We’ll put the apartment in Irka’s name, and you and the kids can stay at my mom’s for now,” said my husband, without looking up from his phone.

So here’s what I was thinking… Let’s give the apartment to Irka. And we’ll crash at your mother’s place for a while,” Vitaliy said without looking up from his phone, poking at his cutlet with a fork. Olga froze with her cup of tea halfway to her lips. Outside, the rain was drumming against the […]

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Oh no, my dear daughter-in-law, you’re not coming on vacation with us—no need for you to ruin our summer,’ my mother-in-law told me.

“So? Are we going to the seaside?” Anya raised her eyes to her husband, who was intently studying the calendar on the kitchen wall. “Of course we are,” Vlad smiled, though not very confidently. “I talked to my parents yesterday. As usual, they’re getting vouchers for the Sea Breeze resort, two weeks in July.” “And […]

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Grandfather didn’t just leave me a house—he left me a carcass of one. A sagging, wind-gnawed box on the edge of nowhere. And yet, the moment I crossed its threshold, something inside me jolted so hard I had to grab the frame to steady myself…

Grandfather left me a crumbling village house while my sister inherited a two-room apartment in the very heart of the city. My husband called me a failure and moved in with my sister. After losing everything, I went to the village—and the moment I stepped inside the house, I was stunned… The notary’s office was […]

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— If my cooking is so awful for you, why are you throwing a tantrum? Cook for yourself! You’ve got your signature sandwich, haven’t you? Go on then—choke on it!

— That sour stuff again? Len, are you pouring vinegar into the borscht or what? I’ve told you a hundred times—my mother’s was sweet, rich. And this? Beet water. And sour, too.” Pavel pushed the plate away with disgust, and the scrape of china against the tablecloth cut Lena more sharply than any shout. She […]

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Everything we acquired in marriage is in my mother’s name, so we won’t be dividing anything,” he said, not imagining what lay ahead.

  When Fyodor and Tasya got their marriage registered, there was nothing special about their life. No wealthy relatives, no dowry—just a tiny one-room apartment with peeling wallpaper and a creaky sofa that barely fit the two of them. But to Tasya, all that seemed like funny little trifles. She believed—they had everything ahead of […]

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— So she gets everything, and I’m supposed to earn it all myself? Because I’m a youthful mistake? I won’t pay for her wedding!

Anna sat in her small rented apartment, holding the phone that had just carried her mother’s voice. The words were still ringing in her head: “Anya, we need your help. Sveta’s wedding will cost more than we planned. You understand what an important milestone this is in her life. We know you have savings for […]

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“You’re fired. Get out — you talentless fool.” The words landed like a slap, spat with cruel pleasure as Alla Viktorovna shoved her daughter-in-law toward the office door.

Oh my God, I nearly died laughing in that meeting,” Marina barked, kicking her heels into the corner and collapsing onto the sofa without even shrugging off her jacket. “Can you imagine? Accusing you of embezzlement in front of the whole department. You, of all people—an accountant vetted by Grand Consult, signed, sealed, audited!” She […]

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— “Your parents aren’t family to me! They’re just two downtrodden pensioners from the sticks!” the husband declared.

Anna stood by the stove, stirring julienne in individual clay pots and silently running through the evening’s plan. Family games She’d need to take the pots out in ten minutes; the salads were already done; the meat in the oven would finish right as the guests arrived. Same as always. The perfect family dinner for […]

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