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Ekaterina was setting the table, trying to make everything look perfect. Today was Dmitry’s thirty-fifth birthday—a milestone—and for the first time in a long while both families were getting together. The crystal glasses her mother had given them for their wedding took pride of place beside the porcelain dinner set. “Katya, maybe we shouldn’t have … Read more

Open up, I brought soup!” The loud voice behind the door made Alina start, splashing coffee onto her new pajamas. It was Saturday morning, half past seven. Alina had just managed to savor the first sip of the aromatic drink and gaze dreamily out the window at the waking city. A day off. The long-awaited … Read more

“Here, write this down,” Pyotr Petrovich put a sheet of paper with neatly written numbers on the kitchen table. “Your salary is too big for one woman. You’ll transfer it to me—I’ll manage it better.” Olga froze, gripping a paring knife. She blinked several times, trying to process what she’d heard. Her father-in-law, who had … Read more

I unlocked the door with a key that had somehow never squeaked on its own, and today decided to show some initiative. It was quiet on the landing, quiet in the apartment too, and I’d already stepped into the hall when a whisper from my husband and my mother-in-law’s brisk voice drifted from the kitchen. … Read more

“This can’t be happening!… It can’t!” Nadezhda thought, staring at the photo where a young, pregnant girl had her arms around her husband’s neck, perched on his lap and beaming. Twenty-five years of marriage… was it all going down the drain now? Her heart clenched painfully as she stared at the image, forgetting she’d even … Read more

Many people thought Natasha was a bit simple. She had lived with her husband for sixteen years, raising two children: Tanya was fifteen, and Dima was eight. Her husband cheated on her openly—starting on the third day after their wedding, when he had a fling with a waitress at the restaurant. And that was only … Read more

“Watch where you’re going, chicken,” my ex-husband shoved me in the office hallway. His shoulder was as bony and unpleasant as it had been five years ago. The smell of cheap cologne mixed with sweat and stale tobacco hit my nose. I staggered, and the heavy folder with documents for Viktor slipped from my hands … Read more

The text message from the bank arrived at 7:15 a.m. “Debit transaction in the amount of…” I swiped the notification away without opening it. Dima often transferred money for building materials for the dacha. It was routine. The second came a minute later. The third—while I was pouring water into the kettle. The phone started … Read more

“I told you, I’ll handle this myself,” my husband snapped, tossing his coat onto the chair. The smell of expensive cologne and the street rushed into the warm entryway. “Alexey, this isn’t just a ‘matter,’” I tried to keep my voice even. “You’ve blown the deal for the third time by insulting the realtor. My … Read more

The door opened before I could make it to the hallway. On the threshold stood Tamara Pavlovna, my mother-in-law. And behind her, like a shadow, hid a slender girl with the frightened eyes of a fawn. “We’re here to see Dima,” my mother-in-law announced without a greeting as she walked into the apartment. She smelled … Read more