Are you serious right now?” Nastya’s voice cracked. “Take out a loan in my name for your mom?” “Nastya, don’t start,” Alexey sighed tiredly, tossing a folder of documents onto the table. “It’s not for Mom. It’s for all of us.” “All of us?” she gave a bitter smirk. “Me, you, and your mom—who lives […]
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Oksana looked up from her laptop and froze. In the kitchen doorway stood Tamara Ivanovna with a huge suitcase and a triumphant smile. “Oxanochka, hello, dear! Well, I’m here!” her mother-in-law stepped into the apartment without waiting to be invited and began pulling off her coat. “My Yegorushka asked his mom to come help you. […]
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The apartment smelled of freshly brewed coffee and old furniture. Marina remembered that scent from the earliest days of living with Andrei. Back then it had seemed cozy, almost magical—like a promise that everything would be fine. Now it affected her like a red rag to a bull. Especially when the doorbell rang in the […]
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Dasha stood on the porch of her new dacha and took a deep breath of pine-scented air. Finally. Five years of saving, endless talks about loans, arguments with Maxim—and here it was: their very own land. A small but cozy house, a plot with young apple trees, and a view of the lake. A dream. […]
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Dasha stood on the porch of her new dacha and took a deep breath of pine-scented air. Finally. Five years of saving, endless talks about loans, arguments with Maxim—and here it was: their very own land. A small but cozy house, a plot with young apple trees, and a view of the lake. A dream. […]
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“Veronica, dear! What a wonderful celebration at your dacha! I’m still impressed. Such organization, such attention to detail!” Nadezhda Petrovna’s delighted voice rang out on the phone. Veronica froze, gripping her phone. What celebration? She and Slavik hadn’t been to the dacha for three weeks because of his urgent project. “I’m sorry, Nadezhda Petrovna… what […]
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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 […]
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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 […]
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“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 […]
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— 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. […]
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