Sanja had three conversations open on her phone and spoke as a different version of herself in each. She wrote to Marko that only with him could she forget her difficult divorce. To his wife, she sent holiday recommendations with warm messages about the importance of family. To her niece Nika, she explained that their business partner Robert deserved a chance because love often developed only after a sensible decision.
Nika was twenty-eight and worked at Sanja's agency. Her aunt had helped when she lost her job, so every conversation about Robert was decorated with a reminder of that help. He was polite, but they had nothing to talk about. Sanja insisted Nika was simply not open enough. She omitted that his joining the family would probably bring the investment she needed.
On Friday, she sent the schedule for their shared dinner. She intended to forward Nika's confirmation to Robert. Instead, she sent Nika an entire private conversation with a friend. In it, she described Robert as "safe, boring, and financially perfect," said Nika would give in once she understood how dependent she was on the agency, and noted that Marko still believed he was the only man Sanja seriously trusted.
Nika did not reply immediately. She saved the messages concerning her and called Robert. She said she did not want a romantic relationship and had never promised otherwise. He was silent, then admitted Sanja had presented her shyness as hidden enthusiasm. They agreed each would cancel the dinner in their own name.
Sanja first claimed the messages had been taken out of a joking context. Then she said she had always meant the best. Nika asked for whom. She did not threaten to publish the conversation or demand that the whole family take sides. She requested proper payment for her work and took a job at another agency. Robert withdrew his investment offer, not because Nika did not want him, but because he no longer trusted the person offering him a partnership.
Marko soon learned that Sanja tailored her promises to him too. Their relationship ended in a conversation he could not package as a story of tragic love. Sanja was left with a smaller agency, several bills, and a free evening. She wrote Nika a long message full of explanations, then deleted it. In the end, she sent only confirmation of payment and an apology for the pressure. Nika thanked her for the payment. She said nothing about the apology. For the first time, Sanja left a conversation open without trying to write the other person's answer herself.