When your son buys his own summer house, then you can come for the summer. Until then, you’re not expected here,” Dasha declared to her mother-in-law.

Dasha stood on the porch of her new dacha and took a deep breath of pine-scented air. Finally. Five years of saving, endless talks about loans, arguments with Maxim—and here it was: their very own land. A small but cozy house, a plot with young apple trees, and a view of the lake. A dream. […]

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You’re selfish! Three kids out on the street while you’re sitting in a three-bedroom!” my mother-in-law screamed as I packed his things.

The apartment smelled of freshly brewed coffee and old furniture. Marina remembered that scent from the earliest days of living with Andrei. Back then it had seemed cozy, almost magical—like a promise that everything would be fine. Now it affected her like a red rag to a bull. Especially when the doorbell rang in the […]

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— Mom, explain to me what this means? Tatiana’s voice trembled, but not from fear—rather from some old, stagnant exhaustion. In front of her stood her mother—the very woman she hadn’t spoken to in almost half a year.

  The mother stood perfectly still. Only her lips were trembling. “Y-you… you’re throwing me out? Your own mother?” Tatyana nodded silently. And then something changed in her mother. Her face twisted, and her eyes flashed with something dark. “You’ll regret this,” she hissed. “You’ll regret it, Tanya.” She grabbed her old scarf from the […]

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Take these leftovers for your mummy!” my father-in-law and mother-in-law sneered. They had no idea that the most important “gift” was still ahead—and that I was the one preparing it.

I was standing by the table, cluttered with the remains of festive dishes, and I could feel goosebumps running down my back from all the shared merriment in which there was no place for me. My fingers were unconsciously playing with crumbs on the tablecloth, and my gaze was fixed on Irina—my new mother-in-law. Beaming, […]

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The teacher noticed a strange smell coming from one of the schoolgirls. The truth that revealed itself afterward turned everything she thought she knew about this child’s life upside down.

The autumn light, watery and cool, poured over the empty desk by the window. Sofia Dmitrievna slowly ran her finger along the smooth surface of the class register, feeling with her fingertip the tiny scratches left by hundreds of such movements. Her gaze kept returning to one surname, to the neat lines where, instead of […]

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My husband’s relatives humiliated me because of my poverty, but they didn’t know that I am a millionaire’s daughter and was pretending.

Dear, you can’t even imagine who I really am,” Anna whispered quietly, looking at the ceiling. “You are better than anyone for me,” Vadim mumbled sleepily, hugging his wife. If only he knew how prophetic these words would turn out to be. Anna smiled faintly, remembering how it all began. How she, the daughter of […]

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Get to work if you’re going to run your mouth!” the mother-in-law yelled, forgetting she was eating food paid for with my card.

Vera lifted the laptop lid and checked the time—ten in the morning. In half an hour, an online meeting with clients was supposed to start. Vera worked as a freelance graphic designer; her clients were scattered across different time zones, so her workday started early and ended late. But try explaining that to her mother-in-law. […]

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