"The Delightful Witch" by Anne Jane, summary

This book is a vibrant story of student love born from a cunning plan of maiden revenge, written in 2020. The stark contrast between the naivety of the passionate heroine and the stern integrity of the adult hero makes the plot dynamic and vivid. At the very beginning of the novel, we see a girl in a cozy attic, enthusiastically writing a blog post on a popular social network. She loudly declares her firm intention to conquer a man with a truly iron heart. She bluntly calls him a boring bore with an unbearably difficult character, but at the same time honestly acknowledges his undeniable masculinity. The heroine playfully promises to fly to him on her personal broom.

The Birth of a Plan for Revenge

Student Tatyana Vedmina is distinguished by her highly motivated and spirited nature. She is intelligent, quite attractive, and always gets her way. Her turbulent life involves a long-standing rival named Vasilina. The two girls have been feuding since early childhood. Vasilina’s sister deceitfully stole Tatyana’s sister’s fiancé just before their anticipated wedding. Since then, Tatyana has harbored a deep and powerful grudge against her rival’s entire family.

One day, she accidentally witnesses an unpleasant breakup. Vasilina is having a loud argument with her boyfriend. Tatyana immediately plots a very insidious revenge. She decides to make Vasilina’s jilted boyfriend fall in love with her forever. Absolutely confident in her feminine appeal, Tatyana sincerely believes she can easily achieve her goal. She begins actively gathering information about this mysterious man. She takes a truly strategic approach to her future seduction.

Getting to Know Oleg Vladyko

Vasilina’s boyfriend turns out to be no ordinary, poor student. His name is Oleg Vladimirovich Vladyko. He officially works as a strict professor in the Faculty of Computational Mathematics and Information Technology. All this takes place at the same university where Tatyana is quietly studying. Vladyko is famous for his incredibly harsh and stern temperament. Students fear him like a scorching fire. He is stern, extremely reserved, and completely unyielding in his high standards. Oleg has calmly failed countless top students in their exams.

Tatyana isn’t in the least intimidated by such serious career obstacles. She begins pursuing the stern university professor with incredible intensity. She constantly arranges seemingly random encounters with them. She brazenly provokes Oleg into intense emotions. She brazenly and boldly forces her intrusive company on him during every short break. She’s completely unfazed by the vast difference in their social status.

Awkward situations

Tatyana uses the most unconventional and risky methods of active seduction. She regularly finds herself in very comical and extremely awkward situations. One day, she has to quickly hide under the table right at Vladyko’s feet. At this tense moment, Tatyana’s father is in the bright room with his old friend. Oleg Vladimirovich manages to secretly film this entire amusing incident on his cell phone. Later, he carefully uses this hidden recording for a bit of blackmail. He quietly advises Tatyana not to wake up to trouble. However, this only further provokes the bold student.

Tatyana loudly demands immediate moral compensation from Oleg for the verbal insult he inflicted on her. She categorically declares that he simply must go on a real date with her. Otherwise, she will publicly accuse him of completely inappropriate behavior. Vladyko, rather unexpectedly, agrees to this strange meeting. They quickly agree to meet in a street parking lot at precisely five o’clock in the evening.

Fake dates

Vladyko fights off the persistent, cunning student with all his might. He masterfully uses harsh sarcasm and sharp irony to defend himself. Tatyana is not indebted to him either. Their long conversations are constantly filled with caustic verbal barbs and mutual personal grievances. Gradually, they become accustomed to this format of communication. Tatyana cunningly convinces Oleg to play along with her a little in public. They begin to actively play the role of a real couple in front of their mutual acquaintances. Vladyko calmly agrees to these strange, fictitious dates for his own deeply hidden motives.

Tatyana increasingly sees the serious Oleg in informal and cozy home settings. She clearly notices his genuine caring nature and strong, masculine reliability. The familiar image of a stern and angry teacher begins to crumble rapidly and irrevocably. Oleg turns out to be a very attentive and incredibly interesting conversationalist. Tatyana begins to see him with completely different eyes.

