Chapter 13\u00a0<\/p>\n
Oliver quickly shook his head, his expression shifting to something more casual. Oh, no, I just want to know why you would wear such an oversized jacket. It\u2019s too big for you, Mommy. And you\u2019re not looking well.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The concern in his voice\u2013so mature for his six years\u2013touched me deeply. Here I was, the adult, looking disheveled and frightened, while this child was checking on my well\u2013being.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m fine,\u201d I assured him, attempting a smile. \u201cJust had a bit of trouble with my dress. Nothing to worry about. I led him inside, my hand gently guiding him through the doorway. Setting my purse down on the counter, I turned to face him, my eyes meeting his. \u2018Oliver, we need to talk about you. What were you doing outside? I thought you were staying here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI was worried about you. I went out to wait for you.\u201d His small hands clutched at my arms. \u201cBut then I was chased by a bad cat and fell over a stone. I found my way back and saw you already home. You won\u2019t be mad at me, right?\u201d he said, his voice trembling slightly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course not, poor boy. Are you hurt?\u201d I turned him around and checked him for injuries.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, I\u2019m fine.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He must be lonely staying here. I should have thought of it. I\u2019d initially figured it wouldn\u2019t be a big deal to let him stay with me for a few days until his family came looking for him. But I was always so caught up with work, especially with the eight million hanging over my head. It\u2019s no wonder I\u2019d been neglecting Oliver\u2019s needs. Poor kid probably felt invisible with me constantly distracted by my own problems.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I sighed and sat down on the sofa, patting the spot beside me. \u201cCome here.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
When he settled next to me, I said. \u201cI\u2019m sorry if I make you feel neglected. If you want to go home, you can tell me anytime.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His face clouded. \u201cNobody cares about me there,\u201d he said, his voice small but matter\u2013of\u2013fact. \u201cI just want to be with you.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My heart ached at his words. \u201cOliver\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He put his hand on mine. \u201cDaddy didn\u2019t care about me. Not like you do. I understand that Mommy needs to be busy. As long as I\u2019m with you, that makes me\u00a0<\/p>\n
happy.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I tried a different approach. \u201cDo you go to kindergarten? You must have friends there.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018I don\u2019t go to school,\u201d he replied. \u201cWe have teachers who come to our house. And lots of classes. His nose wrinkled in distaste. \u201cPiano, French, math,\u00a0<\/p>\n
science, art. Daddy says I need to be excellent at everything, but I want to play sometimes.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The picture emerging of Oliver\u2019s home life made my chest tighten. A child surrounded by wealth and privilege, yet starved for attention and simple childhood joys. It reminded me too much of my own childhood in the Wright household\u2013different circumstances but the same emotional neglect.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018Daddy gets angry when I don\u2019t do things right,\u201d Oliver continued, his voice dropping to a whisper. \u201cHe says I embarrass him.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I found myself blinking back tears. No child should feel they were a disappointment, especially not this bright, affectionate boy beside me. I put my arm around his shoulders, drawing him close,\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018Listen to me, Oliver,\u201d I said softly. \u201cYou\u2019re perfect exactly as you are. Don\u2019t let anyone tell you differently.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He looked up at me, his eyes wide and trusting. \u201cThat\u2019s why I need to stay with you,\u201d he said. \u201cYou understand me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
3:49 pm D M\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 13\u00a0<\/p>\n
I felt a warmth in my heart and realized I didn\u2019t want to send this child away. We seemed to need each other somehow, and he always managed to heal something in me. Perhaps I could pay more attention to him and spend whatever free time I had with him. Whatever strange connection existed between us, whatever the truth about his identity and how he\u2019d found me, one thing was clear: we had stumbled into each other\u2019s lives for a reason.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHow about we make some dinner?\u2018 I suggested, ruffling his hair gently. And tomorrow, we\u2019ll spend more time together. Okay?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
His smile lit up his entire face as he nodded eagerly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Sky Remembered the Touch of Our Uninished Goodbyes by Lysa Orion Rehn 13 Chapter 13\u00a0 Oliver quickly shook his […]<\/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-30412","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\/30412","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=30412"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30412\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30412"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30412"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}