— At my mother-in-law’s jubilee she called me a “country bumpkin.” I silently played a video where she’s on her knees begging me for a loan, not knowing who was in front of her…

The hall of the expensive restaurant was awash in lilies and an atmosphere of meticulously choreographed cordiality. Yelizaveta Ignatyevna Veresayeva, my mother-in-law, was celebrating her fifty-fifth birthday. She stood in the center of the room, in a sapphire-colored dress, basking in admiring looks. She raised her glass, sweeping the guests with the heavy, velvety gaze […]

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— “Don’t spend on yourself this year—you’ll pay for your sister’s wedding, we’ve already decided,” his father informed him.

— This year, don’t spend on yourself—pay for your sister’s wedding; we’ve already decided,” his father informed him. The voice on the phone sounded casual, as if his dad were saying they needed a loaf of bread for dinner. Nothing more, nothing less. Kirill froze, staring at his laptop screen. An Excel sheet glowed there—his […]

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