Chapter 51\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cedar\u2019s POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stood in the crowd, momentarily frozen by the sudden commotion. One second Selena was standing before me with that calculating gleam in her eyes, trying to pressure me into accepting a glass of champagne, and the next\u2013chaos. A small figure darted through the crowd, and before I could process what was happening, Selena\u2019s dress dropped to the floor. Her horrified scream pierced through the elegant murmur of the gala, and all eyes turned toward her exposed form.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened with a mix of shock and\u2013if I\u2019m being honest\u2013a flicker of satisfaction. But the feeling dissipated almost instantly when I realized this momentary revenge brought me no real joy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After a moment\u2019s hesitation, I turned and walked to the coatroom, retrieving a pashmina wrap I\u2019d left there earlier. The rational part of. my brain whispered that I should just walk away, let her handle her own disaster for once. But something deeper pushed me back toward the scene.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When I returned, I draped the wrap over Selena\u2019s exposed shoulders, avoiding eye contact with the crowd of onlookers whose expressions ranged from shock to poorly concealed amusement.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCover yourself,\u201d I said quietly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t out of kindness, really. I simply couldn\u2019t stand watching another woman being scrutinized and judged for her body. No matter our differences, the Wright family had raised me, and this small gesture cost me nothing. Besides, despite everything, I refused to sink to her level of cruelty.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Selena clutched at the wrap like it was a lifeline, pulling it tightly around her nearly exposed figure. When she looked up to thank whoever had helped her, her expression transformed instantly from relief to hatred.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCedar, she spat, her voice trembling with rage. \u201cYou came to enjoy the show, didn\u2019t you? You\u2019re dying to see me humiliated, dying to see me ruined. You worthless bitch! Everything that\u2019s happening tonight is your fault! I won\u2019t let you get away with this!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I felt my face harden as familiar disappointment washed over me. Of course she would blame me. In Selena\u2019s world, she was perpetually the victim, and I was forever the villain. A cold weariness settled in my chest\u2013I\u2019d extended an olive branch, and she\u2019d tried to stab me with it. Again. After all these years, nothing had changed. She would never see me as anything but a threat to be eliminated.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t- I began, but stopped myself. What was the point? She wouldn\u2019t believe me anyway.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Before I could step back, she lunged at me, fingers clawing for the delicate fabric of my evening gown. I could see the intent in her eyes- she wanted to tear my dress to shreds, to expose me to the same cruel spotlight she\u2019d been under moments ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I raised my arms instinctively, prepared to defend myself. Enough was enough. I\u2019d spent years absorbing Selena\u2019s attacks, always turning the other cheek, always walking away. But not tonight. I wouldn\u2019t just stand there and let her assault me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But the attack never landed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
9:41 Thu, Nov 6 G\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 51\u00a0<\/p>\n
:\u00a0<\/p>\n
There was another sharp sound as someone intervened, and Selena was suddenly sprawled on the marble floor, looking even more disheveled than before. I looked up to see Ridley standing protectively in front of me, his tall frame an impenetrable barrier between\u00a0<\/p>\n
Selena and myself.\u00a0<\/p>\n
96\u00a0<\/p>\n
My heart hammered in my chest, surprise mingling with a disturbing sense of security I hadn\u2019t expected to feel in his presence. I hadn\u2019t even realized he\u2019d returned to the gala. I thought he\u2019d left after our earlier conversation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Selena lay on the floor, the wrap now completely dislodged, leaving her exposed in a way that made even me uncomfortable. Her makeup\u00a0<\/p>\n
was smeared, her carefully styled hair now a tangled mess.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRidley\u2026\u201d she whimpered, her voice transforming into something small and pleading. \u201cYou said you had a surprise for me. I don\u2019t need it\u00a0<\/p>\n
anymore\u2013could I just borrow your jacket, please?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ridley didn\u2019t even glance at her. The disgust in his eyes was palpable as he replied in a voice cold enough to frost the champagne glasses.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I\u2019m not mistaken, the surprise has already been delivered to Wright Creatives.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
As he spoke, a memory surfaced in my mind. It was from that time when Selena and Elara had come looking for me at the company.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ridley had helped me then, and I vaguely remembered him saying something about giving Selena a surprise. The thought made me pause\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2013 could this entire fiasco be part of that? Though it seemed unlikely; after all, it was obviously just a child who had stepped on her dress.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Still, what about that \u201csurprise\u201d from Wright Creative he\u2019d mentioned? I decided not to overthink it. Whatever was going on, they deserved\u00a0<\/p>\n
whatever they got.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Selena seemed to realize this too, her eyes darting between us. \u201cIt\u2019s you!\u201d she shrieked, pointing a trembling finger at me. \u201cYou turned him\u00a0<\/p>\n
against me, didn\u2019t you? You\u2019ve been whispering in his ear, telling him lies about me-\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRemove her,\u201d Ridley interrupted sharply.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Immediately, security personnel materialized from the edges of the room. They\u2019d been watching the scene unfold with barely concealed\u00a0<\/p>\n
interest, and now moved forward with alarming eagerness.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Two large men grabbed Selena by her bare arms and began dragging her toward the exit. I caught the inappropriate glances they exchanged, saw one of them \u201caccidentally\u201d brush against her exposed skin. Selena\u2019s horrified gasp was audible even across the now\u2013silent\u00a0<\/p>\n
ballroom.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLet go of me! I can walk myself out, you animals!\u201d she screamed, trying to wrench free from their grip.\u00a0<\/p>\n
One of the guards smiled unpleasantly. \u201cMiss Wright is a bit unsteady tonight. We\u2019d better escort her properly, wouldn\u2019t want her to cause\u00a0<\/p>\n
another scene.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
As they hauled her away, the flash of cameras erupted near the exit. Tomorrow\u2019s design blogs and society pages would be merciless.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stood frozen, unsure how to feel. Selena had made my life miserable for years. Now it was time for her to learn how to behave herself.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 51\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ridley turned to face me, his expression unreadable. \u201cAre you alright?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I nodded slowly, but something about this entire mess left me on edge. The hatred in Selena\u2019s eyes when she\u2019d confronted me earlier was unmistakable that kind of grudge doesn\u2019t just disappear.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2013\u00a0<\/p>\n
If Wright Creative suffered any real damage from tonight\u2019s disaster, I had no doubt she\u2019d try to make it my fault somehow. A knot formed in my stomach as I realized I might need to start watching my back more carefully than ever.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Sky Remembered the Touch of Our Unfinished Goodbyes by Lysa Orion Rehn 51 Chapter 51\u00a0 Cedar\u2019s POV\u00a0 I stood […]<\/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-30450","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\/30450","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=30450"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30450\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30450"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30450"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}