La vida
03
My Husband Works, But I Pay for Everything – How I Became the Breadwinner in My Marriage and Why Love Made Me Blind to Inequality
My husband has a job, but I pay for everything. You ask how I ended up here, how I allowed my life to
La vida
02
When He Got Home From Work, The Cat Was Gone: How Quiet Patrick Chose His Unlikely Cat Over a Demanding Girlfriend and Found True Loyalty
When he came home from work, the cat was gone. James is a reserved young man without any bad habits.
La vida
026
I Never Loved My Husband: A Life Story of Marriage Without Love, Regret, and Finding True Happiness
I never truly loved my husband. Really? And how long were you together? Well, let me see…
La vida
03
One Day My Distant Aunt Rang Out of the Blue, Inviting Me to Her Daughter’s Wedding—a Cousin I Last Saw When She Was Six. I Had No Choice but to Attend, Expecting a Dull Saturday, Only to Wind Up at the Wrong Reception, Mistaken for the Bride’s Glamorous Aunt, Called Out in Front of Strangers, and Nearly Chased from the Room—All Before the Waiter Saved Me (and My Gift) Just in Time
One day, I received a phone call from my distant aunt who invited me to the wedding of her daughtermy
La vida
02
The Cat Slept with My Wife: Our Hilarious Battle for Her Affection, a Feline Feast of Fish, a Chaotic Cat Attack, and Finding True Happiness Together After a Harrowing Explosion
The cat used to sleep with my wife. He would press his back against her and push me away with all four paws.
La vida
04
Battle of Wills: How My Wife’s Darling Cat Banished Me from Bed, Bullied Me for Fish, Declared War on My Slippers—Then Bravely Saved Us All (and Won My Heart Forever)
The cat always insisted on sleeping with my wife. Hed press his furry back against her and stretch out
La vida
014
Adam, I Don’t Want to Hurt You or Cause You Pain, My Dear
Adam, I promise you, my dear, I dont ever want to hurt you. Adam sat perched on the window sill, gazing
La vida
07
She Stole My Father — Mum, I’ve moved in! Can you believe it? Finally! Oxana pinched her phone to her ear with her shoulder, wrestling with a stubborn lock. The key turned reluctantly, as if testing its new mistress. — Darling, thank goodness! And the flat, is it all right? — her mother’s voice trembled with excitement and concern. — Perfect! Bright, spacious. Balcony facing east, just like I wanted. Is Dad there? — Here I am, here! — Victor’s deep voice came from the speaker. — Mum put it on speaker. Well, has the fledgling left the nest? — Dad, I’m twenty-five, not a fledgling. — You’ll always be a fledgling to me. Have you checked the locks? Windows draft-free? The radiators… — Vicky, let the child settle! — interrupted her mother. — Oxana, be careful there. Newly-built, you never know about neighbours. Oxana laughed, finally conquering the lock and pushing open the door. — Mum, this isn’t a seventies council flat. Decent building, decent people. It’ll be fine. The following weeks became a blur — between DIY shops, furniture showrooms, and her new flat. Oxana fell asleep with wallpaper catalogues under her pillow, woke up thinking about the right shade of grout for her bathroom tiles. On Saturday, she stood in her lounge, staring at swatches for curtains, when her phone buzzed again. — How’s it all coming along? — her father asked. — Slowly but surely. Today it’s curtains. Torn between “ivory” and “warm milk.” What do you think? — I think they’re the same colour, but the marketers are different. — Dad, you don’t understand the subtlety of shades! — I do understand electrics. Sockets done properly? The renovations ate up time, money, and nerves, but every new touch turned bare walls into a real home. Oxana picked out creamy beige wallpaper, found a good floor-layer, invented a way to make her tiny kitchen look more spacious. When the last contractor took away the rubbish, Oxana sank to the spotless floor amidst gleaming surfaces. Soft light streamed through new curtains, fresh paint hung in the air. Her very first home… She met her neighbour three days after moving in completely. Oxana fiddled with her keys at the door when the lock opposite clicked. — Oh, the new girl! — A woman in her thirties poked her head out. Cropped hair, bold lipstick, curious eyes. — I’m Alison. I live right opposite — guess that makes us neighbours. — Oxana. Lovely to meet you. — If you ever need sugar, salt, or a chat, just pop in. Weird being alone at first in a new build, I remember. Alison proved to be good company. They drank tea in Oxana’s kitchen, swapped stories about the building management and layout details. Alison shared her wisdom: the best Wi-Fi, trusty plumber, and the shop with the freshest groceries. — Tell you what, I have a recipe for apple sponge — out of this world! — Alison flicked through her phone. — I’ll send it over. Done in half an hour, tastes like you’ve slaved all day. — Yes please! Haven’t tried my oven yet. Weeks rolled on, and Oxana was glad for such an open neighbour. They bumped into each other on the stairs, popped in for coffee, exchanged books. On Saturday, Victor came to help with a shelf. No matter how she tried, it wouldn’t stay up. — Wrong wall plugs, — he diagnosed, inspecting the fittings. — These are for plasterboard. Yours’s concrete. All right, I’ve proper ones in the van. Within an hour, the shelf hung firm. Victor gathered his tools, scrutinised his handiwork, satisfied. — There you go. That’ll last twenty years. — You’re the best, Dad! — Oxana hugged him. They headed down, chatting about nothing in particular. Victor asked about work, Oxana