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Alina moved her phone away from her ear and slammed it down onto the café table. Her face was flushed, and her fingers gripped her coffee cup tightly. “Was it your mother-in-law again?” Darya asked, pushing her salad aside. “You look like you just got hit over the head!” “Again. The fifth request this month. … Read more

The key slipped in easily, but turned without catching—someone had already unlocked the door today, maybe even more than once. Yana pushed the door with her shoulder and stepped into the hallway, only to find everything out of place from how she’d left it that morning. The coat rack had slid up against the wall, … Read more

Timur’s workshop smelled like… well, it doesn’t really matter what it smelled like. What mattered was the raccoon sitting in a cage by the window—it had been rescued that morning from a fifth-floor balcony—and was now staring at Veronika as if it knew something she didn’t. Timur was wiping his hands with a towel and … Read more

“Here, Mom sent this,” Misha said, placing a folded notebook sheet on the kitchen table. “She said everything needs to be paid by Friday or Dasha will be in serious trouble.” Anna wiped her damp hands on the kitchen towel, turned off the tap, and slowly faced her husband. Mikhail looked exhausted, his eyes avoiding … Read more

“Your aunt left her apartment behind, and to be fair it should go to your brother. You and Anton already have your mortgage, you’re making it work somehow, but Denis and Lika have nowhere to live,” declared Galina Ivanovna in a confident, no-nonsense tone as she began serving steaming homemade cutlets with pasta onto plates. … Read more

We spent fourteen years married. The apartment had belonged to Oleg long before our wedding, so I never really saw it as mine. I worked as a clothing alterations specialist at a studio—hemming pants, replacing zippers, fitting dresses, and reworking curtains. Oleg was a shift manager at a warehouse and made significantly more money than … Read more

“It’s just unnatural, Polina. Your salary is way too high for a woman who spends all day at home in stretched-out sweatpants.” Tamara Ilinichna took a sip of tea from a delicate porcelain cup and looked at her daughter-in-law with clear disapproval. The mother-in-law sat at the kitchen table with perfect posture, dressed in a … Read more

“From now on, you’ll be cooking for my mother every day,” Vadim declared, dropping his fork onto the linen napkin as if he were announcing an order of national importance. — From now on, you’ll be cooking for my mother every day, — Vadim declared, dropping his fork onto the linen napkin as if reading … Read more

Take Care of Your Son Yourself! — Well then, you and your dear son can take care of him however you see fit! I’m tired of you constantly telling me what to do in my own house, Alevtina Viktorovna! I am not your personal maid! Not yours, and not your son’s! — Igor, did you … Read more

I’m not going on vacation with your parents and your sister and her kids! This was supposed to be our time together! Why should I spend my personal vacation giving tours to your parents or sharing a hotel room with them? Why should I have to babysit your nieces and nephews while your sister goes … Read more