Ex - Wife's Sweet Revenge

Weekends were Xavier's days to spend with his daughter.

Celine, bubbling with excitement, had changed into her Elsa dress early in the morning, eagerly anticipating a day at the amusement park with her father. However, Xavier called to say something had come up and he wouldn't be able to make it.

Distraught, Celine was inconsolable and later that night developed a high fever.

Thea, by herself, drove her to the emergency room. There, at the hospital, she ran into Xavier.

He explained that Addilyn wasn't feeling well and was also at the hospital.

...

While Thea was cradling a sleeping Celine and supervising her second IV drip, Xavier approached.

For the first time since the divorce, he expressed some semblance of regret. "Thea, I'm sorry. This must be really hard for you."

Thea looked down at Celine nestled in her arms, willing herself not to cry. "It's Celine you should apologize to. She's been counting the days to see you, and then you didn’t show."

Xavier knelt beside them and reached out to touch Celine's face. But as he did, she stirred and instinctively moved closer to Thea.

His hand lingered in the air for a moment before he let it fall, defeated.

"Have you eaten?" he asked Thea. She shook her head.

Just then, Xavier’s phone went off—Addilyn was calling. Whatever she said made his expression grow increasingly somber.

Eventually, as if worn down by her persistence, he said, "Just get some rest. I'll join you after I finish up here, okay?"

The cycle had turned. There was a time when Thea had called Xavier, urging him to come home, only to be met with excuses about work. But back then, his tone with her was anything but gentle, filled instead with irritation.

After hanging up, Xavier looked at Thea awkwardly. "Addilyn wasn't like this before. Maybe it’s the pregnancy making her extra clingy. Don’t take it personally. I'll go find you something to eat."

"No need," Thea replied with an air of grace. "She's pregnant; you should go be with her. I can handle things here."

Her deliberate show of understanding left Xavier racked with guilt, something evident in the way he looked at her.

"Thea, you've really changed," he remarked.

She smiled. "When you don't have a safe harbor, you learn to grow up."

His hands clenched into fists at his sides, avoiding her gaze.

"Thea," a voice called from behind Xavier. He turned to see a man in a white lab coat, holding a takeout container, approaching them.