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— I’ve already had keys made for your apartment, so you don’t need to worry,” my mother-in-law said, pulling a keyring from her handbag.

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I already had keys made for your apartment, so don’t worry,” Svetlana heard her mother-in-law’s voice from the kitchen, and the cup slipped from her hands. She walked into the living room. Her mother-in-law, Valentina Nikolayevna, was sitting regally in an armchair, and her husband Andrey sat opposite her. “Oh, Svetochka, sweetheart, we were just … Read more

Arriving forty minutes early for a visit to her mother-in-law, the daughter-in-law overheard a conversation that made her decide to divorce her husband.

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Lida parked by the entrance and glanced at the time. Damn—it was forty minutes early. Raisa Mikhailovna couldn’t stand it when guests showed up at the wrong time. Especially her—Lidka, the outsider. “So what now?” she muttered, turning off the engine. She could sit in the car, but the neighbors would see her and report … Read more

— “You expect me to VACATE the room for guests? So what, I’m supposed to go stay with my mother?” Galina asked her husband.

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Galina slowly lifted her eyes from the book she’d been reading in the armchair. Vladimir stood in the middle of the room looking as if he’d just told her he’d gotten a promotion at work—not that she was supposed to move out of her own apartment. “You’re demanding I vacate the guest room? So what—am … Read more

After the divorce, you’ll get the apartment—but my mother will live there,” my husband said with a smirk

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Marina slowly set aside the calculator she had just used to tally the family budget. Their living room rang with a brittle silence. Outside, the March sun lit up Moscow’s rooftops, while inside the room was half-dark—Igor had drawn the curtains on purpose before this talk. “So what do you mean—your mother is going to … Read more

A divorce — and the apartment goes to you?” I asked my husband in disbelief. “Get over yourself — roll that greedy lip back in

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Raisa stood in the middle of the living room and looked at Yura as if she were seeing him for the first time. Her husband—the man she had lived with for twelve years—sat on the couch with the expression of someone who’d just told her he’d bought a loaf of bread, not that he intended … Read more

— While my husband’s relatives were rummaging through my closets, I was preparing a fitting response. They had no idea how it would end…

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Marina, a coworker, had disliked quiet Larisa from the clinic. Partly out of jealousy toward Larisa’s husband, Mikhail, who had become pointedly caring after a recent family scandal (which no one at the clinic knew about). Partly out of envy: Marina also sold handbags, but they were cheap trinkets with rhinestones, while Larisa was secretly … Read more

Now all of this is yours, Nadya,” the notary said, handing me the papers—and I felt everything inside me turn upside down.

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— “It’s all yours now, Nadya,” the notary said, handing her the papers. Her grandmother had left Nadya a three-room apartment in the city center. Nadya was over the moon and immediately called her husband, Artyom. He reacted cautiously, saying they would talk everything over that evening. That evening Artyom told her he’d already informed … Read more

— Mom, can we video-call Dad? Let’s congratulate him! the older daughter suggested, looking at Yulia.

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Mom, shall we video call Dad? Let’s поздравulate him!” the older daughter suggested, looking at Yulia. “Yeah, Mommy! Me and sis will recite a poem… And Daddy will bring us presents from his business trip,” the younger one clapped her hands. The kids adored their father and were very upset that Daddy had left urgently—and … Read more

— “And why, exactly, should I go to your mother’s every evening—wash her and change her diapers? Hire a caregiver for her, because I’m not doing this anymore.”

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— Why weren’t you at my mom’s today? Vadim’s voice—sharp and stripped of any warmth—hit Valeria like a blow between the shoulder blades. She was in the entryway, taking off her shoes, savoring the relief as she peeled the tight office pumps from her aching feet. All day she’d been dreaming about this moment: to … Read more