— I don’t have anything left, Emir!
— You can put your wife on the line. The former partner stares at me, stunned.
— Pathetic.
— Insignificant.
— You’re not serious, are you?
— Stop pretending. When you wanted to dodge prison, you were the one offering her to me. What changed?
— Do you think she’s waiting for you? She’s probably already warmed someone else’s bed.
— No. Lidia isn’t like that! Don’t say that. It’s not like I needed some other woman. Absolutely not. Only a show of power. Maximum humiliation of the enemy.
— How much do you want her for?
Vavilov’s muffled question.
— I don’t know yet. It’ll depend on how skilled she is.
Hatred splashes in the loser’s eyes. Eyes gone dull, as if all of life has drained away at once.
He really does love her. Funny. He thought people like us couldn’t feel something like that.