The dinner table was lively, filled with the aroma of warm soup and roasted meat. Yaroslav sat beside Elena, while Duong and her father sat across from them.

  As they ate, Yaroslav casually reached for a piece of bread, tore it apart, and placed half onto Elena’s plate.

  Yaroslav: Eat more. You always skip meals.

  Elena blinked in surprise. She wasn’t used to this, someone caring for her in such a natural way. She stared at the piece of bread for a moment before quietly picking it up.

  A while later, a bit of sauce clung to the corner of Elena’s lips. Without thinking, Yaroslav grabbed a napkin and gently wiped it away.

  Yaroslav: You’re so messy.

  His tone was indifferent, almost teasing, but the way he did it..so effortlessly, as if it were something he had done a hundred times. Elena blushed at the thought of how Yaroslav treated her right now. She look at Yaroslav, her heart racing.

  As the dinner continued, Duong couldn’t shake the nagging feeling in her mind.

  She glanced at Elena, her elegant yet slightly uncomfortable demeanor, the way she hesitated before speaking, the way she sometimes avoided eye contact. It was familiar. Too familiar.

  And then, Duong’s eyes widened in realization.

  She had seen Elena before.

  Duong (thinking): No way…

  Her chest tightened.

  She looked at Yaroslav, who was completely unaware of her realization, casually pouring another drink for her father.

  Duong tightened her grip on the spoon, a wave of unease rising in her chest. She couldn’t believe Yaroslav had brought someone like Elena into her home and sitting at the same table, pretending to be a sweet, respectable wife.

  The neighbors' whispers echoed in her mind. A whore. A homewrecker. A woman who had been beaten by furious wives after sleeping with their husbands.

  Anger simmered inside Duong as she thought of her close friend, a girl her age who lived not too far away. She remembered how that friend had cried in front of her, talking about how her family had fallen apart after her father had an affair with some filthy woman.

  Elena.

  It was Elena.

  Duong had seen her before—passing by her on the streets, glimpsing her leaning against dark alley walls, her sultry eyes scanning the crowd, men whispering in her ear before leading her away.

  But this was the first time Duong had seen Elena this close. No longer a fleeting image. No longer just a rumor.

  She was right in front of her.

  Duong swallowed hard, forcing herself to stay calm. Her fingers clenched the fabric of her dress beneath the table, resisting the urge to walk away.

  Yaroslav... did he know it? Or was he just another fool deceived by her?

  After dinner, Yaroslav politely asked Duong’s father for permission to tutor her in Russian. Once he received approval, he also excused himself, preparing to leave with Elena.

  Duong quickly asked her father if she could walk them out.

  Stepping outside, Yaroslav instinctively kept a noticeable distance from Elena, instead moving closer to Duong. His presence was warm beside her, yet it also made Duong feel uneasy.

  Should she say something? Should she tell him?

  She hesitated, biting her lip as her mind wrestled with the words sitting heavy on her tongue.

  Duong had fond of Yaroslav. From the first time they met, standing beside him made her feel something she hadn’t expected, his loneliness. It was so tangible, so overwhelming, as if it clung to him like a shadow.

  Yaroslav sometimes calls her "the Vietnamese girl he's always dreamed of".

  Sometimes his words left her confused...strange, incomprehensible, almost out of this world. But despite that, Duong knew that if he ever needed her, she would be there.

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  His loneliness was something she couldn't ignore.

  She pitied him not in a condescending way, but with a quiet ache in her heart. A man who had given himself to war, only to return from Chechnya with nothing but emptiness.

  And now, standing here with his wife.

  She told herself to be happy for him. Yaroslav had a family. That should have been comforting but instead, she found herself worried.

  Elena. That woman. She was filthy, and cruel in a way Duong couldn’t yet define. A woman like that wasn’t capable of love. And if she wasn’t, then what was she doing with Yaroslav? Would she just want to use him like the same way she had used countless other men?

  Duong took a deep breath, steadying herself.

  She had to say something.

