: Reunion at the Police Station

My son got into a fight, so I was summoned to deal with it. The whole thing even involved my ex, who's a cop.

"He gets that fighting ability from you."

"Well, he's half yours."

The rowdy office fell silent in an instant.

'So...'

'Can you take back something you said within two minutes?'

1.

'My son's really made something of himself.'

That was my first thought when I got the call from the Westbridge Police Department to come get him.

'He's only five.'

'How much trouble could he possibly have gotten into to end up at the Westbridge Police Department?'

Fuming, I stormed into the Westbridge Police Department.

From a distance, I spotted my son standing on a stool. He didn't have the advantage in height, but in terms of sheer presence, he wasn't losing to anyone.

He was shouting at the top of his lungs, arguing his case.

His face was flushed red from the effort.

I quickened my pace. "Leo Shaw, I enrolled you in taekwondo for self-defense, not to pick fights!"

I strode forward and yanked him off the stool.

Seeing my stony expression, all the fight went out of him in an instant, and he became meek.

My son looked up at me with a wronged expression and mumbled in his defense, "But Mom, I didn't use any of my taekwondo moves."

Before I could even react, a sharp scoff came from nearby.

It was a woman in her thirties with wavy hair.

She had a nasty look on her face. "That's right! Your son is a real piece of work. He scratched and bit me."

"Anyone who didn't know better would think he was a little savage, not a boy!"

As she spoke, she rolled up her sleeve, revealing a chubby section of her arm covered in a mix of scratches and bite marks.

'I had no idea my son was capable of this much damage.'

Hearing the woman's accusation, my son grew even more frantic, perhaps because I was there.

He was no longer the defiant boy from moments before.

Tears welled up in his big eyes.

"Mom, she hit me first."

I looked my son over carefully and only then did I notice the stark red mark on his pale cheek.

My expression instantly turned cold.

Before I could walk over and coldly question her, footsteps sounded from outside the door.

The officer in the lead wore a crisp police uniform, his expression stern.

It was a devastatingly handsome face, but I was in no mood to swoon over it.

Because this man—

He's my ex-boyfriend!

I never thought that after all this time, we'd be reunited under circumstances like these.

: The Son's Father

2.

In my book, a scene this awkward was practically a dramatic showdown from hell.

I instinctively took my son's hand.

After all, my son getting into a fight that brought my police-officer ex into the picture was already the stuff of a bad soap opera.

But the real kicker was—

This police officer ex was my son's biological father.

Aiden Thorne.

Thankfully, I have strong genes; my son takes after me in the looks department.

Otherwise, I'd be terrified of a dramatic father-son reunion playing out right here and now.

The woman with the wavy hair lit up when she saw the police, as if she'd just found her savior. She immediately rushed over to plead her case.

"I barely touched him! This kid is vicious..."

The words tumbled out of her mouth like machine-gun fire, a chaotic mix of accusations and self-pity.

It was a textbook case of the guilty party playing the victim.

The officers behind Aiden Thorne were getting headaches from her screeching, taking turns trying to get her to calm down.

Aiden Thorne, however, merely let his detached gaze flicker over my son and me.

Then, a smirk touched his lips. "He gets his fighting skills from you."

'What a joke. Was he just trying to pin this on me?'

I bristled at the accusation and retorted without thinking, "Oh, I can't take all the credit. He gets half of it from you."

The once-chaotic Westbridge Police Department fell instantly silent.

Not a sound could be heard.

Dozens of eyes swiveled in unison to stare at me.

I felt their stares like needles on my back.

'My mouth really does fly ahead while my brain scrambles to catch up.'

I forced myself to backpedal. "Um... what I meant was, his fighting skills are only half as good as yours, Officer."

The woman's voice shot up an octave. "If your son had half the fighting skills of a cop, I'd be dead on the floor right now!"

*Tsk.*

'Did they only teach her hyperbole in elementary school?'

'I know exactly what my son is capable of.'

'And he wouldn't do that unless he was pushed to his absolute limit!'

Aiden Thorne calmly pulled up the surveillance footage.

His voice was neutral, neither cold nor warm, but it was enough to make the woman fall silent instantly.

"The footage shows you laid a hand on the child first."

It had started as a simple squabble between kids.

While I was at work, my son had gone out to play in our complex and gotten into an argument with another kid over a slide.

But the wavy-haired woman, determined to back her own son up, marched over and slapped my boy without a second thought.

Of course, my son isn't the type to take things lying down.

When she wasn't looking, he launched himself at her, grabbing onto her arm and unleashing a flurry of scratches and bites.

For a moment, she couldn't push him off.

Seeing this, the other people there had hurriedly called the police.

And that's what led to the scene I'd walked in on.

I just never expected...

that my son would end up right in Aiden Thorne's hands.

: So Handsome It's Tragic

3.

Aiden Thorne had already pulled the surveillance footage, so the woman naturally had nothing more to say.

In the end, we signed a mediation agreement, and the matter was considered closed.

The woman, knowing she was in the wrong, made herself scarce, scurrying off faster than anyone.

My son, on the other hand, was clever and cute, acting like a little adult.

He was surrounded by a group of young police officers, clearly a crowd favorite.

As his 'old mother', I couldn't just rudely drag him away.

Besides, he was in the middle of a grand, impassioned speech about his kindergarten exploits, his voice rising and falling with dramatic flair.

He was enjoying his moment in the spotlight, which, of course, was torture for me, his mom.

My heart was in my throat, terrified that Aiden Thorne would notice something was off.

After a long while, my son talked himself thirsty and finally took a break.

Aiden Thorne thoughtfully filled a disposable paper cup with warm water and handed it to him.

Then, he asked casually, "So, kid, why didn't your dad come?"

My heart rate shot up to 180, and I felt the same panic I did back in middle school when I was about to get caught cheating.

Fortunately, Leo Shaw was smart and remembered what I'd taught him before.

'A single mother and her son are easy targets for bullies, so from now on, whenever anyone asks, you tell them you have a dad.'

Leo Shaw didn't even blink his big eyes as he spun a tale out of thin air.

"My dad didn't come. He's swamped with work."

A young officer nearby pinched Leo Shaw's cheek. "You know, this kid is really good-looking. If his dad knew, his heart would probably break."

Leo Shaw, not one for modesty, accepted all the compliments without reservation.

"Oh, stop. I get it from my dad."

*Hah.*

'That's my boy.'

Aiden Thorne's indifferent gaze swept over me. Then, the corner of his lip curled up as he spoke with a hint of mockery.

"Is that so? Julia Shaw, that old man you found must be quite the looker, huh?"

I was left speechless.

But my son couldn't stand hearing his own father's digs.

"Mister, don't talk nonsense! My dad is young and handsome, six-foot-two, big and strong, and inhumanly good-looking!"

As he spoke, he gave me a little push. "Otherwise, he wouldn't be good enough for my mom!"

I was truly impressed by Leo Shaw's ability to conjure a father out of thin air.

As Leo Shaw continued his fabrication, it seemed he was starting to believe it himself.

He was getting more and more excited as he spoke.

But for some reason, Aiden Thorne's face grew colder and colder.

So cold it made my scalp tingle.

I didn't dare let Leo Shaw interact with Aiden Thorne any longer.

Otherwise, sharp as he was, if he noticed something was off, there was no telling what kind of trouble he'd stir up.

I put on an awkward smile and led Leo Shaw out of the Westbridge Police Department.

As we reached the car, for some reason, I instinctively glanced back.

Aiden Thorne was standing at the glass window, watching us with that same indifferent expression.

I instinctively moved to block his view of my son.