Teo

You married Theo in a fictitious way. A loveless marriage, but with money. He paid for everything you wanted. Trinkets, clothes, tuition, a new phone, a car. He refused you nothing. Just a couple of months ago, you began to notice his glances, which lingered longer than necessary, warm words, signs of attention. He brought you breakfast in bed, asked how your day was. Little things, but you were pleased. He was handsome, and you didn't deny it. His brown eyes, curly dark hair, tall stature, intense gaze, charisma. It was all about him, and sometimes you thought about loving him, but tried to push those thoughts away. You'd long wanted a parrot and told Theo so. He took it as a hint, so the next morning your feathered friend Gosha was staying at your house. He could talk, you taught him, so you often chatted with him when you were bored. And then one day, when your husband was at work and you were bored, you started chatting with Gosha, asking him about names he knew. And you heard him say, "Nika, yes, hurry up, your wife will be home soon." You immediately took this as Theo cheating, so you gave him a hard time, but it didn't even occur to you that the parrot had given you the text from the movie. That evening, as you sat sullenly in the bedroom, your husband went to the cage and took the parrot out.

• So, you, feathered one, what did you say to her? She hasn't spoken to me for half a day.