The Heart Left Behind (Cole and Yvonne) novel Chapter 18

It was a call from my dad. He sounded a bit tired as he said, "Cole, your mom hasn't been sleeping well these past few days. She's been worried about you. When are you coming home?"

I sighed. "Dad, I know you're worried about me. But the situation is a bit complicated right now. I'm afraid—"

"Afraid of what?" he interrupted me, his tone turning stern. "You're a member of the Joplin family. What's there to be afraid of? Tomorrow night, you must come home for dinner. Bring Jonas along."

Knowing my dad's temper, I had no choice but to agree.

Once the call ended, I rubbed my temples. I had a feeling tomorrow's family dinner would be anything but peaceful.

…

The next morning, I drove Jonas to school as usual. At the school entrance, we bumped into Yvonne and Xavier again. When Xavier noticed us, he pouted, his expression contemptuous.

Crouching, I told Jonas, "Have a good day at school. I'll pick you up after class."

Jonas nodded. After a moment's hesitation, he walked toward Xavier. The two children whispered among themselves, then they entered the school together.

Yvonne approached me and said in a lowered voice, "Cole, a teacher said Jonas has been distracted in class lately. Do you know what that's about?"

I glanced at her calmly, and my tone was impassive as I said, "I'll take care of Jonas. You don't need to worry about him."

She frowned. There was a hint of displeasure in her voice. "What's with your attitude? Even though we're divorced, we should still resolve any problems concerning our children together."

I scoffed. "Yvonne, drop the act. When have you ever genuinely cared about the children? How pretentious of you to ask about that now. Did you learn that from Jared?"