griped about her new boss who mixed up deadlines and lost papers. At the entrance, Alison approached with supermarket bags. — Oh, hi! — Oxana waved. — Meet my dad, Victor. Dad, this is Alison, my neighbour I told you about. — Lovely to meet you, — Victor greeted with his trademark friendly smile. Alison froze briefly, eyes flitting between them. Her smile looked forced, glued on. — Likewise, — she muttered, hurrying inside. Everything changed after that. Next morning, Oxana met Alison on the landing and greeted her — only to receive a frosty nod. Two days later, she invited her for tea. Alison fobbed her off with a hasty excuse. Then, the complaints began… The first time, a community officer knocked at nine in the evening. — Received a noise complaint, — the elderly policeman looked sheepish. — Loud music, banging noises. — Music? — Oxana was baffled. — I was reading a book. — Well, neighbours are complaining… The letters snowballed — management got notes about “unbearable stomping,” “constant racket,” and “late-night music.” The police visit became routine, every time the officer apologetic and helpless. Oxana realised where it was coming from. What she didn’t know was — why. Every morning was a lottery — today it might be eggshell smeared on the door, coffee grounds between the frame and panel, a bag of potato peelings placed beneath her mat. Oxana got up half an hour earlier to clean the mess before work. Her hands stung from cleaning supplies, throat tight with stress. — I can’t go on like this, — she muttered one night, searching online for video door viewers. Installation took twenty minutes. The tiny camera disguised as a peephole recorded everything on the landing. Oxana connected it to her phone and waited. She didn’t wait long. At 3 a.m., the screen lit with motion alert. Oxana, incredulous, watched Alison — in a dressing gown and slippers — methodically smearing something dark over her door. Deliberate, precise, like a familiar chore. The next night, Oxana waited up. At half two, there were noises outside. She flung open the door. Alison froze, holding a bag that sloshed with something unpleasant. — What did I do to you? — Oxana’s voice caught, pitiful even to herself. — Why are you doing this? Alison slowly set the bag down. Her features twisted, bitterness distorting her attractive face. — You? Nothing. But your precious father… — What about my dad? — The fact that he’s my father too! — Alison almost shouted, uncaring who heard. — Only, he raised you, spoiled you, loved you, while he left me when I was three! Never sent a penny, never called once! Mum and I scraped by while he built his happy family with your mother! So you, you basically stole my father! Oxana backed up, hitting the doorframe. — You’re lying… — Lying? Ask him! Ask if he remembers Marina Solloway and little Alison, the daughter he tossed out like rubbish! Oxana slammed the door and slid to the floor, one thought thundering: it’s not true, it’s not true. Dad couldn’t. Couldn’t. Next morning she drove to her parents. All the way, she rehearsed questions, but seeing her dad, calm as ever with his newspaper, she choked. — Oksy! What a surprise! — Victor looked up. — Mum’s at the shop, she’ll be back soon. — Dad, I need to ask… — Oxana perched on the sofa, twisting her handbag strap. — Do you know a woman named Marina Solloway? Victor froze. The paper slipped from his hands. — Where did you… — Her daughter — my neighbour. The one I introduced you to. She says you’re her dad. Silence hung like a shroud. — Let’s go to her — Victor said abruptly. — Right now. I need to make this right. The drive to the new build took forty minutes. There was no talking; Oxana stared out at passing houses, mind trying to make sense of everything. Alison opened straight away, as if she’d been waiting. She looked them both up and down, then stood aside for them to come in. — Come to confess? — she threw at Victor. — Thirty years later? — I’ve come to explain. — Victor pulled a folded paper out of his jacket. — Read this. Alison took the document suspiciously. As she read, her expression shifted — anger to confusion, confusion to bewilderment. — What… is this? — DNA test results, — Victor replied calmly. — I did them when your mum tried to take me to court for child support. The test says: I’m not your father. Marina cheated on me. You’re not my child. The paper fluttered to the floor… Oxana and her dad left Alison’s flat. At home, Oxana stepped towards Victor and hugged him tightly, burying her face in his coat. — I’m sorry, Dad. Sorry for even doubting you. Victor stroked her hair, just like he did when she was a little girl who’d had a fight with friends. — There’s nothing to forgive, love. Other people made this mess. Relations with Alison never recovered. But Oxana didn’t want them to. After everything, she had lost all respect for that neighbour forever…
Took My Father Mum, Ive finally moved in! Can you believe it? At last! Sophie cradled her mobile between
La vida
04
She Gave Birth Silently and Prepared to Give Up Her Baby: A Midwife’s Tale of a Student Mother, an Absent Businessman Father, and the Fight for a Happy Ending in an English Hospital
She gave birth quietly and was about to give her baby away I’ve been a midwife for more years than I’
La vida
012
Battle of Wills: How My Wife’s Darling Cat Banished Me from Bed, Bullied Me for Fish, Declared War on My Slippers—Then Bravely Saved Us All (and Won My Heart Forever)
The cat always insisted on sleeping with my wife. Hed press his furry back against her and stretch out