Alla had been wiping the same cups for ten minutes already. Her thoughts were tangled, her hands were trembling. Pavel’s voice was still ringing in her ears: “I’ve filed for divorce. The house will be mine, the money too. You understand yourself: everything’s in my name.” Thirty-two years of marriage. Thirty-two! And all of it—erased […]
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I am not cleaning up this mess after your guests!” Karina snapped. “I didn’t invite them, didn’t feed them, and didn’t pour their drinks.” Alexei flinched at the sharpness in his wife’s voice and guiltily looked at the havoc in the gazebo. Empty bottles were lying under the benches, puddles of spilled beer had dried […]
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So what’s the problem? Of course we took it. I don’t feel like cooking today, and we’re going to spend the whole rest of the day at home and aren’t planning to go anywhere. So it will all come in handy. You don’t need it anymore anyway, the celebration is over.” Anya and Kostya had […]
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Olya sat at the table, trying to keep her hands from shaking. The plate of salad had gone cold, but she hadn’t taken a single bite. Across from her sat Irina Petrovna—imposing, perfectly styled hair, a stern gaze. Andrey was silent, nervously twisting his fork. “Olénka, tell me about yourself,” his mother said in the […]
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All our relatives are coming to stay with us for the summer!” Sergey announced happily, bursting into the kitchen with his phone in his hand. I froze with my half-finished cup of coffee. My first thought was, “He’s joking.” The second: “God, anything but this.” “What relatives exactly?” I asked cautiously, hoping he meant at […]
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Galina closed the door behind her, kicked off her shoes onto the floor and took a deep breath. Finally, she could relax. Today had been an important day—she had completely paid off the mortgage on her apartment. The very one she had bought before marriage, when she worked twelve-hour shifts and denied herself everything. The […]
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Mashenka, open up, it’s me! I brought fresh little pies, with cabbage, just the way Pavlik likes them!” The voice behind the door was brisk and insistent, leaving not the slightest chance to pretend no one was home. Maria slowly wiped her hands on the kitchen towel and shot a brief, heavy look at her […]
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“Oh, I’m really not feeling well today… and the apartment is all dusty again, it’s awful. You’re not busy tomorrow, are you? You’ll come and help me tidy up a bit, right?” “Sorry, but tomorrow is my birthday…” “But you’re free in the morning! Come to me around seven, you’ll be done by eleven at […]
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I was chopping vegetables for a salad when I heard Lena’s familiar voice at the door. My husband Andrey’s sister never rang the bell — she just walked in with her own keys, as if this were her own home. “Hi, Masha!” Lena burst into the kitchen, her perfume filling the whole space. “Where’s Andryusha?” […]
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They were expecting borscht or cutlets. She dropped a stack of documents onto the table so loudly that Aunt Elina’s fork slipped from her hand. In that moment, the familiar family script stopped existing. Irina stood by the table, straight as a string. She’d been preparing for this moment all evening—buttoned her blouse all the […]
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