She signed the divorce in tears, and a few months later she returned with a new last name, triplets in her belly and a man her ex couldn’t even beat with a look… -HONGNGOC
Yegor saw her before she saw him.
That was immediately noticeable by the way Alina kept walking calmly into the entrance.
He didn’t speed up the pace.
It didn’t break down.
He didn’t look down.
He, on the other hand, was as if he had crashed into an invisible wall.
Polina was saying something while settling down the slope.
Then she also kept quiet.
Because she recognized Alina by her husband’s facial expression.
Not because of the clothes.
Not for safety.
Not because of the man standing next to her.
Exactly for that overly abrupt look, almost scared.
Alina pulled up at the driveway.
Maksim leaned towards her.
— Are you tired?
— A little bit.
— Inside there is a quiet living room.
We’ll sit aside.
He was talking low.
But in that silent care there was more closeness than Yegor had given him during his last year of marriage.
Yegor stepped up.
Way too fast.
Way too late.
— Alina.
She’s turnt up.
His face remained serene.
Just his fingers pressed the purse strap a little tighter.
— Good afternoon, Yegor.
He was looking at her belly.
No hiding it.
Seven Months.
Almost eight.
The loose coat wasn’t hiding anything anymore.
Polina shifted Alina’s gaze to Maksim and back.
Her smile was the first to turn off.
— You… you look good, — managed to say Yegor.
It was a lamentable sentence.
Especially for a man who once signed a divorce without looking up.
Alina gave a wink.
— Thank you.
Maksim didn’t intervene.
I was just standing next to him.
Close enough for Alina to feel the warmth of her coat on her shoulder.
Quiet enough that no one has to explain anything.
Yegor got itchy.
— I didn’t know you were gonna be here.
“I didn’t know it either,” Alina replied.
And it was true.
She was invited to that dinner as director of the charity foundation that the Koroliov group had recently launched.
His name didn’t make headlines yet.
She had demanded it herself.
No interviews.
No social photo sessions.
Without the word “feeling”.
After all that had been through, I didn’t want nois
e.
I wanted solid ground under my feet.
Polina finally smiled.
With that same smile that usually extinguishes discomfort.
— The world is small.
Alina turned her eyes back.
For a second.
No outrage.
No female competition.
As if before her there was only an unknown person, and not the cause of a broken life.
That, for some reason, hurt Polina even more.
“Yes,” said Alina.
— Especially when someone lives too long at the expense of someone else’s pain.
Polina went pale.
Yegor inhaled sharply.
Maksim looked at him directly for the first time.
“We’ll pass,” he said.
Just three words.
But the tone was such that Yegor retreated to the side automatically.
They came in.
The warm air in the restaurant smelled of expensive wood, wine and citrus.
Alina walked very slowly.
Not for the weakness.
By the belly.
For the children.
Because the doctor had long forbidden him to hurry.
When the doors closed behind them, Yegor stood in the hallway.
Polina touched her elbow.
— You didn’t tell me anything about the children.
He didn’t respond.
Because at that moment, for the first time, the irritation did not move in him.
Not even jealous.