  Gathering her courage, she turned to Yaroslav, who was walking slightly ahead of her. The streetlights cast a faint glow on his face, highlighting the sharpness of his features, the tiredness in his eyes.

  "Yaroslav..." she called softly.

  He glanced at her, surprised by the sudden seriousness in her voice. Duong hesitated for a second, then finally spoke.

  Duong: I've heard some rumors about your wife... Are you sure she's the right person for you?

  Duong spoke softly, but just loud enough for Elena, walking behind them, to hear. Elena tensed, her gaze shifting between Yaroslav and Duong.

  Duong: You know, I don’t want to come between you two. I’m happy for you, really… knowing that you have a family now—something you never told me about. But... just be careful with your wife. She might not be as good as she seems.

  Yaroslav: Duong… are you worried about me?

  Duong: Of course. You're a good man… it's just that maybe God forgot about you for a while. What I mean is… you look so lonely, and I just don’t want some terrible woman to break your heart with lies.

  Duong admitted her fear about the tho Elena might end up hurting Yaroslav.

  Yaroslav was surprised by Duong's kindness. He knew she cared about him, but her concern was pure, the kind of concern that came from a kind person. It was nothing like what he felt for her...

  Yaroslav suddenly realized that his feelings for Duong had changed, it was not just gratitude when she reached out and warmed his loneliness for so long... it had changed to another feeling.

  Yaroslav looked into Duong’s eyes and let out a deep sigh. He realized he couldn’t hide the truth from her any longer.

  They sat together on a bench in the park. Elena had left a while ago or at least that’s what they thought. In reality, she was still standing at a distance, watching them.

  Yaroslav: The truth is… if I told you that I only hired her to be my wife tonight, just so I could have dinner with your father and make it easier to teach you without any obstacles… would you believe me? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not some kind of pedo or something like that. It’s just… I care about you, Duong. You were there for me when I felt alone, and you warmed my heart. I’m grateful for that, and I just want to help you like the way you helped me.

  He spoke, embarrassed to admit everything.

  Duong: Oh, Yaroslav… you could have just told me. I would’ve found a way to convince my father. There was no need to hire a slut to pretend to be your wife.

  She looked into his eyes, and for a moment, Yaroslav felt himself getting lost in her gaze.

  Duong: I see you as an big brother. I like you Yaroslav

  The words “big brother” hit him like a punch to the gut.

  it's just "brother"

  The phrase echoed in his mind. He sat there, frozen, as disappointment washed over him. So that was all he was to her nothing more, nothing less.

  But then, as he looked at Duong, the girl who smiled so purely at him, he realized something.

  Maybe this was enough.

  And so, he smiled back.

  Not far away, Elena stood frozen, watching them. A strange, suffocating feeling tightened around her chest, she felt like she had lost.

  Lost to a 16yo girl with an innocent heart.

  Elena had always thought she only liked Yaroslav for his good looks and the generous money he paid her. He was always leaving more on the table than necessary after they spent the night together. To her, he had been nothing more than another man with a wallet thick enough to make her life easier.

  But one night when a drunk tried to beat her up for disobeying him, Yaroslav was there and protected her.

  "Stay the hell away from her."

  His voice had been low and filled with quiet rage. No one had ever stood up for her like that.

  And now, as she watched him with Duong laughing, smiling, looking at the girl with an expression Elena had never seen before. Something inside her twisted painfully.

  She was jealous.

  Not just because Yaroslav was with another woman, but because he had never looked at her that way.

  Not even once.

  She clenched her fists. Since when did I care? she thought bitterly. She had always known her place. She wasn’t meant for love, for romance, for any of that fairy-tale bullshit. Her world was filled with smoke-filled rooms, cheap perfume, and fleeting touches that meant nothing.

  But Yaroslav had been different.

  And now, he belonged to someone else.

  A girl.

  A child.

  And despite all her years of experience, despite knowing how to seduce men, despite all the nights she had spent in his arms… she had lost.

  Elena felt sick.

  After a while, Duong said goodbye to Yaroslav and headed home. Yaroslav smiled, watching her go

  Elena remained in the shadows, unseen, still watching him.