“Be grateful that after thirty years of marriage I’m coming back home and not docking in some foreign port,” the husband said. “And what if I had cheated on you too?” Marina asked. “For a woman, cheating is abnormal; for a man, it’s natural. Besides, who needs you at fifty-something?” Marina had long suspected that […]
Продолжение...
The air in their apartment had grown thick and heavy, as if saturated with the dust of unrealized hopes. Veronika and Andrey, once inseparable and full of laughter, now moved through the rooms like shadows, afraid to brush against each other with a careless word. Years of waiting, endless doctor visits, and negative pregnancy tests […]
Продолжение...
Music thundered, drowning out the clink of glasses and the cheerful buzz of voices. A hundred guests raised toasts to the happiness of the newlyweds, not suspecting that one of them had already trampled that happiness. Sophia, in a billowing white dress like a cloud, was running herself ragged looking for her brand-new husband. Valery […]
Продолжение...
When Vera Nikolaevna received a message that her third cousin Tatyana, who lived somewhere deep in the Urals, was asking to stay with her in Moscow with the kids for a couple of weeks, her first reaction was to refuse. What could they possibly have in common? The last time they’d seen each other was […]
Продолжение...
Outside the village store, smelling of fresh bread and dust, tempers, as always, were running high. The local gossips, gathered on the worn steps, were picking apart their neighbors’ lives. Today’s main topic was Viktor—the strapping fellow, the village’s prize catch—who had left his wife, Anna. — “Hear this? Vitka’s run off to the city […]
Продолжение...
Viktor was turning in front of the huge hallway mirror, smoothing the lapels of his brand-new, expensive suit. The fine wet-asphalt–colored wool fit his athletic build perfectly. He was getting ready for the corporate gala—the social event of the year in their city, a charity evening organized by the company where he held a high […]
Продолжение...
Pasha, you promised to help me. “Son, you have to marry her for the apartment!” his mother insisted. “Then we’ll quietly transfer part of it to me, and she’ll never know.” “Mom, that’s not fair! I love her, not her apartment,” Pavel objected, nervously glancing toward the bedroom door. Pavel and Olga had married a […]
Продолжение...
A Life Given Quietly, A Love Returned When my husband died, his little girl was only five. At night she hugged his empty pillow with those wide, wet eyes, too young to grasp why the door would never open for him again. That evening I made a promise. Blood or not, I would be her […]
Продолжение...
Elena was returning from a business trip with a light heart. They had handed over the project a day early, and now she had a whole free evening to herself. Her husband, Dmitry, a sea captain, was on a voyage, and her daughter Alisa, she believed, was enjoying the fresh air and new experiences at […]
Продолжение...
Lida hurried home. At last, the head doctor had signed off on her long-awaited vacation. Now she could finally delight her family with the news that soon all of them would be flying off on a holiday together. Driving her beloved old car past the makeshift market that had sprung up at the beginning of […]
Продолжение...