Nikita tried his hardest to be someone he was not.
He knew that sooner or later Yulia would learn the truth: he lived outside the city, in harsh conditions, in a rundown apartment, surviving on a security guard’s salary.
But for now, he kept putting off the confession, continuing to play the role of a well-off man.
“Yul, I can’t go on vacation with you next week,” he lied, knowing she had planned an expensive trip to Sochi simply because she was bored.
“My dad has something important going on.”
He had already drained himself — took out a small loan just to take her to restaurants, buy flowers, and purchase a modest ring — 50,000 rubles, a trivial amount for her, but nearly half a year’s income for him.
His friend Andrey often told him:
“Stop pretending. If she loves you, she’ll accept you as you are. And if not — then she’s not worth it.”
Nikita knew his friend was right, but he was afraid of losing Yulia.
How could he tell her he was raised in an orphanage, lived in a shabby apartment, worked two days on, two days off, and had no wealth?
Only his mind, determination, and refusal to give up kept him afloat.
But honesty had started to slip away — more and more often, it gave way to the fear of losing the woman he loved.
“Nikit, when will I finally meet your father?
We’ve already exchanged rings — even if it’s a simple one, it’s still a step toward family! I love you, and I don’t need to be tested,” Yulia said.
At the same time, she was also hiding the truth from her parents — they didn’t know her boyfriend wasn’t from a wealthy circle.
Her father was obsessed with finding her a husband with capital.
He had rejected one suitor for being weak, another for being poor, and a third for being clearly after their money.
They all seemed fake.
But Nikita felt different. Not a great love, perhaps, but he drew her in with his sincerity.
Tall, brown-eyed, broad-shouldered — he was simple, but intelligent, not arrogant, not rude.
And most of all — he looked at her like she was the only woman in the world.
None of her previous suitors had looked at her like that.
“Yul, I love you. But before you meet my parents, you need to know who I really am,” he finally said.
If she could forgive the lies and not judge the poverty, he was ready to do anything for her.
He could face life on his own — without her money or connections.
She tucked a strand of her light hair behind her ear, squinting slightly as she looked at the shabby building.
“Is this a joke? You know I hate neighborhoods like this.
It’s dangerous here. If you’re trying to mess with me, I might take offense. Stop testing me!”
They got out of the car. A neighbor, Aunt Olya, approached them.
“Nikitushka, you found yourself a girl?! What a beauty! Time to start a family.
You’ve always been kind, generous. Though it’s about time someone helped you…”
Yulia wrinkled her nose. For the first time, the thought crossed her mind that Nikita really might be poor.
She scoffed but agreed to go inside — since they were already here, even though she wasn’t eager.
What if he turned out to be an eccentric millionaire who lived simply to stay grounded?
Maybe there were mansions inside?
But instead of luxury, Yulia saw a neat but clearly poor apartment: worn-out furniture, old wallpaper, and a photo on the wall — a woman holding a child.
“Who’s that?” she asked.
“My mom. That’s what my grandma told me before I was taken to the orphanage.
I was six when they took me away.
There’s no one left, no one to ask,” Nikita confessed, then added:
“But this is my own apartment, and I have a stable job — not what you dreamed of, I know.
But I’m studying remotely. Most importantly — I want to marry you.”
Yulia suddenly burst out laughing — loudly, mockingly.
“So I wasted time on a poor nobody and a self-taught dreamer?
You think I don’t know the ring was bought on credit?
Thanks for not introducing me to your family — that would’ve been a real circus!”
She threw the ring on the table, ordered a taxi, and left.
Nikita didn’t call her. He hung the ring on a chain, keeping it close to his heart.
He knew: Yulia didn’t love him.
But he… he loved her. And even one-sided love is worth something.
For three months, he waited, hoping she’d change her mind.
“She’s not that bad, just used to luxury,” he told himself.
Maybe it wasn’t about money after all?
He texted her, but only received insults in response.
Then he told himself: “Enough humiliation. Time to change my life.
If she wants success — I’ll achieve it.”
