<div style="text-align: justify;">Despite the fact that they were not married, Mariya never really considered her relationship with Vitali a simple affair. In her mind, affairs were something with little to no meaning, something that could end at any time with little consequence. It was not at all what she felt about her relationship with Vitali. She felt as though they were almost practicing to be married. Of course, it was very much possible that this marriage would never happen.<br/><br/>Even though she knew that Vitali loved her and wanted to stay with her forever, Mariya was shocked at that show of jealousy and pain. Her eyes widened, and she kept silent when Vitali started speaking.<br/><br/>It was somewhat surprising for Mariya how much Vitali’s pain hurt her. She had not expected it in the least. After widening, her eyes started tearing up, and she waited for him to finish, feeling her mouth dry, as she always did whenever she cried.<br/><br/>“V-Viti…”, she started, trying to sound firm and failing miserably. “I don’t… I don’t want to end our relationship, never!”, she continued, trying hard to manage to speak in a way he could understand her. That was a trait Mariya had carried from childhood into adult life. She rarely cried, but when she did, she usually turned short of breath as soon as she started sobbing, and had a hard time speaking.<br/><br/>“Never… never, Viti, why would I…?”, she choked in tears and stopped herself to catch her breath. “I am not having an affair, with anyone! There is no man but you, why would there be?”, she sobbed without words for a few seconds and took a few steps away from the stove and towards Vitali. One of her hands, already wet from drying tears, touched one of his closed fists. <br/><br/>“Don’t say these things, there is no man anywhere that I want more than you! I… It is something else altogether, but I can’t…”. She choked again and took a deep breath. “If I tell you… you will hate me forever… even more than if I… had been… having an affair…”,<br/><br/>She finally stopped talking, not sure about what else to say. Despite a certain fear that Vitali might lose control and hurt her - and the idea that she did deserve it -, Mariya simply stood there, within arm’s reach, sobbing like a lost child. She wasn’t faking it - she could never force herself to cry. She was simply letting out what she was feeling, and she was sure, 100% sure, that Vitali would hate her if he knew what she had been up to.</div>