Oliver\u2019s POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
1 pressed my face against the car window as we drove back from Navy Pier, clutching Sir Fluffy to my chest. Today had been awesome the Ferris wheel, the games, and expecially the ice cream. Two flavors! At the same time!\u00a0<\/p>\n
Truth is, life at Sterling Manor isn\u2019t nearly as awful as I told Mommy. Dad is strict, yeah, but he doesn\u2019t force me to learn those business lessons that I hate He just has all these rules and expectations, but most of them are for Aiden since he\u2019s gonna run the company someday I get to eat whatever ice cream flavors the chef makes, play with expensive toys in my huge bedroom, and run around our massive yard.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But if I told Mommy how nice our house really is, she might send me back. And I don\u2019t want that. I want to stay with her forever. So I maybe stretched the truth a teensy bit. Is that so bad? Being with Mommy feels different\u2013warmer somehow. When she smiles at me, it\u2019s like sunshine.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDid you have fun today, Oliver?\u2018 Mommy asked, checking her rearview mirror.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The best day ever!\u201d I bounced in my seat. \u201cThe Ferris wheel was so high! And when you let me have both chocolate AND vanilla ice cream together! Dad\u00a0<\/p>\n
never lets me mix flavors.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mommy laughed, and the sound made me feel all warm inside. \u201cI\u2019m glad you enjoyed it. We\u2019re almost home.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
As we pulled onto her street, I noticed two women standing by the entrance to Mommy\u2019s apartment building. One was older with fancy jewelry and perfect hair, the other younger with a pink designer dress. They both looked angry.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mommy\u2019s smile disappeared. \u201cStay in the car, okay?\u201d she said, her voice suddenly tight. \u201cI need to talk to some people.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWho are they?\u201d I asked, pressing my nose against the window again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cJust\u2026 some people I work with,\u201d she answered, but I could tell she was worried. \u201cI won\u2019t be long.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I watched Mommy approach the women. Their faces looked mean, like the villains in my cartoons. The older one started talking first, pointing her finger at Mommy. I couldn\u2019t hear what they were saying, but Mommy\u2019s shoulders got all stiff and small.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My tummy got hot with anger. Nobody talks to my mommy like that! I unbuckled my seatbelt and quietly opened the car door. Mommy was so focused on\u00a0<\/p>\n
those mean ladies she didn\u2019t notice me slip out.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Near the apartment entrance was a wicker basket with some sports equipment. A perfect soccer ball sat right on top. I grabbed it, feeling its weight in my\u00a0<\/p>\n
small hands. Dad always said I had terrible aim, but he wasn\u2019t here now.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I took a deep breath, lined up my shot, and threw the ball as hard as I could.\u00a0<\/p>\n
THUNK!\u00a0<\/p>\n
It hit the younger woman right on the back of her head! Her perfect hair went sideways, and she screamed super loud, spinning around with her face all red\u00a0<\/p>\n
and scary.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou little monster!\u201d she shrieked, lunging toward me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mommy moved faster than I\u2019d ever seen anyone move, stepping between us. \u201cDon\u2019t you dare touch him!\u201d Her voice was quiet, but so fierce it made me shiver. Mommy was so brave!\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
3:49 pm\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 16\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou bitch!\u201d the young woman screamed, ready to ready to lunge at Mommy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mommy was so brave! She was willing to put herself in danger to protect me. I couldn\u2019t just stand there and watch her get hurt. I had to help her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I spotted my toy water pistol in the same basket. Grabbing it quickly, I aimed and fired, hitting the mean woman\u2019s expensive\u2013looking shoes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMy Louboutins!\u201d she wailed, jumping back.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I kept firing, hitting her angry face. The older woman tried to shield herself with her designer purse.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018Come on, Selena,\u2018 the older woman hissed. \u201cThis isn\u2019t over, Cedar. Jonathan will hear about all of this!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
They hurried away, the younger one still screeching about her shoes. Mommy turned to me, her face a mix of shock and something else\u2013was that pride?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOliver, that was\u2026\u201d she began, then shook her head, taking my hand. \u201cLet\u2019s go inside.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Once we were safely in the apartment, Mommy knelt to my level. Those women\u2026 they\u2019re my adoptive family. The older one is Elara, my adoptive mother, and the younger one is Selena, my adoptive sister.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re not very nice to you,\u201d I said, squeezing Sir Fluffy tighter.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s complicated, Oliver. They took me in when I was very young, but our relationship has always been\u2026 difficult. Mommy sighed. \u201cThey want me to help their company get money.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy do you have to give them money? They\u2019re mean!\u201d I felt my face getting hot again.\u00a0<\/p>\n
*I made an agreement, Oliver. I promised to help them, and I need to keep my word.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018But that\u2019s not fair!\u201d I stomped my foot.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mommy smiled sadly. \u201cSometimes life isn\u2019t fair, but we still try to do what\u2019s right.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She pulled me into a hug. \u201cThank you for protecting me today, my brave little warrior.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019ll always protect you, Mommy,\u201d I promised, burying my face in her neck. \u201cAlways.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Sky Remembered the Touch of Our Uninished Goodbyes by Lysa Orion Rehn 16 Oliver\u2019s POV\u00a0 1 pressed my face […]<\/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-30415","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\/30415","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=30415"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30415\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}