Chapter 1

After the parent-child activity ended, the other parents gradually filed out of the classroom with their children.

I was just leading Evan Jepsen toward the door when his teacher, Beatrice Woods, stopped me.

"Ms. Sewall," she began, a troubled look on her face. "Evan hasn't been himself lately."

My heart sank.

"What's wrong?"

"He's been using his building blocks as a pretend phone, sitting by himself in a corner and practicing what to say," Beatrice replied, sighing. "When I asked him what he was doing, he told me he wanted to keep practicing until his dad stopped finding him annoying."

That reminded me of one time when Evan approached Xavier Jepsen with a toy spaceship he'd just finished assembling.

"Think about what you want to say and get to the point," Xavier said, not even bothering to look up. "I don't have time to listen to you ramble."

My heart had ached for Evan. I'd tried to explain for him, but Xavier had cut me off, too.

"Handle something this trivial yourself. Don't waste my time with every little thing."

Yet, that very night, when Annette Borden called to say she couldn't sleep, Xavier had canceled a meeting and spent two whole hours talking to her.

When I finished speaking with the teacher, Evan immediately got up from where he'd been waiting nearby.

"Mommy, did I say something wrong?" he asked, his voice barely audible.

I pulled him into my arms, my throat tightening until I couldn't find the words to comfort him.

Evan rested his head on my shoulder for a while before carefully folding his drawing and slipping it into his backpack.

As we reached the kindergarten entrance, a black sedan pulled up in front of us. Xavier stepped out, and Evan's face immediately lit up.

"Daddy! I drew something today. Look!"

He hurriedly rummaged through his backpack, tugging at the zipper so frantically that it nearly broke, but Xavier didn't even take the drawing from him.

"Put it away for now, and be careful not to damage it," he said, pressing a hand against the bag. "I'll look at it tonight."

Then he turned to me and held out his hand.

"Give me the car keys."

I stared at him in disbelief.

"Did you come all the way here just to get the keys?"

"Annette's car is in the shop, and she needs one today," he said. "I was passing by anyway."

Evan's hand, still holding the drawing, slowly fell to his side. But he wasn't willing to give up yet.

"Daddy, you promised you'd work on a puzzle with me tonight," he asked, looking up at Xavier. "Are you still coming?"

Xavier glanced at his phone and replied without skipping a beat, "Of course."

"Evan has a follow-up appointment at the hospital tonight to have his hearing checked," I reminded him. "You promised you'd come with us."

He frowned.

"It's just a routine checkup. You can take him yourself."

"His hearing hasn't been right since he had a high fever when he was three. The doctor said they need to reassess his condition today."

"I'm not a doctor," Xavier replied. "There's nothing I can do by being there."

I looked at him and let out a bitter laugh.

"Last month, you spent six hours at the hospital with Annette when she had an endoscopy."

His expression darkened.

"Tania, can you stop dragging her into everything?"

Just then, Xavier's phone rang.

Annette's name flashed across the screen, and he answered the call immediately.

"What's wrong?" he asked, his voice softening the moment he heard her. "Don't panic. I'm on my way."

Evan stood beside him, calling out to him softly, but he didn't even look at Evan.

He simply held out his hand to me again.

"The car keys. I'll head to the hospital tonight."

I remained silent for a few seconds before handing them over.

"Daddy!" Evan called after him. "You still haven't looked at my drawing."

Xavier had already turned and climbed into the car.

…

During the hearing assessment, Evan kept glancing toward the door. By the time the doctor removed his headphones, the hope in his eyes had faded.

After reviewing the results, the doctor looked grim.

"His hearing hasn't improved as much as I hoped. Has he been under a lot of stress lately?" he asked. "The high fever he had when he was younger damaged his auditory nerve. This isn't an ordinary hearing problem.

"His anxiety also needs attention. If he's under constant emotional pressure, it could affect more than his hearing. I'd recommend having his emotional well-being assessed as well."

I called Xavier multiple times, but he never answered.