Chapter 3
Nadiya
And I would have thought that this was someone’s nasty joke, played to put me in my place, but the girl was too angry, too wound up.
I think if Elvira hadn’t been there, she would have attacked me.
“Oh, don’t look at me like that,” the girl says irritably. “Just don’t pretend you didn’t know about me.”
Darkness covers me completely, and something must be reflected on my face, because the girl begins to frown.
It’s not that I really wanted to marry a man I don’t know, I dreamed of sleeping in the same bed with him, sharing a household, having children, but… Didn’t I deserve to know that my husband has a wife?
Wait. How did we get our nikah and state registration done then?
My head is spinning. I feel a wave of disgust rising up. And I’m sure that if I ate anything today, it would all end up under the feet of that blonde fairy.
Elvira stands between us, as if afraid a fight is about to break out, and turns to face the girl:
– Olesya, you better leave this house right now.
“Like hell! Let him know!” he points his finger at me.
I step back and hug myself by the shoulders. I am very cold, my body is shaking.
“Elvira, explain to me what’s going on,” I beg in a trembling voice. “How could Idar marry me if he’s already married?”
“What?” Olesya shouts instead of Elvira. “I’ll tell you now how! We’ve been together for five years! Five, damn it! We live together! This house is mine! I know his whole family, they welcomed me like a bride! Like his wife! His mother is like my own! The whole family is practically my own, and who are you?”
The girl’s voice changes to ultrasound.
“Okay, that’s enough!” Elvira barks at Olesya, roughly grabs her by the shoulder and drags her toward the exit.
There is a quarrel outside, and I slowly sink into the chair.
It hurts to sit because breathing is practically impossible in this position. My temples throb with pain.
When everything in the yard becomes quiet, Elvira returns and stops on the opposite side of the living room.
I look up at her and say quietly:
– Please tell me that I got it all wrong.
Elvira purses her lips and shakes her head, then comes closer and stops next to me.
– He would never have married Olesya.
I shake my head.
– But she said…
— Olesya is my common-law wife. And yes, they’ve been together for a long time.
Hot tears are streaming down my cheeks.
– But then why all this?
— What’s wrong? Arranged marriages are common here. I got married that way, and so did Idar’s mother. What’s surprising to you?
— Was your husband with another woman at the time of your marriage?
He remains silent, only his gaze warms a little with compassion.
– You really didn’t know?
– Where?
Elvira sighs and sinks heavily into a chair.
“You shouldn’t care. If Oleska’s a fool, she’ll stay and put up with it, but if not, then… just forget about her.”
— He was going to marry her?
“No,” he snorts. “The family knows Oleska because she worked as a cook in their house. Idar doesn’t forget the rules. He understands that only by marrying one of his own will he get a share in the business. And Oleska is not one of them.”
I let out a laugh and wipe the tears from my cheeks.
— You’d think I was one of you.
Elvira looks away. I don’t need confirmation, I know perfectly well that this is true. I am an outsider too.
Where did I end up?
If this girl has been with him for so long, if she lives in his house, if she knows his family, then what role will be assigned to me?
Maybe that’s why those women laughed at me? Did they know I was just a backup dancer for Idar’s true love?
So they were amused by the fact that he essentially didn’t need me? So they whispered behind my back? They probably discussed how I was an idiot, being used as a front, and that I would never be happy with their Idar. I would always, absolutely always, be relegated to second place.
Why did they bring me to this house? Why did they bring me to a family that hates me?
Did you think I would become their servant?
What will I do when Olesya gives birth?
Allah, why… why did I fall for this marriage?
Nazarka…
But in light of the latest news, the question arises: will they help my brother if I am an unnecessary screen wife?
Elvira rises to her feet.
“I have to go. I think Idar will explain everything to you himself.”
And she leaves, and I watch her go. As she leaves the room, she turns around, sighs, but then turns away and leaves me alone.
It’s good that I don’t have to pack my things.
I find my backpack, call a taxi to a hotel in the city center and leave the house, which belongs to another woman.
