Refuge for One's Own

Sometimes it’s hard to figure out what the right thing to do is—especially when a friend you trust without question keeps insisting: think only of yourself, divorce your faithless husband, leave the children with him, and live a free life.

Someone might shrug it off and send the “advisor” packing, but people are different.

It’s no wonder that Svetlana’s mother made sure it would be almost impossible for her daughter to make decisions on her own. What could be more convenient than an ideally obedient girl?

Only the girl has long since grown up, and confidence and inner strength haven’t increased.

Almost… because regarding the children, Sveta did decide for herself, and she managed to get rid of the toxic friend, too. But what to do next? Especially since her mother is returning from abroad and is once again trying to control her daughter’s life single-handedly.

And it’s unknown how it would have ended if Svetlana didn’t have Pakki and Polina—those very children with the nickname Patent-Cursed—and also had a reliable support in the form of her beloved aunt, and an entire company of residents of the Shelter.