Yulia was the first to truly touch him.
Yes, he knew he was being foolish, but decided: if a person is worthy of your dream, it’s worth the risk.
He called Andrey and asked for help finding work as a bodyguard for someone influential.
Andrey didn’t refuse — they had served together. But he warned:
“There’s an option — Igor Petrovich. Generous, but tough.
He’ll scream the roof off if you make even one mistake. Everyone else has quit.
If you take the job — don’t complain later. And one more thing: you need to look perfect, suit, white shirt, and know how to speak well. The man loves to talk.”
“I have one suit. Bought it to go to the theater with Yulia,” Nikita sighed.
Andrey nodded: “Then you’re ready. You start the day after tomorrow. If he likes you — you’ll stay.”
“Yulia, we need to have a serious talk,” her father’s voice sounded tense.
He’d pressure her again to marry someone from her social circle.
To her parents, money should always marry money.
“What now?” she replied irritably.
She thought her parents were too controlling and obsessed with finances.
They started with a market stall and now owned a chain of clothing stores.
Luck in the ‘90s had made them wealthy, but the fear of poverty never left.
They wanted security for their grandchildren.
And where could you find such a father?
Yulia knew that the man beside her needed to be compliant, patient with her whims.
Nikita was the opposite — and perhaps that’s why she sometimes remembered him fondly.
Kind, sincere, believed in her… But without money, none of it mattered.
Her mother often repeated, “You can find ten guys like him at the market.”
A year had passed since their breakup, yet Yulia still felt something like regret inside.
But now it didn’t mean anything.
— “Daughter, we have to move. We lost the business.
It’s time to get used to a new life. Too bad you didn’t listen to us and marry the man we chose…”
Only now did Yulia begin to understand why her parents had changed — more tired, less confident.
They had tried to hide the problem, but now everything was out in the open.
The company had collapsed. They lost their former status.
— “Yulya, don’t worry. I have a friend — Igor Petrovich.
He’ll give you a job, even without experience. The pay’s decent.
And we won’t be homeless — there’s a three-room apartment on the outskirts. Our own roof, at least.”
Yulia stayed silent. Maybe everything was just beginning again.
Maybe this was when her real life would start — not in luxury, but next to someone who could support her.
But one thing she knew for sure — Nikita was gone. And he wasn’t coming back.
Only now, at 27, did Yulia realize that she only knew how to do one thing: wear makeup, go to expensive salons, gossip about others, and party at clubs.
— “You’ll start as a secretary. You’re pretty, so start there.
Maybe you’ll climb higher later. The salary is decent — others would be grateful for such a job,” her father explained.
Yulia understood: she was now part of that gray stream of people rushing to work every morning, without much choice.
She tried to find another way out — called her friends, but they seemed to have vanished into thin air.
Apparently, everything changes quickly when you lose the status of “rich parents’ daughter.”
Meanwhile, Nikita had been working for Igor Petrovich for over a year.
At first, he was pushed hard, but eventually the man saw something in him beyond just a bodyguard.
— “Alright, Nikitos. I think you can handle it. You’ll be my assistant in security matters.
I trust you,” the boss said one day.
— “But, Igor Petrovich… I’m still studying, I don’t know much about economics…”
— “Don’t worry, the main thing is to be honest and not lazy. You’ve got a good head — you’ll manage.
I’ve tested you more than once.”
Nikita thought long and hard, but when he learned about the promotion, the new office, a decent salary, and even a driver, he decided to take the risk.
Maybe now he could go back to Yulia?
He wasn’t a millionaire, but he wasn’t a store guard anymore either. Maybe she’d changed her mind?
On the first day, he hung a photo in his office of a woman holding a child — his mother, whom he barely remembered.
Let her smile at him from the beyond.
Igor Petrovich was on a business trip, only calling to give instructions. That day, he asked:
— “Hire a girl as a secretary. A friend asked me for a favor.
Just make sure she’s not completely illiterate.”
An hour later, someone knocked on the office door:
— “Nikita Igorevich, there’s a candidate here to see you,” said Kristina, who was temporarily handling HR duties.
