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“Girl!” the midwife announced, lifting the newborn so Lusya could see her. “A beauty! Takes after her mother!” But Lusya, exhausted from labor, didn’t have time to really look at her daughter—an instant later the baby was handed off to another staffer. They examined the little one, carefully swaddled her, and carried her away. “He … Read more

“I won’t give you any money.” Larisa’s voice was surprisingly calm, and that emptiness in her own tone scared her even more than the dull eyes staring back at her. She looked at her eldest son, Oleg, and could see nothing of the boy whose runny nose she once wiped and to whom she read … Read more

The autumn rain had been pouring for three days, turning the village road into a churned-up slurry of clay and fallen leaves. Anna was on her way back from the post office, wrapped in an old coat. In her bag lay a single letter from her sister in the city and a loaf of still-warm … Read more

Success has a bitter aftertaste when your own mother suddenly opens her arms only because you now have money and a house. And the most astonishing thing is watching the flawless “golden daughter,” praised on a pedestal for years, slide into the abyss of a bad marriage while the family’s despised “black sheep” builds her … Read more

— Kostya said you’re planning to fly somewhere? And what about the dacha? I was counting on you to help me pick strawberries! — I understand your expectations, but this year you’ll have to do it yourself or ask Sasha’s daughter for help. — Sasha can’t. She’s a makeup artist. Can you imagine what her … Read more

When I saw Lyudmila Petrovna’s number on my phone screen, my heart skipped—but not from joy. My sense of foreboding proved prophetic: five minutes into the call, our peaceful summer idyll collapsed like a house of cards. And yet Maxim and I had been dreaming of a trip to the sea with our four-year-old Masha… … Read more

“Mom, why have you started treating Denis so badly? Did he offend you in some way?” This time, Varvara decided not to stay silent. “Again you’re filling my head with nonsense,” Tamara Fyodorovna muttered discontentedly. “Don’t you have anything better to do than compare your husband with your sister’s husband?” “Oh, please, Mom. I’ve never … Read more

“Do you honestly think this place is fit to raise a child?” My eyes traveled across the skewed walls, as if the whole house were clinging to life by luck and a few rusty nails. “Olga, spare me the theatrics,” Viktor said, flat as slate, heaving the last bag onto the groaning porch. “I’m leaving … Read more

Rain threaded down the windows that Saturday morning as James Whitmore—a billionaire tech founder and tired, devoted single dad—pushed open the door of a quiet corner café. Beside him, four-year-old Lily walked with her small fingers folded into his. Lately, James didn’t smile much. Not since Amelia—his wife, his compass—had vanished two years earlier in … Read more

When Alexey uttered those words, my world collapsed in an instant. All my dreams, plans, and hopes shattered like the glass I dropped in shock. The red stain on the floor looked like the blood of my broken heart. How could someone betray me so cruelly? How could he give to a stranger what we … Read more