Chapter 85\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cedar\u2019s POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
I was already up at the first ring of my alarm\u2013a habit ingrained over years of necessity. After making my bed, I headed to the bathroom when someone pounded on my door with enough force to wake the entire building.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Opening it, I faced two identically furious expressions. Elara and Selena\u2013my adoptive mother and sister\u2013stood glaring at me in my doorway.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCedar, are you deliberately ignoring what I told you?\u201d Elara shoved my shoulder hard, her eyes practically shooting flames.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I felt my expression cool. \u201cWhat\u2019s the problem now?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have the nerve to ask?\u201d Selena\u2019s voice rose to a shriek. \u201cYou promised to talk to Ridley Sterling about backing off our company. And what happened? Sterling Design Group just poached Wright Creatives\u2018 last major client last night! They\u2019re deliberately trying to destroy us! You must have turned Sterling against us, didn\u2019t you? Getting your revenge?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Elara\u2019s face contorted with rage. \u201cIt seems you don\u2019t care about finding your birth parents anymore. Fine! I\u2019ll destroy the only two items that could lead you to them. You\u2019ll never know where you came from!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I leaned against the doorframe, keeping my expression neutral despite the familiar pang those words always caused.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou want my help but haven\u2019t shown any good faith,\u201d I said evenly. \u201cYou keep dangling information about my parents but haven\u2019t produced anything in all these years. I\u2019m starting to think it\u2019s just another manipulation.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
After yesterday\u2019s encounter with Ridley Sterling, I\u2019d aged five years from stress. I wasn\u2019t about to repeat the experience without something tangible in\u00a0<\/p>\n
return.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cUngrateful little parasite!\u201d Elara spat. \u201cThe Wrights saved your life, fed and clothed you, and this is how you repay us? I should have left you where we\u00a0<\/p>\n
found you!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Selena joined in, her voice venomous. \u201cYou should know the truth\u2013your parents abandoned you! That letter they left said anyone who raised you would be doing them a favor. My parents took pity on you, and now you bite the hand that fed you! I curse you to be abandoned in every lifetime!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s all this noise so early?\u201d Mrs. Petrovich appeared, immediately defending me as usual. \u201cStop bothering Cedar. Her boyfriend was here yesterday in an expensive car \u2013 worth a fortune. They\u2019re obviously close, and he won\u2019t tolerate you treating her badly.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Selena\u2019s eyes widened in rage. \u201cWhen did you get a boyfriend, you little-\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCedar already has a son.\u201d Mrs. Petrovich placed her hands on her hips defensively. \u201cStop pushing her around, or you will face the consequences.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSo you did have a bastard child!\u201d Elara lunged forward, hand raised to slap me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I caught her wrist mid\u2013swing and pushed her away. She stumbled in her high heels, nearly tumbling down the stairwell, her face turning an alarming shade of purple.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As she prepared to charge at me again, Selena held her back, calculation replacing rage in her eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCedar,\u201d she said coldly, \u201cif you\u2019ve managed to trap some rich man and give him a son, then go to him and get him to invest in Wright Creatives. If our company survives this crisis, we\u2019ll consider our obligation to you fulfilled.*\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
2:52 pm P\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 85\u00a0<\/p>\n
I nearly laughed at her audacity. Any debt I might have owed the Wright family had been paid a thousand times over through years of exploitation and\u00a0<\/p>\n
emotional abuse.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Before I could throw them both out, my phone vibrated. Glancing at the caller ID, I quickly answered.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Sterling, I acknowledged formally, watching Elara and Selena\u2019s expressions shift from anger to shock.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI left my charger on your couch last night, Ridley\u2019s cold voice came through the speaker. \u2018Bring it to me. My phone\u2019s dying and I need it immediately.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The call ended abruptly before I could respond.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Selena\u2019s POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
I couldn\u2019t believe my ears. \u201cWas that Ridley on the phone?\u201d I demanded, my stomach churning with dread.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWho else would it be?\u2018 Cedar responded coldly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re that familiar with him?\u201d I could feel my nails digging into my palms. \u201cWhy would his charger be at your place?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mrs. Petrovich smirked. \u201cDidn\u2019t I just tell you? Cedar\u2019s boyfriend stayed over last night. Of course he left his charger behind. He\u2019ll make you pay for treating\u00a0<\/p>\n
her this way.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMrs. Petrovich, you should get to your morning shopping,\u201d Cedar cut in while retrieving something from inside. \u201cI need to get to work.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She shut her door firmly and walked away, leaving Mother and me standing there in stunned silence.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMom, did that worthless girl sleep with Ridley Sterling?\u201d I couldn\u2019t process the possibility. \u201cHow could someone like Sterling be interested in an adopted\u00a0<\/p>\n
nobody?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mother clenched her teeth in fury. \u201cNo wonder she doesn\u2019t care about Wright Creatives anymore. She\u2019s wormed her way into the Sterling family!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIs her son Sterling\u2019s illegitimate child?\u201d The question made me feel physically ill. If Cedar had given Sterling a son, she would permanently outrank me. The very thought was unbearable.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cImpossible!\u201d Mother hissed. \u201cEveryone knows that he Sterling family has only one young heir. If Cedar had given birth to the Sterling heir, I\u2019d eat my words and grovel at her feet! But she\u2019s just a girl from nowhere with no background. Dreaming of marrying into the Sterling family is pure delusion.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I exhaled in relief. Sterling was probably just playing with Cedar. Nothing serious.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRegardless,\u201d I said slowly, working through the implications, Ridley must still have some interest in her if he\u2019s listening to her and targeting our company. All those clients abandoned us the moment Sterling Design Group made its move. If we can show those companies that Wright Creatives and Sterling aren\u2019t enemies, we might still have a chance.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you suggesting, Selena?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cGrandpa\u2019s birthday celebration is coming up. We need to find an excuse to bring Cedar home for it, and ideally, invite Ridley too.\u201d I smiled coldly. \u201cWhen those fair\u2013weather clients see Sterling personally attending Grandpa\u2019s birthday, our problems will solve themselves.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSelena, you\u2019re brilliant as always!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
::52 pm P\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland\u2019s breathtaking cold.<\/p>\n
The Sky Remembered the Touch of Our UnfiAnished Goodbyes by Lysa Orion Rehn 85 Chapter 85\u00a0 Cedar\u2019s POV\u00a0 I was […]<\/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-30484","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\/30484","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=30484"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30484\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30484"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}