— Lada, we thought that with the money from selling your place, we’d renovate Mom’s house — my husband told me.

  When I heard Maxim say that my family heirloom should be sold to satisfy his mother’s whims, something clicked in my head. Five years of life together, five years of patience and compromise turned to dust in just a few minutes. But let me start from the beginning. It all began that fateful evening […]

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“— Why did you decide that your younger son can move into my apartment?

“Well then, of course, he can. Rent is seventy thousand a month.” Lyudmila and Andrey had been married for about twenty years. They had an older son, Denis, who had just graduated from school and entered university, and a younger daughter, Milana, who had just started eighth grade. The family lived harmoniously: there were hardships, […]

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“We’ll crash at your place for the whole vacation. We’re family, so get ready! And don’t forget to set the table with some shashlik!”

“We’ll Crash At Your Place For The Whole Vacation. We’re Family, So Get Ready! And Don’t Forget To Set The Table With Some Shashlik!” A message like that came to her husband’s phone. Tatyana, seeing the note from her sister-in-law, boldly opened it and decided to read. But after learning what her husband’s sister had […]

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“You’ve been living here for three months already! And haven’t given a single penny!” – my husband’s sister and her husband decided to sit on my neck.

Natalya was wiping dust off the coffee table when she heard a familiar crunch. She lifted her head and froze. On the dark surface she had just cleaned, trash had reappeared. Sunflower seed shells. She glanced at the sofa, where Inga, her sister-in-law, sprawled. — Inga, maybe stop making a mess? — Natalya’s voice trembled […]

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When I walked into the restaurant wearing a carrot-orange terry bathrobe and house slippers with pink pom-poms, the waiter at first couldn’t believe I was the birthday boy’s wife.

When I walked into the restaurant in a terrycloth robe the color of fresh carrots and house slippers with pink pom-poms, the waiter didn’t believe at first that I was the birthday boy’s wife. I swear I saw his eye twitch as he tried to figure out whether I was a lunatic or this was […]

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— Enjoying the free ride? Now pay up, Mom, — Yulia said, handing over the bill for the “vacation” at their summer house.

The call came on Saturday morning when Yulia was still lying in bed with a cup of coffee. The screen showed the name of her mother-in-law — Valentina Petrovna. Usually, that didn’t bode well. “Yulechka, dear,” came the syrupy sweet voice, “how are you? How’s your mood?” “Fine,” Yulia answered cautiously. When her mother-in-law started […]

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“She’s alive, I heard her, she’s BREATHING!” — the orderly shouted, but the doctors were already turning off the machines…

The evening shift in the on-call room of the district hospital always felt like a small play. The nurses exchanged tired glances for fresh ones, handed over duties like a relay race, along with the latest news. Olga adjusted her medical cap in front of the cloudy mirror, critically examining her reflection. The corners of […]

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