"I'm so proud of us, ladies! Finally, a truly supportive women's community!" Emília raised her water bottle with teary eyes.

The others laughed and pulled out various bottles from their bags to toast together on the blankets laid out on the sandy beach.

Even the box of the shoes radiated elegance. Tina couldn’t wait to wear them. True, she hadn’t dealt with such high heels before, but the night before, just before going to bed, she had walked around the apartment in them several times without any trouble.

"You smell lovely!"

"Thank you! I got it yesterday for my birthday. You know, my partner only buys me the most expensive, luxury perfumes. If you knew how much this one cost," Angela laughed.

"Your husband has great taste. This scent is fabulous."

Bianka was glad that every morning she could dress in clothes that didn’t involve any compromise. As a computer technician, no one at her workplace expected her to spend hours in a little suit, silk blouse, and high heels at the computer.

I wasn’t sure if I was smelling liver pâté. When the scruffy, gray-haired man opened the door to his sixth-floor apartment, that’s what I was hit with first. The heavy, cheap incense only filled my nose a few moments later, and I had to cough right away.

“You know what you have to do,” came the relentless judgment.

Dora’s body filled with icy fear from head to toe. She didn’t respond. She didn’t even have the strength to cry. And she couldn’t scare the little ones either.

As she sat down in front of the computer, Anna’s throat tightened. Her chest felt heavy, and an uncomfortable tingling spread at the nape of her neck. She sprang from the chair.

Mornings are the hardest. Lately, she’s been freezing terribly. It’s warm inside already, but those few meters between her car and her home, or her workplace, are brutal. Her teeth chatter, and she feels like she’s going to die.

It was already past ten, but the dense cloud hanging over the valley had no intention of clearing. Tamara stood on the terrace, lips pursed. She needed to get going soon, but the basket was still full of laundry waiting to be hung.

Eyes closed, she enjoyed the silence and the way the hairdresser washed her hair. Finally, someone who understood that there was no talking during work. At least, not with her. Because she was her. And with her, unsolicited conversation was strictly off-limits.