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“Send her back tomorrow,” Gennady said without looking up from his phone. He said it so casually, as if he were asking her to buy bread on the way home. Nadezhda was standing by the stove, stirring the stew, and her hand froze halfway through the motion. The vegetables bubbled softly, steam rose toward the … Read more

At half past seven on a Saturday morning, someone started pounding on my door as if there were a fire, a flood, and the tax police all at once. I was making coffee at that exact moment. The good kind — in a cezve, with cardamom. The only little luxury I allowed myself after the … Read more

Denis lived in his wife’s apartment. It was such an ordinary fact that he had long stopped noticing it — the way people stop noticing the hum of a refrigerator or the creak of parquet under their feet. Just background noise. Just something that was there. Olga’s apartment was a two-room place on the fifth … Read more

“Have you completely lost your mind?!” Denis burst into the kitchen as if someone had thrown him in there at full speed. “Mom just texted me. She said you spoke to her like she was a servant!” Vera did not turn around right away. She stood by the stove, stirring something in a pot, feeling … Read more

Galina was flying to Samara for three days. Her flight was canceled, so she stayed in the waiting area. And then she saw her husband with a suitcase. He was not alone. The flight to Samara was canceled at 2:07 p.m. Galina stood in front of the departure board and watched the letters change: first … Read more

My Husband Filed for Divorce — But Somehow Decided I Still Had to Support Him and His Mother The evening smelled of wilted peonies and reheated dinner. I came home exactly at seven, even though I had promised myself I would stay at the office until everything was finished. But the date demanded it. Ten … Read more

“The apartment may have been yours before marriage, but we’re one family,” Galina Arkadyevna said, placing her palm on the handle of the far room. “My wardrobe will go here. We’ll get rid of Olya’s desk. It’s old anyway. Misha, text Vadim and tell him to bring a proper one on Sunday.” Olga froze in … Read more

“Are you really a chief accountant?” Irina Viktorovna looked the young woman up and down, unable to hide her astonishment. “I thought people in the countryside only knew how to milk cows.” She was staring at Vika — slim, beautiful, dressed in a flawless sand-colored linen suit, with perfect hair and the faint, elegant scent … Read more

“Please state your surname again, ma’am,” the man in the black uniform with the word “Security” on it said, pressing a button on his electronic tablet. I adjusted the bag on my shoulder. My fingers accidentally brushed against the cold metal pin badge attached to the leather strap. The pin sat crookedly, its metal slightly … Read more

Yulia was mechanically wiping the kitchen countertop when the doorbell rang. Three short, demanding rings — she immediately recognized that “signature.” Galina Petrovna never rang just once, as if she were afraid no one would hear her. “Open up!” came the voice from behind the door. “I know you’re home!” Yulia slowly walked to the … Read more