Chapter 1

My mother, Yvonne Scott, is a maternal health specialist who has helped countless women safely deliver healthy babies.

Her delivery with my older brother goes smoothly, but she suffers a difficult labor with me. After everything she endures to bring me into the world, I'm diagnosed with autism at the age of six.

Dad can't accept it, so he leaves her.

Mom blames me for derailing her career and destroying her marriage. Even as a kid, I can always see the resentment in her eyes.

Over the next two years, she loses me twice.

The third time, I watch her burn every trace of my existence.

That's why I choose to leave home.

20 years later, I become a child psychologist specializing in autism and work as a special education specialist at Haverly's most prestigious school for children with autism.

The school requires every incoming student to attend a one-on-one introductory session before the new term begins.

When I spot Yvonne arriving with her grandson, my heart drops.

Chapter 1

"Ethan, what are you spacing out for?"

A hard slap on the shoulder jolted me out of my thoughts.

Liam Yates stood beside me with a lesson plan in hand, giving me a puzzled look.

I frowned, my voice coming out colder than usual. "How many times have I told you not to call me that?"

Liam paused, then gave my shoulder an exasperated shove.

"Come on, we've known each other since elementary school. It's just a habit. Alright, alright, Mr. Jepsen. You can stop glaring at me now."

He gestured toward the hallway outside the classroom. "Your student is already here. They're waiting for you."

I drew in a slow breath and tamped down the emotions churning inside me, but my hands still tightened into fists.

"Why don't you teach this one?" I said.

"What?"

Liam stared at me as if I'd lost my mind.

"Dylan, you're kidding, right? I've read the kid's file. His case is pretty serious, and you're the expert in this field. You're obviously the better person for the job. I'm not sure I can handle it."

A humorless smile tugged at my lips as I revealed, "He's Yvonne Scott's grandson."

For the next few seconds, neither of us said a word, and the smile vanished from Liam's face.

We had grown up together, so no one understood better what the name Yvonne Scott meant to me.

"That witch? Wait. She's bringing her grandson here for lessons?"

Liam hurriedly flipped through the paperwork in his hand. When his eyes landed on the child's name, he went completely still.

"Ethan... Jepsen?" he muttered, his voice dripping with mockery. "What the hell is wrong with her? Why would she give her grandson the same name as her own son?"

I shook my head, my face expressionless. "I'm not her son anymore."

Liam sighed.

He patted me on the back, then took the textbook from my hands. "Fine. I'll take the class. No reason to put yourself through that. If you don't want to see her, then don't."

We quickly went over the key points for the lesson, but handing the class off to Liam did nothing to ease the knot in my chest.

That name was like an old wound that had never healed. Two decades had passed, yet hearing it could still put every nerve in my body on edge.

I left through the side door and headed toward the lobby.

Just as I reached the entrance, I found myself face-to-face with Yvonne, who had stepped out with Ethan to take him to the restroom.

Our eyes met, and she froze.

The same eyes that had once terrified me widened in shock.

"Ethan?"

My steps faltered.

Her mouth opened, but for a long moment, no words came out.

Maybe that was only natural. After 20 years apart, we were practically strangers.

She had aged considerably. Deep lines now creased the corners of her eyes, but she still carried herself with that same stern yet grandmotherly air.

It was almost impossible to reconcile that image with the woman who, 20 years ago, had looked at me when I was only six and said, "Why didn't you die?"

A little boy stood tucked against her side.

He looked about five or six years old. His eyes darted nervously around the room as he shrank behind Yvonne.

Chapter 2

In the end, I was the one who broke the silence.

"The teacher for your session is inside. Go on in."

The confusion in Yvonne's eyes disappeared, replaced by the same disgust I remembered all too well.

"Are you a student here, too?" she asked tentatively. "I can't believe you still haven't gotten better at your age."

I sneered inwardly.

Clearly unwilling to waste another word on me, Yvonne grabbed Ethan and hurried into the classroom.

As I watched them leave, however, I couldn't help wondering why the woman who had abandoned me because I was autistic was now willing to bring a grandson with the same condition here for help.

Had she only despised me because I was me?

I stayed outside and watched through the glass.

"Hello, I'm Liam Yates. I'll be conducting today's trial session," Liam introduced himself.

"Liam Yates?"

Yvonne frowned. "I asked for Dylan Jepsen. I want Mr. Jepsen teaching my grandson."

