The Heart Left Behind (Cole and Yvonne) novel Chapter 261

Suppressing my discomfort, I pushed past the reporters and walked toward my car.

Before I left, I turned toward their cameras. "The press conference announcing Xavier's exit from the entertainment industry will be held soon. Anyone who's interested is welcome to attend."

I ignored Xavier's glare of protest as I shoved him into the car.

On the way to the hospital, Xavier kept his eyes on the outside scenery. He refused to look at me the whole day.

"I've already found evidence that you bullied Jonas," I said.

I hesitated. I still refused to believe that Xavier would hurt Jonas.

When Xavier heard that, he pouted and looked defiant.

"Why aren't you saying anything? Are you scared?" Goading was the most effective tool against kids his age.

Xavier immediately turned his head. "What's there to be scared of?"

He took a deep breath and looked at me seriously." Don't even think that you're going to hear what you want from me. I won't betray my friends."

His words implied that he didn't only know about the incident, but he could even have been a participant.

I stopped the car by the side of the road and tried to talk to him like an adult. "Xavier, if both your parents are gone, then Jonas would be the only family you would have left in this world. How could you treat him like this?"

Xavier understood this reasoning better than anyone. He was just stubbornly refusing to admit his mistake.

"Think carefully about whether you've done anything wrong," I said.

I waited downstairs for almost an hour. I gave Xavier enough time to reflect on himself before going upstairs.

The moment I saw Jonas, I couldn't hide the sadness in my heart. "Jonas, I'm here."

He looked much better than when I had left.

"If you put it like that, does that mean it's fine to bully him as long as you don't go too far?" I knelt down and forced Xavier to look at me.

"No matter how capable you are, it's never a reason to bully others—especially when it's your brother," I continued.

Xavier tilted his head and did not seem to understand.

I didn't explain myself. Instead, I made him keep looking at Jonas through the window at the door.

Half an hour later, we were finally allowed to visit Jonas.

Jonas' body was still incredibly weak, so we were only allowed 15 minutes.

"Daddy." Jonas' eyes lit up when he saw me. But the moment he saw Jonas, his expression changed. "Why are you here?"

Fear started to creep onto Jonas' face. He was clearly still scared after getting bullied at school.