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The cedars rustled overhead as if trying to warn of something, their mighty branches swaying with the gusts, weaving a mysterious, almost mystical music. Liza had grown used to their language—the hiss in the wind, the creak of powerful trunks, the quiet whisper that told her stories through long winter evenings. Five years in this … Read more
Diana never liked Sunday evenings. It was supposed to be a day off—a time to unwind, have a quiet dinner with her husband—but instead there was a knock at the door, heavy as a verdict. She already knew: it was Inna. And sure enough. On the threshold stood her sister-in-law in her usual style: stiletto … Read more
The air in my mother-in-law’s apartment was thick and heavy. It smelled of old fried cabbage, dusty carpets, and the acrid Red Moscow perfume that Zoya Anatolyevna, it seemed, hadn’t changed since her youth. Every time I stepped inside, I felt that atmosphere press down on me, trying to make me shrink and become invisible. … Read more
“Mum called again. She’s insisting we move in with her,” Alexey said, carefully sitting down on the edge of the sofa where Marina was reading a book. She slowly lifted her eyes from the page. In his voice she heard those same notes she’d learned to recognize over three years of marriage—a mix of guilt, … Read more
Olga had always thought that being an adult meant you finally got to run your life the way you wanted. Like a real grown-up. But here she was, standing in an office, holding a promotion order in her hands and feeling as if she were fifteen again. As if the school principal had just praised … Read more
A quarrel broke out in the house, and everyone was sure that the truth was on their side. But one unexpected decision turned everything upside down. Chapter 1. The Announcement at Dinner The bang of a fist on the table was so loud that the plates of still-warm borscht jumped. The rich smell that just … Read more
“Marina, baby, do you really have to go on that business trip this very weekend?” Her mother-in-law, Galina Pavlovna, was sitting in the kitchen, stirring her tea and carefully avoiding her daughter-in-law’s eyes. Marina looked up from her laptop in surprise. In three years of living with Igor, his mother had never been interested … Read more
“Olenka, what are you doing?” her mother-in-law burst out. “Where do you think you’re going, and who will ever need you with two kids? Come to your senses!” “Mum, they came again,” Nastya whispered, without lifting her eyes from her textbook. Olga froze in the hallway, clutching the grocery bags. Strange men’s shoes were piled … Read more
“Your family — complete paupers, homeless in ragged clothes with empty plates!” Oleg spat venomously, as if he had just spat toward the kitchen, his fingers gripping the TV remote tightly. Each press of a button felt like a sharp, hostile strike — as if the device itself was to blame for his bad mood. … Read more
Lena was folding tiny baby onesies when the key rattled in the lock. Her heart dropped—Andrei was at work, and the spare key was with her mother-in-law “for emergencies.” Only for Galina Petrovna, any day of the week counted as an emergency. “Lenochka! Where are you?” She stepped into the hallway, tugging her sweater down … Read more