“You don’t even realize how much your mediocrity and dullness irritate me now,” Andrei said, his eyes flashing. “I don’t need a gray mouse; I deserve more!”
“Do you really think money makes you better?” Olga replied, her voice full of pain, struggling to hold back tears.
The evening light softly illuminated the kitchen where Olga was cooking dinner. The aroma of borscht and fresh pies filled the air.
Andrei burst through the door, waving an envelope and smiling from ear to ear.
“Olya! Olya! You won’t believe it!” he shouted, not even taking off his shoes. “I got a letter about an inheritance from some distant relative! Now I’m rich!”
Olga turned around, wiping her hands on her apron.
“That’s wonderful, Andryush,” she calmly replied. “But who is this relative? We never knew anyone like that…”
“Who cares!” Andrei laughed, kissing her cheek. “Now we can afford everything we’ve ever wanted!”
Olga raised her eyebrows in surprise but didn’t have time to say more. Andrei was already painting pictures of a luxurious future, waving his hands and dreaming aloud.
But the very next day, as if transformed overnight, Andrei became a different man.
He looked at Olga with disdain, barking orders, demanding attention, and boasting endlessly about how rich he was. It was as if the letter hadn’t announced an inheritance but a crown on his head.
“You know, Olya,” he said at breakfast, not looking at her, “now that I’m rich, I think we need to reconsider our relationship.”
Olga froze, staring at him in disbelief.
“What do you mean?” she whispered.
“Well, I’m on a different level now,” he said, biting into a sandwich. “And you… you’re too ordinary.”
Shaken, Olga called her best friends, Katya and Lena, to meet at a café.
“Andrei received some inheritance and now thinks I’m beneath him!” she blurted out.
Katya snorted. “And who’s this mysterious rich relative? Out of thin air?”
Lena frowned, quietly listening. “And what will you do, Ol?”
“I don’t know,” Olga sighed. “He’s become unbearable.”
Her friends exchanged worried glances. The conversation ended with their promise to support her, whatever happened.
Days passed, and Andrei only grew worse. Though no money had arrived yet, he strutted about like a millionaire, treating Olga with arrogance.
“Olya, where’s my suit?” he barked one morning.
She handed it to him, mustering courage. “Andrei, can we talk?”
“Not now. I don’t have time for trifles,” he dismissed her.
Her heart broke a little more each day. Finally, she confided again in her friends.
“I can’t live like this anymore,” she whispered over coffee. “He treats me like a servant.”
Katya slammed her cup down. “The scoundrel! And he hasn’t even received the money yet.”
Lena reached for Olga’s hand. “Stay strong. We won’t let him crush you.”
But soon the truth came out. Katya and Lena revealed that the inheritance letter was fake—a trick they had arranged to expose Andrei’s true character.
“We wanted you to see who he really is,” Lena admitted softly.
Olga sat stunned, torn between anger and relief. “So everything was a lie?”
“Yes,” Katya said. “But now you know the truth about him.”
When Andrei came home, Olga confronted him.
“Andrei, I know the letter was fake. My friends did it to show me who you really are. And they were right. You became arrogant, cruel, and insulting at the very thought of money.”
Andrei flushed with rage. “This is nonsense! They’re jealous of us!”
“No,” Olga said firmly. “They opened my eyes. You don’t deserve me.”
Furious, Andrei packed his things and left.
When the door slammed shut, Olga felt pain but also relief. The man she loved was gone—but so was the illusion.
Later, Katya and Lena returned to her side. But this time, they had more to say.
“Olga,” Katya began hesitantly, “there actually is a real inheritance. A Swiss lawyer tried to reach you weeks ago. We wanted to test Andrei before telling you the truth.”
Olga stared at them in shock. “A real inheritance? So you weren’t joking?”
Lena nodded. “Here’s the lawyer’s number. Call him.”
Shaking, Olga dialed. Minutes later, she put down the phone, her face lit with joy.
“He confirmed everything. I really did inherit a fortune.”
Her friends cheered, embracing her.
“And now you’re free of Andrei,” Lena smiled.
Tears filled Olga’s eyes—this time from gratitude. “Thank you, girls. I don’t know what I would do without you.”
That night, raising glasses of champagne, they toasted to Olga’s new life—free, strong, and filled with possibility.
