When the doorbell rang, I had no idea that in an hour my life would be turned upside down. The people at the door smiled so warmly that I was confused — after all, we weren’t selling anything. Then it turned out that my mother-in-law, Valentina Petrovna, had decided to dispose of our apartment without … Read more
Arthur Lebedev, a man for whom luxury was an everyday routine and cold smiles a part of the game, had long grown used to masks. He moved through high-society salons as if through a labyrinth of crystal and deceit, where every glance was calculated, every word weighed, and the soul carefully hidden behind velvet drapes … Read more
“What did you just say?” Tatiana couldn’t believe her mother-in-law would even think of something like that. “What you heard! I don’t understand—what kind of reaction is this? I’m his mother, and Anton can sometimes fulfill my wishes too, not just yours. Isn’t that right? Or are you against it?” “I don’t even want to … Read more
Diana put the last plate into the dish rack and turned off the water. The kitchen in their two-room apartment was small but cozy. Viktor was sitting on the couch in the living room, scrolling through the news on his phone. — Vitya, did Inna call? — Diana asked, wiping her hands on a towel. … Read more
“Mom, we’ve been thinking,” my son Oleg began cautiously, barely stepping across the threshold. His wife Anya, standing behind him, nodded vigorously, as if to confirm the wisdom of his every word. She carried into the hallway the scent of expensive perfume — and a sickly-sweet hint of unease. “That always ends badly,” I muttered … Read more
When Elena heard the sound of keys in the lock, her heart sank. She knew that authoritative clatter of heels in the hallway better than the beat of her own pulse. Eight months pregnant, every movement was already painful, and now she had to face the one she feared more than labor itself. The door … Read more
The scrape of the lock made me freeze, a damp rag still in my hand. I’d been scrubbing a sticky jam stain off the parquet floor—jam brought by Irina Borisovna—and that sound was all too familiar to me. Pasha was still asleep. Sunday, half past eight in the morning. The door opened, and there stood … Read more
Outside the windows raged not just a snowstorm, but a true winter apocalypse. The wind, like a possessed spirit, howled, roared, and battered against the glass, as if demanding to be let in. Snow whirlwinds spun in a mad dance, smothering the world in white silence. On such a night, even the bravest soul could … Read more
Roman Viktorovich Serov, a distinguished-looking man with graying temples, sat in the cramped doctor’s office, clenching his hands so tightly his knuckles had turned white. His face, usually stern and composed, now betrayed a deep weariness, as though years of battling pain had finally etched their mark on him. For ten years, he had been … Read more
I threw the car keys right onto the table. On purpose. So they would clink. So everyone would hear. “Guess what,” I said, taking off my sneakers, “congratulate me. I’m officially on wheels now.” Silence hung in the hallway. From the kitchen drifted the smell of something greasy, suspiciously like “gravy with fried onions,” Valentina … Read more