The new apartment lifted Alice’s spirits; against the backdrop of this joy, even the divorce no longer seemed like a catastrophe.
Two years had already passed since some girl called and announced she was pregnant by Alice’s husband, Michael.
Alice didn’t believe it at first, thought it was someone’s cruel joke; then Mary—that was the girl’s name—mentioned an obscure spot for Michael’s tattoo, suggested letting her husband go to her and leave him in peace.
— Take him, what do I care? He’ll find another one anyway. He betrayed me—he’ll betray you too. Good luck.
Returning from work, Michael saw a suitcase with his things standing in the middle of the hallway.
— I know everything; you don’t need to make excuses, — Alice said in a cold voice. — Get out. Just tell me, what wasn’t good enough for you? — the girl’s voice began to break, — because we don’t have children? We just needed to wait. Understand, wait! Instead of running off to knock up some woman…
— Alice, I… Forgive me, — Michael tried to approach his wife, but she pushed him away.
— Take your things and leave. I don’t want to see you anymore.
Michael left; now depression was Alice’s life companion. The difficult divorce provided the means to buy her own apartment—at least something worked out.
The apartment, though part of the old housing stock, was very sturdy, and the price was pleasantly surprising.
All day the girl cleaned up, unpacked things, and in the evening treated herself to a royal dinner: she ordered food and a bottle of wine. An interesting movie was supposed to perfectly complement the evening.
Suddenly, rustling sounds came from the hallway; Alice jumped up and saw some man bringing his bags into her apartment.
— Who are you? — the girl shouted.
The man, clearly not expecting to see her, was flustered.
— And who are you? I bought this apartment; move out.
— Wait a minute, you’re mixing something up. I bought the apartment; I have all the documents. Let’s compare.
It turned out that the sets of documents were absolutely identical; both had been scammed. The same apartment had been sold twice.
— For now, we’ll have to live together; once we sort it out, we’ll part ways. We’ll be roommates, — the man declared. — By the way, my name is Victor.
— Alice, — the girl muttered and went to her room.
The evening was definitely ruined; Victor was fussing with something in the kitchen. Alice came out and noticed bread, canned goods, and something else that didn’t inspire confidence.
— Victor, — the girl called him, — come have dinner; you’re probably hungry. I set the table there; there’s enough for two.
— The smell is amazing! Did you cook?
— No, it’s from a restaurant. I wanted to celebrate the housewarming; I ordered delivery. And who sold you the apartment?
— A balding man named Vincent. And you?
— The same for me. To the police tomorrow?
— No need; I’ll explain everything now. We’ll have a ton of problems; they’ll drag us through stations, and do we need that? I just started a new job; I can’t get distracted. I have a friend who’s a private detective; I’ll tell him everything, and he’ll sort it out. I promise.
— Fine. And are you with family or what?
— Or what. I have no one; and you, I understand…
— I had a husband, but he floated away. That kind doesn’t sink, — Alice smirked.
For a very long time, the girl couldn’t fall asleep; she kept thinking about how both of them had been deceived and about Victor… He wasn’t handsome, but he literally drew her in, and he didn’t inspire any sense of danger.
For three months, the roommates lived peacefully; communication improved; it seemed like this was how it was meant to be. But one day, returning from work, Alice heard voices in the kitchen. Victor was not alone.
— I love you, understand, — a girl was yelling. — If you want, we’ll have children; if you want, a dog. Just come back.
Alice was about to leave so as not to interfere—and maybe so as not to hear Victor’s answer? His voice made her freeze:
— You came for nothing.
— Have you really forgotten everything? We were so happy!
— On the contrary, I remember everything, including how you got rid of my child.
— Victor, listen; it wasn’t your child. Remember, you went on a business trip? I went to a friend’s birthday then. In the evening, I was walking home alone; there were three of them, understand? I couldn’t do anything.
— Why didn’t you tell me?
— I was scared, understand? I love you so much.
Alice quietly slipped into her room, inadvertently seeing Victor hugging a slender girl who had buried her face in his shoulder.
After that, the man often didn’t come home to spend the night; the girl missed him but tried not to admit it.
One morning, Alice was woken by the doorbell. She thought Victor had forgotten his keys or something, but on the threshold stood Michael.
He rushed to her, began begging for forgiveness, fell to his knees.
— Get your hands off me, — Alice said harshly and coldly. You betrayed me; now you’re betraying her, and you want forgiveness?
— My girl, my little Alice, come on, what are you saying? I’ll change; we’ll have a great family; I’ve realized everything!
— Go back to your family; don’t touch me.
— Mary’s daughter was born sick; I don’t need a child like that; I want a normal son, and from you! — Michael grabbed Alice and dragged her into the room.
The girl tried to break free, but Michael was much stronger. He yanked her robe and easily tore the thin lace; she already imagined him pressing down on her with his whole body and squeezed her eyes shut, but it didn’t happen.
Alice opened her eyes and saw Victor fighting with Michael; at some point, Victor dragged her ex-husband out of the room and then pushed him into the stairwell.
When the man returned, the girl couldn’t hold back her emotions; she threw herself into his arms; he held her tightly and kissed her.
— But you didn’t spend the night at home; how did you appear here? And what about your girlfriend?
— Why did you think I was with her? I serve in the Emergency Rescue Service; I have night shifts, not what you thought. She betrayed me twice; if she wants to reconcile, let her keep wanting.
— Sorry, but I heard your conversation.
— Let’s not talk about the past, okay? I want to be with you, — Victor said and passionately kissed her on the lips.
For several days, Alice walked around happy and elated; one evening, a call came from an unknown number.
— Hello?
— Alice Anderson?
— Yes, listening.
— Your husband is in the hospital in serious condition. Come.
— What? Husband? Something happened to Michael?
— Michael? No, Victor Vergasov. Or did we get it wrong?
— Victor… I’m coming!
Already at the hospital, Alice learned that Victor had been beaten on the street by several men. Passersby called an ambulance and the police, and now the man lay with a bandage over his eyes and a bandaged head.
— Who was it? Do you remember? — the girl cried, not suspecting that it was Michael’s revenge.
A week later, Victor was transferred from intensive care to general therapy, but the bandage was not removed from his eyes. One day, his ex-girlfriend came to him, said she didn’t know about his condition; Alice stepped to the window so as not to interfere.
— The doctors said I won’t see anymore. Do you want to spend your life with a blind man?
— What? How? That’s not true!
— It is true.
The girl abruptly stood up and ran out of the ward. Alice approached him and took his hand.
— Don’t worry; I’ll always be with you. We’ll find the best doctors; we’ll restore your vision, and even if it doesn’t work—I’ll always love you.
After discharge, Alice took Victor home, cared for him, and loved him.
— Alice, my dear, will you marry me?
— Of course, — the girl laughed, — we need to raise a child together. I’m pregnant, Victor.
The man scooped her up in his arms and started spinning her around the apartment.
— I love you, Alice, love you, love you!
— Be careful; it’s not safe; you might trip, — Alice worried.
Victor just smiled.
— You can see? You can see, right?
— My vision came back three days ago; I wanted to know if you’d agree to marry me if I were blind.
— You silly! I love you, got it?
For the wedding, the young couple received an unexpectedly expensive gift—a luxurious country house.
— Victor, where is this from?
— Remember my detective friend? He found that scammer; this house is our compensation.
Alice laughed and kissed her husband.
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