Cedar\u2019s POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
As Ridley left the room, I tugged at the sleeves of his expensive suit jacket draped over my shoulders, feeling both grateful for the protection it provided and uncomfortable with its obvious luxury. The fabric alone costs more than my entire wardrobe.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Suddenly, I heard a flurry of rapid footsteps in the corridor. Security personnel, perhaps? After what had just happened with Brad Wilson, I couldn\u2019t bring myself to care. My body still trembled slightly from the encounter, though Mr. Sterling\u2019s intervention had prevented the worst from happening. The memory made my stomach clench.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I supported myself and walked slowly to the elevator. As the elevator doors closed, I leaned against the wall and exhaled slowly. The contract with the Wilson Group was definitely lost now. With it went my chance at the eight million dollars needed to buy my freedom from the Wright family. My shoulders\u00a0<\/p>\n
sagged under the weight of this realization. Back to square one.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The lobby seemed to stretch endlessly as I made my way through it, keeping my eyes fixed on the exit. A few curious glances came my way\u2013a disheveled woman in a torn dress covered by a man\u2019s designer suit jacket wasn\u2019t exactly inconspicuous. I quickened my pace, desperate for fresh air.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Outside, I hailed a cab and gave the driver my address in Wicker Park. He eyed me in the rearview mirror, no doubt taking in my state of disarray, but\u00a0<\/p>\n
thankfully remained silent.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My fingers traced the edge of Ridley Sterling\u2019s jacket lapel, the memory of his sudden intervention still vivid in my mind. One moment I\u2019d been trapped in\u00a0<\/p>\n
Brad Wilson\u2019s grip, fear paralyzing me as I realized how quickly a professional meeting had descended into something terrifying\u2013and the next, Ridley\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sterling had appeared like some modern\u2013day knight, his voice cutting through the room with icy authority.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That brief moment when our eyes met as he draped his jacket over my shoulders\u2013I\u2019d seen something unexpected there. Not pity, thankfully, but something\u00a0<\/p>\n
deeper I couldn\u2019t quite name.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was the second time he helped me. How can I repay him? He mentioned that he owned the building. And he\u2019s the CEO of Sterling Group. The disparity\u00a0<\/p>\n
between us couldn\u2019t be more obvious. Maybe he needs nothing back from me. But I can\u2019t just let this go unacknowledged.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019d return his jacket personally, I decided. No assistants or messengers. Whatever came of it\u2013even if it was just a polite dismissal\u2013at least I\u2019d have the\u00a0<\/p>\n
chance to thank him face to face properly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The taxi passed the business area where our company was located, reality crashed back down. The Wilson contract was dead. Completely fallen through after\u00a0<\/p>\n
tonight\u2019s disaster.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHow am I going to come up with eight million dollars now?\u201d I whispered to myself, watching the city blur past the window. The agreement with the Wrights required that sum in exchange for my complete independence\u2013my chance to break free from their manipulation and control. Without it, I\u2019d remain tethered to them, my designs and ideas forever at their mercy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When the cab pulled up outside my apartment building, I paid the driver and stepped out, adjusting the oversized jacket around me. The familiar sight of my aging brownstone offered little comfort today. I made my way to the entrance, fumbling for my keys as I reached the door.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just as I was about to insert my key into the lock, I heard quick, uneven footsteps approaching from behind. Turning around, I saw a small figure running up the sidewalk toward the building.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018Mommy!\u201d he cried, his voice breathless as he sprinted the final few steps to reach me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018Oliver?\u201d I gasped, immediately taking in his appearance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
3:49 pm D M\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 12\u00a0<\/p>\n
His face was smudged with dirt, cheeks flushed pink from exertion. His clothes were rumpled and dirty, so unlike his usual neat appearance. He looked as though he\u2019d been running for some time, small chest heaving with each breath.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I knelt down, momentarily forgetting my own disheveled state. \u2018Oliver, what happened to you? Are you okay?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018I\u2019m okay\u2026 and Mommy, that jacket looks\u2026\u201d he hesitated, then seemed to change his mind about what he was going to say. \u201cWhy are you wearing it?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know this jacket?\u2018 I asked, noticing his curious reaction.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Sky Remembered the Touch of Our Uninished Goodbyes by Lysa Orion Rehn 12 Cedar\u2019s POV\u00a0 As Ridley left the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[88],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-zero-stars-for-daddy-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30411","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30411"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30411\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}