“Think you’re the mistress here? Only I can make decisions in this place!” the husband snapped when she forbade him from housing his relatives in her apartment.

Yana turned the key in the lock and let out a sigh of relief. Finally home. Behind her was another exhausting day at the office, where clients demanded the impossible and management pressed with deadlines. Her two-room apartment greeted her with its usual order and silence—everything lay exactly where it was supposed to. She kicked … Read more

“And when are you going to transfer the apartment to my daughter’s name? How much longer do we have to wait?” the mother-in-law demanded indignantly.

Ksenia sat on the floor among the cardboard boxes, holding the keys to her very own apartment. Twenty-six years of life, and finally, she had a place of her own. “I can’t believe this is mine,” Ksenia whispered, looking around the empty room. Sunlight poured through the large windows. After years of renting tiny corners, … Read more

— I don’t care that she’s your mother, Igor! She insulted my parents, and that means I will treat her exactly as she deserves! And if I have to hit her, I will! Clear?!

“What do you think you’re doing? Are you out of your mind?” Igor’s voice was no louder than a whisper, but the steel grip of his fingers digging into Kristina’s forearm spoke louder than any shout. He nearly dragged her out of the brightly lit, noisy living room into a narrow, dim corridor, where the … Read more

— “If your mother dislikes what I do for a living so much, then why does she ask us for money every week?” the daughter-in-law decided to teach her mother-in-law a lesson

Marina sighed, staring at the computer screen. The numbers in the report blurred before her eyes—it was already eleven at night, and she was still at the office. Being the head of the marketing department at a large IT company demanded total commitment, but the pay matched the effort. At thirty-two, she earned more than … Read more

— That’s my late husband! — Vera was stunned in shock when she recognized at the wedding where she was working as a waitress the man she had long mourned…

Vera Vasilyevna Loshkareva, a waitress at the restaurant “Skatert-Samobranka,” was changing into her uniform before her shift and listening in on her colleagues’ conversations. “She searched for him for thirty years, and met him on a cruise ship,” Zinaida was telling the plot of a movie. “Just like that, recognized him after thirty years? Nonsense,” … Read more

Mom disappeared on my birthday… And only ten years later did I realize it wasn’t an escape and learned the truth

— Daughter, don’t worry about me. Right now, you must not quarrel with your father. Please, don’t try to defend me.” Julia remembered these words from her mother forever. She was only fourteen then, and in her young heart, it felt as if the world had collapsed overnight. Her mother’s words sounded like a warning, … Read more

“You’re just pretending to bury her,” the gravedigger heard a child’s voice. He touched and pulled back his hand.

Semyon Petrovich, or simply Petrovich — that’s what everyone who occasionally stopped by this forgotten-by-God place called him — with a strained groan plunged his shovel into the heavy, damp earth. Another day, like hundreds before. He had been working here, at the old village cemetery, for twenty years now, ever since the noisy and … Read more

“Nastasya, we’re expecting you on Sunday at two o’clock!” — Mom’s tone was uncompromising and left no room for doubt.

“Nastya, we’re expecting you on Sunday at two o’clock!” — Mom’s tone was firm and left no room for doubt. “Okay, Mom, I’ll be there. Should I bring something?” — the girl sighed heavily: another ruined weekend! It would have been much better to spend Friday evening cleaning and cooking, go to some party on … Read more

— You gave birth to two at once? I’m leaving, I want to live for myself! — my husband declared, but thirty years later my children became his bosses.

“Finally,” I breathed out as the key turned in the lock. Viktor entered the apartment, dropped his travel bag on the floor, and wearily ran a hand over his face. Six months on a work rotation, six months I hadn’t seen him. He smelled of the train, dust, and a foreign city. I wanted to … Read more