— We’ll stay in your apartment for now, and you can go live with Mom, — the sister-in-law moved into their mortgaged place like it was hers.

Olga heard the doorbell and, for some reason, tensed immediately. Her husband Dmitry was at work, and they weren’t expecting anyone. Through the peephole she saw a familiar figure—Svetlana, Dmitry’s sister, dragging suitcases. Beside her hovered her eternally silent husband, Viktor, and between them stood five-year-old Artyom with a tablet in his hands. “Ol, open … Read more

— I work too hard for that money to hand it over for anyone’s vacation! And definitely not for your mother!

Marina snapped her laptop shut and leaned back in her chair, feeling the tightness of the past few months slowly ease out of her shoulders. December 23rd. Project complete. Acceptance papers signed. The money had landed in the company account. — Congratulations, — Oleg Viktorovich, her direct supervisor, said as he handed her an envelope. … Read more

— You have to give my sister three million! We’re family! — her ex-husband bellowed right there in the courthouse hallway

Elena had a quiet morning routine: coffee in an oversized mug that said “CEO of Everything,” the espresso machine humming, and exactly four minutes of silence before the day officially began. Not meditation—more like an effort to remember why on earth she’d ever married Viktor. Over the past few months that question had started gnawing … Read more

“Your paycheck is our family fund! My mom needs a refrigerator, and my sister needs a new iPhone,” her husband declared.

“Will you stop obsessing over your mother?” Polina snapped, slamming the cabinet door so hard the glasses inside rang. “Every day it’s the same: ‘Mom needs this, Mom needs that.’ What am I to you—an ATM?” “Don’t start,” Alexey grunted from the table, where he sat with a cup of tea gone cold. “You’re always … Read more

“Your whole apartment is going to be my mom — and we’ll live in a rental,” my fiancé whispered to me at our wedding

Svetlana stood in front of the mirror, staring at her own reflection. The white dress hugged her figure perfectly, the veil fell in a soft cascade over her shoulders, and her makeup looked flawless. It should have been the dream day—the exact moment she’d been working toward for so long. But inside, she felt strangely … Read more

— It was you who invited your relatives to come live in Moscow, not me! So you can find them an apartment yourself—they won’t be staying here. Karina told her husband.

The warm scent of chicken roasting with garlic and rosemary filled the cozy kitchen. Karina set the table at an unhurried pace, laying out plates from their favorite set—the one they’d received as a wedding present. The soft whisper of salad in a bowl and the gentle crackle of a candle painted a perfect scene … Read more