She had been away from home for the second week and missed her husband terribly. She missed their cozy home, quiet evenings.
— Excuse me, is this seat taken?—a voice suddenly sounded right above her ear. The chairs nearby rustled as the stranger settled in. Diana looked up in surprise and saw a tall man about thirty-five, with a strong build and a characteristic «fighter’s» face—either a former boxer or wrestler.
— Sorry to disturb you,—he said, sitting down. — I missed most of the event, but I need to check in, so I decided to sit next to you if you don’t mind.
Diana smiled slightly with a polite but routine smile, then glanced at her watch again. She couldn’t wait for it all to end soon. The speaker seemed to be just getting into the swing, flipping slides and drawing diagrams, while the audience was clearly losing interest.
The man next to her continued to fidget in his chair, trying to get comfortable, which slightly irritated her. She glanced at him sideways, and catching her gaze, the stranger immediately apologized:
— Sorry, please, it’ll be fine now. I didn’t have time to prepare here.
He pulled out an expensive pen, a planner, and a recorder from his bag, which immediately told Diana: her new neighbor was clearly not poor. The items betrayed a well-off person in him.
Silence settled in the auditorium again, broken only by the rustle of pages and the monotonous voice of the speaker.
— Sorry, were there no booklets handed out?—the man addressed her again. Diana flinched slightly, not expecting the question. She wanted to react irritably, but quickly calmed down. After all, he hadn’t asked anything terrible.
— Booklets are at the entrance, you can pick them up when it’s over,—she replied restrainedly, trying not to attract the speaker’s attention.
Unexpectedly for herself, half an hour later, Diana discovered that she and her neighbor, whose name was Andrew, had already switched to first names and engaged in a lively conversation. Andrew turned out to be an interesting and versatile interlocutor.
— They just sent me here at the last minute,—he explained in an apologetic tone, looking at her. — Sorry if I distracted you, I see you’re in a hurry yourself.
— Yes, planning to leave today,—Diana confirmed, noticing that Andrew was attentively following her frequent glances at the watch.
— To your husband?
— Yes, to my husband,—Diana confirmed, seeing his face change. Andrew leaned back slightly, and the woman immediately guessed that he might have wanted to try flirting with her, but the news about her husband quickly changed his plans.
— Let me drive you to the station, no need to call a taxi,—Andrew offered, quickly figuring it out. The speaker had just finished his speech, and now they were descending in the elevator to the underground parking. While driving to the station, the conversation between them continued surprisingly easily and naturally.
It turned out they had a lot in common with Andrew. Both lived for work, built careers, and shared similar views on life. Diana felt as if she had known this man for many years, although the meeting was accidental. Andrew, despite his somewhat stern appearance, was charming and charismatic, drawing attention to himself.
When they arrived at the station, Andrew immediately pulled Diana’s things out of the trunk and offered to escort her to the train.
Andrew looked at the schedule board and, smiling, suggested:
— You have forty minutes until the train. Maybe pop into a cafe? There’s a good little restaurant nearby, my friend owns it. We could have a cup of coffee if you don’t mind.
Diana hesitated. She actually objected to this proposal, but she had to spend the time until departure somehow, and unexpectedly for herself, she agreed. A few minutes later, they were already sitting at a cozy table in the restaurant, together, as if it wasn’t an accidental meeting but a long-planned dinner.
When the young woman returned to the train and it started moving, she couldn’t stop thinking about what happened. Andrew, although practically a stranger, left a strong impression. He was different—interesting, relaxed, and Diana felt a strange attraction to him, despite having a husband waiting at home. But she forced herself to switch to Kyle. After all, he was her family, her real one.
She remembered how he wrote that he missed her. And she planned to surprise him—arrive early and tell him she agreed to have a second child. This thought had been spinning in her head for a long time, but now it finally turned into a decision. Diana thought a new baby could strengthen their marriage.
She had barely started dozing to the rhythmic clatter of wheels when her phone came to life. The screen lit up, and she saw a short message: «How’s the trip? Settled comfortably? Not cold?» It was from Andrew. Kyle never wrote such messages, and Diana felt awkward at how much this simple attention from an unfamiliar man touched her.
She didn’t immediately decide whether to reply. After all, she was married, and this was just an accidental meeting, nothing more. But her fingers already typed the response: «Yes, everything’s fine, traveling comfortably.» When the message was read, Diana blocked the contact. She decided she would remain faithful to her family and never tell anyone that her heart trembled for a moment. Let it remain her secret only. Time will pass—she’ll forget this man. Arriving in her hometown, the woman called a taxi and headed home.
It was early; Diana was sure her husband was still asleep. And she wanted to wake him with a hot kiss. With a smile, she imagined meeting her daughter. When Diana was at work or on business trips, the girl was in the care of the nanny. While the elevator was going up, Diana looked at herself in the mirrored walls and, to her surprise, found that she looked very good. Even though she was no longer a young girl, her appearance had only become brighter with the years. Diana remembered her new acquaintance again and immediately felt ashamed of her thoughts.
Stepping out of the elevator, the woman took out her keys and quietly opened the front door. The hallway greeted her with dimness. Foreign high-heeled shoes caught her eye, carelessly lying near the shoe rack. This was definitely not the nanny’s shoes; Mary Stephens was an elderly woman who never wore such shoes. Diana’s thoughts were interrupted by Kyle, who came out into the corridor from the bedroom. Seeing his wife, he was very surprised; his eyes darted.
— And why are you here?—he blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
— Indeed, what am I doing here, in my own apartment,—Diana smirked.
— I… I didn’t mean that.
Kyle hesitated, instinctively blocking the bedroom door with his body. Further events developed quickly. Diana was just about to ask her husband what was going on when the bedroom door opened noisily, and a very young half-naked girl appeared on the threshold.
— Kylesy,—she said in a thin voice,—but you said your hag would arrive only in two days.
Diana couldn’t stay silent anymore:
— Kyle, bother to explain what’s happening?—it was hard for her to restrain her emotions.
Kyle mumbled something, and Diana repeated her question, only louder. And then she suddenly remembered her daughter. Without taking off her shoes, the woman rushed to the nursery, but the crib and playpen were empty.
— Where is my child?—the woman growled. — Answer, where is Eva?
— Kylesy, and you didn’t say your wife is such a hysteric.—the annoying voice of the girl sounded nearby.
Kyle silently watched as his wife turned into a real fury. And he had already opened his mouth to say something, but his young mistress boldly told Diana:
— You still don’t understand that Kylesy has a new love now? Young and beautiful. We’ve been dating for a long time, we love each other. He just couldn’t bring himself to tell you. And he only needed money from you. Well, since it turned out you saw me, know that he’s mine! Now go, get out of the apartment and don’t forget to take your stuff! I don’t need someone else’s junk here!
Diana even blinked several times from what she heard; it seemed to her that it was all an illusion. Pushing the uninvited guest aside, she approached her still-husband closely and said:
— Where is my child? Where did you put Eva? Answer right now!
She barely restrained herself from giving him several slaps. And only thanks to her father’s teachings, she managed to hold back this impulse.
— Everything’s fine with your Eva!—Kyle finally answered. — You’re always only caring about her! So I had to seek comfort on the side; you don’t spoil me with your affection!—he still had the audacity to accuse his wife of something. — She’s with the nanny! I couldn’t leave her here! We definitely weren’t up to her and her constant whims. You spoiled the girl; nothing suits her! Better if you cared about your husband like that!