Page 73 of The Brutal Arrangement

She wasn’t convinced, watching me closely. “You’re not sleeping in your apartment anymore.” She crossed her arms. “While I’ve been hesitant about your marriage with that maid, you did tell me that she’d at least serve the role of giving you heirs. I don’t see how that will work when you don’t go home to her at all anymore.”

“Grandmother…” I rubbed my hand over my face. “Not now.”

Without giving her a chance to reply or nag me any further, I stalked off and resumed my path to my father’s room.

I made an effort to check in on him daily, but since learning about Lucy’s mother, I had to wonder if she wished she could do the same.

Yeah, right. I’m not going to fucking bring up her mother again.She’d just take my curiosity as something negative again. I could give her some leeway with how I’d reacted at first.When I caught her seemingly having a secret conversation, my suspicions were heightened. Once I confirmed she was telling the truth, I had acted out of genuine concern, which she shat on. Trust was earned, not given. That was a fact of life. But now, trust seemed like a joke between us. I hated that I’d played a part in tarnishing her ability to trust me.

I slowed down once I entered Father’s room. He wasn’t alone. The nurses were nearby, but it was Sloane seated in the room.

“What’s going on?”

She turned, acknowledging me with a slight smile. “Nothing. Maxim was going on and on about worrying that his father was lonely. So I figured since I’m not doing anything, I’d sit here.” Holding up a clunky looking attempt at some kind of knitted thing, she shrugged. “It’s not hurting me any to just be present in case he is aware while he’s resting and is lonely.”

“That’s… sweet.” I pulled another chair close to join her. Father went back and forth from good days and the bad. He’d be more lucid and mobile one day, then the next, it seemed like he’d overdone it and was needing more rest than usual.

“I’ve never had a father,” she admitted, “but if I knew mine and he’d given a shit to want me in his life, I would want to be a good daughter for him.”

I nodded, still not used to talking with her.

“How come you’re avoiding your wife?” she asked without lifting her gaze from the knitting needles.

“Is that supposed to be a blanket or something?”

“Or something. It’s the product of my being bored while Maxim tries to insist that I stay in bed all the time. Don’t hedge.” She glanced up. “How come you’re avoiding your wife?”

I scowled, leaning back on my chair. “How do you know I am?”

“Because Maxim noticed you’ve been avoiding going home all week. He told me. And now that you happened to cross my path here, I’m curious.”

I didn’t reply, hating that I couldn’t ever have true privacy in this building.

“Practice on me, Damon.” She didn’t look up, seeming to realize that I didn’t like direct eye contact that well. “I don’t need Maxim to explain that you’re not used to dealing with women. And he’s already painted enough of a picture of Beatrice for me to understand all you brothers have mommy issues and don’t trust women.Talkto me. See if I can help.”

“Is this some kind of side effect of your pregnancy? Feeling like a shrink?” I huffed a laugh.

“No. It’s being bored while I’m pregnant and trying to not hate my husband when he’s obsessively worried and hovers. I have no friends here. I have nothing to do. Humor me and let’s see if I can help you.”

I frowned.

“What happened?” she asked. “It seemed like you were impatient to go home to her for a while, and now you’re sleeping on another floor.”

“I found her on the phone about her mom’s care?—”

“Yeah, I know.”

“The fuck? Does Maxim tell you everything now?”

She smiled more, still paying attention to her knitting. “No. Not business stuff. I don’t even want to know. But he loves his brothers. He loves you. And he’ll talk with me about what he cares about.”

I sighed, wishing Lucy and I could be like that. “I accused her of lying and spying when I caught her on the phone.”

She rolled her eyes. “Not surprising. But come on. What could she know?”

“Then when I confirmed she was telling the truth about her mom, I took over that situation and moved her into a better facility. When I told her about that, she got pissed.”

She set her knitting down now. “She was mad that you moved her mom into a better nursing home?”

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