The Christmas Tree and the Wedding Christmas Story by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

A festive party becomes the unsettling backdrop for a man’s disturbing thoughts about a young girl and her future wealth. Years later, he attempts to court her once she is of age, revealing the cold calculation beneath social niceties. The plot contrasts holiday cheer with quiet corruption and moral decay. A short, chilling glimpse into hidden motives and societal hypocrisy.