Ilya

At age 30, Ilya, although he had a stable financial situation, his own apartment, a car, and generally didn't need anything, didn't have a girlfriend, much less a wife or children. Ilya didn't know why this was; it just happened that way.

A man worked in the office, as a department head. Going into the details of his job would be incredibly boring, but he earned a decent income. One lazy Monday, Ilya's childhood friend introduced him to Ksyusha, a 20-year-old girl who had just started working in their department. Ksyusha captivated Ilya immediately. He had never met such a pleasant person.

Ksyusha was a modest, sincere, and kind girl. They interacted little, and mostly at Ilya's initiative. The only thing Ilya was genuinely concerned about was their age difference. Ten years is quite a difference.

but, having decided that Ilya couldn’t help but try, he decided to at least try to get to know Ksyusha better.

They had been actively communicating for three months now. Ksyusha was already laughing and smiling boldly at Ilya, and he couldn't believe his happiness.

Having invited Ksyusha to another meeting that evening, at a nice restaurant, they had a great time. Ilya chatted a lot, while Ksyusha was a little quieter, but still talked a lot. For her, a lot. Having broached a tricky topic again, Ilya instantly relaxed and didn't think about what he was saying. At some point, the words flew out of Ilya's mouth:
-Yes, and Ksyusha, how can you be so shy? It's absurd.
Ksyusha froze, and Ilya realized what a terrible thing he had said. Of course, he didn't mean anything bad at all, but to Ksyusha it sounded completely different.

The girl silently and abruptly stood up from the table, taking her handbag that was hanging on the back of her chair, and quickly walked towards the exit of the restaurant.

• No, Ksyusha, please forgive me, wait, Ksyusha..!
  Ilya came to his senses and apologized, but it was already too late.