Dear Ex Wife Please take me back (Athena and Alex) novel Chapter 156

ATHENA

“Mummy you just have to come with Daddy. My friends will laugh at me!” Rayen holds onto my hand as he pouts.

I sigh as I lift him in my arms and shower his cute face with kisses.

“Baby, Daddy will be busy.” I lie.

But he shakes his head.

“No he won't. Daddy is never too busy for me. He comes to every school event. But can't you join him this year?”

His eyes widen as he cups my cheeks in his tiny hands. “Please, Mummy? Just this once?”

I hug him tighter, burying my face in his soft curls to hide the guilt clawing at my chest.

If only he understood how complicated things really were between me and Alex.

But how do I explain that to a three-year-old who still sees the world in black and white?

“Sweetheart,” I whisper, brushing his hair back. “Mummy just… can’t.”

His face falls. The pout returns, deeper this time, but it’s the sadness in his eyes that does me in.

“You don’t love Daddy anymore? Is that why you won't let us stay together?” he asks quietly.

My heart stops.

I force a smile, even as my vision blurs for a second. “No that's not it.”

“I wish I could show my friends I have a mummy. They laugh at me, saying, Aunt Leah is my Mummy, and she's in prison.”

A sharp pain shoots through my chest as anger seethes through me.

I stroke his hair, my arms tightening around him instinctively.

“Who told you that?”

He sniffles. “Liam said it. He said kids without real mummies are not allowed to come on the camping trip. And I want to go. He said his mummy told him my mummy was in prison. When I said it wasn't true, no one believed me!”

My jaw clenches so tight it hurts. Blood roars in my ears, drowning out every rational thought.

What kind of mother teaches her child to say something like that?

To mock another child, to mock my son for something he doesn’t even understand?

I feel rage rise in my throat like bile. Not just at Liam’s mother but at myself.

For letting this happen.

For not being there sooner. For thinking distance was the answer when all it did was make him feel alone. I kept my distance to avoid questions, but I haven't solved anything!

I press a kiss to Rayen’s forehead, holding him as if I could shield him from every cruel word the world might throw at him.

“Baby, look at me.”

He pulls back slightly, his eyes red and his bottom lip trembling.

“I’m going to come with you, okay?” I say softly, but firmly. “You’re not going to that trip without your mummy. I’ll be there. I promise.”

“Really?” His eyes widen with hope, so pure and sweet it guts me.

I nod. “Yes, sweetheart. And if anyone says something mean again, you tell them the truth, that your mummy is a doctor, not a prisoner. And if that doesn’t shut them up, I will.”

He giggles through his sniffles, and I smile as I wipe his cheeks.

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