Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Lumina(Luna)

I watched my son's face fall as he read the text message on my phone. His eyes, which were the same as his father's both green in color were filled with disappointment.

It was an expression that I had seen too many times to count both in my past life and this one.

"Dad's not coming, is he?" Ollie asked, already knowing the answer.

I knelt down to his level, dropping my phone aside as I held him gently.

 "No, sweetie. He can't make it today."

"Is it because of my art project? Does he not want to see it?" His small fingers were clinging onto the helm of his shirt, twisting it. It was a nervous habit he'd developed recently.

"Of course not," I said, brushing his hair back. 

"Your father just has... responsibilities."

"More important than me?" He sounded so sad that it made me feel crushed all over again.

In my previous life, I would have made excuses for Xenois. I would have told Ollie that his father loved him more than anything, that work just kept him busy. 

I spent years hiding my son from the truth, and where had that gotten us?

 A child who blamed himself for his father's absence. A child who died believing he wasn't important enough.

This time would be different. I took a deep breath and exhaled as I gathered my wits with me.

"Ollie, I need you to listen very carefully," I said, holding his small hands in mine. 

"You are the most important person in the world to me. Nothing will ever change that."

"But what about Daddy?"

"Your father..." I paused, for a moment choosing my words carefully. I didn't want to make him the villain of the story yet. Everything was complicated.

"Your father has other commitments, and unfortunately, we aren't high on that list right now."

His eyes widened when he heard this as he looked at me scared. "Is it because I did something wrong?"

"No," I said firmly shaking my head as I needed him to understand. "Nothing about this is your fault. Not a single thing."

"Is it because of the other woman?" he asked suddenly.

I froze, my heart beating fast in my chest. In my past life, Ollie hadn't met Sophia yet. It was days later. Who was he then talking about?

 "What woman, Ollie?"

He looked down at his shoes, as if afraid he'd said something wrong. 

"Last week, when you were making dinner. Daddy's phone was ringing, and I picked it up because he was in the shower."

My throat got tighter as I swallowed hard trying to push the lump that had formed suddenly. "And?"

"It was a lady. She kept saying Riley was sick and Daddy needed to come right away." 

He looked up at me with those innocent eyes that were watering with tears as he blinked it back.

 "I told her Daddy was bathing. Then I gave him the phone when he came out."

I struggled to keep my face neutral even as rage was filled in me trying its best to come out. 

"What happened after that?"

"He talked to the lady, then told us he had to go to the company." 

Ollie's voice dropped as he looked away and at his hands. "It was the day of my soccer game."

The game Xenois had promised to attend. The game where Ollie had scored his first goal, with no father there to see it.

I pulled my son into a tight hug, hiding my face in his hair as I thought about this new information. Riley. Sophia's son. I'd suspected Xenois was seeing her even before when I originally found out after she returned her but to have it confirmed like this...

"Am I in trouble?" Ollie asked softly, his mouth muffled a bit as he was pressed against my shoulder.

"No, baby." I pulled back to look at him. 

"Thank you for telling me. You're not in trouble at all."

I stood up, my decision was made. In my past life, I'd spent years trying to fix our broken family together, believing that having an absent father was better than no father at all. I was so wrong. 

"Ollie, listen to me," I said, my voice sounding stronger now. 

"From now on, you don't need to worry about whether your father will be there or not. I will be there. Every game, every school event, every nightmare—I will be there. I'll be your mother and your father too."

"But what about Daddy?" he asked, as he looked confused trying to understand what I meant.

"Your father will make his own choices," I said locking the bitterness I felt in a box and locking it up in the deepest part in my Brain.

"But you and I, we're a team now. The strongest team. Okay?"

He nodded slowly before he smiled

"Can we still show him my art project if he comes home?"

"Of course," I said, though I doubted Xenois would return before Ollie's bedtime. He never did.

I helped Ollie set up his art project on the kitchen table—it was a picture of our pack territory made with clay, twigs, and painted rocks. 

He'd worked on it for days, as he diligently added werewolves one by one to represent his family.

"This one's you," he said, pointing to a wolf with some unique markings. 

"And this one's me." A smaller wolf, that was standing very close to the first wolf he showed me. 

"And this one's Daddy," he finished, pointing to a wolf standing apart from the others, standing near the edge of the territory.

Even in art, my son understood the distance his father kept.

"It's beautiful, Ollie," I said, meaning it as I gently ruffled his hair.

 "You're very talented."

As we prepared dinner, I let Ollie talk my ears off about his day at school, about the friends he'd made and the games they'd played. 

I listened with an attention I hadn't always given him in my previous life, as I was too busy worried about his health, my failing marriage and trying to keep up appearances outside.

We were just clearing the dinner dishes when I heard the front door open. Ollie and I exchanged, surprised glances—it was barely 7 PM, far earlier than Xenois usually returned.