Gradual rapprochement

The relationship between the characters quickly and confidently goes beyond mere pretense. Tatyana spends a great deal of her free time with Oleg. They take long, leisurely walks together, talk a lot, and often drink hot, sweet coffee. Tatyana openly shares her deepest and most intimate secrets with him. She candidly talks about a past, deeply painful crush. Her long-time crush was a boy named Kostya. This sad story left a deep, unhealed wound in her young soul.

Oleg listens very attentively and sincerely supports the upset girl. He unexpectedly displays immense human sensitivity. Tatyana begins to clearly understand her new, true feelings. She truly falls in love with Oleg, without any cold calculation. Her initial evil plan for revenge completely and irrevocably recedes into the background. Now she simply wants to be constantly close to this amazingly reliable man.

Problems and threats

Suddenly, this fragile idyll is shattered by deeply disturbing and dangerous events. Oleg begins receiving regular, extremely unpleasant anonymous threats. Unknown assailants suddenly attack him on a dark street. Vladyko suffers very serious and painful injuries in a brutal street fight. Soon, a stern police captain unexpectedly shows up at his home. Oleg is officially charged with the brutal beating of an unknown man.

Tatyana boldly and selflessly leaps into action to defend her beloved lover. She quickly and resourcefully concocts a very reliable and absolutely sound alibi for him. She lies to the police inspector’s face with extreme conviction and confidence. She firmly asserts that she and Oleg were together at the time of the street fight. Tatyana even loudly declares that the victim himself was the one who brazenly attacked her first. This desperate feminine act demonstrates the immense strength of her new, bright feelings for Oleg.

Fatal mistake

The main characters’ relationship is edging ever closer to a happy, logical conclusion. At this most tense moment, a terrible, tragic misunderstanding occurs. Tatyana’s former lover, Kostya, suddenly reappears in her life. He persistently and actively tries to regain her affection. Oleg, quite by chance, notices Tatyana from afar in Kostya’s suspicious company. The entire situation appears extremely ambiguous. Vladyko firmly decides that his beloved is passionately kissing another man.

He instantly and profoundly becomes disillusioned with his beloved Tatyana. Oleg, by nature, possesses very strict and rigid moral principles. He absolutely and never forgives a woman’s vile betrayal. He abruptly and rudely cuts off all contact with the distraught student. Tatyana falls into complete and utter despair. She desperately and at length tries to explain everything and regain Oleg’s lost trust.

Attempts at reconciliation

Tatyana refuses to give up without a desperate fight. She quickly enlists the strong moral support of her most loyal friend, Zhenya. Young women begin to literally follow the sullen Vladyko. Tatyana desperately wants to beg him for his long-awaited forgiveness. But Oleg remains completely cold and utterly unapproachable. Cold as the winter wind. He rudely and harshly rejects all her attempts to reconcile.

During one of these heated verbal altercations, Tatyana stumbles awkwardly and accidentally. She falls straight into a deep, bitterly cold snowdrift. At that moment, another very beautiful girl suddenly appears next to the unyielding Oleg. Vladyko silently and demonstratively leaves with his new elegant companion. Tatyana is left lying completely alone in the cold, deep snow. She clearly and bitterly realizes that her cheerful, amusing game has ended in complete and utter failure.

The end of the story

The book ends on a very sad and rather melancholy note. Oleg sits quietly in a cozy winter café with his best friend, Stas. They sip coffee and quietly talk about their lives. At the next table, a young, beautiful, unfamiliar woman sits quietly, sad. Suddenly, a very unpleasant thing comes to light. This woman has absolutely no money to pay the waitress’s bill. The waitresses begin to complain loudly and rudely about this trivial matter.

Oleg, quite unexpectedly for everyone, intervenes in this awkward situation. He calmly calls the waitress over and generously pays the stranger’s bill. Vladyko orders a warm cappuccino and an expensive, delicious pastry for her. He quickly leaves the café with Stas. Oleg doesn’t even try to get to know the girl he saved. Meanwhile, Tatyana is left alone with her own bitter thoughts. She quietly reads a sad, beautiful poem about unrequited love. The poetic lines speak of fluffy snow falling from the sky and a deep, melancholy loneliness. The heroine realizes the weight of her loss. She truly fell in love with a man with a heart of iron, but lost him because of one foolish mistake.