Page 44 of Sinful Betrayal

Their voices eventually disappeared into what I assume is another set of rooms that I was unaware of, and I take that as my cue to head back into Anton’s room to wait for him.

As I climb back into bed and wrap the sheets around me, a growing sense of unease gnaws at me.

It’s clear from how he speaks to his mother that he loves her dearly. I’m not sure exactly what’s going on but from the nature of their conversation, maybe she is suffering from some sort of mental illness.

Anton’s heart must be breaking to see her like this as his family is everything to him, but he should feel some sense of peace to be able to take care of her himself.

If he was as cold and calculated as my father claims him to be, he would have just put her in a home and not thought twice about it. But I’m failing to see any evidence of that side of Anton even existing.

He could easily afford to send her to a facility, but he’schoosingto put in the time and effort to make her as comfortable as possible.

I can’t imagine my family being so selfless. If my mother had been in such a position, there’s no way Maxim would have cared for her like that, despite everything she did for us.

Anton has the sort of relationship with his family that I grew up dreaming about.

After my mother died, I lost all hope of ever feeling loved or wanted in the way that I did with her, and I’m envious of Anton in that respect. His brother might be absent, but he still has a large family to lean on when he needs to.

I, on the other hand, have no one.

The door creaks open, pulling me out of my spiraling thoughts.

“Hey.” Anton closes the door behind him, coming to perch on the edge of the bed.

He looks drained, so I reach for his hand.

“Was that your mom?”

Anton stares at our entwined fingers and nods.

“Is she sick?”

“She’s…” He rubs his calloused thumb back and forth against my fingers.

“Sorry, it’s none of my business…”

“It’s okay.” He offers me a small smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. “She has early onset Alzheimer’s.”

“Oh, Anton, I’m so sorry.” I squeeze his fingers tighter, and he looks at me with such sorrow in his dark brown eyes that my heart starts to crack. “How long ago was she diagnosed?”

“Two years. She’s only sixty-three. She had so much life left to live, but it’s like her brain and body are being pulled in opposite directions. There’s nothing physically wrong but her mind…” I can hear the emotion in his voice.

This must be incredibly tough for him, to see his mother deteriorate like this.

“I had a section of the house renovated to look like the house that we grew up in as the doctors warned me that a newenvironment might be too overwhelming for her to cope with. I wanted to make sure she was as comfortable as possible.”

“That’s incredibly sweet of you.”

“It’s the least I could do.”

“It’s more than most people would do.”

“I couldn’t bear the thought of putting her in a home.” He shakes his head. “She deserves better than that after everything she’s done for me.”

“And you’re giving that to her.”

“It doesn’t seem to be helping.” His shoulders slump.

I don’t stop to think before climbing into Anton’s lap and wrapping my arms around his neck.