— Are you sure we should go today? It’s a blizzard outside, the roads are probably buried, and honestly I’m not in a festive mood at all, Marina said as she stood by the window, watching snowflakes whirl in the streetlamp’s light and nervously tugging at the belt of her robe. Andrey, tying his tie […]
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By the way, I never told you. My folks are coming next week. For about a week.” The words dropped into the kitchen like heavy, dirty stones thrown into a clear stream. Irina froze, her hand holding the carton of milk suspended halfway to the refrigerator. The crinkle of the paper bag on the countertop, […]
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Alina sat at a massive oak table covered with countless fabric swatches. She smoothed each piece carefully with her palm, lifted it to the light, and studied the way the silk or satin shimmered. A smile glowed on her face—inside every scrap she could already see a piece of the future, her celebration, her dream. […]
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“Why did you transfer fifty thousand to my mother? I asked you not to do that!” Tatiana stood in the middle of the entryway, clutching a bank statement in her hand. Her hands were shaking with anger, and tears of hurt glimmered in her eyes. Dmitry froze in the doorway, not even having time to […]
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— Tamara Petrovna? And you… didn’t call. Alina said it as she stepped back into the hallway—and immediately scolded herself for it. It hadn’t sounded welcoming, almost like a reproach. But the exhaustion—sticky, heavy—built up over a day spent bouncing between laundry, cooking, and scrubbing floors, made her reaction slow and honest. Her mother-in-law showing […]
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Irina twirled the keys between her fingers. The keys to the new apartment—their new apartment—burned her palm. Fifteen years of saving. Fifteen! And now… “Ir, why are you frozen?” Sergey touched her shoulder. “Come on, open it already!” “Maybe you open it? Technically, after all…” “Ir, we’ve talked about this a hundred times. Mom is […]
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Dad, are you serious? I’m not going to work here!” “You are, Pasha. And don’t even think about resisting. If you keep this up, I’ll just turn my back and leave you to deal with it yourself. Think about how much trouble you’ve already caused.” Pavel snorted and looked away. What had gotten into his […]
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Do you remember that last shift, when that girl gave birth here? The one who was screaming so crudely—asking why all of this was happening to her. She was swearing filthy— not every man could talk like that. It was downright unpleasant to hear it coming from a woman!” “I remember. What about her?” “She […]
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— Mom, hi. I need your help urgently. Her son’s voice on the line sounded as if he were speaking to an annoying subordinate, not to his mother. Nina Petrovna froze with the remote in her hand, never having turned on the evening news. — Kiryusha, hello. Did something happen? — No, everything’s fine, — […]
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“I’m pregnant,” I said, and a smile spread across my face all by itself. Kirill, standing by the window, froze. He didn’t even turn around, but in the glass I saw his shoulders tense. I was waiting for a hug, joyful shouting—anything at all, but not that strange, rigid stillness. “Me too,” Lena’s quiet voice […]
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