“Hello, honey! I’ve got a big surprise for you! Make your signature dish for dinner!” “What happened?” Svetlana asked warily.

Hello, darling! I’ve got a big surprise for you! Make your signature dish for dinner tonight! “What happened?” Svetlana grew uneasy. “Everything’s wonderful! I’ll tell you this evening!” The call ended, and the woman looked doubtfully out the window. It was a raw, damp October. Her husband’s call didn’t lift her spirits—over twenty-five years of … Read more

“Now that you’ve turned into a little rich lady, Mommy will take you back! Come back to me!” the ex moaned.

The aroma of freshly brewed coffee and the sweet hint of baked goods hung in the air, creating a cozy atmosphere that contrasted sharply with Anna’s inner state. She had ducked into this café for a quick lunch — a rare luxury in her hectic schedule lately. Home-cooked meals had become an unattainable dream, giving … Read more

— So you’re going to support your sister while living off me? And you’ll demand reports on every single thing I buy? Haven’t you gotten a bit too bold, my dear? You won’t see another kopeck of my money!

“— And what is this supposed to be?” Alexey’s voice—steady and cold, like a scalpel—cut through the cozy evening quiet. Larisa, absorbed in her reading, didn’t look up right away. He stood in the living room doorway, arms folded across his chest, his gaze fixed on a small paper bag with a bookstore logo lying … Read more

— I don’t understand you at all! — Albina’s voice trembled, but anger and hurt burned in her eyes. — Pasha and I paid for this apartment ourselves

  When Vera Nikolaevna received a message that her third cousin Tatyana, who lived somewhere deep in the Urals, was asking to stay with her in Moscow with the kids for a couple of weeks, her first reaction was to refuse. What could they possibly have in common? The last time they’d seen each other … Read more

“You’re an old mouse,” my boss snapped. She didn’t know that at night I’m a hacker—and I have all her secrets, which I’ll expose to everyone.

— Redo it. I want it on my desk by morning,” my boss Tamara’s voice clanked like a bolt being drawn. She tossed a folder with the report onto my desk. The corner of the pricey leather jabbed unpleasantly into my stack of papers. “Tamara Igorevna, but we submitted this project last week. Everything was … Read more

At the bus stop, a woman thrust a little girl into my arms and left a suitcase stuffed with cash—I kept quiet for thirty years, and I never imagined…

  Just grab and run, you know? Immediately…” “But why me? What’s so special about me?” Thirty years have passed, yet these phrases still ring clearly in my memory, as if spoken only yesterday. That fateful evening radically changed the course of my life. Now, looking back through the prism of all these years, I … Read more