“Listen, Liza, I talked it over with Kostik,” Dima was turning his phone in his hands without looking at his wife. “He says it’s stupid to keep the apartment only in your name. If something happens, I’ll have to prove my rights later.” “What rights?” Liza froze with a towel in her hands. “It’s my … Read more
The champagne was icy and prickly, burning her throat with a thousand tiny needles. Olga drank it slowly—not like a festive drink, but like medicine. They brought her a huge platter on ice, strewn with oysters, shrimp, and halved crab claws. She ate methodically, without visible pleasure, as if performing an important but unpleasant task. … Read more
The recorder trembled in my grip—a small black rectangle no heavier than a bar of soap, yet it seemed to contain the wreckage of my entire life. I pressed play. Mike’s voice—warm, intimate, unmistakable—slid out of the tiny speaker. “Hey, beautiful. Your husband is leaving on a business trip tomorrow.” It was the same voice … Read more
I never expected to see him again—certainly not here. The women’s health clinic smelled faintly of antiseptic and stale coffee, the walls plastered with posters about prenatal vitamins and fertility timelines. I sat in the waiting room, tapping the corner of my appointment slip against my knee, willing my name to appear on the screen. … Read more
For three straight years my dad sat at our table every night and never realized my plate was just a prop. My mother only ever needed to dominate one child. Not Ava—the flawless, size-zero, homecoming-queen-in-training—but me, the eldest daughter who, in her eyes, took up too much air, too much noise, too much space. The … Read more
They mistook my quiet for surrender. They couldn’t have been more wrong. I never thought the walk from a twelve-hour shift at Chicago General to my own front door would feel like crossing into hostile territory. Yet there I stood at 11:30 p.m. on a Tuesday, frozen in my driveway, staring at a house blazing … Read more
Irina set her bag down in the hallway and wearily took off her shoes. Another long day at the office was behind her—client negotiations, reports, planning meetings. The thirty-two-year-old woman wanted only one thing: to take a bath and have a quiet dinner with her husband. “You’re late again!” Alexei’s voice rang out from the … Read more
I stood under the icy streams of November rain, clutching to my chest a thoroughly soaked folder of documents—the last thread tying me to my former life, so calm and so unhappy. Water ran in chilling rivulets from my hair down the collar of a cheap jacket I’d bought on sale the spring before, now … Read more
Larisa set her cup of coffee on the windowsill and gazed thoughtfully out the window. She’d saved for this apartment for ten years, working two jobs. Every ruble she put aside, denying herself everything. And now… “Larochka, I decided to rearrange the furniture a bit,” came her mother-in-law’s voice from the living room. “That sofa … Read more
A Celebration at Someone Else’s Expense” Lidiya Sergeyevna was turning a glossy brochure from the restaurant “The Golden Fish” in her hands. The paper rustled pleasantly, the photos gleamed—each hall more beautiful than the last. Marble floors, champagne-colored draperies, glittering chandeliers, and place settings fit for a royal family. On the banquet menu page, a … Read more