“Your beauty queen will celebrate her birthday without you — you go and meet Yulenka!” Milana heard her mother-in-law’s words and froze in surprise…
While tidying the hallway, Milana caught the sound of her mother-in-law’s voice and glanced out the window. Her husband was sitting on the porch, talking to his mother over video call. She went back to sorting the shoes, deciding not to eavesdrop — but Nina Yevgenyevna spoke loudly enough that it was impossible not to hear, even if you tried.
“I already told you that Yulenka Smolyakova is coming. She’s become so beautiful! Natalia sent me her pictures — not just a girl, but a real dream. By the way, she’s got a good job now. Such a smart young woman. And still not married. You understand what I mean?”
“Mom, what do I care if she’s beautiful or not? Come on. My Milanka is the most beautiful — no Yulia could ever compare. And why should it matter to me whether she’s married or not? That’s her business. What do I have to do with it?”
Milana couldn’t help but smile. It was nice to hear such words from the man she loved. She was glad that her husband treated her so tenderly. They had been together for three years, a year and a half of them married.
Her mother-in-law had never liked her, but Milana wasn’t upset — she had married Anton, not his mother. You could always keep a polite distance with a mother-in-law; that was even better — no need to listen to advice you’d never asked for.
“Look at him! As if it doesn’t matter. I remember you were once in love with her, but Yulia refused to date you. Back then she only thought about her studies and career, but now everything’s changed — and you’ve turned into quite a handsome man.”
“That was too long ago to think about now. She said no, and that’s fine. It just wasn’t meant to be,” Anton replied.
“Whether it’s meant or not isn’t for you to decide. Our fates are written in the heavens. What if you meet now and something stirs in your chest again? I’m not insisting, of course — maybe nothing will happen — but you mustn’t refuse! After all, we owe their family.”
Milana felt a wave of discomfort: her mother-in-law was openly pushing another woman on her son — while his wife was very much alive! Why was she doing this? She knew they loved each other. Did she really hope her son would be tempted by an old flame and divorce? With a heavy sigh, Milana gathered the remaining trash and was about to leave, but paused for a moment.
“Your beauty queen will manage her birthday without you — you go and meet Yulenka. She doesn’t fly back to her hometown every day. Bring her over to me, I’ll host her properly. And your Milana won’t get bored; her parents are throwing her a banquet. No one else can meet Yulia, so you must take care of it and arrange everything.”
Milana’s heart skipped a beat. How could a mother force her son into such a thing? She wanted him to pick up another woman instead of being at his wife’s birthday — where was the sense in that? Why?
She didn’t listen further — why work herself up and suffer? Better just to ignore it. Milana was sure her husband wouldn’t agree. He’d surely find a way to answer his mother politely while still setting boundaries.
Several days passed. Anton never mentioned the conversation with his mother, but the day before Milana’s birthday he announced that he wouldn’t be able to attend — something had come up.
He didn’t explain what exactly, skirting around the issue, but Milana knew. Her eyes stung with tears. Why was he doing this? Why had he agreed? Could that girl really be more important to him than his wife?
She had no mood at all to celebrate, but her parents were doing their best — organizing the party, cooking. Milana couldn’t upset them by refusing to come.
She was hurt and wanted to tell her husband directly that she knew what his “urgent business” was, but decided not to start a quarrel and spoil things even more. Anton was an adult; if he chose this, he must have a reason. Probably.
“Why didn’t your husband come?” her mother asked when Milana arrived alone.
“He’s at work. He’s delayed today, so he couldn’t make it,” she lied, though it was hard to pretend.
She wanted to tell the truth and ask for advice, but she herself didn’t know the whole story. Perhaps she should have talked to her husband at once and asked why he’d made that choice. Even her mother-in-law hadn’t come — she’d only called to say happy birthday, explaining that she wasn’t feeling well and couldn’t attend the celebration in person.
“I’ve prepared a gift for you — I’ll give it to you as soon as we meet,” said Nina Yevgenyevna in a sly voice.
Could she really consider Yulia’s arrival to be the “gift”?
Milana knew that, back in the day, Yulia’s family had helped her mother-in-law a great deal. After being left without her husband’s support, the woman had barely made ends meet, and her friend had helped her get through that difficult time.
There was also another story Anton had once told. When he was twelve, he went swimming in the river with some boys, but his leg cramped, and he began to drown.
It was Yulia’s father who saved his life. Anton had said he was grateful to the man and felt indebted to him. Perhaps he should have taken a stand back then? Married Yulia instead of Milana?
Bitterness tightened her throat, resentment clouding her thoughts. What was her husband feeling now toward that girl?
She was, after all, his first love, and her mother-in-law had said Yulia had only grown more beautiful. How would their meeting go? Would Anton want to divorce and start courting the girl from his past?
He had spoken so nicely when he answered his mother, yet he hadn’t been able to refuse to go and meet Yulia. Was it because of old feelings?
“You’re so distracted,” her mother said. “If something’s happened, tell us — don’t stay silent. Your father and I are worried; we can see something’s wrong.
