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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

— 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 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

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

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? 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

— Can you imagine, Verunya, this has to be something grand! Not just sitting around in a café. I’ve already found a country venue with a big veranda overlooking a lake. A pearl wedding, thirty years together—that’s a whole era! First, a light outdoor reception while the guests arrive. A saxophonist playing something unobtrusive, you … Read more

Recently, Vasily, a successful businessman, and Maria, a talented designer, got married. All of the groom’s relatives, except for his mother, welcomed the new daughter-in-law warmly. Olga Nikolaevna was known for her strictness and high standards in everything—from household comfort to family relationships.   Maria, despite her many virtues, simply couldn’t meet her mother-in-law’s expectations … Read more

Anna Sergeyevna stood at the foot of a huge glass building where a special, headlong kind of life reigned. The height of the structure seemed endless, and her reflection in its walls looked distorted and alien. She adjusted the modest, frayed-at-the-edges bag on her shoulder and took a deep breath. The air was cold and … Read more

— Are you serious right now? — Margarita slowly set the book down on the arm of the sofa. Her voice was so even and quiet that for a moment it seemed as if she were merely clarifying some trivial detail. Andrey, who had already kicked off one shoe in the entryway, turned and looked … Read more