"Jonas," I whispered, "Want to go out for dinner?"

He looked up, his eyes clouded with sadness. "Daddy, I miss Mommy and Xavier."

I sat beside him, putting an arm around his shoulders. "Tomorrow's the weekend. We'll go see Mommy and Xavier. What do you say?"

He nodded, but his listlessness broke my heart. The divorce was hurting them more than I'd imagined.

My phone rang. Yvonne.

"Hi," I said, keeping my voice even. Her voice was sharp.

"Cole, Xavier wants to see Jonas. Bring him over now."

"Now? We just got settled. Jonas is still adjusting—"

"Cole, stop being selfish! You've already taken Jonas away. Are you going to deny them even this?"

I took a deep breath. "Okay, I'll bring him."

I forced a smile at Jonas. "Let's go see Mommy and Xavier now!" His eyes lit up; he nodded eagerly.

Half an hour later, we arrived. Xavier bolted out the door, racing past me to hug Jonas. "Jonas, you're finally here! Jared brought tons of toys! Let's play!"

I watched them run inside, a knot tightening in my stomach. Yvonne appeared, her gaze cold. "Come in," she said curtly. "Jonas will have to go back with you later."

Jared, beaming as he watched the children, his smile faltering when he saw me. "Mr. Joplin." He stood, shaking my hand.

Xavier suddenly tugged at Jared's hand. "Jared, you promised to teach me guitar! Can we start now?"

Jared chuckled. "We need your dad's permission first."

Xavier glared at me. "Daddy, just leave me alone! You only care about Jonas!"

His words stung. "They're both my children!"

Before I could respond, Yvonne cut in. "Xavier! That's no way to talk to your father." She turned to me, her tone still unfriendly. "Cole, let Jared teach him. Children need hobbies, not just studying."

"Yvonne, can we talk? Alone?"

She followed me to the balcony, her expression hard. "Make it quick. I have a video conference."

"Do we have to be like this? Can't we get along for the children?"

She scoffed. "Cole, don't be a hypocrite. You wanted the divorce. Now this?"