He spoke of his late wife, Yulia, without tears but with reverence. “She was fire. I was stone. The fire went out three years ago. I thought I’d be cold forever.”

She tried to search for Alexei’s late wife. There was no obituary. No cemetery record. No Yulia. bride.ru

Elena felt her chest tighten. She clicked Contact . He spoke of his late wife, Yulia, without

“She liked the window open, even in winter.” He walked to the bed, sat down, and touched Elena’s cheek. His hand was cold. Not chilly—cold like stone from a deep well. “You sleep so peacefully, Elenochka. It’s almost unnerving.” The fire went out three years ago

“Someone who will stay.”

He held up the wooden box he had given her on their first date. Inside, where the locket had been, there was now a small, old-fashioned key.

She went to the website again. bride.ru was gone. The domain was for sale. She searched her browser history—nothing. No record of the ad, no profile, no messages. Only her own sent emails, all to a dead address: alexei.noreply@bride.ru.