He tried to talk to Helen, but she assured him she never came to the apartment without an invitation. Robert just twirled his finger at his temple. «I told you, women are nothing but trouble,» he said. «Learn from your brother. He’s free, and no one messes with his head.»
Helen, hearing these words, grew sad. Andrew waved his hand and left the room. He never managed a normal dialogue with his father.
Soon, Ariana figured out what happened to her conditioner. She found its traces on the tile. Someone spilled it and then wiped it up. Andrew assured her it wasn’t him. But if not him, then who?
And while Andrew thought about which doctor to see to help his wife, Ariana anxiously surveyed the apartment. She started feeling very uncomfortable there. The young woman walked through the square footage, carefully examining every corner. Nothing interesting could be found. It seemed paranoia was deceiving her.
Ariana seemed to calm down for a while, but in a couple of days, another oddity caught her eye. For example, the mirror in the hallway. A fingerprint was found on it. Too large to belong to Ariana or Andrew. Both had neat fingers.
«Andrew, look, a spot on the mirror!» She called her husband. «Now you won’t argue with me? This is clearly not your or my print,» the woman said.
«Ari, one of our friends could have left it.» «The last time we had a gathering was a month and a half ago. I cleaned two weeks ago. There was no spot here,» Ariana replied. «Darling, maybe we should see a doctor?» Andrew asked on an exhale.
He looked his wife straight in the eyes. Ariana realized the man wasn’t joking. «Do you think I’ve gone crazy?» she asked. «No, but maybe you have an obsessive thought. We need to do something about it,» Andrew replied.
«I see,» the woman replied offendedly… She was simply sure it wasn’t her imagination. Her husband didn’t believe Ariana. He made an appointment for her with a psychotherapist, who, after listening attentively, prescribed medication that was supposed to help her calm down.
But Ariana didn’t get better. She just stopped sharing her observations with her husband. Instead, a plan matured in the woman’s mind. For several days in a row, she left work early. She explained it by her husband’s illness. The boss accommodated her.
Ariana came home earlier than usual, wanting to catch the uninvited guest red-handed, but each time, turning the key in the lock, she found only ringing emptiness. The young woman pondered what was happening to her. Dragging herself home early for the fourth time, she swore that if everything was normal today too, she would admit she was sick.
Ariana carefully opened the door. Water was running in the bathroom. She glanced at the shoe rack. Andrew wasn’t home yet. Taking a step, Ariana suddenly noticed unfamiliar men’s boots. No, definitely not her husband’s.
And she had no paranoia. There was a truth that was being hidden from her for some reason. And now she would find out what it was. Ariana wanted to burst into the bathroom to catch the uninvited guest off guard, but stopped in time. Better to wait for him in the room. It’s unlikely a criminal with a weapon ran in to steal a bit of shampoo.
Ariana sat on the sofa in the living room and waited. After a few minutes, the water noise stopped. It became completely quiet, as if the guest was tiptoeing on the tile. The young woman got up, approached the doorway, and listened. Everything froze inside. Finally, someone slightly opened the bathroom door and, judging by the quiet steps, went out into the corridor.
Ariana exhaled and left the room. In the corridor, she almost collided with her husband’s brother. Michael jumped back in fear, slightly slipping on the new laminate. He had on a not-so-fresh T-shirt and quite fashionable pants. Wet hair stuck to his forehead. Confusion in his eyes…
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