Liam had never liked Yvonne to begin with, and her demanding tone quickly wore through what little patience he had.

"Ma'am, instructors for one-on-one trial sessions are assigned at random. I also have plenty of experience with autism intervention. If you don't want the session, you're welcome to leave. There are plenty of other families waiting."

Yvonne slammed a hand down on the table.

"What kind of attitude is that? Your school's advertising claims that Dylan Jepsen is your leading specialist in autism. My grandson's condition is severe, so Mr. Jepsen has to teach him today. If he doesn't, I'll report this school to the Department of Education!"

I couldn't help but scoff when I heard that.

She hadn't changed at all. Whenever it came to her family, she was as overbearing and unreasonable as ever—except when it came to me.

Yvonne had never put much thought into anything involving me. The only thing she'd ever gone out of her way to do was find ways to get rid of me.

She abandoned me three times when I was little.

The first two times, people who knew our family found me and brought me home.

In front of the neighbors, she sobbed and blamed herself for losing me, but whenever she saw that someone had brought me back, all she could manage was a stiff smile.

The third time, she left me out in the countryside.

To keep anyone from finding out what she'd done, she even had my older brother pretend to be me when she returned home, making it look as though I had never been abandoned at all.

I cried harder that day than I ever had before.

I ran for what felt like forever through the night, stumbling and falling over and over again as I tried to find my way home.

I'd always been terrified of the dark, but I was even more terrified that Mom had left me behind.

The cold wind stung my face, and I was covered in dirt from head to toe.

It wasn't until the following afternoon that I finally made it back to town.

I knocked on the front door, clinging to the hope that Mom would be happy to see me.

Alas, she opened the door, took one disgusted look at me, and snapped, "What are you, some beggar? Get lost!"

She hadn't even recognized me as she slammed the door in my face.

Before it closed, I caught a glimpse of the yard behind her. One by one, she was throwing all my toys and books into a fire, burning everything I owned to ash.

With her own hands, she was erasing every trace that I'd ever existed in that family.

That was the moment I understood I didn't have a mom anymore.

Chapter 3

The argument inside the classroom grew louder by the second, and Liam was clearly on the verge of losing his temper.

Before things could spiral completely out of control, I opened the door and walked in.

The room fell silent at once.

Yvonne turned around, and the moment she saw me, her frown deepened.

"Why are you back? This is a classroom. If you don't belong here, get out!"

She waved me away impatiently.

Liam looked surprised to see me, then gave me a questioning look. I shook my head and walked over to Ethan.

"Hi, Ethan."

I crouched down until we were at eye level and spoke in a low, gentle voice. "Don't be scared. I'm one of the teachers here."

Ethan timidly raised his head and glanced at me before quickly looking down again, though some of the tension seemed to leave his body.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Yvonne immediately pulled him behind her and eyed me with suspicion. "Who permitted you to touch him? You can't even get your own condition under control. Don't make my grandson worse!"

I rose to my feet and met her gaze calmly. "Weren't you looking for Dylan Jepsen? That's me."

Yvonne froze.

A few seconds later, she burst out laughing.

"You? You're Dylan Jepsen? You're autistic! How could you possibly be a specialist?"

Then, she turned to Liam and pointed at me.

"Mr. Yates, what kind of school are you running here? You're letting some mentally ill person pretend to be a specialist!"

Liam's face went pale with anger. He was just about to snap back when I raised a hand to stop him.

"Believe me or don't," I said evenly. "If you don't want the lesson, you're free to leave."

My response seemed to throw Yvonne off for a moment, but she quickly became even angrier. "Who do you think you are, talking to me like that? And with your condition, do you actually think you're qualified to teach?"

I had no interest in wasting my breath arguing with her.

I reached into my pocket for my teaching license, only to come up empty. I must have left it on the teacher's desk when Liam and I were going over the lesson earlier.

I turned, retrieved it, and held it out to her.

"Take a good look."

Yvonne snatched it from my hand and glanced at the photo and name.

My title read, "Special Education Specialist. Dylan Jepsen."

Yet instead of believing me, she only sneered harder.

"Do you think I'm blind? You're clearly misusing Mr. Jepsen's teaching license!"

She jabbed a finger toward my face. "You've been a manipulative liar since you were a kid, and now you've gotten even worse. How do you have the nerve to pretend you're some kind of specialist?"

