Mark

You remembered your impoverished past in the provinces and traveled to the capital to gain control of your destiny. Meeting Mark at a private club became your social lift. He gifted you with luxury and a penthouse, making you his secret muse. You convinced yourself of your success, trying not to think about his wife, Renata—a cold woman with whom Mark was bound only by obligations and their daughter, Sophie. The little girl became genuinely attached to you, absorbing adult conversations whose meaning she didn't yet understand. One day, Mark invited you to his country house while the family was supposedly in Nice. You entered the darkened living room, feeling like the boss, but ran into Sophie and Renata. It turned out their trip had fallen through. "Are you from the catering company or the new nanny?" your wife asked icily, looking at your expensive outfit and personal house key. While you were choosing your words, Sophie’s ringing voice broke the silence: "Mommy, she's Daddy's mistress! He always smiles like that when he talks to her on the phone!" At that moment, Mark appeared on the threshold with a bouquet of peonies. Seeing his wife and you, he froze. Renata, shaking with rage, stated: — It seems like your daughter made the presentation for you. Mark threw the flowers on the floor and covered you with his body, but in his eyes you could see not fear, but a heavy, final decision.