“Why on earth am I paying your sister’s loan? She has a husband! And then I found out why my husband insisted… and I nearly lost everything.”

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Sofiya heard a floorboard creak in the doorway and looked up from her book. Mark was standing on the threshold of the living room, and his posture—stiff and unsure—told her at once that something unpleasant was coming. He wouldn’t meet her eyes; his fingers anxiously picked at the seam of his house sweater. Silence hung … Read more

I got a job as a live-in caregiver in the mansion of a paralyzed billionaire. On the very first night I woke up—and froze: he was standing by the window, looking straight at me…

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My decision to take a job in a wealthy house on the outskirts wasn’t driven by desperation or financial need. I had savings, a modest but cozy apartment in the city, and even a small car I’d bought a few years ago. No, my escape was of a different kind. After everything that happened with … Read more

— And when will the meat be ready? — The guests didn’t even hide that they’d come just to eat.

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Marina wiped her hands on her apron and looked over the terrace. The table was set perfectly—just like everything in her life. Olivier salad in a crystal bowl, herring under a fur coat cut into neat individual portions, homemade eggplant caviar in a ceramic pot she had bought especially for the dacha. Even the tomatoes … Read more

“Vitya sends you huge amounts of money for his daughter, and you can’t even provide receipts!” the ex-mother-in-law screeched over the phone about the 7,000.

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“Do you even realize my son is depriving himself of the last he has?” Alina Vitoldovna’s voice rang so loudly through the phone that Veronika had to move it away from her ear. “What do you mean?” she asked calmly, though she already knew the answer. Alina Vitoldovna called with the same complaint enviably often. … Read more

Ah, so now it’s ‘ours’? And the fact that the apartment is MINE, the car is MINE, and the earrings are MINE—did you forget?!”

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“Lena, you don’t mind if Mom stays with us for a bit, do you?” Kirill tried to sound calm, but his eyes gave him away: the decision had been made, and he was asking purely for form’s sake. Lena lifted her gaze from the laptop for a second, looked at her husband over the rim … Read more

— Oh really? So I’m supposed to support our family while you blow all your salaries on your sister’s mortgage? Seriously?!

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— “Guess what—they gave me a bonus today. Totally unexpected, but damn, it feels good,” Marina speared a lettuce leaf and a piece of warm chicken breast with evident pleasure. “The boss said the quarterly project took off specifically because of my edits. Now we can finally take a proper vacation, not like last year.” … Read more

— Oh no, my dear! I am not turning our daughter’s room into a bedroom for your mother! If she wants to visit us, she’ll sleep on the couch in the living room—nothing bad will happen to her!

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— Ol, I was just talking to my mom… She’s coming next week, on Thursday. For a couple of days, — Igor said with studied nonchalance, stirring the long-cold tea in his cup. He didn’t look at his wife; his gaze was fixed on the little whirlpool the spoon made in the amber liquid. He … Read more

Masha stood in the middle of the kitchen, eyeing Raisa Petrovna with disbelief as she calmly shuffled the papers on the table.

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Masha stood in the middle of her kitchen, watching Raisa Petrovna calmly sort through the documents on the table. Her mother-in-law was a sturdily built woman with gray hair set in a neat wave and a habit of speaking as if every word she uttered were a final verdict. “Mashenka, don’t be so dramatic,” Raisa … Read more

Just try bringing your nephews over here again, Sasha! I don’t need those little ankle-biters for free, and on top of that I have to watch them and clean up because you want to relax after work! Enough!

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“Just try bringing your nephews here one more time, Sasha! I have no use for those little rugrats, and on top of that I’m the one who has to watch them and clean up because you want to relax after work! Enough!” Marina said it without raising her voice. She stood in the middle of … Read more

— “And what does my apartment have to do with it, Dima? If your sister has nowhere to live, then let your parents deal with it themselves, since she can’t manage anything!” Lena snapped.

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— “No, Mom! I’m going to rent it out for now. We’ll use that money to renovate our new apartment with Dima! And later, when the renovation is finished, we’ll use it to pay down the mortgage!” Lena laid out for her mother the plan for the apartment her parents had bought her back when … Read more