"Are you spying on me?" The accusation came fast, reflexive, before he caught himself. "That's a misunderstanding. I was drunk out of my mind that night. I didn't know what I was saying. I didn't mean it like that."
Mia opened her mouth to respond, but before a single word could leave her lips, Xavier's phone cut through the silence. The screen lit up in his breast pocket. Vanessa's name glowed against the dark fabric.
Xavier hesitated. Mia looked at the phone, then at him.
"Answer it."
He pressed the phone to his ear. The moment the call connected, a child's voice burst through the speaker, bright and oblivious and devastating.
"Daddy! I miss you so much! When are you coming to play with me and Mommy? When are you both coming back?"
Xavier's face turned to ash. His gaze cut to Mia, who stood perfectly still, having heard every syllable.
He swallowed hard and answered the boy with forced calm. "Mark. You should call me uncle."
"Why?" The child sounded genuinely confused. "Mommy told me I could call you Dad."
Xavier's throat worked. He answered quickly, his voice stripped of everything except the need to end the conversation.
"Your mother is here with me. We'll come back soon."