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Because we’re a family! Or is that just words to you?” Igor slapped his palm on the table. Elena flinched back, feeling everything inside her tighten into a hard knot. She looked at the man she’d been sharing a bed with for the past year and a half—and didn’t recognize him. Where was the Igor […]

Marina was standing by the window when the phone rang. Her mother’s number. “Marin, about your father’s anniversary. You remember, right?” Her voice was tense. “The twenty-fifth. I remember.” “There will be important people there. Partners, investors. You know what I mean?” Marina stayed silent. “Don’t come. Why make things awkward? You’re always buried in […]

“No, Alla Borisovna, that’s not going to happen. Neither Zoya nor her kids are going to the dacha.” Olga stood with her hip leaned against the kitchen cabinet, methodically drying an absolutely clean cup with a dish towel. A Saturday morning that had promised a lazy breakfast with Dima and maybe a trip to the […]

— It’s a good thing you became the heir to that apartment downtown. I’ll be living in it—since I gave mine to my daughter,” her mother-in-law announced, stirring her tea as if she were talking about the weather. Maria froze with the cup in her hand. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. […]

Tanya’s suitcase had been standing by the door for two hours already. She kept pacing around the apartment, unable to believe this was happening to her. “ Tanya, why are you dragging it out?” Volodya was nervously smoking on the balcony. “Mom’s waiting.” Her mother-in-law was sitting in an armchair, staring at her with a […]

— Well, how much did you click up today?” Sergey’s voice from the hallway was rough, soaked through with street-cold and fatigue. “Come on, quit playing with your toys—I’m hungry.” Marina didn’t answer. She only pressed her headset tighter to her ear, peering at the four faces divided by thin gray lines on her monitor. […]

It all started with little things. So quietly you barely noticed—almost “family-like.” “Lena, sunshine, could you help me?” Galina Petrovna always called at the worst possible moment, as if she could sense when I’d just sat down after work. “The utility bill came in, and my pension won’t stretch to the end of the month. […]

Diana never liked Sunday evenings. It was supposed to be a day off—a time to unwind, have a quiet dinner with her husband—but instead there was a knock at the door, heavy as a verdict. She already knew: it was Inna. And sure enough. On the threshold stood her sister-in-law in her usual style: stiletto […]