A dark night, shot through with cold and a storm wind, seemed to have stepped off the pages of a grim fairy tale. The sky, shrouded in clouds, appeared to be hiding the moon on purpose, leaving the world at the mercy of a relentless rain that lashed the asphalt as if trying to wash […]
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Zhanna sat in the kitchen; her eyes were puffy from tears, her hands shaking. Yesterday her husband, Andrey, had come home acting strangely—silent, avoiding her gaze, nervously fingering something in his pocket. And this morning he announced, as if handing down a sentence: “I’m leaving, Zhanna. I need to be alone. But I can’t leave […]
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Violetta turned off the ignition and grabbed her phone on the second ring. “Mr. Grigory Sergeyevich?” “My golden goose, turn around!” her boss sounded deflated. “The deal fell through. Business trip is canceled.” Violetta looked at the airport board through the windshield, then at the suitcase on the back seat. “What do you mean, fell […]
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“I definitely wouldn’t marry a man like that!” rang out a clear, bright child’s voice in the silence—surprisingly confident for someone so young. Marina flinched and turned sharply. In front of her stood a little girl—about six, with a long fair braid, a worn jacket, and eyes that held a strange, beyond-her-years clarity. The bride […]
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Elena raised a glass of champagne, smiling at her friend Olga. The birthday party was a success—about twenty people had gathered at the café, laughter never stopped, and for the first time in months she felt like just a woman, not only the mother of one-year-old Yulia. — To your happiness! — she said, just […]
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Maxim gripped his ticket and looked at the familiar station. Three years away from home, three years of hard work in the logging camps—all for this moment. In his backpack were gifts for his mother and his sister Tatyana, and in his pocket—the cherished ring for Irina. “Maxim? Is that really you?” He turned and […]
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“I’ve decided—I’m going to my mother’s on Saturday. For about three months, probably.” The words fell onto the table between the plate of fried potatoes and the salad. They fell lightly, casually, like bread crumbs. Artyom said them without looking up from his food, carefully spearing a golden piece of chicken with his fork. For […]
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The door to the auto shop squeaked obnoxiously. The smell of gasoline and motor oil hit my nose—the scent of my past, the one I’d been running from for so long. In the middle of the bay, beneath a Ford hanging on chains, stood him. Sergei. My ex-husband. The same as ever—in a greasy coverall, […]
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Lidia’s wrinkled fingers clutched a mug of tea that had long since gone cold. Thirty-two years of marriage, over three thousand dinners shared, countless shirts ironed and folded — and now she sat alone in their kitchen, where every inch whispered memories of a life once built together. “I don’t understand, Vitya…” Her voice quivered, […]
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For a long time, I lived in denial. I told myself nothing had changed — same routine, same life — that all of it was just a bad dream. I refused to believe Sergey had truly betrayed me. And not just a meaningless fling, but a full-blown affair. With her. The woman who now worked […]
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