My inheritance drove my mother-in-law and my husband mad—they had no idea what it would lead to…

by

— “What inheritance?” Pavel asked incredulously when Anya pulled away from him, walked into the living room, and sank onto the sofa. His anger instantly turned into greedy curiosity. “From whom?” “From my cousin-grandmother,” Anya answered, still trying to grasp the news. The bag was still standing in the hallway, a symbol of her interrupted … Read more

My parents put the big apartment in my sister’s name—and I decided not to pick up the phone, no matter how often they called

by

— Mom, what’s this? The deed of gift trembles in my hands. Mom freezes at the stove but doesn’t turn around. — What—what? — The apartment is registered to Olya? Fifteen years ago I moved back in with my parents for a month—to help with Dad after his stroke. Olya had just left for Germany … Read more

For 20 years I hated my mother-in-law. As she was dying, she gave me the key to a casket: “Inside is everything your husband has been hiding from you all these years.”

by

The air in the room was heavy, saturated with the smells of age, medicine, and something else—sickly sweet, like flowers wilting in a vase. For twenty years I had hated this woman. For twenty years she’d returned the feeling. Our hatred was quiet, domestic, but no less poisonous for that. It lived in the way … Read more

Filing for divorce, the ex-husband didn’t expect the whole truth about the property to come out in court.

by

Misha slammed the cold cup of coffee down on the table and clicked the coffee machine button. Five minutes until he had to leave. Their old apartment had become a cramped box to him, every corner a reminder of twenty years of marriage—a marriage he’d decided to end three months ago. “Did you remember the … Read more

Choose: either me or that beggar!” the mother-in-law declared to her son. She had no idea her business would pass to me tomorrow…

by

The air in Valentina Petrovna’s apartment was always saturated with two smells: mothballs and cheap coffee. Today a third was added—the stench of naked, icy hatred. “I don’t understand, Andrei,” my mother-in-law set her cup down hard, and brown liquid sloshed onto the snow-white tablecloth, leaving an ugly stain. “You could have found anyone. An … Read more

— My dear mother-in-law, do me a favor—pack up your darling boy and get out of my apartment at once, back to the address where you’re registered!

by

“Lena, let’s not make a scene,” Igor said the moment he stepped over the threshold, tossing his jacket onto the armchair—the very one she’d asked him a hundred times to leave alone. “I wasn’t planning to,” Lena answered coolly, not even looking at him. “What is it this time? Is someone moving in again? Or … Read more

— Where are you going? Mom will be here soon! — She’s coming to see you! Do whatever you want with your mommy! I’m not putting up with her anymore.

by

Anna stood by the mirror in the hallway, fixing her hair. It was a Saturday morning, and she planned to spend the day with a friend—go shopping, stop by a café, just get away from home for a while. Away from these walls that had recently felt like a cozy nest but now seemed to … Read more

Since your coworkers chipped in for your vacation, it means we have money for my sister,” my husband rejoiced—and that was the last straw.

by

Marina put the phone down on the kitchen table and looked at Alexey. He was sitting across from her, absent-mindedly poking at his now-cold dinner with a fork, but his tense shoulders made it clear he was listening to every word his sister said. “You understand,” Svetlana’s voice came from the speaker with that familiar … Read more