Everyone who worked with Petrovich eventually developed a resistance to stress.
— “Alright, let her in,” Nikita said, still not used to his new title.
The door swung open. He didn’t recognize her right away, but he knew from her eyes — it was Yulia. And she was furious.
— “You set me up?! You pretended to be poor just to test me? You’re all bastards!”
— “Yulya, what are you talking about? What’s going on?” Nikita was completely confused.
— “Do you think I’m stupid? Well, fine! Take that!” she shouted and stormed out, slamming the door.
Nikita, bewildered, still reported to the boss.
— “I’ll handle it myself tomorrow,” Igor Petrovich said shortly.
But he loved surprises. And that very evening, he appeared at the office out of the blue.
— “Who’s this?” he pointed to the portrait of the woman in the office.
— “My mother. That’s what my grandmother told me,” Nikita replied, trying not to go into the past.
But Igor Petrovich listened carefully. As if he knew the story.
— “Did she love you?” he asked finally.
— “I don’t know… Grandma never said. Only that my mother wanted me to survive.”
— “I knew her. And I knew you, too,” the boss said unexpectedly. “We meant a lot to each other.”
He told how he had once dated another woman but left her for Dasha — Nikita’s mother.
He had promised to marry her, but she died in an accident at a construction site.
— “And your grandmother hated me after that. She took you and disappeared.
I thought I’d never see you again.”
— “She had a weak heart… She often said she just wanted to do the right thing.
But she never told me anything about you,” Nikita replied quietly.
— “So, you’re Nikita Igorevich…” Petrovich said thoughtfully.
— “Maybe she did love me, after all?”
— “Who knows… But we’ve met again. So maybe it wasn’t for nothing.”
— “I’ll never go back there! That Nikita is so arrogant, he looked at me with such contempt!”
— Yulia complained again to her father.
— “He’s not my son, I don’t know him. Besides, we’ve lost everything,” the man tried to explain.
— “Wrong!” her mother interrupted. “I found out Nikita is Igor Petrovich’s heir.
This is your chance, silly girl!
If he still loves you — you’ll never have to work again.
Just be smart and show him he needs you.”
Yulia’s mother was friends with the HR woman, who was the first to hear the news. So now everything depended on the daughter.
— “Maybe you’re right,” Yulia agreed thoughtfully.
She decided it was worth a try. If Nikita was still single and maybe still remembered her, she had to act.
Show her best side, inspire pity, hint at feelings.
The main goal — marry him, then figure it out later.
Yulia got a job at the same company, working at the front desk.
Nikita had gone on a business trip, and Igor Petrovich buried her in tasks as if testing her.
She frowned in frustration but pretended everything was fine. He was supposed to return tomorrow.
She stayed late after work — her mother called, asking about her relationship with Nikita.
— “Mom, he’s not back yet,” Yulia said.
— “Maybe it’s better to win over his father?
Then you’ll have direct access to the money.”
She said it more out of irritation than seriousness.
But suddenly, Nikita appeared in the room. He had heard everything.
Yulia didn’t know he’d come back early and had been standing outside the door. He heard every word.
He felt a chill inside. He had waited so long to be worthy of her.
And all along, she just saw him as a convenient option.
— “Yulya, want a ride?” he calmly offered when she finished the call.
— “Of course, it’s nice to have you around,” she replied sweetly, her voice full of fake affection.
— “You left me. And you were right.
I don’t want to go back to what we had either.
I’m in love. We’re getting married soon.”
— “Really?” Yulia asked, surprised.
— “Lena. From the deli department,” he lied without flinching.
In reality, the woman was married, older, and treated him like a good acquaintance.
But the idea felt right — to show that love can be real, even when you’re poor.
At that moment, Nikita realized: he was no longer afraid to be himself.
He had stopped pretending. He had become himself — strong, confident, free.
And six months later, at an important business meeting, he saw Katya — energetic, determined, with a sharp mind and warm eyes.
He fell in love not with her looks, but with her strength of character.
