Orphaned Maria sat shivering in the notary’s office, a room as cold and lifeless as a tomb. The air pressed on her shoulders, heavy with hostility. On either side of her — like wolves circling their prey — sat Grigory, her husband, and his mistress, Lidia. He wore a smug grin, as if victory were … Read more
Arina wasn’t quiet out of shyness or loneliness. She chose quiet the way you choose to breathe—on purpose, with control. In her family, words were counted for weight, not volume. If silence could say it better, you kept your mouth shut. Her father, a former officer, believed in endurance, patience, precision. Her mother, a judo … Read more
“Katya, I’m at our parents’ apartment. The key doesn’t fit. Something wrong with the lock?” “Of course it doesn’t fit. I changed the locks. Yesterday,” she replied calmly, as if a phone call from her brother after seven years of silence was nothing unusual. Katya had long been married to Andrey. Their family life was … Read more
“Everything you see was bought on a credit card. For me and Yeseniya only,” Vika replied calmly, taking off her jacket. “You transferred half your salary to your mother again. So let her decide what you’ll have for dinner.” “Are you out of your mind?” he turned around. “She’s my mother. I have to help … Read more
“My company can pass any inspection,” Victor brushed an invisible speck of dust off his suit lapel. “I’ve built a system, Anya. Perfect. No one can find a crack in it.” He gave me that look—the condescending, smug look he’d given me for the last years of our six-year marriage. To him, I was just … Read more
“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