Nastya placed a plane ticket in front of her husband.
“What’s this?” Boris asked in surprise.
“I’m flying out tomorrow. My flight is at 8 AM. You’ll drive me to the airport.”
“Wait… Is this a business class ticket? You bought such an expensive ticket… How dare you! Where did you get the money?!”
“I asked your secretary to buy me the ticket.”
“Arina didn’t tell me anything! I… I’m going to fire her!” Boris turned crimson. He never intended to throw that much money away.
He usually flew economy to save money. But not this time. His wife and his secretary had gone behind his back, and that meant both would have to be punished for their actions. Boris still didn’t know why his wife was flying out… And these expenses definitely weren’t in his plans.
A few weeks earlier
“You should wear this dress. Or wait… No, it’ll make you look bigger,” Boris said, acting like an expert in women’s fashion as he rummaged through his wife’s closet. “Try this one on.”
“I don’t like it,” Nastya objected.
“Whether you like it or not…”
“No way. I’ll decide what to wear myself.”
“Don’t you get it?! Nikolai and I haven’t seen each other in 10 years! In that time, we’ve both accomplished things. I can’t show him my wife looking her age! If you do, I’ll look older next to you too. You have to do something about yourself.”
“Excuse me?” Nastya’s eyes widened as she stared at her husband.
“I’m just asking you to look beautiful…” He toned it down a bit. “You know, makeup, a more modern dress, maybe some shapewear or a corset… Maybe even some beauty shots or rejuvenation treatments… Details matter at important meetings. You understand, right?”
“Yeah, I get it,” Nastya replied dryly. This supposedly “important” meeting was nothing more than a chance for old “friends” and business rivals to show off to each other.
Anastasia could have taken offense, could have caused a scene, but she was wise—20 years of marriage had taught her that.
Overall, Boris suited her, except for his constant comments about age. As they say, ‘gray hair in the beard, Devil in the heart.’ Nastya, being a beautiful woman, really didn’t want to grow old, but Boris seemed obsessed with the issue and avoided any topic related to aging. He wanted to be eternally young. Or at least look it. However, apart from his wishful thinking, Boris never had the willpower for anything else: he didn’t go to the gym, didn’t get rejuvenation treatments, and didn’t live a healthy life. Yet every year, he found new demands for his wife. Especially when it came to ‘presentation,’ Boris had lost all sense of tact.
After thinking it over, Anastasia decided not to make a scene and would do just as her husband said.
“I’ll buy a new dress. And get professional makeup. I’ll try to live up to your expectations,” she replied, hiding the irony in her voice.
“Excellent. I knew you were a smart woman.”
The “smart woman” kept her word.
She wore a dress with a corset that was terribly uncomfortable, got an ultra-expensive lifting makeover, shelled out for a luxurious salon… And went to the meeting.
Nastya sat in the restaurant like a porcelain figurine—barely breathing, trying to endure the discomfort of her dress. Of course, she hardly touched her food. She smiled quietly, listening as Boris bragged about some deals, agreed with Nikolai, devoured his steak, and didn’t seem to care how his wife was holding up. His eyes kept darting between Kolya and Kolya’s wife, Svetlana—the same “well-groomed, young beauty.”
By the way, Svetlana turned out to be not just young, but practically a teenager. She looked like a model straight out of a magazine. Even if Nastya tried every beauty treatment in the world, at 47 she could never look like that. In fact, Sveta looked younger than Nastya and Boris’s own daughter.
“How long have you been married?” Nastya asked Nikolai and Svetlana.
“Six months,” Nikolai answered proudly with a smile. “We didn’t have a wedding—happiness prefers silence.”
“Ah…”
“With Sveta, it’s like breathing fresh air. She inspires me, and I feel young, alive, and energetic,” Nikolai boasted.
Boris had nothing to say to that.
“Truly, fresh air is important. The key is to get the right dose and not catch a cold,” Nastya replied politely with a smile.
Boris nudged her under the table, blushing over her words, but Nastya didn’t care.
Nastya’s words sank in for Nikolai, and he quickly changed the subject.
On the way home, Nastya was silent. It was only when she finally freed herself from the treacherous corset at home that she sat down and breathed deeply, as if released from a cage.
All that time, Boris was pacing around her. He was gearing up for a conversation, convinced Nastya had behaved badly. And, besides… standing next to little Sveta, Nastya seemed way too old.
“Listen, Nastya… I’m willing to overlook your behavior tonight, but you need to know: men, me included, care about appearance. I want my wife to look young, beautiful, and to follow today’s beauty standards.”
“So you want a wife like Kolya has?” Nastya asked. “An 18-year-old girl who already had implants put everywhere and filled her face with fillers like a balloon?”
“Well… I just want you to look better. To be, you know… more modern. Maybe you should consider implants, too?!”
“What for? I’ve never been ‘flat-chested’!” Nastya objected, glancing at her size 3.
“Size doesn’t matter! With age, everything’s started sagging! It’s hanging like a spaniel’s ears. But you could get everything lifted. And refresh your face. Actually, I’d say you need to. Your hair color ages you, too. Young women pick light, not dark shades…” Boris blurted out. Who knows where he got this information from.
Nastya stayed quiet, processing what she’d just heard. She could have yelled at her husband, told him a thing or two—pointed out that he’s far from an “Apollo” himself. That a little fat removal from his beer belly wouldn’t hurt, and maybe he should get some hair transplanted onto that bald spot if he wants to look younger.
But she didn’t waste her breath. She just told him:
“Alright. I heard you.”
