The Heart Left Behind

Chapter 18 It was a call from my dad .

He sounded a bit tired as he said , Cole , your mom hasnt been sleeping well these past few days .

Shes been worried about you .

When are you coming home ? I sighed .

Dad , I know youre worried about me .

But the situation is a bit complicated right now .

Im afraid- Afraid of what ? he interrupted me , his tone turning stern .

Youre a member of the Joplin family .

Whats there to be afraid of ? Tomorrow night , you must come home for dinner .

Bring Jonas along .

Knowing my dads temper , I had no choice but to agree .

Once the call ended , I rubbed my temples .

I had a feeling tomorrows 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 .

Ill pick you up after class .

Jonas nodded .

After a moments 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 thats about ? I glanced at her calmly , and my tone was impassive as I said , Ill take care of Jonas .

You dont need to worry about him .

She frowned .

There was a hint of displeasure in her voice .

Whats with your attitude ? Even though were 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 ? Anger flashed across Yvonnes face .

Cole , youve gone too far .

How could I possibly not care about my children ? Glaring at her , I sneered , Oh , really ? Then can you tell me what Xaviers homework was yesterday ? Or how did they do on their midterm exams last week ? Yvonne was tongue tied .

Seeing that , I shook my head .

Stop pretending , Ms.

Langley .

You should just take care of Xavier .

Theres no need for you to worry about Jonas .

With that , I turned and left , ignoring her shouts behind me .

Citr Soon after reaching any office , a secretary came in and informed me of an emergency meeting .

In the conference room , I saw someone unexpected Jared .

Mr.

Joplin .

He stood up and held out his hand .

On his face was a warm smile .

Its been at while .

I stared at his hand and didnt reach out .

Mr.

Lawson , what are you doing at my company ? Jared withdrew his hand , his smile becoming somewhat awkward .

Well , I have a new project .

that Id like to collaborate on with Joplin Group I spoke up coldly , Im sorry , but our company doesnt work with unsavory characters .

If that is all , please leave .

Jared furrowed his brows together .

Mr.

Joplin , I know you have assumptions about me , but business is business .

Theres no reason to make it personal .

I stood up and looked down at him .

Mr.

Lawson , I repeat , please leave .

Or Ill have to call security .

Jared looked at me intently before turning around and leaving .

At that , I suddenly realized why he had previously called me .

This collaboration was probably the reason .