— Ten thousand rubles, Elena! Just ten thousand!” — Andrey’s voice rang out in indignation as he paced around the living room, waving his hands. — My parents needed that money, and what did you do? You refused them!

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Elena slowly rose from the armchair, crossing her arms over her chest. There was not a trace of fear in her gaze, only cold calmness. “And what, Tamara Nikolaevna, do you intend to do? Blackmail me with your own son?” “I will explain to Andrey what a selfish wife you are,” the mother-in-law leaned forward. … Read more

I was fired because of my age. As a farewell, I gave roses to all my colleagues — but to my boss, I left a folder containing the results of my secret audit.

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— Lena, we’re going to have to part ways. Gennady said it with that fatherly softness in his voice he always used when he was about to pull something nasty. He leaned back in his massive chair, fingers laced over his stomach. — We’ve decided the company needs a fresh perspective. New energy. You understand, … Read more

A husband, after seventeen years of marriage to Inna, decided to leave her for a young student—but he never expected the farewell she had prepared for him.

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Inna stood at the window, watching raindrops creep down the glass in whimsical trails. Seventeen years—is that a lot or a little? She remembered every day they’d lived together, every anniversary, every glance. And now everything was collapsing like a house of cards. “We need to talk,” Alexey said, his voice oddly flat. She turned … Read more

The son drove his father out of the house at his wife’s demand… But one winter afternoon in the park changed everything.

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He sat hunched on the cold metal bench, the wind biting at his face, his shoulders wrapped in a threadbare cloak—the same one he once wore proudly as a master at the housing office. His name was Nikolai Andreevich. A pensioner. A widower. A father to one son. Once—he had believed—a happy grandfather. All of … Read more

“Please, my dear, have pity on me… I haven’t eaten bread in three days, and I have no money left,” the old woman begged the market seller.

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The thin winter wind cut to the bone, curling around the city’s old streets as if reminding them of a time when people here still had warm hearts and honest eyes. Against the gray walls and peeling signs stood an elderly woman whose face was traced with a web of fine wrinkles—as though each line … Read more

“Did you buy a dress without asking?” her husband asked, staring at the receipt… What happened next, he didn’t expect.

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Lena returned home with a light, almost childlike smile. In her hands, she carried a large paper bag from an expensive store. Inside, carefully wrapped in thin tissue paper, was the dress—the elegant, silky one she had dreamed of buying for the past six months. It had hung in the shop window, alluring yet out … Read more

“I wouldn’t marry a man like that!” a little girl suddenly told the bride outside the bar.

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“I definitely wouldn’t marry a man like that!” rang out a clear, bright child’s voice in the silence—surprisingly confident for someone so young. Marina flinched and turned sharply. In front of her stood a little girl—about six, with a long fair braid, a worn jacket, and eyes that held a strange, beyond-her-years clarity. The bride … Read more