The Heart Left Behind (Cole and Yvonne) novel Chapter 41

Yvonne's expression darkened instantly. I knew what she was about to say, so I cut her off and turned to Xavier instead.

"Your son is never going to want to come with me anyway. He's made it clear how he feels about me—before the divorce and even now. There's no way he'd want to go to the beach with me."

"What do you mean 'your son?' Are you not my father?" Xavier's voice shot up so loud it almost woke Jonas.

"Keep your voice down. Your brother is trying to sleep."

"Why should I? You care so much about him, so why did you even bother having me?"

His outburst drew every eye in the cabin.

I sighed, my frustration mounting as I stared at Xavier. How had such a sweet kid turned into this? Yvonne's influence was written all over him.

"Maybe Xavier is upset because you don't pay enough attention to him," Yvonne said, her face flushing as she scrambled for an excuse.

​​"Aren't you aware of why I haven't gone to see him?" I shot back.

Every time I tried to spend time with Xavier, she'd drag Jared along, acting like I was a human trafficker. Seeing my own kid had turned into an ordeal.

And Xavier? He refused to even acknowledge me as his dad. Why should I take his side?

Yvonne's face turned bright red as her eyes widened in disbelief. Her hand trembled as she pointed at me. "Cole, how could you say something so awful?"

Her words were laced with double meaning, and her eyes flicked toward Lorraine for a split second before she continued, "Why did you suddenly become so unreasonable after our divorce?"

"I was like this before the divorce too. I just used to put up with you."

"You—"

When we were married, I treated her like she mattered. Now that we weren't, did she really think she could still control me? Not a chance!

I leveled a cold look at her. "Do a better job raising Xavier. Don't let him grow up spoiled."

Xavier wasn't just my son anymore. There were limits to what I could say or do. But as his father, I still wanted him to grow up with some decency. At the very least, I didn't want him to be a bratty little tyrant.

"Who cares what you think? Worry about your precious Jonas," Xavier sneered, rolling his eyes at me.