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Sasha went off on a beach vacation, leaving his pregnant wife, Lika, in the village with his mother\u2014to work in the vegetable garden. And when he returned\u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cLika, come on, you know I need a break too,\u201d he said, tossing his swim trunks and sunscreen into a bag.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd what about me, Sasha?\u201d Lika asked.
\u201cI\u2019m six months pregnant, and you\u2019re sending me to your mom\u2019s\u2014so I can dig in the garden?!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMom will help. The fresh air\u2019ll do you good,\u201d he replied, zipping up his suitcase.<\/p>\n
Lika didn\u2019t argue. She knew better. Once Sasha made up his mind, there was no changing it. He always put himself first.<\/p>\n
\u201cBet you tired your husband out so much, he ran off for a break,\u201d her mother-in-law muttered, handing Lika an old shovel.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, Aunt Nina, I agreed to this,\u201d Lika answered silently.<\/p>\n
The heat was merciless. The scent of dry earth clung to the air. Lika dug and weeded, her back aching, feet swelling. When she couldn\u2019t bear it anymore, she\u2019d rest at the edge of the bed and rub her belly gently.<\/p>\n
\u201cHang in there, baby\u2026 not much longer\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
In the evenings, she\u2019d overhear her mother-in-law gossiping with the neighbor.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s lazy! Back in our day, women gave birth in the fields and got right back to work! Now look at her\u2014acting like some queen!\u201d<\/p>\n
The Return<\/strong> He kept going, unfazed. Suddenly, Lika cut him off. \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI said: I\u2019m leaving.\u201d<\/p>\n He burst out laughing.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re serious? Come on, Lika. Be real. You won\u2019t last a week without me.\u201d<\/p>\n For the first time in forever, she smiled. She turned and walked away\u2014feeling more free than she ever had in her life.<\/p>\n Freedom<\/strong> Her friend Oksana didn\u2019t hesitate.<\/p>\n \u201cLika, don\u2019t even think twice! I\u2019ve got a spare room. Stay as long as you want.\u201d<\/p>\n That night, for the first time in months, Lika slept in peace.<\/p>\n Sasha Loses Control<\/strong> \u201cShe\u2019s not your servant anymore,\u201d Oksana told him.<\/p>\n Still, he kept trying.<\/p>\n \u201cLika, I\u2019m sorry,\u201d he said when she finally picked up. \u201cI was wrong. I\u2019ll change. Come back\u2014let\u2019s fix this.\u201d<\/p>\n Lika said nothing.<\/p>\n \u201cI miss you\u2026 For the baby, Lika\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n She gripped the phone. Silence.<\/p>\n \u201cI loved you,\u201d he said quietly.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd I loved myself less and less when I was with you,\u201d she whispered. Then she hung up.<\/p>\n A New Life<\/strong> Finding work wasn\u2019t easy. But with Oksana\u2019s help, and the quiet strength of true friends, Lika slowly built a new life.<\/p>\n Of course, Sasha came back again\u2014with toys and promises.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve changed, Lika. I mean it\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou can see your son,\u201d she said calmly. \u201cBut I\u2019m not yours anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n She closed the door\u2014and smiled.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sasha went off on a beach vacation, leaving his pregnant wife, Lika, in the village with his mother\u2014to work in the vegetable garden. And when he returned\u2026 \u201cLika, come on, … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-132","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starnews1.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starnews1.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starnews1.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starnews1.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starnews1.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=132"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/starnews1.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":133,"href":"https:\/\/starnews1.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132\/revisions\/133"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starnews1.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=132"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starnews1.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=132"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starnews1.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=132"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\u201cHey, Lika!\u201d Sasha greeted her, brushing a quick kiss on her cheek, oblivious to how pale she looked, or how dim her eyes had become.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe beaches were amazing! Cocktails, shrimp\u2026 Next time, we\u2019ll go together\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSasha. I\u2019m leaving.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, Sasha\u2026 I guess we\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lika didn\u2019t know exactly where she was headed. She had only a little money saved from the village. Her suitcase with baby clothes was still at the apartment, but she had no plans of going back.<\/p>\n
For illustrative purpose only
At first, Sasha couldn\u2019t believe it. He called, messaged, even showed up at Oksana\u2019s door\u2014but she never let him in.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you miss\u00a0me<\/em>\u2014or are you just scared to be alone?\u201d<\/p>\n
The birth was hard\u2014but the moment she held her son in her arms, she knew it had all been worth it.<\/p>\n