London Has Your Eyes

Chapter 73. Alex

I go into the kitchen to pour coffee while Anton tidies himself up. I don't know why, but for the first time in a long time his presence weighs on me. It's like something invisible has changed between us, and I haven't noticed. He asked so many uncomfortable questions. Even if he still had feelings for me, did he have the right to invade my life and push me to make the decisions he wanted? I'm not so sure.

I set my mug on the table and reach for the sugar bowl when Anton's phone sparkles. A new message. I wasn't going to look, but the signal catches my attention. I drop a quick glance at the screen.

"I need more money," reads the message on the locked screen. A message from the caller Kate Becker. What?

The spoon falls on the table with a clink, I rest my hands on the countertop. How could Anton be connected to Daniel's ex? What kind of money is she talking about?

"The situation has changed. A lot of negativity has come up. I'll retract everything if I don't..." - reads the second message. I want to see all their correspondence! But I don't know the password to the phone. I swipe the notifications off the screen and put a spoon of sugar in my coffee. I need to think.

- Anton, can I borrow your phone? I want to dial Max before departure, to find out if everything's okay. I can't find mine. It's on silent, - I say, hiding my phone among the couch cushions.

- Sure, take it, - Anton answers, walking back into the living room. He walks over to me and unlocks it.

I dial Max's number.

- Darling, are you all right there? What? Was the flight delayed? - Anton looks at me intently. - Yeah, I'm calling from Anton's number, yes, he stopped by. I can't find mine.

I show Anton that I'll talk in the other room, he nods and I leave, closing the door behind me. I quickly say goodbye to Max and continue talking out loud, creating the appearance of a conversation. Such an adrenaline rush. I go into messenger and search for the correspondence I'm looking for.

My world falls to pieces.

Here Anton clarifies the details of the trip with her and sending a copy of the ticket. Here she sends him screenshots of the broadcast and brags about winning.

"I wish he would break down, but alas, he's gone. Although the video will tell your Alex otherwise. So will everyone else. It will be very difficult for Daniel to prove anything. His words against a bunch of photos and videos? No one will believe him," she wrote the morning I found out about everything.

I put my hand over my mouth so Anton wouldn't hear my loud sigh. My eyes sting and unbidden tears are pouring from my eyes. So Anton, a man I trusted infinitely, had set all this up? And I kept admiring his nobility, the fact that he'd bought tickets for all three of us. And that in spite of his hatred for Daniel. But it wasn't for nothing. He set it up. Oh, my God.

Anton paid her for this trip, for this show. I can't believe it! Daniel's no angel, and I don't condone him, but compared to that, he's a dandelion.

I sit on the edge of the bed, a pounding in my temples. The air in the room is suddenly gone, and taking new breaths is unbearably difficult. Anton betrayed me. In the meanest way. And now he's sitting in the next room, pretending to be a hero. How hypocritical.

I force myself to breathe deeply, get up the courage to open the door. Out of the corner of my eye I see Anton. He's drinking coffee, staring at the news on the television. For the first time in my life, I look at him with different eyes. He's no longer my close friend, he's a stranger from whom I can expect danger. That's what has changed between us! That's what I felt with my whole body - he was doing something behind my back!