**For My Grandson, Despite the Betrayal**
“I only wanted to help my children, to look after my grandson. I knew they were struggling, so I let my daughter-in-law go back to work,” sighs Helen Victoria, her voice heavy with sorrow.
At fifty-five, she’s retired due to poor health. Her pension is meagre, but she gets by. Her son is grown, and her younger daughter is at university, working part-time to support her.
“My son’s been married six years. Right after the wedding, he and his wife took out a mortgage. I advised them to go for a one-bed flat—something manageable—but they insisted on two. I couldn’t help them; I was barely scraping by myself. His in-laws couldn’t chip in either—they’ve got their own money troubles,” Helen shares. She lives in a small town called Pinewood.
She knew her daughter-in-law Lily’s family wasn’t well-off. That didn’t bother her, but Lily’s relatives were nothing but trouble.
“Lily’s grandmother never worked but raised five children. She lived off her garden, kept livestock, but it was a hard life. Only Lily’s mother, Irene, managed to make something of herself. The rest of her siblings went downhill,” Helen recalls.
The eldest son died from drink, the middle daughter is in prison for theft, the youngest son vanished without a trace. And Lily’s older sister, Alice—seven years her senior—still leans on their mother like a dead weight.
“Alice married some useless bloke. No kids. He’s in prison now—three years down, three to go. But she’s young—wants to live a little,” Helen says bitterly.
While Alice’s husband was free, he racked up debts, which Irene now pays off. Alice, meanwhile, moved back home, claiming disability benefits just to get by. She works, but her wages barely cover food and bills.
Irene begged Alice to divorce him, to shift some of the debts onto him. But Alice refused—she loves him, even if he’s dragging her down. Then came another blow:
“Our kids seemed happy, and I was glad. But now my husband and I are divorcing,” Irene dropped on Helen out of the blue.
“I was stunned. So many years together, and suddenly this! Turned out, he’d run off with some younger woman—three kids in tow—leaving his family high and dry,” Helen mutters, shaking her head.
Soon after, Lily came to Helen, complaining about money troubles—her husband, Thomas, had lost his side job. She’d been offered part-time work and begged Helen to mind their son, Oliver.
“Who else could help them? Irene’s working, my daughter’s at uni, and the rest of the family only care about themselves. I told Lily I wasn’t sure—Oliver’s a handful. But then she burst into tears!” Helen sighs.
In the end, she agreed—but only if Oliver stayed at her place. She lives on the ground floor, with a secure courtyard, easy for walks. The flat wasn’t far; dropping him off was simple. Helen gritted her teeth, took her painkillers, and managed.
Then one day, Oliver fell ill, and Helen stayed at the children’s flat. When she peeked into the fridge, her heart sank—it was empty as a ghost town. Just then, Thomas rushed in to change before heading out.
“Lily will be back soon, cheers!” he called.
“Where are you off to?” Helen frowned.
“Side job—extra shift.”
“And that’s when it hit me,” she says, her voice trembling. “They’d all lied to me! Lily wasn’t working for the mortgage—she was paying off her sister’s debts! Thomas was killing himself with two jobs, I was breaking my back with Oliver, and my daughter-in-law was bailing out her family!”
Helen was furious. She confronted her son, but he defended Lily, insisting she was doing it for their family. Helen couldn’t believe the betrayal. How could they lie straight to her face?
She knew the fallout would ruin things—maybe even cut her off from Oliver. But she refused to swallow her daughter-in-law’s deceit. Her heart ached with hurt, but the truth mattered more.