“Did Anton stay away because you two quarreled? If he dared spoil our birthday girl’s mood, I won’t let him get away with it!” she said sternly.
It was hard to keep everything bottled up, but Milana had learned a simple truth long ago: she and her husband could sort out their problems and make up, but her parents’ hurt would never go away.
It wasn’t right to involve them — first she needed to find out what was really going on. If things turned out badly, then she would tell them the truth.
“I’m just very tired, and he really does have urgent business. I’m not lying. We didn’t fight. This morning he gave me flowers and this bracelet.”
Milana showed her mother the gold bracelet, though she felt no joy from the gift. Her husband wasn’t by her side — he’d rushed to the airport to meet another woman.
Thinking she didn’t want to go home that night, Milana decided to stay with her parents.
She hesitated for a long time before calling her husband to tell him. She was afraid to hear his cheerful voice, excited by the long-awaited meeting. Yet she couldn’t simply not come home at all — that wouldn’t be right, not human…
“How come you’re staying at your parents’ place? I was planning to come and pick you up. Are you feeling unwell?” Anton asked anxiously.
For a moment Milana felt glad that he was worried about her and wanted her to come back — but the feeling quickly evaporated. Should she really be so happy? Maybe her husband just felt guilty and wanted to make amends.
“No, I feel fine, I just thought…”
“Don’t scare me like that — and don’t just ‘think’ either. I’ll come for you in half an hour. Get ready. I hope your parents won’t be upset if I steal you away from the party a little early. I’ve missed you so much.”
Milana didn’t know whether to rejoice. She was still hurt. He hadn’t gone to the celebration with her, he’d made her worry, he’d met Yulia — and now he was rushing to fetch her?
Anton arrived as promised. Greeting his wife’s parents, he apologized for not being able to get away sooner and asked them not to be upset with him. He behaved as though there had been no other woman, as if he truly had been busy with important work. He smiled, holding Milana close, while she felt confused.
“Where are we going?” she asked, noticing that her husband had taken a different road from the one leading home.
“It’s a surprise. I want you to meet someone.”
Milana flushed with indignation. How dare he take her to meet that girl — on such a day, no less! Even if the day was almost over.
“I’m not going to meet her,” Milana hissed, barely restraining her anger.
“Her? I don’t know who you’re talking about, but I’m sure you’ll like what I’ve prepared. Just wait a little, and you’ll see.”
“I heard everything!” Milana blurted, then bit her tongue.
“Heard what? What do you mean?”
“Your conversation with your mother. I know you skipped the party because you went to meet your first love at the airport. I should have said something right away, instead of letting this farce drag on.”
“My first love? Yes, I really did go to the airport today — but not to meet her. I immediately told Mom to find someone else or go herself. Why would I need that? Sure, we owe her family, but anyone can get from the airport to a hotel on their own.”
Milana chewed her lip in silence. Could she trust her husband’s words? Who else could he have been meeting?
“This person came for just a few days. I managed to catch him at the airport and arrange a meeting with you. It’s a surprise, so just wait. I swear I never planned to meet Yulia.
“I spent the whole day preparing your gift, and I’m a bit hurt that you don’t trust me.”
Milana sighed heavily and turned away. She’d imagined so much that she still couldn’t quite believe his words. But when they reached the pier, all her doubts melted away.
On the summer terrace of the little restaurant where they’d once met, everything was decorated with flowers; a festive table was set, and on the stage sat the composer whose music Milana loved so dearly. He was playing the piano, the melodies from his graceful fingers caressing the air.
Tears welled in her eyes as the composer joined them at the table to meet Milana. He gave her an autograph and a disc of his new album. He couldn’t stay long, but the meeting left an unforgettable impression.
“I knew you wanted his autograph and to meet him in person. When I heard he was flying into our city, I rushed to find him and ask for this favor. Luckily, he turned out to be a kind man and agreed — otherwise all my efforts would have been in vain.”
Milana couldn’t hold back; tears rolled down her cheeks. She apologized to her husband for overthinking and doubting him — she’d even imagined them breaking up.
“Silly girl! No matter how otherworldly a beauty might appear beside me — even if the whole world went crazy for her — I wouldn’t spare her a glance. I love you. For who you are, not just for your looks or kindness.
“You’re my wife. How could I think of anyone else? Don’t you ever twist things in your head or keep quiet again. If something bothers you, tell me right away. These things should be settled immediately, not stored up as resentment. And what if I had really just been busy? Would you have filed for divorce tomorrow without even finding out?”
Milana wiped her tears and smiled. She promised she would never again jump to conclusions and would always talk everything through with her husband.
The next day, when his mother called Anton asking him to come over, he already knew she wanted to arrange another meeting with Yulia. He asked her to stop interfering in his personal life.
Anton told Nina Yevgenyevna bluntly that he would stop speaking to her if she didn’t quit trying to separate him from his wife — that Milana was his deliberate choice, and he wouldn’t let anyone hurt her or push her into second place.
