After nearly two hours of waiting, an elegant woman dressed in a beige coat and a red scarf emerged from the mall. Pavel froze. It was Caterina.
She was holding her phone to her ear and smiling. Behind her, a man in a gray suit was signaling her towards the street. Pavel felt his heart rise in his throat. She raised her hand and, without noticing him, headed straight for his taxi.
“Free, sir?” she asked hurriedly, opening the door.
Pavel swallowed hard and nodded. His voice was stuck in his chest.
“Where are you going, ma’am?”
“To the ‘Sunflower’ guesthouse, please. It’s on the way to the forest.”
Pavel almost lost his grip on the steering wheel. That guesthouse was one of his — the place where he used to take business delegates. And now, his wife was going there… with another man.
Throughout the journey, Caterina was talking on the phone, laughing with a warmth that Pavel hadn’t heard in years. His whole body trembled.
“I can’t wait to see you, darling… yes, I got rid of him today… he has a meeting, as usual,” she said, smiling.
Pavel felt his body go numb. Each word cut into his soul like a blade.
When they arrived at the guesthouse, Caterina asked him to wait. She hurried inside, and he remained in the taxi, staring at the door through which she had disappeared. Five minutes later, she came out… but she wasn’t alone.
The man in the gray suit appeared next to her, holding her by the waist. Pavel felt his vision darken.
He started the engine and slowly drove away, but after a few streets, he pulled over and burst into tears. Not the tears of a betrayed man, but of one who realizes he has lost everything that mattered.
In the following days, he told no one anything. He left the city, turned off his phone, and retreated to one of the villages of his childhood. There, among the hills and simple people, he understood something: he had lost his soul trying to conquer the world.
After a month, he returned. He sold half of his business and donated a large part of the money to an orphanage. And one morning, in front of the house where he had grown up, he saw Caterina getting out of a car.
“Pavel… we need to talk,” she said, tears in her eyes.
He looked at her silently.
“You don’t have to, Caterina. Everything I had to say, I have already said in silence.”
He turned his back and walked towards the garden of the house, where a gentle breeze was blowing through the apple trees. For the first time in a long time, he smiled.
Finally, he was free.
This work is inspired by real events and people, but has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the narrative. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
The author and publisher do not assume responsibility for the accuracy of events or the portrayal of characters and are not liable for any misinterpretations. This story is provided “as is,” and any opinions expressed belong to the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.
