Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10, Chapter 11, Chapter 12, Chapter 13
Chapter 14. Behind the veil of mystery... Love? Or treachery?
Ending...
The Park was indeed only a few steps away from the cafe. The baby immediately rushed to the cradle, Slava could hardly keep up with the nimble girl. Pelagia looked after her with a smile, thinking that this guy would make a good father. Then she turned to max and invited him to sit on a bench that overlooked the Playground.
– How are you not afraid to let your daughter go with a strange man? – Maxim asked in perplexity.
– Our daughter,– Pelagia corrected him. – And you are not strangers. I didn't waste any time, and I found out something about you before I decided to meet you. I know you've been trying to find out as much about me as you can, but you don't seem to have succeeded.
Noticing the young man's incredulous and somewhat prickly gaze, she continued.
– I will tell you my story, I hope you will remember, if not everything, then much that will help you understand that I am not deceiving you, and that Marfusha is really your daughter.
– Yes, please explain what all this means, – Maxim said angrily, sitting down next to Pelageya. – I don't think I've ever crossed paths with you before."
– Do you remember the graduation party that took place after you received your degree from the University where you studied? Six years have passed since then...
– I remember, but only briefly. Anyway, I don't remember you being near me that night. I didn't even know you until I saw you on a Dating site. I would have known what this virtual meeting would result in...
– Yes, you haven't even listened to the end of it, and you're already regretting what you don't know. Still, I ask you to be patient. I promise I won't keep you in the dark for long. You say you don't remember me at all. This is natural. You always had a bunch of girls around you. You didn't pay much attention to them, reveling in your irresistibility and influence on the female sex. I never thought I could interest you. It helped that you had a good time tonight, but you wanted more, and I just happened to be there for you. I, too, like many of us, was a little tipsy. The sea seemed to me to be knee-deep, and I was happy already that our Lovelace paid attention to me. We were alone in one of the empty classrooms. We didn't turn on the electricity, and the moonlight was enough for us. It all happened very quickly, right on the teacher's Desk. You were in a hurry, confident, not like me... For me, this was the first such experience in my life, and also the only one. I, of course, did not imagine the first sex in this way, drawing myself romantic pictures, imagining that everything would be like in those love novels that I was reading at that time. But in life, everything was much more prosaic. When you were done, you quickly pulled on your trousers, muttered something to yourself, and stormed out of the room. I, having cleaned myself up, sat on a chair for a long time and wept bitterly. Then I tried to sneak out of the party and wander the empty streets for a long time, trying to collect her feelings and thoughts. In the morning, I put my things in a bag and left for the distribution point. After two or three months, I realized I was pregnant. I wanted to have an abortion, but changed my mind. And here is the result! she looked with a loving smile at the girl who was frolicking on the Playground under the supervision of a kind "uncle".
– Wait a minute, I remember having sex with some random girl in an empty classroom, but she was a brunette, and you have red hair.
– Is that how you remember me? – Pelagia pulled a pair of hairpins out of her hair and removed them... wig.
Maxim froze in surprise. This was the girl who had often crossed his path of late.
– So it was you? – on a subconscious level, I thought I'd seen you before, but I couldn't remember where.
– Yes, it's not surprising. After all, as far as I know, you've changed women more often than you've changed gloves, and it's been so many years!
– Well, what happened next?"
– Next? I went through the difficult path of a single mother, who many people despised, did not consider a person. But I learned not only to ignore reproaches and humiliation – I learned to love life, to love a child, at first so unexpected and unwanted. But it was she, my Marfushechka-darling, who made me look at many things differently, rethink my dreams and desires. I began to study information on various issues, fortunately, there is a lot of it now freely available on the Internet. And then... then I suddenly met you on one of the Dating portals and suddenly realized that my feelings for you, despite everything, remained the same. I was still in love with you. And I decided, come what may, I will try to start a relationship with you, build it all over again. And I thought I might interest you. I wanted to meet you in real life. Well, then – then you know what happened. I only showed your photo to my daughter after you asked me to arrange a double date. The most interesting thing is that as soon as she saw your face in the photo, she immediately asked me: "is This my dad? Isn't it?"
– Yes, I understand a lot after what you told me. However, I can't take your word for it that I'm the father of your child.
– So I have the results of the genetic examination, according to which you are recognized as the biological father of Marfusha by 99.9 %. Here, read it!
With these words, Pelagia took an envelope with the stamp of the laboratory that conducted the investigation from her purse and handed it to Maxim. He took the envelope carefully, with two fingers, as if afraid to see his death sentence in it. He took out a folded sheet of white paper, unfolded it, and read the text carefully. Then he looked at the girl and asked:
– I wonder where you got a sample of my DNA? We just met today...
– Remember when you and your friend came to this cafe to investigate? You saw me peeking out of the back room, didn't you? A close friend of mine works here at the cafe. She helped me get your sample. If you do not believe the results of this test, you can repeat it, only for the purity of the experiment in another laboratory.
Maxim thoughtfully twirled a piece of paper in his hands and had no idea what to do next. Pelageya meanwhile called her daughter, and when she ran up to them, she began to prepare to leave.
– Marfusha, say goodbye, we are going home.
– Mummy, will daddy come with us? – the girl asked, looking at max hopefully. -– Dad, come with us, I will show you my room and toys, we will be good with you. – she pleaded.
Maxim looked at Pelagia and her daughter in silence and still could not make up his mind. Slavka, who was standing next to him with a guilty look, also looked confused.
The girl took her daughter's hand and said:
– Let's go home, honey. Dad needs some time to think, so let's leave him alone. Maxim, now everything depends only on you.
Maxim watched them go and bitterly thought about how intertwined in his relationship with Pelageya treachery and love. And what he would do in this situation, he did not yet know...
End...