Vera stared at Alexey, bewilderment etched across her face.
“Alex,” she said quietly, “don’t you see you’re making a terrible error?”
He waved her off impatiently. “Spare me the theatrics. I’m done listening to that perpetual scowl of yours. Milana—now she understands me. She’s invigorating. And you… I’ve been far too generous, giving you time to pack and find a new place. Remember: you never earned a single kopek of this. You never worked, so don’t pretend you have a claim on my fortune.”
Vera drew in a slow breath, recalling every cutting remark he’d ever made. Once upon a time he forbade her from working—“a woman of my standing shouldn’t sully herself with a job,” he’d said. Now, with Milana in his life, she’d be free to earn her own living.
Now Vera stood alone by Alexey’s freshly filled grave, the wind rustling around her. Three years had passed since his “happy” remarriage—three miserable years of whispered suspicions that Milana had been dosing him with something sinister. He’d even launched his own half-finished inquiry into her behavior.
A month before his sudden collapse, Alexey had sought her out, eyes sunken and frail. He confessed his fears, begged for her pardon, and then… the next thing she knew, she was at this funeral. Across the grass, Milana, dressed in mourning black, wilted in the arms of a younger man. The assembled mourners muttered scandalized judgments. Vera’s heart clenched: despite everything, she still loved him—and she refused to let his story end here.
As she turned to leave, Milana’s voice cut through the hushed crowd: “Don’t kid yourself—you’ll inherit nothing.”
Forcing calm, Vera looked back. “We’ll see.”
The Will’s Surprise
A week later, Vera found herself in the notary’s office. Milana lingered nearby, radiant in her new widowhood, while her companion’s smug gaze followed Vera’s every move.
When the lawyer read Alexey’s wishes, everything went to Milana—until one last clause: a small farmhouse in a remote village a hundred kilometers from the city.
Milana laughed so loudly it echoed off the marble walls. “Congratulations, Vera—your own little shack! Don’t worry, I’ll never steal that junk from you.”
Vera said nothing. She signed the papers and left, thinking, “An adventure awaits.”Grateful for a rare day off, she climbed into her car and set the address into her GPS.
A House with a Secret
Three hours later she arrived at a ramshackle village, its main road nothing more than rutted grass. At journey’s end sat the inherited house—weathered timbers, an untended yard, but faint tire tracks leading to the gate.
Her heart raced. Did Alexey secretly rent it out?She approached the unlocked door and pushed inside—and smelled fresh coffee.The room was spotless, an open laptop on the table. Clearly someone lived here.
“Don’t be afraid.”
Vera whirled around—and darkness swallowed her.
A Miraculous Return
She awoke to the soft light of morning. Alexey knelt beside her on the sofa, very much alive and looking healthier than he had in years.
“Alex… am I dreaming?” she whispered.
He smiled gently. “No one died.”
“But the man in the coffin—?”
He reached out. “A custom-made mannequin. It fooled everyone.”
He told her the truth: Milana’s lover, fresh from an internship in India, had brought back a slow-acting poison. When Alexey realized his life was in danger—only after transferring nearly all his assets to Milana—he hatched an elaborate ruse with his friend Misha. They’d staged his death to flush out the conspirators.
Moved by his confession, Vera agreed to help him finish the plan.
Justice Served
Under cover of night, they returned to the notary. Alexey quietly reassigned half his estate to Vera.“Forgive me,” he murmured. “It’s the least I can do.”
Vera trembled, torn between relief and confusion. Then she realized her heart still belonged to him. She raced back to the village house just as lights blinked on in neighboring windows.
At the gate, Alexey emerged, anxious.
“You don’t have to do this,” she said softly. “What if you’ve changed your mind?”
He drew her close. “I hurt you horribly. But losing you made me understand: we belong together.”
She nodded. “We’re forty—still time for a fresh start.”
A New Beginning
Three months later, Milana and her accomplice faced trial for attempted murder. Vera stayed home to rest—she carried Alexey’s child.
When Alexey burst through the door after the verdict, Vera greeted him with a secret smile.
“How are you?” he asked.
“Not ‘you,’ but ‘we,’” she replied, placing a hand on her belly.
His eyes filled with tears. “Truly?”
She nodded.
He swept her into his arms and spun her around. “Every day with you grows more precious,” he whispered. “I never believed happiness could get any better—until now.”
Hand in hand, they looked toward their shared future, at last equal partners in love and life.