When Old Promises Collide with New Ambitions — War and Peace

Natásha is sixteen in 1809, the year she and Borís once counted toward on their fingers, yet he has avoided the Rostóvs since 1805 while she publicly treats their childhood promise as a joke.

Borís arrives in Petersburg intending to declare their old tie void; he has rank, Hélène's salon, and plans for a rich bride, but transformed Natásha unsettles him and he visits daily without saying what he means.

She watches in silence while he performs Petersburg polish; he drifts, skips Hélène, collects reproachful notes, and leaves each day having failed to break the past he knows would ruin his climb.