“Excuse me?”

I kept my gaze fixed on him as I spoke, unbothered if it made him uncomfortable. I wanted answers—answers to the questions swirling in my head.

He didn’t reply, but I wasn’t going to back down either. I pressed on with my questioning, refusing to let the tension between us win.

Eventually, he sighed, turning his head toward me for a brief moment.

“When was the last time you talked to your kids?” he asked, his tone unusually serious.

His question caught me off guard, ...