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  Vera sat in the corner of the small restaurant Basil, nervously twisting a napkin in her fingers. Outside the window, a thin April rain blurred the city’s evening lights into watery brushstrokes. She’d picked this place on purpose—three years earlier they’d celebrated their wedding anniversary here. It still smelled of cinnamon and freshly baked … Read more

  Vera sat at a small table in the corner of the café, watching her “new family” like someone observing a scene that had nothing to do with her. Maksim’s parents were loudly trading the latest neighborhood gossip, his sister Alina was paging through the menu in search of the priciest items, and Maksim was … Read more

  When Svetlana spotted her former mother-in-law in the school corridor, her heart started beating faster. She knew Valentina Sergeyevna had come to the parents’ meeting too—those meetings were held for the entire grade. Her daughter had just entered eighth grade, and the divorce from Andrey had happened only three months earlier. “You’re here as … Read more

  Lena had always dreamed of becoming a mother. So when she found out she was pregnant by a man she’d spent only a single night with, she didn’t panic or fall apart—she was genuinely happy. She told him right away. His response was blunt: he wasn’t ready to be a father and had no … Read more

Lyubov Ivanovna stood in front of her daughter-in-law’s door, straightening the collar of her expensive coat and arranging her face into an expression of noble grief. In her eyes—carefully outlined with eyeliner—burned the resolve of someone used to getting her way at any cost. Sixty-three years of life had taught her many things, but the … Read more

  Maxim set his fork down on the edge of his plate. “The perks are over,” he said, not looking at Vera. “Starting Monday, we’re separating our finances.” Vera stood by the stove with a ladle in her hand, finishing the borscht. “What do you mean?” “My salary is my money. Your pension is your … Read more

  “Again? Yura, but I’ve already given you almost my entire salary this month,” Taisia whispered into the phone, stepping into the far corner of the archive so her coworkers wouldn’t overhear. “Taia, transfer money to my card right now. Mom has to pay the interest on her loan,” her husband’s voice rang with a … Read more

  “Ella, sweetheart, I moved your blouses to the second shelf. It’ll be easier to grab them there,” Vera Alexeyevna said in a deceptively gentle voice as Ella walked into the apartment after work. Ella froze in the doorway, her bag still hanging from her hand. She hadn’t expected to see her mother-in-law in their … Read more

 The first call came at seven on Saturday morning. “Alyosha, my boy! We’ve already left. We’ll be there in three hours. Fix something for us to eat, will you?” I opened my eyes and stared at the ceiling. Andrey mumbled sleepily into the phone, set it back on the nightstand, and pulled the blanket over … Read more

“Where’s the money we’ve been saving for the New Year’s table?” Olga asked, peering into the tin tea can that sat on the very top shelf of the kitchen cabinet. She rose onto her toes and stretched her arm as far as it would go, but her fingers met only the cold metal bottom. Her … Read more