I reached the doorway of my office when I saw her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She was standing precariously on a chair, stretching upward as she attempted to place a book on the highest shelf. Her pencil skirt pulled taut as she balanced and reached, outlining the curve of her hips. From my angle, I could see her slender waist, the graceful line of her body, and her long, fair legs as\u00a0<\/p>\n
she strained to reach the shelf.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Heat pooled low in my stomach before I could stop it. I clenched my jaw, forcing the unwelcome reaction down.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This tactic again. She\u2019d already tried it once in the restroom of the executive lounge. Did she really think her figure was so enticing that I\u2019d fall for such an\u00a0<\/p>\n
obvious ploy? Pathetic.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat exactly do you think you\u2019re doing?\u201d The words came out sharper than intended.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Color flooded her cheeks as she scrambled down from the chair. Caught in the act, no doubt.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She stammered something about returning my clothes as I called her out for repeatedly trying to gain access to my personal social media. Did she honestly\u00a0<\/p>\n
believe the Sterling family would miss one suit? More likely, she was manufacturing reasons to see me. I had no use for garments she\u2019d already worn.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Take your trash with you.\u201d I barely registered saying it\u2013the same cold dismissal I\u2019d perfected over years of business dealings. Yet something nagged at me\u00a0<\/p>\n
as I watched her face change. Why did her reaction matter?\u00a0<\/p>\n
I caught the flash of something in her eyes before she looked away, her lips moving in what looked suspiciously like a curse. Then she stalked out like an\u00a0<\/p>\n
angry cat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What game was this woman playing? She deliberately asked for my contact information, then turned around and cursed me through gritted teeth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I moved to the floor\u2013to\u2013ceiling windows, my shoulders tense with irritation. A moment later, I heard her speaking with Aiden in the hallway. She was\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
complimenting me?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Something warm and unexpected unfurled in my chest. The rigid line of my shoulders relaxed slightly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At least the woman knew her place,\u00a0<\/p>\n
But then I noticed something else\u2013the way she\u2019d spoken to Aiden, the familiarity in her tone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The warmth vanished, replaced by a cold knot of suspicion. Since when had this woman become so close with Aiden?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018Aiden,\u2018 I called out. \u2018Come in.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Aiden entered quietly, closing the door behind him with the careful precision he always used when he sensed my mood,\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018Who were you just talking to?\u201d I fixed my gaze on the small figure before me, asking what I already knew.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Aiden\u2019s hands clasped behind his back, his posture straightening. \u201cThe new design director. Ms. Wright.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you close with her?\u201d I asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
4:00 pm M\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 43\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2026 I like the way she treats me,\u201d he replied.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Now, a woman who\u2019d barely been employed for a few days had somehow earned this level of regard from my normally distant, reserved son.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What kind of spell had this woman cast?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Aiden must have read something in my expression because his chin lifted slightly in that stubborn way of his. \u201cMs. Wright is an excellent employee with qualities we value.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The simple declaration hit me like a physical blow. For him to offer even this much explanation for others was remarkable\u2013he wasn\u2019t typically talkative. So she had already managed to win over Aiden!\u00a0<\/p>\n
All her efforts focused on my child, yet she claimed to have no ulterior motives?\u00a0<\/p>\n
I studied Aiden\u2019s earnest face, the way he stood his ground despite my obvious displeasure. This woman\u2019s methods were truly exceptional.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cedar\u2019s POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
I returned to my office to continue working, but couldn\u2019t settle my emotions.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019d inexplicably spent hours waiting upstairs, thoroughly embarrassed myself, been humiliated, and wasted an entire afternoon in the process.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I glanced at the time: 5:30 PM, the end of the workday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My work had piled up significantly. I had no choice but to take it home with me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I packed my files into my bag, clocked out, and headed for the bus stop as usual. But just as I exited the Nest Design building, someone grabbed my wrist with painful force.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCedar! Come with me!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Selena yanked my arm, trying to drag me toward a secluded corner.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I angrily pulled away. \u201cLet go of me! What do you want? If you have something to say, just say it\u2013don\u2019t manhandle me!\u201d I truly didn\u2019t understand why they still pursued me when we\u2019d already cut ties.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCedar, tell me right away\u2013are you working at Nest Design under the Sterling Design Group now?\u201d Selena stepped forward, chin lifted as if interrogating a\u00a0<\/p>\n
criminal.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I straightened my back and answered coolly, \u201cYes. What about it?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have the nerve to ask what about it? You little tramp\u2013you used Wright Creatives\u2018 trade secrets to get hired by Sterling, didn\u2019t you?\u201d Elara Wright\u2019s face twisted with malice. \u2018I hear you\u2019ve become a design director. Using our family company as a stepping stone for your career?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018I don\u2019t understand what you\u2019re talking about. And we\u2019re no longer connected.\u201d My voice remained level.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re still a Wright\u2013we made you who you are. Don\u2019t think you can break your leash!\u201d Elara snarled, her grip tightening on my shoulders as she slammed me against the wall.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMy parents poured money into raising you, educating you. Now that you think you\u2019ve made it, you want to throw us away? Not a chance\u2014that pathetic little payoff doesn\u2019t even scratch the surface of what we invested in you! Besides, that joke of an agreement won\u2019t hold up in court. Legally, my parents are\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 43\u00a0<\/p>\n
still your guardians! She pulled me toward a black car parked at the curb.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What were they trying to accomplish by dragging me back?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLet go of me!\u201d I shouted. \u201cEven if I\u2019m still legally tied to your family, I\u2019m not your property! You can\u2019t just drag me around like this! Let go or I\u2019m calling\u00a0<\/p>\n
security!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Selena stared at my face, unable to contain herself, and raised her hand to slap me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In her mind, I was nothing but an ungrateful parasite who\u2019d fed off the Wright family for years before biting the hand that fed me. People like me deserved\u00a0<\/p>\n
whatever we got.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Wright family had given me a life; I should spend the rest of it kissing their feet in gratitude.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Selena put her whole body behind the slap, clearly aiming to do some real damage.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I fought against her hold, but couldn\u2019t break free with Elara helping her. At the last second, I closed my eyes and braced for the hit I couldn\u2019t avoid.\u00a0<\/p>\n
However, the stinging blow I expected never came. Instead, I heard Selena let out a sharp gasp of surprise.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Sky Remembered the Touch of Our Uninished Goodbyes by Lysa Orion Rehn 43 I reached the doorway of my […]<\/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-30442","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\/30442","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=30442"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30442\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}