her hands into fists. The girls were speaking quietly and glancing in her direction, but she had an excellent ear. Could her husband really have someone on the side? That couldn’t be! Maxim loved his wife and treated her like a treasure. He would never betray her. No… She simply couldn’t believe it.

“And that female partner of his is a pain, too. She’s always cozying up to him, and he seems to reciprocate. He tells me not to be jealous, but how can I not? I already have to share him with his wife.”

Partner? What on earth was going on? Veronika hadn’t been to her husband’s work in quite a while, and now there were such drastic changes? And how awful the words “have to share him with his wife” sounded. Did the girl have no self-respect, agreeing to be an add-on to a marriage—the third wheel? Or was the third wheel, in this case, Veronika herself?

Noticing the conference room doors open, Veronika straightened up. Her husband came out first, fastening the top button of his shirt as he walked. He looked tired and agitated. Right behind him came a beautiful, long-legged woman with bright scarlet lips. She straightened her short skirt, caught up with Maxim, and took his arm, laughing about something.

Veronika hadn’t expected to witness such a scene. Were the girls talking about this “partner”? If so, then the rest of their conversation was true as well. Her heart sank.

“That’s what I was telling you. It breaks my heart to see them together,” the secretary complained. “But what can I do? I love him, and he promises I’ll be his only one.”

Her husband walked right past without even noticing Veronika, and she decided to use the moment to leave. She felt unwell and couldn’t stay any longer in a place that made her head spin. She needed fresh air to calm down. Leaving the lunch she’d brought and asking the secretary to pass it along to him, Veronika took the stairs so she wouldn’t run into Maxim by the elevator. She couldn’t stop thinking about the state he was in, and the girls’ words pounded in her head like a drum, repeating over and over, forcing her to believe them. Did he really have something going on with this “partner”? Why did he look so exhausted, and why did he allow her to touch him? No one would gossip like that out of nowhere. The secretary clearly understood that Veronika might overhear her conversation with her friend, yet she wasn’t worried—almost as if she wanted to make it clear that this man no longer belonged only to his wife.

Strolling slowly through the square, not feeling solid ground beneath her feet and swaying a little, Veronika turned over what she’d heard but refused to accept it. She and her husband loved each other. He couldn’t just change like that and suddenly find someone else. There had to be a reasonable explanation. First of all, Veronika wanted to talk to her husband. She couldn’t make rash decisions based on silly rumors. Who could guarantee those girls were telling the truth and not staging the exchange on purpose? And yet, her soul was uneasy—far too heavy.

After walking herself weary, Veronika went home. She was tired, and her good mood had vanished without a trace because foolish thoughts had flooded her head, no matter how she tried not to give them free rein. She was afraid it would all turn out to be true. And then what? They had waited so long for this pregnancy. Would she be left alone with a baby in her arms? Would she have to carry that burden on her own? Could she cope if she was left without the man she loved? Of course she could—but it would hurt terribly.

Once she got home, Veronika collapsed onto the bed. She didn’t even notice when she fell asleep and woke to the touch of something soft against her body.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you, but it seemed like you were chilly,” Maxim apologized, sitting down beside her.

“It’s already so late… Why didn’t you wake me earlier?” she asked, propping herself up on an elbow.

Her head was spinning. For a moment, Veronika even thought that everything she’d heard at her husband’s office had only been a dream—a silly one she should simply forget and wipe from her memory.

“I just got back. There was a difficult meeting today, and then I had to go to a partner’s home to get papers signed. Sorry. I sent you a message, but you were probably asleep.”

Veronika clenched her hands into fists. Sitting up, she leaned her back against the headboard and looked at her husband intently.

“And how was your time at her house?” she asked, hurt in her voice.

“Her? Actually, it’s a man. We just signed the contract, that’s all.”

“I saw everything. With my own eyes. How you and your partner came out of the conference room… how she brazenly snuggled up to you. And how exhausted you looked. Strangely, no one else came out after you. Was it really that hard to come to an agreement just the two of you? Or were you in there doing something else?”

Red blotches crept across Maxim’s face. He coughed, cleared his throat, and shook his head.

“I didn’t know you had come.”

“Oh? So the secretary didn’t give you the lunch I brought? Kept it for herself, did she? You two must be awfully close if she feels free to behave so boldly.”

“Lunch?” Maxim looked surprised and shook his head. “No, she didn’t pass me anything. After I escorted Marina Andreyevna out, I went back to the conference room and we discussed a complicated issue with the shareholders for quite a while. She’s the wife of the partner I went to for the signatures. He’s not in great shape right now—he’s recovering after surgery—so he sent his wife to the meeting with us, and I had to get the documents signed by him personally. I don’t understand why you’re jealous. Marina Andreyevna is certainly… a character, but there’s nothing between us and never could be. She behaves overly friendly with everyone.”

Veronika had no intention of bottling it up. She told her husband about the secretary’s conversation with her friend. Maxim raked his fingers through his hair and shook his head.

“I should have ended this immediately, but I thought my words would be enough. Maria is new at the company. When she started showing me attention, I told her right away that I have a woman I love and I’m not the type to take advantage of a young secretary’s crush. Apparently she didn’t take me seriously the first time and kept trying to charm me. Each time I scolded her harshly but gave her another chance. I figured she was foolish and naïve and would calm down eventually. I never imagined she’d stoop to this and spread such nonsense about me. Tomorrow I’ll order her to submit her resignation and leave the company.”

Veronika listened to her husband, looked into his eyes, and understood he wasn’t lying. Maxim was as shocked as she was by what he’d heard. He was angry; he’d been kind to the girl, and she had decided to spread mean rumors about him. The man suggested his wife listen to his conversation with Maria so there would be no doubt about his sincerity. The next morning, he called his wife, set the phone aside, and summoned the secretary. The girl started crying and begging for forgiveness, pleading not to be fired and to be given another chance. She claimed Veronika had misunderstood, that they had been talking about someone else; then she admitted she’d hoped to win the man’s favor at least this way—the man who had captivated her at first sight.

“If your wife had a fight with you, you would look for comfort on the side, and then I’d be there. I’m sorry. I understand now and won’t do it again.”

“If I had a fight with my wife, I’d be looking for a way to make up with her and never let it come to that again—I would never look for comfort on the side. You were badly mistaken about me, Maria. I’ve given you enough chances. That’s enough. Write your resignation and leave. I’ll find a new secretary today.”

Maria’s tearful pleas for another chance didn’t help. Maxim had already given her chances, and she hadn’t used them. He had no intention of stepping on the same rake again and quarreling with his wife. He loved Veronika far too much and didn’t want her upset because of foolish people. He ordered that they find him a mature secretary—someone who already had a family and children, who wouldn’t try to charm him and would be occupied with work, not various stupidities.

When Maxim came home, a delicious candlelit dinner was waiting. Veronika apologized for allowing herself, even for a moment, to think her husband unfaithful. She admitted she’d learned she was pregnant just the day before, but hadn’t dared tell him. The man was overjoyed to hear the news. He asked his wife not to hide from him anymore, not to invent things in her head, but to tell him right away about anything that worried her. Of course, he was glad she hadn’t thrown a tantrum and had spoken openly with him, but if they had talked earlier, she herself would have worried less and not worked herself up. The couple hugged tightly and promised each other that from now on they would handle all unspoken things the same way—by talking—rather than making rash decisions and quarreling based on silly rumors spread by ill-wishers.