We spent hours exploring the pier, playing carnival games where Oliver\u2019s aim proved surprisingly good, winning a small stuffed bear he immediately named \u201cSir Fluffy. We rode the carousel twice at his insistence, Oliver beaming proudly from atop a painted horse while I stood beside him, one arm protectively\u00a0<\/p>\n
around his waist.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you do this with your mommy?\u201d he asked as we sat on a bench, sharing a massive ice cream cone that was rapidly melting in the warm sun.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The question caught me off guard. \u201cNo,\u201d I answered honestly. \u201cMy parents\u2013the people who raised me\u2013weren\u2019t really the amusement park type.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s sad,\u201d he said simply, licking ice cream from his fingers. \u201cEveryone should get to ride carousels.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I swallowed the sudden tightness in my throat. \u201cYou\u2019re right. They should.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
As I watched him eat, chocolate smeared across his cheek, I realized I was experiencing a childhood I never had\u2013through him. The Wrights had provided education, clothing, shelter\u2013all the material necessities\u2013but never this simple joy, this uncomplicated delight in sticky ice cream and carnival rides.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For lunch, we found a small restaurant overlooking the water. Oliver chattered enthusiastically about each ride, each game, creating elaborate backstories for Sir Fluffy between bites of his grilled cheese sandwich. I listened, entranced by his imagination, his unguarded happiness.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Thank you for being my mommy,\u201d he said suddenly, his eyes serious as he reached across the table to place his small hand on mine. \u201cYou\u2019re the best\u00a0<\/p>\n
mommy ever.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Something cracked inside me\u2013a wall I\u2019d built long ago to shield myself from disappointment. \u201cThank you for being you, Oliver,\u201d I managed, squeezing his hand gently.\u00a0<\/p>\n
By late afternoon, Oliver was yawning, his energy finally flagging after hours of excitement. I carried him to the car, his head heavy against my shoulder, Sir Fluffy clutched tightly in one hand.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBest day ever,\u201d he murmured sleepily as I buckled him into the back seat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As we drove back to Wicker Park, I felt a peculiar contentment settle over me. For one day, I\u2019d set aside my worries about contracts, about the Wrights, about the impossibility of raising eight million dollars. For one day, I\u2019d simply been \u201cMommy\u201d to a child who seemed to need me as much as 1, surprisingly, needed him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The feeling evaporated the moment I turned onto my street. Two familiar figures stood by my apartment entrance\u2013Elara and Selena Wright, their rigid postures radiating anger even from a distance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cStay in the car, okay? I told Oliver, my heart suddenly racing. \u201cI need to talk to some people.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWho are they?\u201d he asked, suddenly alert, peering through the window.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just\u2026 some people I work with,\u2018 I said, trying to keep my voice steady. \u2018I won\u2019t be long.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I approached my adoptive mother and sister with leaden feet, trying to project a confidence I didn\u2019t feel. Elara\u2019s face was a mask of cold fury, while Selena wore a smirk that sent chills down my spine.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere have you been?\u201d Elara demanded without preamble. \u201cWe\u2019ve been waiting for over an hour.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
3:49 pm D M\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 15\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018I was out,\u201d I replied, stopping several feet away from them. \u201cWhat do you want?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do we want?\u201d Elara\u2019s voice rose. You humiliated Brad at the Commerce Building yesterday! The eight\u2013million\u2013dollar contract is completely off the\u00a0<\/p>\n
table now!\u00a0<\/p>\n
My stomach dropped. \u201cI didn\u2019t humiliate him. He attacked me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t be dramatic, Cedar, Selena cut in, her Louboutins clicking as she stepped closer. \u201cMen like Brad need to be handled with finesse, not rejected like some self\u2013righteous prude.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Elara moved forward, her Chanel perfume suffocating. \u201cJonathan is furious. He was counting on that contract to offset the Mason project losses.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The familiar fear gripped me\u2013Jonathan\u2019s anger and violence was the last thing I wanted, \u201cI can fix this,\u201d I said quickly. \u201cI can find a way to get the eight\u00a0<\/p>\n
million.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHow exactly?\u201d Selena sneered. \u201cBy designing more mediocre furniture no one wants?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cGive me a few days,\u201d I pleaded, glancing back at the car where Oliver watched with wide eyes. \u201cI\u2019ll figure something out.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have one week,\u201d Elara stated coldly. \u201cOr Jonathan will\u2014\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her threat was cut short by Selena\u2019s sudden, piercing scream.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Sky Remembered the Touch of Our Uninished Goodbyes by Lysa Orion Rehn 15 We spent hours exploring the pier, […]<\/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-30414","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\/30414","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=30414"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30414\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}