Liam and I exchanged a look. Neither of us seemed to know what to say to that.

All this time, Yvonne had been holding Ethan tightly. Suddenly, he began to struggle against her grip.

Maybe she'd been squeezing him too hard, and it was making him uncomfortable. He twisted frantically and made low, distressed sounds as he tried to pull away.

"Stop squirming!"

Yvonne was already furious, and Ethan refusing to cooperate only made her lose her temper further.

She gave him a hard yank, sending him tumbling to the floor.

Then, she pointed at him and shouted, "Isn't having this condition embarrassing enough? Why are you throwing a fit now?"

Ethan finally broke down and burst into tears. He flailed his arms and rolled around on the floor, completely overwhelmed.

"Stop crying! You're a boy, so act like one!" Yvonne snapped.

Instead of trying to calm him down, she grabbed his arm and tugged at him even harder.

That only made Ethan cry harder.

As I watched them, anger burned through me. It was like watching my own childhood happen all over again.

Chapter 4

"Stop!"

I couldn't stand by any longer. I rushed over to stop Yvonne, but she shoved me away.

"Stay out of it! He's my grandson. How I discipline him is none of your business!"

Just then, a flurry of footsteps came from the hallway.

"What's going on here? Why is it so loud?"

The principal, Kevin Ziegler, was supposed to be meeting with one of the school's investors that day, but we'd caused such a commotion that even he had come over to see what was happening.

"Mr. Jepsen?"

Kevin walked into the classroom with a deep frown. "What is going on here? There are classes in session right next door. You can't be causing this kind of disruption."

"Mr. Ziegler—"

I was about to explain when Yvonne rushed over and cut me off.

"You're the principal, aren't you? Good, because I have a complaint! What kind of people are you hiring? This man is pretending to be Mr. Jepsen, and he even tried to take my grandson from me!"

She still had Ethan in a tight grip and tried to haul him up from the floor.

At that point, Ethan was already completely overwhelmed. He suddenly leaned forward and sank his teeth into the back of her hand.

"Ow!" Yvonne cried as she immediately released him.

When she saw the deep row of teeth marks on her hand, whatever restraint she had left disappeared.

"You little brat! How dare you bite me!"

Smack!

She slapped Ethan hard across the face.

Everyone in the room gasped.

Ethan went completely still, too stunned even to cry, and the sight instantly took me back to the day I was diagnosed with autism.

The doctor had barely finished explaining my diagnosis when Yvonne slapped me across the face in front of everyone.

"Why didn't you just die? Why did you have to end up like this and humiliate me?" she'd snapped.

That slap had shattered every trace of hope I'd held on to that my mother might actually love me.

And now, 20 years later, she was doing the same thing to her grandson.

My anger finally boiled over.

I no longer cared that we were at school or that people were watching. I rushed forward, grabbed Yvonne by the wrist, and shoved her away from Ethan.

"Have you lost your mind? He's a child! He has a condition he can't control!"

I crouched down and pulled Ethan tightly into my arms. Covering his ears with my hands, I lowered my voice and tried to soothe him.

"It's okay. It's over now. You're okay..."

Yvonne nearly stumbled from the force of my shove. Once she regained her balance, her entire body trembled with rage.

"How dare you push me! You're such an ingrate. How dare you lay a hand on your own mother!"

She charged toward me and slapped me across the face.

A sharp, burning pain spread across my cheek, and I could taste blood in my mouth.

Even so, I didn't dodge or back away. I simply stared at her coldly, wiped the blood from my lip, and rose to my feet, planting myself squarely between her and Ethan.

Liam and Kevin both stared at Yvonne in shock. Neither of them had expected her to actually hit me.

But she still wasn't finished.

She spun toward Kevin and pointed furiously at me.

"Is this the kind of teacher you employ? He actually put his hands on a parent. Can't you see what your school has done to my grandson? He's been crying and having meltdowns ever since we got here!

"Get Mr. Jepsen in here and have him teach my grandson right now, or I'll file a formal complaint and make sure everyone hears about this!"

The classroom went completely silent.

Only Yvonne's heavy breathing broke the stillness.

Kevin stared at her with an increasingly perplexed expression. Then, he pointed at me and spoke in a firm voice.

"Ma'am, please calm down. The man standing before you is Mr. Dylan Jepsen."