After five years together, Zhora and I finally became parents. But when I told him I was pregnant, he wasn’t at all happy: all he cared about was his career and how children would ruin his plans for the future.
When he found out they were twins, he completely collapsed. It was as if I had become his enemy, as if everything was a conspiracy against him. And one day he suddenly said:
„We’ll keep one child and adopt the other. If you agree, we’ll stay as a family. If not, you can take both.”
At first, I thought it was a bad joke or a nervous breakdown. But he was serious. He packed up my things and threw me out onto the street with two newborn children. He didn’t care in the least where I would go or what would happen to us.
The first few months after that were the hardest times of my life. I had no job or home; just two young children who depended completely on me. My parents had died several years earlier, and my only sister lived abroad. We ended up in a women’s shelter, and there I began to rebuild my life.
Night after night, I rocked Artyom and Elisey in my arms and whispered promises I could barely believe:
„You won’t be hungry. You won’t be cold. Everything will be okay.” I repeated it over and over again, as if trying to force fate to obey my words.
And somehow miraculously, it did.
I got a job as a secretary in a small law firm. I worked during the day and took care of the children at night. The owner of the company, an older woman named Margarita, saw my difficulties and offered to help: she paid for a distance learning course for me as a paralegal. It was terribly hard. I often felt like I couldn’t cope. But every time I looked at my children, I found the strength to carry on.
Years passed. I rented a small but cozy apartment, got a secure job, and most importantly, raised two wise and kind children. They didn’t have expensive toys or designer clothes, but they had a mother who loved them with all her heart.
And then, on a completely ordinary day, Zhora appeared again.
I was leaving the supermarket with Artyom and Elisey when I heard someone call my name. Her heart sank, but there he was. Older, worn, thinner… but I recognized him immediately.