The young girl grew up in poverty. The house on the outskirts of the city was old, and there was never enough money. She barely remembered her parents; she was raised by her sick grandmother, who needed more and more medicine and help with each passing year.

After finishing school, the girl went straight to work. Twelve hours at a machine, cold food from containers, rented rooms with thin walls, and a constant feeling of exhaustion became her everyday life. She stopped dreaming, because dreams changed nothing.

The rich old man appeared in her life by chance. He was a widower and almost forty years older than her. People said he had money and houses and was used to deciding everything without unnecessary words. He did not promise love or make grand gestures. He simply said that he was ready to help with her grandmother’s treatment and pay off the debts if the girl agreed to become his wife.

The young girl hesitated for a long time. His gray hair, slow movements, and the age difference frightened her. But the fear of being left with nothing again was stronger. In the end, she agreed.

The wedding was small and quiet. A few relatives, her grandmother, and that was all. The girl felt ashamed and tried not to lift her eyes. In the evening, she was alone with him for the first time. The bedroom was unusually quiet. She went to bed early, turned toward the wall, and pretended to sleep because she was afraid of his touch, afraid of the unknown, afraid of what the old man might do to her.

The husband came in later. He saw his sleeping wife and did not even wake her. The light went out. The bed creaked softly. The girl squeezed her eyes shut and lay still. The night passed… differently than she had expected.

In the morning, she woke up with a strange feeling. The girl sat up abruptly in bed, not understanding what had happened during the night while she slept. The room was flooded with light, and the husband was sitting by the wall, already dressed, as if nothing had happened.

And it was at that moment that she realized: something terrible had happened that night... The girl realized that during the night he had not even come near her. He had quietly covered her with a blanket and gone to sleep in another room. At that thought, she felt ashamed of her fear.

In the morning, she was awakened by the smell of food. The girl cautiously left the bedroom and stopped in the doorway of the kitchen. The husband was standing at the stove, preparing breakfast.

“You’re already awake,” he said calmly without turning around. “Sit down, it’ll be ready in a moment.”

She sat down at the table in silence, still not knowing how to behave. He placed a plate in front of her and sat down across from her.

“I know how hard this is for you,” he said. “You’re afraid, and that’s normal.”

The girl nodded slowly.

“I’m not going to rush you,” he continued. “You’ll have as much time as you need.”

She looked at him. “And you don’t expect anything from me?” she asked.

“No,” he answered calmly. “I’ll give you time to get used to it. And if you ever love me, it should happen not out of fear, but because you truly want it.”

She remained silent for a long moment and then said softly: “Thank you.”