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Marina stopped on the kitchen threshold and felt the unspoken words catch in her throat. Her hand tightened around her phone—still warm from the director’s message about her bonus. Three voice notes from Lena, her friend with whom she had almost bought tickets for a two-week vacation in Turkey. “What?” was all she managed to … Read more

“Larisa, just a little more… Come on, love, you’ve got this!” Her legs barely obeyed. Each step felt like dragging iron weights tied to her ankles. “I want a shower…” Larisa breathed, the last of her strength ebbing away. “Gleb, I can’t. Honestly—I can’t.” Her husband tilted his head with a practiced look of concern, … Read more

Trying to be silent, twenty-seven-year-old Elizaveta Andreevna Malinkina eased along the corridor toward Alisa’s room—the room of the fourteen-year-old daughter of the house. She needed to make sure the girl was asleep before she could finally let herself sleep, too. For the past two weeks, Liza had been filling in at billionaire Voropaev’s estate for … Read more

— I’ve found someone else. Pack your things and get out of my apartment,” Svyatoslav stood in the middle of the living room with his hands shoved in his trouser pockets. Triumph was written across his face. Zlata slowly raised her eyes from the book she’d been reading, curled up in an armchair. She squinted, … Read more

— You do realize I’m not an idiot, right? — Marina stood in the bedroom doorway, gripping her phone. — I know everything, Alexey. Everything! — What are you even talking about? — he reluctantly tore his eyes from the laptop screen and looked at his wife in surprise. — Your fantasies again? — Fantasies? … Read more

This story—so old it seems to have grown through time like the root of a mighty oak—was once told to me by Granny Galya, our neighbor. She’d come over to borrow a little salt, neighborly and kind. I happened to be cooking at that very moment, baking cabbage pies whose rich, homely aroma filled the … Read more

— I’m not going to eat this slop,” Darina pushed away the plate of mashed potatoes with thick meat gravy. “Rostislav, we had an agreement. I’m on a strict regimen, I’m calibrating my receptors.” My son gave me a guilty look, then looked at his wife. He reminded me of an old rope being tugged … Read more

The apartment door creaked open at half past ten at night. Marina paused in the entryway, slipping the heavy bag from her shoulder. Her legs were buzzing after a twelve-hour shift at the hospital—today had been especially hard. Three emergency admissions, endless tests, discharge after discharge… And at home—the sound of laughter, clattering dishes, and … Read more

Sveta saw them by chance as she was leaving the bank. Anna and a man were walking into the restaurant Grand—the most expensive place in town. The stranger held the door for her and laid his hand on her lower back. Proprietary. Four months after the divorce, and Anna looked… radiant. A new coat, a … Read more

“Did you sign it?” Maxim’s voice shook with anger. “Did you really sign it?” “What else was I supposed to do?” Alina looked her husband straight in the eye. “Your mother was literally breathing down my neck!” “Don’t you dare blame my mother! She wanted to protect our interests!” “Whose interests? Yours? Hers? Certainly not … Read more