She just wanted to see who hed left her for…
Parsheen walked straight into the kitchen, still in his coat, and sat at the table.
«Im in love with another woman. Shes pregnant. Im leaving,» he said bluntly.
Vita turned off the tap and faced him.
«Is it that girl who sells apples at the market stall? Tonya, isnt it?» she asked calmly.
«You knew?» His head snapped up.
«Darling, youre a terrible liar. Of course I knew. Do you love her, or is this just about the baby?»
«Im sorry,» he muttered, dropping his gaze.
*And what about the ten years we spent together? What about me?* Her eyes screamed it, but Vita stayed silent.
«Are you planning to marry her?» she asked.
«Not yet.»
«Then lets keep things normal at the department. I dont want gossip.»
«Fine. Can I go?» He stood up.
Vita turned back to the sink, running the water until she heard the front door close.
Hed packed quicklyjust the essentials. Or maybe hed come back?
She switched off the tap, sat in his empty chair, and let her head drop onto her folded arms. But she didnt cry.
***
She hadnt cried a month earlier, either, when her friend told her shed seen Parsheen with another woman.
«A student?» Vita had asked. «They always fall for him. What do they even see in him?»
«No, some girl selling fruit at the market near the uni. Tonya. Moved here from the countryside, lives in a shared flat on Churchill Road. Twenty-three,» her friend rattled off, like some detective in a crime drama.
«How do you even know all this?» Vita frowned.
«Small town. My friend lives in that buildingLisa Sawyer. Remember her? Same year as us. Your Parsheens there all the time.»
«Cant say I do. So *thats* where hes been sneaking off to.»
Seeing is believing. The next day, Vita decided to follow him. She knew his schedule, dressed discreetly, and waited behind a pillar in the university foyer.
When he left, she trailed him at a distance, careful not to stare. He mightve felt her eyes on him. She wanted to keep her prideno desperate stalking. She just needed to see who hed chosen over her.
He stopped near the girls fruit stall. A short queue had formedthree people. The girl, in a sleeveless vest over a hoodie and jeans, weighed apples with quick hands. When she bent over the crates, her thick plait swung forward, loose strands falling into her face. Shed blow them away, then smile. A sweet, simple face, dimples appearing when she laughed. She served customers patiently but kept flicking dark, playful glances at Parsheen. *Probably short-changing them. Should I report her?* Vita thought bitterly.
An old woman took forever picking apples, inspecting each one before dropping it into Tonyas waiting bag.
«Thats enough,» the woman finally said.
«Take some plums too. Sweet and softperfect for jam,» Tonya offered.
The woman hesitated, squeezed a few, then shook her head.
«No, just the apples. How much?»
The bag held nearly a kilo, but Tonya named a ridiculously low price. The old woman looked thrilled, handed over the coins, and hurried off before the girl changed her mind.
*She pities the elderly!* Vita was stunned. *Or maybe shes playing generous for Parsheens benefit.*
Vita passed that stall every day, even eyed the plums once. But shed never noticed the girl. Parsheen, though, clearly had.
With the old woman gone, he stepped forward. The way Tonya looked at him*like hes some god. Well, a near-PhD, I suppose.* The girl adjusted his collar, brushed invisible dust from his shoulders. That tender gesture stabbed Vita. Shed thought it was just an affair. But this? This was love.
She couldnt see Parsheens face, but she knew his expression matched Tonyas. No point waiting to be spotted. Vita turned and left.
That night, alone at home, she finally broke down.
***
Shed noticed him at uni straight away. Quiet, serious, never at parties, no close friends, ignored most girls. Handsome, if not for the permanent scowl. There was something mysterious about himhe reminded her of Heathcliff.
One day, she sat next to him in a lecture.
«Bored?» she asked.
He looked at her, smiled, and his whole face changed. *He* is *handsome*, she realized. After that, they sat together often. Soon, he was walking her home.
«What do you even see in him?» a jealous friend grumbled.
«Better you dont know,» Vita teased.
