Irina rearranged the little cups of seedlings on the windowsill. Somewhere deep in the apartment, the muffled voices of her husband and mother-in-law drifted through the rooms. They were talking about something again—without her. Lately, these secret conversations had become the norm. “Ir, is lunch ready?” Sergey appeared in the kitchen doorway, phone in hand. […]
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You’re nobody, got it? And you’re going to listen to me your whole life. And no more orders like—pick up our daughter. You hear me?” “I hear you…” Anastasia said softly, and felt his grip loosen. Anastasia had been married to Gennady for several years. He was the solid, dependable type—one of those men who, […]
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The doorbell pierced the house’s morning drowsiness—sharp, insistent. I frowned, lifting my head off the pillow. Who would need us this early? Tamara Pavlovna, my mother-in-law, was already scurrying down the hallway. Her whisper was louder than any shout. “I’m coming, I’m coming! Why are you ringing like that…” I threw on a robe and […]
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“Speak.” His voice in the phone receiver was even and a little tired, like someone who’d been pulled away from a complicated spreadsheet full of numbers. On the other end of the line, Olga stayed silent for a second, gathering her strength. When she finally spoke, her voice wasn’t trembling—it was completely empty, burnt out […]
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— You just need to rest, sweetheart,” my husband Stas said, his voice dripping with fake concern. “Just a couple of weeks at the best health resort. You’ll calm your nerves down.” I stared at him, trying to focus. My head felt heavy and dull, as if it were packed with wet sand. “I don’t […]
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“Sonny!” Vera Antonovna cried out, suddenly freezing on the threshold of her apartment. Her eyes widened with astonishment and joy, her hands flew up like birds ready to take flight. She rushed to her son, who had just come in, leaving the door slightly ajar, as if she couldn’t believe her own eyes. “You scared […]
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