I don’t know where you’ll live! This is my apartment!” — the mother-in-law blustered, but the daughter-in-law managed to put her in her place.

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Evening was slowly settling over Petersburg, covering the streets with a soft twilight. In a three-room apartment on the city’s outskirts, Alla Petrovna was inspecting the kitchen with a critical eye, running her finger over the recently cleaned stove. Her face froze into an expression as if she had just discovered something unpleasant. “Sveta, how … Read more

“Where are you? The guests are already sitting at the table!” — her husband didn’t yet know that he himself would be the one to serve them.

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Lidia stood by the kitchen window, watching the last rays of the October sun paint the maple leaves in golden hues. At that moment, she felt like those leaves — beautiful to look at, but ready to break free from the branch at the slightest gust of wind. Her phone vibrated in her pocket. A … Read more

— “Mom wants to celebrate her anniversary at our dacha. Will you organize it?” — said my husband, as if it was my obligation. But what happened next turned everything upside down.

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Marina tore herself away from the laptop screen where she was reviewing the estimates for the new project and saw Sergey standing in the doorway. He looked uncertain—his shoulders slumped, his head slightly lowered. Marina knew that look all too well: it foretold trouble. After twelve years of marriage, she had learned to read his … Read more

She abandoned me at birth, and thirty years later fate brought us together again — now I am her attending doctor, the one who decided whether she would live or die.

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I was born in the middle of winter — at the very end of February, when the cold still holds the earth, and hope for spring seems elusive. In a small town where summer seemed never to come. There, snow would settle as a dense blanket already in December and linger until April. The entrances … Read more

— Here are the keys to your apartment; I’m keeping the car — the wife left the family on her own birthday.

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Elena stood by the mirror in the bedroom, adjusting her hair. Forty-five years old — an age when a woman either completely gives up or starts living anew. She ran her palm over her face, noticing the barely visible wrinkles near her eyes. No, she looked good. Regular workouts at the gym, proper nutrition, quality … Read more

The boy was kicked out of the house by his parents on New Year’s Eve. Years later, he opened the door for them… What awaited them was a twist no one expected.

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Outside the windows of the houses, warm lights of garlands were glowing, Christmas trees were reflected in the glass, and sounds of New Year’s melodies could be heard. And beyond these walls—there reigned a white silence. Snow fell in thick flakes, as if someone invisible was endlessly sprinkling it from the sky. The silence was … Read more

— Natasha, my daughter, where do you plan to live now? — Angelika Viktorovna, Natasha’s mother-in-law, approached her daughter-in-law. Natasha was still reeling from her husband’s funeral, so she didn’t immediately understand her mother-in-law’s question. She was absentmindedly putting leftover candies from the memorial into a container.

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— Natasha, daughter, where do you plan to live now? — Angelica Viktorovna, Natasha’s mother-in-law, approached her daughter-in-law. Natasha was still reeling from her husband’s funeral and did not immediately understand the question. She was mechanically packing leftover candies from the memorial into a container. — Sorry, what? — Where do you plan to live … Read more

Noticing a little girl by her daughter’s grave, the old woman slowly approached her… And suddenly, as she got closer, she recoiled in horror.

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Old Anna Petrovna regularly came to the cemetery to visit the grave of her daughter Marina—the only person she had lost too soon. This day was no different from the others: a gray autumn haze hung over the earth, a cool wind blew, and the silence was broken only by the rustling of falling leaves. … Read more