Knowing My Ex-Wife After The Divorce Novel by Yetta Horace

At the kindergarten entrance, Ryan walked out with his backpack on his shoulder, his face Hank 11e spotted karen sanding by the door, looking lawricast, but he chose to ignore her

and walked on

karen was already in a foul mood, and being ignored only made her angrier. She stepped right in front of the little boy. “Hey, you brat! I’m here to pick you up, could you at least show a lile gratitude?

Ryan kept his cool and replied, “I’m more used to the driver picking me up”

Karen glared at him. “You little brat! You really don’t know what gratitude is, do you? You’re nothing like your mother!”

“She’s not my mother,” he shot back.

“The paternity test says Elle is your mother! Do you think you’re too good for her just because of her background? Hah! Without Elle, you wouldn’t even be part of the Reese family!” Karen rolled her eyes. “What an ingrate!”

Ryan ignored her, his attention wandering. Suddenly, he noticed a car nearby with its window rolled down and bolted toward it. “Mommy!”

“Hey! You little brat! Don’t shout like that! You don’t even call Elle ‘Mom’! Wait, the car!” Karen yelled.

Natalie heard the yelling behind her and turned just in time to see the same kid from the airport running toward her, dangerously close to a moving car. Without thinking, she flung open the car door and rushed forward.

There was a street between them, and the traffic light was still red.

“Mommy!” Yara screamed in fear.

Natalie focused on reaching Ryan, grabbing him just in time to pull him out of the way, narrowly avoiding a car that almost hit them.

The driver slammed on the brakes and jumped out, fuming. “Can’t you teach your kid to look for traffic lights? What kind of mother are you?”

Natalie felt like her arm, which was hugging Ryan, was about to snap, and now a stranger was yelling at her. As she was about to respond, she noticed Ryan trembling in her arms. He looked terrified, his face pale.

The driver kept ranting, “Not my fault if you can’t teach him how to cross the street! If something happens, it’s on you-people like you, getting hit, that’s on you!”

Natalie who the difere an iry glare. “Are you done? Just get lost!”

The boy crecend the uret against the light. If he got hit and died, people would just brush it off a bad lock. The driver wouldn’t take much blame. But the thought of how close the child wat to losing his life tightened her stomach.

Shorked into silence by her glare, the driver huffed and walked away. Natalie turned her attention back to Ryan, her voice gentle and soothing. “Are you hurt anywhere?”

Before Ryan could say anything. Karen barged in, her face red with anger. “Who told you to touch him? Hand him over!”

Natalie scoffed and shot her a cold look. “Do you even know how to watch a kid? He almost dred just now, and you didn’t even try to help!”

Natalie had seen Karen standing just a few feet away when Ryan was in danger. If Karen had rushed over sooner, she could have saved him. But instead, she waited until after Natalie’s conversation with the driver to approach. It was obvious she didn’t want to take any responsibility.

A flicker of guilt crossed Karen’s face as she straightened up. “That kid was running wild. How is that my fault?”

Natalie rolled her eyes, too frustrated to deal with someone so irresponsible. But then she felt something warm and wet on her hands.

Looking down, she was shocked to see blood soaking through Ryan’s shirt from where he was grazed earlier.

“Mommy, it hurts…” Ryan said weakly, his eyes fluttering shut as he collapsed into her arms.

Natalie’s heart raced; she didn’t understand why she felt so worried.

Karen stormed over and sn**d Ryan from Natalie’s arms, furious. “This is all your fault! You can’t even save a kid! If anything happens to Ryan, it’s on you!” she muttered furiously as she marched away with him.

Natalie glanced down at the blood staining her hands. With her medical background, she noticed that Ryan had lost quite a bit of blood but was otherwise okay, thanks to her protection. The injury looked like it was from where he had tried to shield her with his back. That brave little guy was still thinking about protecting her.

Later that evening, Natalie got a call from Tobias, as she had given him her new number.

“Ryan is fine,” he said, his voice calm. “I checked the footage from the street cameras. Thanks for your help.”

Natalie felt a wave of relief. “I’m glad he’s safe. Just make sure you keep an eye on him. Elle and her friend can’t be trusted, she warned.

There was a short silence on Tobias’s end before he replied. “Understood. I’ll handle her friend. Her role in this was part of the issue”

That made Natalie feel better. At least someone else would be more reliable than Karen.

Then, Tobias suddenly added, “Ryan was conceived through IVE”

Natalie was taken aback. “IVF? That does make things safer.

“I never slept with her,” he said out of nowhere.

Natalie blinked, shocked. “Tobias has never been with Elle? That’s a surprise, she thought.

“Well, Elle’s health isn’t exactly suited for that kind of thing. You’ve had a rough time over the years, haven’t you?” Natalie said, knowing that Tobias wasn’t the kind to shy away from intimacy. It must have been hard on him to hold back all this time.

Tobias’s expression darkened at her words. “Even if she were healthy, I wouldn’t want to.”

“Wow, you can’t be saying you’ve only been with me, Mr. Reese, and that you only want me now? It’s the 21st century. Do you think I’d buy that?” Natalie laughed, a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

There was a pause, and then Tobias responded slowly, “Of course it’s not just you.”

“Yikes, that’s a letdown. I thought you were all about me by now, like I’m the only one on your mind,” Natalie teased. If Tobias could be so obvious about wanting her, she could flirt a little too. Did she really think he was only focusing on her? Of course not.

After a long silence, Natalie checked her phone and saw that the call had dropped. She shrugged, thinking, ‘Guess he couldn’t handle a little playful banter.

Still, she figured after her little tease, Tobias wouldn’t want anything to do with her anymore. A satisfied smile spread across her face.

Just then, her phone buzzed with another call. It was Elle, calling on the new number she had just given out.

Natalie rolled her eyes. ‘Great, so Tobias couldn’t wait to share my number with Elle?’ she thought.

Natalie answered the phone, and Elle said immediately, “Wow, you even changed your number. If Tobias hadn’t mentioned it, I wouldn’t have even known.”

Natalie rolled her eyes. It was clear Elle was just trying to stir the pot. ‘Is she trying to show off her connection with Tobias? Please, I’m not gonna fall for that, she thought.