Chapter 43
I jumped, quickly pulling Xavier away from Lorraine. He could act up all he wanted with me, but getting physical with her? That was crossing a line.
Thankfully, Lorraine was far more understanding than I’d expected. “It’s fine. He’s just a kid,” she said with a soft, forgiving smile, leaving me feeling a bit embarrassed.
“This trip has been nothing but chaos. Sorry you had to witness all of it,” I said awkwardly.
Xavier, still sulking, crossed his arms with a look of pure defiance.
“Behave,” I warned, giving him a light swat on the backside. Only after he settled down did I pull out my phone to call Yvonne.
After all, her being alone in this foreign place was quite dangerous, and Lorraine’s suggestion was probably the most feasible at that moment.
As I started dialing, Xavier immediately protested, “I don’t want you to stay with this woman!
I raised an eyebrow, unable to hide my amusement at his little grown–up act. “And what gives you the right to tell me what to do?”
I mimicked his usual tone, watching as his face froze in surprise. “What’s the matter? Are you lost for words?”
“I–I’m not scared of you! Don’t get cocky!” Xavier stammered, grabbing Jonas by the arm to whisper something in his ear. Clearly, he was hatching some sort of plan.
Yvonne picked up on the first ring, her voice cold and distant. “What do you want? Are you not happy spending time with your girlfriend? Why are you bothering me now?”
Her accusation made it sound like I was the one trying to stir up trouble.
“You’ve got three minutes to get back to the hotel. I’ll send you the address,” I said curtly.
She had a lot of nerve, dumping Xavier on me and vanishing like that. Did she think I was some kind of free babysitter? We had agreed to split responsibilities, one kid each.
Xavier’s behavior was a product of her parenting or lack thereof. And now, she was offloading her mess onto me.
“Why are you so harsh with her?” Lorraine asked with a faint smile. She hadn’t said a word during the call, but I could tell she was pleased with how I had handled it.
“That was me being polite,” I replied with a shrug.
I had been too accommodating in the past, and it had only given Yvonne more opportunities to hurt me. Not anymore. I wasn’t going to let her take advantage of me again.
Chapter 43
Yvonne finally arrived at the hotel, dragging her feet as though she was doing me a favor.
“Wow! It only took you 30 minutes to get here. That’s pretty impressive,” I said, unable to resist a jab. From the flight to now, she hadn’t done a single thing to prove me wrong. Was self -awareness completely foreign to her?
“Xavier’s with you, isn’t he? That’s all that matters,” she said dismissively.
“You trust me enough to hand over Xavier? Or are you just giving up on custody altogether?”
Her expression darkened instantly at the mention of custody, and her voice trembled with anger. “Do you have to push me like this?”
Her reaction was stronger than expected, which meant she wasn’t entirely indifferent about
the kids.
“If you actually cared about Xavier, you wouldn’t have dumped him on me like this,” I shot back. “You knew this wasn’t convenient for me.”
Her shoulders stiffened, and she let out a bitter laugh. “Oh, I get it. You’re just worried I’ll ruin your romantic getaway.”
Her gaze shifted to Lorraine, filled with suspicion and malice.
“Don’t make this into something it’s not,” I said firmly. “We agreed–one kid each. You’re supposed to handle Xavier, not leave him for me to deal with.”
Tired of arguing, I pulled out the key card to the hotel room and handed it to her. “Here, it’s all yours. You and Xavier can stay there.”
She hesitated, her hand hovering in mid–air as confusion flashed across her face. “What’s this supposed to mean?”
“I found you a place to stay. What else?”
“Where are you staying?” she asked, her tone sharp.
Women and their sixth sense… Her gaze darted to Lorraine, and the hostility in her eyes was impossible to miss.
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Chapter 44
