Svetа’s new perfume hit me the second I walked in—sharp, syrupy, the kind of scent worn by someone who already feels like she’s won. “Katyusha—oh my God, I’m so happy!” Svetа, my best friend, squeezed me in a tight hug. Her movements were quick, almost predatory. The nervous fussiness I’d always mistaken for warmth […]
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The heavy oak door of the “Empire” restaurant yielded only after a struggle, as if it didn’t want to let random people inside. From deep in the dining hall came a thick, deafening roar of voices, sliced through by clinking glasses and the clingy pulse of pop music. Elena stopped at the threshold, feeling […]
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When I accidentally discovered $3,250 stuffed inside my 13-year-old son’s piggy bank, panic hit me like a wave. Where could a kid that age get that kind of money? Determined to find out, I followed him after school… and uncovered something that shook me to my core—yet somehow also brought relief. It had been three […]
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Anton tapped his fingers irritably on the steering wheel, watching the endless stream of pedestrians crossing the street. “When will this ever end?” he ground out through clenched teeth. “The whole city’s clogged with some poor souls without cars.” Bored in the traffic jam, he started looking around. To his left, a luxury SUV […]
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“You do realize we’re going to have to live like roommates now?” Lena threw the words over her shoulder without even looking at Igor. He stood by the window, fidgeting with a pack of cigarettes even though he’d quit a year ago. The cigarettes were old and crumpled, like they’d been saved “for a rainy […]
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— What’s that? — I stopped halfway to the station, listening carefully. Crying came from the left — quiet but persistent. The February wind tickled my neck and flapped the edge of my coat. I turned toward the railway, where against the white snow, a dark abandoned switchman’s hut stood out. A bundle lay […]
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Anya flinched as if she’d been struck across the face. The blow was invisible, but that didn’t make it any less real—it hit straight in her chest, squeezing her heart into a tiny, frozen lump. The thick white envelope she’d been holding just a second earlier was no longer hers. It was in his […]
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Lena was standing at the stove, stirring the soup on autopilot, when the doorbell rang. Way too early for Andrey. Which meant it was her again. “Lenochka, I’m just popping in for a minute!” her mother-in-law called cheerfully from the entryway. A minute usually translated to three hours. Minimum. Lena swallowed, turned off the burner, […]
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Sveta came home from work exhausted. The day had been rough—reports, meetings, deadlines slipping. She worked as a procurement manager at a small company, and before New Year’s it was always chaos: everyone wanted to close contracts before the holidays. She kicked off her shoes in the entryway and went into the kitchen, hoping […]
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“You’re living off my money, so you’d better keep quiet!” Egor snapped, throwing his wife an irritated look. “What?! What did you just say?” Sofia couldn’t believe what she’d heard. Those words—blurted out in the middle of a fight—stunned her. “Exactly what you heard,” Egor answered with a frown. He realized he’d gone too […]
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