"Hanley, did you fall into the pond?"
Seeing Terence laughing at him again, Hanley was about to explode with anger.
He threw himself onto Natalie's leg. "Mommy, it was this bad man! He pushed me in!"
Natalie looked at Terence questioningly, but he just wore an innocent expression.
"Even though you're a kid, you're still a boy. Why are you acting so dramatic? You should stick around me for a while; I'll teach you how to be a real man."
Terence's words made Hanley seethe.
"Are you okay? Why would I stick around you? I'm a Cross! I have my own daddy, and I'm already a real man! I don't need you to teach me!"
Terence chuckled. The boy certainly had a temper.
"If you were a real man, you'd tell your mommy that you tried to push me in, lost your balance, and fell in yourself. That's what a real man would do."
Natalie's frown deepened.
Her son had actually tried to push Terence into the pond.
Even for a child, such behavior was unforgivable.
Natalie's expression turned serious. "Hanley, is what he's saying true? Did you try to push him in?"
Hanley fumed. Terence added calmly, "Making excuses isn't what a real man does."
Hanley was trapped and had to admit it.
"Mommy, I did try to push him. He's a bad man! He stole my mommy! If it weren't for him, you and Daddy would never have gotten divorced!"
Natalie's brow furrowed even more. He really had tried to do something terrible.
"Hanley, no matter the reason, how could you try to push someone into a pond? That's outrageous! Besides, my divorce from your father had nothing to do with him!"

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