Things moved slowly. But by their final year, they were close. They married right after graduation. His parents werent theretheyd died in a crash years earlier. That explained the mystery, the quietness.
In bed, though, he was gentle. Afterward, hed recite poetryWordsworth, Tennyson, Keats. He had a way with words. Vita would listen, heart pounding, as if the verses reached straight into her soul.
She desperately wanted a child. But the doctors had said it was unlikelya childhood accident on an icy river. Ten years with Parsheen, and no miracle. Hed reassure her*We can adopt, when youre ready.* But she wanted her own. Could she ever love someone elses child?
After uni, they both stayed on as lecturers. Lately, though, their marriage had settled into something quiet, friendly. Always togetherhome, work, side by side. Vita cherished that. But Parsheen? He craved passion, fire. And a child. So hed found a simpler girl, uncomplicated, the kind whod give him a healthy baby. *The type they call ruddy and wholesome.*
When Vita learned about the baby, jealousy burnednot because hed strayed, but because *he* would have a son or daughter. Shed never hold her own child.
Well, if she couldnt give him one, someone else would. What argument did she have against a baby? Maybe he needed someone like Tonyastraightforward, uncomplicated. What good was a clever, barren wife? *I wonderdoes he read her poetry too?*
At the department, nothing changed. They still spoke the same. Only now, they walked home separately, making excuses to leave early or stay late. No one questioned it.
Parsheen moved into Tonyas shared flat. Vita hoped hed come back, but weeks passed, and he didnt. Leaving work, she trained her eyes away from the market.
She heard about the baby between lectures. He found her in the corridor, eyes shining, and whispered the news. She forced a congratulations. He rushed to the hospital. That evening, he turned up at her door sobbingTonya was dead. A stroke. Vita held him as he shook.
«The babys alive. A girl. What will you do?»
«Ill take her,» he said hoarsely.
«And work?»
«My aunt can help at first. Ill cut my hours.»
But by spring, his aunt left*gardening season, and the babys bigger now.* He hired a nanny, fired her the next day. Came home to a screaming baby while the woman scrolled on her phone.
Days later, he called Vita. «Please. I cant do this alone.»
«You left me, and now youre asking for help? Really, Parsheen?»
«Just come.»
Grudges were one thing. But the baby was innocent. The moment Vita held her, all resentment vanished. She loved that girl instantly. Parsheen had named her Alicesaid Tonya loved Adele, used to hum her songs. *Alice Alexandra Parsheen.* It had a nice ring.
At first, Vita just helpedcooked, cleaned, minded Alice when he taught. But then the flatmates complained. The landlady was dead, and a stranger with a baby was living there. He had to go.
«Pack your things. You and Alice are moving in with me,» she said without hesitation.
They slept in separate rooms at first. When Alice said «Mummy,» Vitas heart nearly burst.
One evening, she came home to shrieks of laughter. Alice wobbled on unsteady legs as Parsheen caught her, tossed her gently. Both were grinning. Vita had never heard him laugh like that. Tears pricked her eyes.
«How long have you been there?» He turned, beaming. «Look!» He set Alice down, stepped back. She tottered toward him.
He couldnt stop talking about her first steps. That night, they were close again. He read her poetry, and her heart swelled.
«Did you… read to her too?» she ventured, expecting him to shut down.
«Once. She didnt get it,» he admitted after a pause.
Alice grew, started nursery. She looked more like Tonya every day.
One afternoon, Vita and Parsheen passed the market. A different womanolder, brassy red hair, dirty nailswas selling apples now. She winked at Parsheen.
«Lets go,» he muttered, disgusted.
That night, as Vita washed dishes, he hugged her from behind.
«Thank you. Without you… You and Aliceyoure everything.»
«Without you and Tonya, thered be no Alice.»
Vita had forgiven. If shed held a grudge, thered be no Alice, no him. Just a lonely, empty life.
She pitied Tonya. Pitied that shed died so young. But shed left Alice behind. One day, theyd tell her about her birth mother. Or maybe not. Vita had raised her, loved her like her own. That was what mattered.
