Chapter 87\u00a0<\/p>\n
Aiden\u2019s POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
27\u00a0<\/p>\n
\ud83d\ude42)\u00a0<\/p>\n
I clutch the strand of dark hair tightly in my fist, slipping my hand into my sleeve. Cedar\u2019s warmth surrounds me as she holds me close, but my body suddenly tenses. I can\u2019t help it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong, sweetie?\u2018 Her voice is gentle against my ear.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cN\u2013nothing, I manage to say.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve always prided myself on my composure. Dad says Sterling men maintain control even when skyscrapers crumble around them. But right now, my heart is pounding against my ribs like a trapped bird.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I adore Cedar. Her kindness feels like sunshine after years of winter. Yet here I am, stealing a strand of her hair behind her back. I\u2019ve become the bad child I promised Dad I\u2019d never be.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I can\u2019t even look at her eyes. Those kind eyes that always see through me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you scared?\u201d Cedar\u2019s voice grows even softer as she strokes my back. \u201cWhat are you afraid of, Aiden?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019m afraid you\u2019ll discover what I\u2019m doing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019m afraid you\u2019ll stop liking me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And most terrifying of all, I\u2019m afraid my suspicions might be wrong\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
I press my lips together, staring down at my polished oxfords. The Sterling family code forbids lying. So I remain silent, which feels\u00a0<\/p>\n
almost as bad.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cedar sighs quietly, her breath warm against my hair.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re heading to your father\u2019s headquarters now. It\u2019s okay if you\u2019re nervous about seeing him,\u201d she whispers. \u201cThe way he spoke to those employees last time would frighten anyone, let alone a six\u2013year\u2013old.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She thinks I\u2019m afraid of Dad. Well, she\u2019s not entirely wrong.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYour dad may seem tough, but you know it\u2019s only because he loves you,\u201d she says, her fingers running gently through my hair. \u201cDon\u2019t worry, I\u2019ll be there with you. He won\u2019t give you a hard time today.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I lean against her shoulder, keeping my eyes lowered. Cedar misunderstands, but I don\u2019t correct her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I am afraid of my father. His standards tower higher than the Sterling building itself. No matter how perfectly I perform, it\u2019s never enough\u00a0<\/p>\n
O\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
13:18 Sat, Jan 31\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 87\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
to satisfy him. He\u2019s desperate for me to grow up faster, to become the Sterling heir he envisions. But I\u2019m only six.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sometimes I wish I could be carefree like Oliver, or live in my own bubble like Aria. But I can\u2019t. I\u2019m the eldest. The future of Sterling\u00a0<\/p>\n
Design Group rests on my shoulders.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It\u2019s fine, really. I\u2019ve grown accustomed to these expectations.\u00a0<\/p>\n
All I want now is Cedar. To have her in our lives, day and night. And I\u2019ll do whatever necessary to make that happen.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The car glides to a stop outside Sterling headquarters.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Morning light glints off the glass fa\u00e7ade as busy professionals stream through the revolving doors. Cedar sets me down on the sidewalk,\u00a0<\/p>\n
but before she can lead me inside, I pull away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018I just remembered something important I need to do,\u201d I tell her, backing toward the car. \u201cYou can go in first, Ms. Wright.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I climb back into the Bentley\u2019s leather interior and wave goodbye through the window. Once she turns toward the building, I press the\u00a0<\/p>\n
button to close the privacy partition.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTake me to Midwest Genetic Testing Center, I instruct Henderson, my voice steadier than I feel.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stare down at Cedar\u2019s long, golden hair nestled in my palm. Then I reach up and pluck one of my own shorter strands, placing them side\u00a0<\/p>\n
by side.\u00a0<\/p>\n
One long, one short. Yet somehow, they look like they belong together.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cedar\u2019s POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
I watch the black Bentley pull away from the curb, Aiden\u2019s small face framed in the tinted window. That boy carries the weight of expectations no child should bear. With a deep breath, I turn and approach the Sterling Design Group headquarters.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This is my first visit to the main office. Nest Design\u2019s building is luxurious, but this\u2026 this is architectural magnificence.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Sky Remembered the Touch of Our UnfiAnished Goodbyes by Lysa Orion Rehn 87 Chapter 87\u00a0 Aiden\u2019s POV\u00a0 27\u00a0 \ud83d\ude42)\u00a0 […]<\/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-30486","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\/30486","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=30486"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30486\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30486"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30486"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30486"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}