The next day, she dyed her hair ash blonde. Then she updated her wardrobe, buying those exact dresses that men like. Sure, they weren’t the most comfortable, but even her ‘spaniel ears’ seemed to perk up. Boris beamed with satisfaction.
“Now that’s more like it! See, Nastya, you can do it when you want to.”
“Of course I can,” she agreed. “You just wait and see…”
“Just so you know, you’ve already blown through your spending limit. Time for you to pay for your own shopping. Why should only my money go toward your beauty?”
“Because you’re the husband with all these demands. I wouldn’t spend money on all this stuff just for me. I love myself as I am. But for you, it needs to be an expensive package.”
Boris stayed silent. His wife had shut him up with her fair point.
Still, he kept checking Nikolay’s social media page, hoping for new photos of his young wife. But there wasn’t a single sign of a relationship with Sveta.
Boris didn’t want to meet as a foursome again. He would’ve gladly seen Nikolay and his darling Sveta alone. Or better yet, if Nikolay wasn’t there at all… Sveta really was stunning and fresh, and the way she looked at Boris made it seem like she was bored with Nikolay… While Boris daydreamed, Nastya wasn’t wasting any time.
She found out everything she needed and asked Boris’s secretary, Arina, to book her a flight. Nastya was heading for a consultation with a plastic surgeon for ‘rejuvenation’. She told Arina her husband was aware, so Arina didn’t ask questions and booked the ticket. And not just any ticket, but business class—the way a ‘well-off’ wife should travel.
When Boris found out, he was furious. That money wasn’t supposed to be spent on his wife’s ‘whims and fantasies’. But it was too late.
“Tickets are non-refundable. And you’re the one who wanted your wife to look like a young girl. Your wish is about to come true.”
“Fine, go if you must. For the consultation—no procedures yet. You need to discuss everything with me first. I don’t want to end up embarrassed because of you. My money is all planned out,” said Boris, already regretting the thoughts of youth he’d planted in his wife’s head. It would have been much easier—and cheaper—for him to just find a young girlfriend and take her to events, while Nastya stayed home, loving herself just as she was.
Nastya left. At the clinic, she went through an examination and chose her procedures: facelift, lasers, injections, and care. Plus, her own private room, a buffet, rehabilitation, and massages.
She relaxed in her room, which felt more like a hotel suite with a sea view, and thought she’d made the right decision.
Boris called on the fifth day.
“Where the hell are you? You were supposed to be back by now! Every day in that hospital costs me as much as a week’s vacation in a luxury hotel!”
“Me? I’m rejuvenating—just like you asked me to.”
“Are you out of your mind?! I told you not to do anything without my approval!”
“But you already approved everything. You pushed me to this, remember? And you know what? I’m happy. The doctor is good, experienced—I’ll look even better. Now it’s your turn to participate. Time to pay up.”
Boris was horrified. His secretary had already received the bill—and paid it.
“Why did you do it?!” Boris gasped, asking Arina. He was too tired to argue anymore. He hadn’t kept track.
“You said you would pay for everything.”
“When did I say that?”
“When you were rushing past.”
Boris struggled to remember. As usual, Arina had brought the bills at the worst moment… Back then, he had been watching a social media video with Svetlana, who was explaining the best way to work out glutes at the gym. Of course, he hadn’t listened to Arina at all, he just nodded absentmindedly.
“This is madness!” he texted his wife, realizing he’d been tricked.
“Agreed. But you were the first to go insane,” Nastya replied.
“I’m canceling the payment. You have your own savings, pay for it yourself. This was your decision.”
“I’ll spend my savings on something else,” Nastya replied curtly. “I’m not a show dog. I’m a person. And if you don’t appreciate what you have, then I’ve become the woman you wanted. And you’ll pay for that. With interest.”
Nastya came back to her hometown three weeks later. Boris met her at the airport. He wanted to say something, but he was too stunned by how she looked.
“You… look amazing, even if I spent way too much on it,” he mumbled, forgetting his prepared speech of disapproval.
“Yes,” she nodded. “I know.”
He wanted to hug her, but she stepped aside.
“No, Borya. You’re too old for me now. A lady like me isn’t for you. Go find someone your own status—maybe an old woman with a belly and bald patches. As for me, I think I’ll get married again. To someone younger.”
“Who would even want you?!” Boris gasped. He hadn’t thought his wife would do something so harsh. Use him and then leave.
“At the very least, I want myself. And as for everyone else—they’re not important to me.”
Nastya ordered a taxi and left the airport with her head held high.
And Boris… He watched her go, thinking women are ungrateful, materialistic schemers who only know how to get money out of their husbands.
His suspicions seemed confirmed—soon, Svetlana’s page was full of photos with new men. And then another, and another… She looked happy and charming with all of them. That’s when Boris decided to call Nikolai.
“Yes?”
“Hey… I saw your wife… With someone else.”
“Oh, well, I left her. Decided I’d rather be with someone more mature. What could I possibly talk about with an 18-year-old? Boring!” Nikolai replied, not convincingly at all.
Boris later found out that Svetlana had never been Nikolai’s wife. In fact, she was simply an escort. For the right price, she could accompany any man to important events or meetings. She had even offered Boris a discount, as a friend.
“So, Nikolai was showing up without a wife, just some random woman… just to show off. Unbelievable. What a scammer! And to think, I thought that guy was lucky,” Boris thought, shaking his head at himself for letting his friend and his lady friend mess with his mind.
In the end, Nastya was the only one who came out ahead. She managed to get a makeover at his expense and felt at peace.
But honestly, women are beautiful at any age. And the husband? If he doesn’t appreciate you, forget him—he’s not worth it!