“Your fate is to scrub toilets, and mine is to sit in the director’s chair!” — he spat at the girl in front of everyone, and years later bitterly regretted his words.

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“Vadimka, I have amazing news for you!” Svetlana exclaimed, standing in front of the mirror carefully applying mascara to her eyelashes. Her eyes sparkled with anticipation, and her lips stretched into a satisfied smile. She glanced at her reflection as if confirming to herself that she looked like a queen about to announce an important … Read more

— Let’s just give your mother’s apartment to my sister since you have a place to live, — my husband seriously suggested to me.

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Marina stood in the middle of the empty room, inhaling the smell of old wallpaper and dust. Her mother’s apartment felt both familiar and strange — the same worn parquet floors, the same high ceilings with moldings, but without her mother’s things, without her voice coming from the kitchen; the space seemed to have lost … Read more

Kirill was in a big hurry today. It was already eight in the evening, and he still hadn’t managed to choose a gift, buy flowers, or even change clothes.

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Kirill was in a big hurry today. It was already eight in the evening, and he still hadn’t chosen a gift, nor bought flowers, and hadn’t even changed clothes. His mother, Svetlana Eduardovna Krasilnikova, was celebrating her birthday today. Many guests had gathered for the occasion. The celebration would take place at the suburban house … Read more

Someone else’s blood can never be your own.

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Nika stood by the window, thoughtfully looking out into the yard, holding a cup of tea in her hands, long since cold. Outside the glass, ordinary life was bustling: children were playing on the playground, and their mothers sat on benches, absorbed in their own affairs. Some chatted nonstop, some buried their faces in their … Read more

Here is a list of items you will give from your store to my friends. You don’t mind, do you?” — the mother-in-law said with an innocent look, handing me a sheet of paper.

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  Alina was reviewing the monthly sales reports. The numbers were pleasing to the eye. The clothing store she had opened three years ago was bringing in a steady income. Alina was proud of her creation—a spacious, bright space in a prime location within the shopping center.   “Alina, I’m off. The meeting is early … Read more

— What, excuse me?! I’m supposed to slave away at your parents’ dacha? And why exactly? You’re their son, so go weed the garden there yourself—

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— Olya, get ready, we’re going to the dacha for the weekend! Stas’s voice, cheerful and exaggeratedly happy, burst into the kitchen along with him. Olya, stirring the sauté for the soup in the pan, turned around. A sincere, anticipatory smile bloomed on her face. The workweek had been tough, and the prospect of leaving … Read more

Just try bringing your nephews over here again, Sasha! I don’t need those little ankle-biters for free, and on top of that I have to watch them and clean up because you want to relax after work! Enough!

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  “Just try bringing your nephews here one more time, Sasha! I have no use for those little rugrats, and on top of that I’m the one who has to watch them and clean up because you want to relax after work! Enough!” Marina said it without raising her voice. She stood in the middle … Read more

We heard you got ten million, so we’re coming over to make peace,” said the ex-husband and the mother-in-law.

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October evening wrapped the city in a gray veil. Rain drummed against the windows, and drops slid down the glass, leaving winding trails. Elena sat in the kitchen with a cup of hot tea and watched those rivulets of water. It had already been six months since the divorce, but she still hadn’t gotten used … Read more

At my husband’s funeral, a gray-haired man came up to me and whispered, “Now we are free.” It was the one I had loved at twenty, but we were torn apart.

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The earth smelled of grief and damp. Every clod thrown onto the coffin lid thudded dully somewhere beneath my ribs. Fifty years. An entire life lived with Dmitry. A life filled with quiet respect, with habit that had grown into tenderness. I didn’t cry. My tears had dried up last night, when I sat by … Read more

— Are you kidding me? So I wasted my time on you for nothing? Worried my parents for nothing? Put up with everything for nothing?

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— “Are you kidding me? So I wasted my time on you? Bothered my parents for nothing? Put up with everything for nothing?” — “Andrey, I…” — “I needed your apartment, you get it?!” he blurted out, and immediately fell silent, as if frightened by his own words. Svetlana met Andrey when she was already … Read more