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Anna hurried up the stairs of the notary’s office, nearly half an hour late for the appointment. The traffic in the city had been terrible, and the bus had broken down halfway there. Her heart was pounding—not only from walking fast, but also from anxiety. Today the inheritance matter after her grandmother’s death was supposed […]

December turned out to be bitterly cold. The snow lay like a heavy blanket, and every morning Olga stared out the window at the white courtyard, unable to force herself to leave the apartment. Two weeks had passed since the funeral, but time seemed to have stopped. The apartment felt too big and too empty—three […]

Yulia stared out the bus window, watching the first snow lightly dust the sidewalks. December had only just begun, and with it came that agonizing feeling—the upcoming visit to her mother-in-law. The last three get-togethers had ended the same way: barbed remarks about her hairstyle, her dress, how Yulia cooked, how she spoke, how she […]

Olya pushed the apartment door open with her shoulder, a bag full of notebooks in her hands. She had been grading geometry tests until eight in the evening—thirty-two papers, and only about five were done well. The rest were nothing but failing and barely passing marks. Her eyes ached, and her temples throbbed. “Dim, hi,” […]

Irina sat at her desk in her room, reviewing a website mockup for a new client. Colorful blocks, fonts, and icons flickered across her laptop screen. She had been working remotely as a web designer for four years now, and it brought in a decent income. Orders came in steadily, she set her own schedule, […]

— The apartment is mine. You’re moving out. Sergey was standing in the bedroom doorway. One hand on the doorframe. Not drunk—just certain. Behind him hovered Kristina from his department. About twenty-eight, a short skirt. She was studying the photos of us on the wall, as if deciding what to keep and what to throw […]

Irina stood by the door with a key in her hand, listening to someone wheezing with laughter behind it. The music was pounding so hard the door was vibrating. For two years she’d been paying for this seaside apartment—skipping vacations, saving on everything—and now she was standing there like an idiot with a suitcase, unable […]

Sveta came home from work exhausted. The day had been rough—reports, meetings, deadlines slipping. She worked as a procurement manager at a small company, and before New Year’s it was always chaos: everyone wanted to close contracts before the holidays. She kicked off her shoes in the entryway and went into the kitchen, hoping at […]

The door slammed so sharply that Polina flinched and dropped the towel. Margarita Semyonovna—her mother-in-law—burst into the hallway, a loud, emotional woman who was convinced the world revolved around her opinion. “Where is he?” she blurted from the doorway. “Where’s your lover?” Polina stood in the middle of the hall in a house dress, her […]

The apartment came to Yekaterina from her grandmother—three rooms on the fourth floor of a panel apartment block, with wide windows and a view of the park. Her grandmother died quietly, in her sleep, leaving her granddaughter her only treasure. Yekaterina entered into the inheritance six months later, as required, and became the lawful owner […]