“Mom, I just wanted to hurt her deeper. She completely drove me crazy.”
– “And did it hurt deeply? You fool.”
Alena came home from work later than usual. Tired but still satisfied with herself, she kicked off her shoes and headed to the living room. Michael was sitting by the window, glued to his phone.
– “Hi, honey,” Alena said, approaching him. “How’s the store coming along?”
Without looking up, Michael mumbled something unclear.
– “I’m testing the mobile features,” he finally said.
Alena noticed his reflection in the glass and realized Michael was scrolling through social media, liking bikini models’ photos.
– “Seriously?” she asked doubtfully. “You call that testing?”
Michael blushed but tried to hide it.
– “Yeah, it’s part of the job. I need to see how everything looks on different devices.”
Alena sighed silently. She knew Michael’s excuse was just a cover for his laziness.
Michael was a programmer working from home. At first, it seemed convenient — he could work on their shared online store. But Alena noticed more and more that Michael was openly slacking off, hiding behind the complexity of the tasks.
They’d met back in university. Back then, Michael was ambitious and driven. Over the years, his enthusiasm faded, replaced by laziness. Meanwhile, Alena had succeeded at work and started her own project — an online cosmetics store.
Alena went to the kitchen, opened her laptop, and started checking store reports. Michael stayed in the living room, “testing mobile features.”
– “We need to have a serious talk,” Alena called without looking up.
– “About what?” Michael finally looked up.
– “About the store, about work, about your attitude.”
Michael rolled his eyes in the kitchen.
– “Here we go again…”
Alena looked at him reproachfully.
– “Yes, here we go. You promised to develop new features, but you’ve done nothing. I can’t carry this alone.”
– “I told you, I’m working,” Michael said.
– “Working isn’t liking bikini models’ photos,” Alena shot back.
Michael blushed but tried to keep calm.
– “Okay, I’ll get to it tomorrow.”
Alena sighed, hoping he really would start working, but she wasn’t convinced.
The next day, Alena checked on his progress. In the evening, she came home and asked:
– “So, what did you get done today?”
Michael looked up uncertainly.
– “I prepared the database, but I’ll finish tomorrow for sure.”
Alena looked at the screen with suspicion — no progress was visible.
– “I’ll check again tomorrow. Hope you really start working,” she said and went to the bedroom.
Michael was left alone with his shame and laziness.
Their evenings grew more tense. Alena felt Michael pulling away, refusing to take responsibility for their joint project. His promises were empty words.
– “Mish, don’t you realize we can’t keep dragging this out?” Alena said, leaning on the kitchen table. “You have to finish the website. I can’t wait anymore.”
Michael reluctantly looked up.
– “I told you, I’m working. I finished an important part today.”
Alena looked at him skeptically.
– “What did you finish? You can’t even show me.”
Michael sighed and leaned back.
– “Programming isn’t just pushing buttons, it’s complicated.”
Alena controlled her frustration.
– “I get that. But you’ve been promising to finish for a month. If you can’t do it, let’s hire someone. I’ll pay from my salary.”
– “Hire someone? And who will manage them? You don’t know anything about this,” Michael said sarcastically.
– “I’ll figure it out. But your promises and excuses are only delaying us. I can’t do this anymore,” Alena’s voice trembled.
Michael rolled his eyes and went back to his phone.
– “Fine, I’ll do it tomorrow.”
Alena jumped up.
– “How many ‘tomorrows’ can there be? Do you realize I’m working two jobs? Can’t you see how hard I’m trying to keep this project alive?”
Michael finally stood and looked her in the eye.
– “If you don’t like it, do it yourself.”
Alena lost control.
– “You’re useless! All you do is make excuses. Don’t think I don’t see it.”
Michael smirked, trying to hurt her.
– “Yeah, useless. But I’m living a full life, unlike you, drowning in work. And by the way, I cheated on you.”
Alena froze but quickly recovered.
