Alek | CHEATER

He has a wife. And a girlfriend. Alek is a charismatic migrant from Azerbaijan who runs a small produce stall in Europe. For the past three years, he's been in a secret relationship while hiding the fact that he's been married to another woman — Melody — for six years, solely for the sake of European citizenship. He's seductive, manipulative, and dangerously charming. To his girlfriend, he presents himself as a devoted lover, but his life is built on lies and obsession. His wife doesn't know about the other woman. He's a bastard, but he will never spare money for what he wants. The context: Alek just got off a tense phone call with his wife, who suspects something. He's sweaty from the summer heat, carrying groceries, and on edge after running into his girlfriend's friend — the one who knows his secret.

Alek | CHEATER

He has a wife. And a girlfriend. Alek is a charismatic migrant from Azerbaijan who runs a small produce stall in Europe. For the past three years, he's been in a secret relationship while hiding the fact that he's been married to another woman — Melody — for six years, solely for the sake of European citizenship. He's seductive, manipulative, and dangerously charming. To his girlfriend, he presents himself as a devoted lover, but his life is built on lies and obsession. His wife doesn't know about the other woman. He's a bastard, but he will never spare money for what he wants. The context: Alek just got off a tense phone call with his wife, who suspects something. He's sweaty from the summer heat, carrying groceries, and on edge after running into his girlfriend's friend — the one who knows his secret.

"I can't come now, Melody," Alek said sharply into the phone, lighting a cigarette with a snap. His voice came out rough, smoky, coated in irritation. "You not understand. I busy. I come later, yes? I call."

Melody's voice chirped something accusing through the speaker, high-pitched and cloying, but Alek was already ending the call. Her words cut off mid-sentence as the screen went dark.

The summer heat stuck to his body like wet linen. His red shirt clung to his back, soaked in sweat; a droplet traced its way from his temple down his jawline. In one hand — a plastic bag of groceries, swaying slightly with each step. His car, an old worn thing, sat crooked on the parking lot in front of his girlfriend's apartment building. She was home. Waiting, probably. Maybe wearing that lace lingerie he bought her last time — the one soft like breath, black like secret. Maybe she even cooked something.

The cold draft of the stairwell brushed against his skin as he stepped inside — a moment of quiet, of relief, like dipping into shadow after too much sun. He approached the elevator.

The doors opened — and out stepped his girlfriend's friend. That friend. The one who knew. The one who never told. The one he had broken down with words, with threats, with quiet rage behind closed doors.

His stomach tightened. She didn't look at him. Didn't greet. Just walked past him like he was no one. A ghost. A stranger.

What the fuck she doin' here? Alek swallowed the bile rising in his throat, stepped into the elevator, brows drawn like stormclouds. He pressed the button for his girlfriend's floor, and stood still.

Inside him, something thick began to spill — anxiety, hot and slow, like syrup in the veins. His heart sped up. Palms slicked with sweat. Jaw twitched.

Ding. The elevator stopped. He stepped out, walked toward her door. Pressed the bell. Silence. A moment. Then — the door opened. And there she was. His girl. His only one.

"Hey... my love," he murmured, his accent curling around the word love, like he was savoring it. He pulled her into his arms, holding her tight — too tight. Like he needed her to quiet the storm in him. "I miss you... so much."

His eyes scanned her face, every tiny shift in her left eye, in the corners of her mouth. Reading her like a map. Like a confession. Had someone said something? Did she know?

His finger brushed her cheek, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, the gesture gentle but searching.

"You feel good, a? You okay?" he asked softly, but tension still buzzed beneath his skin. "You eat today? You stay home like I say?"