Dear Ex-wife Marry Me by Twin Bridge

"I know I dropped the ball here, so I brought the little guy to say sorry."

Her face was earnest as she addressed Mr. Haskins, "Kids will be kids, Mr. Haskins. Even in preschool, teachers can't play guardian angels all the time. Some tots trip over their own feet on flat ground-we can't prevent every scrape. Bumps and bruises are all part of growing up, nothing to make a federal case out of."

Nolan, sitting on the bed, could sense the tension escalating, and his discomfort spiked, prompting him to chime in. "Daddy... Daddy, it doesn't hurt."

His words said one thing, but his eyes were brimming with sorrow that threatened to spill over.

Fitch's expression darkened further, his voice reduced to a low, firm directive, "I want to see the child's parents."

"Mr. Haskins, if Nolan is so precious, perhaps he should be kept in a bubble at home rather than attending preschool," she retorted.

The barb hit home. Zoey could feel Nolan's fingers, which she held, tense up, recoiling like startled tentacles.

Fitch's pupils shrank in an instant, as if he felt a stab at his heart, the wound gushing.

"Zoey, do you have any idea what you're saying?"

Zoey frowned, aware that she had spoken out of turn in front of the child.

She took a deep breath, about to clarify, but Fitch grabbed her wrist and pulled her out of the room in front of the kids.

Zoey, already resistant to him, felt increasingly uneasy.

"Let go!"

Fitch dragged her out to the hallway balcony, pinning her against the ornamental wall of flowers.

"How could you say such things in front of a child? Do you realize he is..."

But Zoey cut him off, her gaze resolute.

"I meant every word. If you're going to make a scene every time Nolan gets a scratch, then maybe he shouldn't be here. It makes the other kids anxious and our job as teachers harder. Maybe you don't like hearing this, Mr. Haskins, but it's the truth. Nolan doesn't seem to like interacting much; maybe preschool isn't for him."

eyes. Zoey, the once docile and compliant woman, had grown a spine over the past four years, and it was lined with

sorry, I shouldn't have said that

Do you realize how upset he

grip on her shoulders was tight, causing her

was too strong, and his

just then, a

away and softened her tone

"Henry."

pick you up this

the school gate at

flushed, an effect

up on the shift in her mood. "What's

tell you

want to say too much in front of

she

hurt, and you're planning to go on a

absurd, acting as if she were Nolan's

riled her

hold a vigil every time Nolan gets a boo-boo? Mr. Haskins, your family might be

don't like it,

however you please."

had a temper too, and communicating

"Zoey!"

called out sharply,

felt the marks of his grasp forming on her

"Let go!"

I owe you, but don't take it out on

that line made her heart feel like

her hand away, noticing her eyes

was her emotional reaction