This is my apartment. And I am not going to be squeezed into a corner for your sake. Suitcases – and out you go!” Ira said firmly.

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Irina changed her ticket for the return flight at the last moment. She wanted to go home, back to her usual routine, to her husband. Five days at the sea had been refreshing, but now she longed for her own walls. She decided to make it a surprise—come back a day early without telling anyone. … Read more

You’ll work three jobs to pay off my loan,” Andrey said. He didn’t know that I had already filed for divorce and division of property.

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The red stripe on the envelope, almost screaming, was the first thing that caught the eye. “FINAL NOTICE.” Margarita held the letter in a hand that did not tremble at all. At forty-seven, she had long since forgotten how to tremble. She, the financial director of a large holding company, was used to the idea … Read more

My fiancé didn’t know that my phone was recording when I went to take a shower. And what I heard confirmed all my suspicions.

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I always believed that love is trust. That if two people decide to tie their lives together, then what awaits them is not only passion and tenderness, but also honesty. Especially when it comes to marriage. But it turned out that my trust was just a convenient bridge for someone to reach my money. His … Read more

Either you host New Year’s dinner for all the relatives at your dacha, or you’ll be popped out of our family like a cork from a bottle!” the mother-in-law declared brazenly.

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“Mom, what are you saying?” Olga froze with the phone in her hand, feeling a chill run down her spine. Her mother-in-law’s voice, always so confident and commanding, now rang with barely restrained anger, like a taut string ready to snap at any moment. She was standing on the veranda of her dacha, where the … Read more

“My mother-in-law made a snide joke about my ‘stinginess’ in front of the guests. But I calmly reminded everyone who’s gotten used to living at someone else’s expense…”

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— “Katenka, why were you so stingy with the dessert? One little cake for this whole crowd!” Zinaida Semyonovna’s voice—shrill and acidic, like cheap perfume—cut through the hum of conversation. The guests gathered in the spacious living room of Katya’s three-bedroom apartment fell awkwardly silent. Vitya, Katya’s husband, immediately jabbed her in the side with … Read more

“Four wives before me didn’t figure it out — I figured it out on the second day and started making a plan.”

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— “Sveta, do you have your own apartment?” I was holding my glass and looking at Sergey. We’d met a week ago at dance night in the Rhythm club on Presnya. He’d walked me to the metro, paid me compliments, remembered that I like semi-sweet white wine. And now he was asking about an apartment. … Read more

My husband came home from work beaming, said he’d been promoted, and then immediately announced that he now needed a wife who matched his status — and I didn’t.

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My husband was standing in the entryway. His tie was loosened. His face was red from the cold. Or from that talk with his boss. I don’t know. “I got promoted!” I turned from the stove. The pasta was boiling. Foam crept up the edge of the pot. I should’ve turned it off. But I … Read more

“I call him ‘the dried-up old mushroom.’ I can’t stand old people! Useless. Why do we even need them?” Nika laughed.

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— He’s such a withered old runt! A useless old wreck—just unbearable! Since when have elderly people been of any use?” Nika said with a sneer. “— And that old man in particular disgusts me! When I walk Dior, he’s always standing at the window, staring at me. A pipe in his mouth, a newspaper … Read more