You have to take my mother in!” my husband said. But I drew the line—and closed the door on both of them.

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  Galina Petrovna walked in without knocking—using her own keys, as always. Lena was standing at the stove and didn’t even turn around. “Lenochka, I brought cottage cheese. Real stuff, not that store-bought garbage. I see your fridge is empty—what are you feeding Andrey?” Her mother-in-law went into the kitchen and started unloading groceries. Lena … Read more

— “This apartment is my stronghold, and my mother-in-law’s debts are her personal abyss. I’m leaving. I’m done living at my expense — I’m not your safety cushion anymore!”

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— Are you deliberately trying to make my mother have a heart attack? Nicholas rasped, hurling the remote onto the table as if he were tossing away a red-hot coal that had scorched his palms. Car gift ideas — Don’t be so dramatic, please, Elena replied indifferently, without looking up from the dishes. The water … Read more

I told you to warn me when you were going to the doctor!” her mother-in-law burst into the apartment after learning from a neighbor about her pregnant daughter-in-law’s visit to the clinic.

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I asked you to tell me when you were going to the doctor! Why didn’t you tell me?” Zinaida Fyodorovna’s voice cut into the apartment’s morning silence like a fire siren. Ksenia froze in the entryway, handbag still in her hand. She had just come back from the women’s clinic, where she’d been registered for … Read more

A gas station worker found a box in the restroom, inside which was a newborn baby girl and a note: “Take care of her.” He took the girl home with him.

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  An employee at a gas station found a box in the restroom. Inside lay a newborn baby girl and a note: “Take care of her.” The man couldn’t leave the child alone — his wife had dreamed of having children for many years, but doctors said they would never have their own. The next … Read more

“My money is NOT your feeding trough!” I roared when my mother-in-law demanded I sell my apartment to cover her debts!

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So what exactly are you trying to tell me? That I should give up my apartment so you and your mommy can keep diving into scams together?” “Come on, don’t get so worked up, Sasha, it’s my MOM… She didn’t mean any harm…” “And who am I then, Maksim?! Some random passerby?!” Alexandra stormed into … Read more

My husband came home from work beaming, said he’d been promoted, and immediately announced that he now needed a wife to match his status – I don’t qualify.

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My husband was standing in the hallway. His tie was undone. His face was red from the cold. Or from that conversation with his boss. I don’t know. “I got promoted!” I turned away from the stove. The pasta was boiling. Foam was creeping over the edge of the pot. I really should have turned … Read more

My husband got angry that I was working and didn’t serve dinner on time, suggested we live apart and “think.” Without him it felt so good — I got divorced.

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 I stared at my phone for a long time. Alexey was calling for the third time that evening, but I didn’t pick up. The time on the screen read half past ten. Before, at that hour, I’d already be washing the dinner dishes, wiping down the table, hanging up the laundry. Now I was sitting … Read more