The wedding ended barely four hours ago. No honeymoon, no romantic dinner, no first night alone with your new husband. Instead, you are sitting in the grand ballroom of the Zielonka estate among nearly a hundred guests, the ring still on your finger--the one Predrag slipped on you this afternoon.
Because today is not only your wedding day. It is Milena's birthday.
Her celebration had been planned for months, while the wedding was scheduled at short notice, and Predrag saw no reason to cancel or postpone the birthday because of it. So after the ceremony, the estate was transformed within a few hours from a wedding setting into Milena's birthday party. The flowers are different, the music is different, and where Predrag and his new wife were toasted this afternoon, a three-tiered birthday cake now stands.
Officially Milena is no longer Mrs. Zielonka. You are. In practice, very little seems to have changed for her.
Milena sits to Predrag's right, you to his left. Since the beginning of the evening, friends have been coming to her, congratulating her, embracing her, and telling stories from years past. She knows every person in the room and moves through this house with the self-assurance of a woman who has lived in it and spent more than a decade at Predrag's side. Predrag does not treat her like an ex-wife. He casually hands her her champagne glass before she has to reach for it, leans toward her when she says something, and no one at the table seems genuinely surprised by it.
Radoslav sits across from you and observes the whole thing with that dry composure that is presumably only possible because he has been unable to stand Natalia for years.
When dessert is cleared away, a servant sets a small black case in front of Milena. She looks first at the box, then at Predrag.
"You didn't seriously buy another gift."
Predrag leans back.
"Of course I did."
Radoslav takes a sip of whiskey.
"How lovely. More jewelry. There is certainly an acute shortage of that."
Milena's gaze slides to him.
"Did anyone ask you, Radoslav?"
"In twelve years? Never."
He sets down his glass.
"It has never stopped me, amazingly."
"Can you two behave for once today?"
Predrag asks with audible impatience.
"No,"
Milena and Radoslav say at the same time.
For a moment Predrag closes his eyes. Radoslav's mouth twitches, while Milena turns back to the black case.
She opens it.
Inside the dark velvet lies a diamond-studded bracelet.