Ridley\u2019s POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
75\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stepped into the hallway, immediately sensing the tension. Cedar stood with rigid posture while Daisy appeared on the verge of tears\u2013a\u00a0<\/p>\n
performance I\u2019d seen too many times.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The theatrics were exhausting. Daisy\u2019s tears, her claims about being blocked from my office, the desperate plea about Aria\u2019s condition.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What surprised me was Cedar\u2019s response. Her cool observation about Daisy\u2019s lack of backbone and presumptuous aspirations cut straight through the manipulation. When Daisy stammered denials about joining the Sterling family, Cedar\u2019s subtle sarcasm was almost\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
refreshing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEnough,\u201d I cut through Daisy\u2019s panicked explanations. \u201cIs this the extent of the Black family\u2019s etiquette training?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The hatred in Daisy\u2019s eyes when she glanced at Cedar was unmistakable, though she quickly masked it with practiced contrition. Another\u00a0<\/p>\n
performance, another manipulation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I nodded toward my office, watching as Daisy threw Cedar one last venomous look before following me inside.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Daisy sat across from me, her expression a mask of concern. \u201cRidley, Aria\u2019s been struggling terribly. She used to at least spend time in the garden, but lately she won\u2019t even leave her studio. No matter how I try to coax her, she refuses to listen. I\u2019m worried she\u2019ll make herself\u00a0<\/p>\n
ill.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tears slid down her cheeks again. The display irritated me. I was Aria\u2019s father, yet I maintained my composure. What right did she have to\u00a0<\/p>\n
this performance of grief?\u00a0<\/p>\n
I looked away. \u201cWhat does Aria do in her studio all day?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe dances and draws, endlessly. Picture after picture of that day at Navy Pier.\u201d Daisy dabbed at her eyes with a monogrammed handkerchief. \u201cI thought she wanted to return there, but when I offer to take her, she ignores me. I consulted her doctor again, and he repeated his usual advice\u2013she needs more family time.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She moved forward, kneeling before me. Her brown eyes shimmered with tears, her posture deliberately showcasing her d\u00e9colletage in the\u00a0<\/p>\n
low\u2013cut dress.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRidley, you only visit the apartment once a week, and never for more than two hours. That\u2019s not enough for Aria\u2019s recovery.\u201d She reached for my hand. \u201cCould you possibly visit twice weekly? Seeing you more often would surely improve her condition.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMind your behavior,\u201d I said coldly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Daisy\u2019s hand jerked away. \u201cI\u2019m sorry, Ridley. I\u2019m just so worried about Aria. It wasn\u2019t intentional\u2026 I got carried away.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018I have no plans to find Aria a stepmother, Ms. Black. Your efforts in that direction are unnecessary.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
13:18 Sat, Jan 31 d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 90\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her face paled further. \u2018Ridley, please believe me. I never thought about becoming Aria\u2019s stepmother. Don\u2019t listen to what that woman\u00a0<\/p>\n
said!\u2018\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEnough. I don\u2019t want to discuss this further,\u201d I said, feeling a headache forming behind my eyes. \u201cStarting next week, bring Aria to the\u00a0<\/p>\n
office every Wednesday afternoon.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Daisy looked up in surprise. \u201cTo the office? Aria gets anxious in crowded places. She\u2019ll be frightened.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFrightened or not, she needs to come. She must learn to face these situations.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I pinched the bridge of my nose, feeling the weight of responsibility. I needed to prepare all three of my children for their futures- especially Aria, with her unique challenges.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Three whole years of therapy with no improvement whatsoever.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Perhaps it was time for a different approach.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If anything happened to me, who would protect her?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Daisy\u2019s POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
I straightened my posture the moment I heard movement from inside Ridley\u2019s office. Quickly checking my reflection in my compact mirror, I adjusted a stray hair and prepared my most enchanting smile. After all, one never knows when an opportunity to make an impression might arise.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As the door opened, I stepped forward with practiced grace, only to freeze mid\u2013stride.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018You?!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My pupils contracted sharply as recognition hit. Standing before me was the same woman I\u2019d encountered at Navy Pier with Aria. This\u00a0<\/p>\n
couldn\u2019t be happening.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She was supposed to be a nobody\u2013a random stranger I\u2019d never see again. Yet here she was, emerging from Ridley\u2019s private office like she belonged there.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019d been waiting outside for over an hour while this\u2026 this interloper had been alone with Ridley. My mind raced with unpleasant\u00a0<\/p>\n
possibilities.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The confrontation escalated quickly. When she mentioned \u201cauditioning to be someone\u2019s stepmother,\u201d my face burned with humiliation. That day at Navy Pier, being stared at by strangers, was the most mortifying experience of my life. And now this nobody was bringing it up, slapping me across the face with my own embarrassment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Black family name might not carry the weight it once did, but I was still Daisy Black, respected throughout Chicago\u2019s North Shore. Who was she to speak to me this way?\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
144\u00a0<\/p>\n
13:18 Sat, Jan 31 d.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 90\u00a0<\/p>\n
I raised my hand, ready to deliver the slap she deserved, when footsteps approached from behind. My arm dropped instantly as I turned,\u00a0<\/p>\n
forcing tears to well in my eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cRidley\u2026\u201d I let his name hang in the air, my voice deliberately vulnerable.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When I finally had the chance to talk with Ridley, he seemed more indifferent to me than before, even directly stating that he would never marry me. Was it because of this woman? But I wouldn\u2019t give up. All these years of effort had to pay off eventually. After enduring so much humiliation already, what was a little more? I swallowed my bitterness, maintaining my fragile facade as I used Aria\u2019s condition as an excuse to secure some private time with him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I had hoped he would visit Aria at the apartment more often\u2013creating opportunities for us to grow closer\u2013but instead, he suggested I bring Aria to the company! That way, I still wouldn\u2019t get any private time with him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it\u2019s inconvenient for you,\u201d Ridley said slowly, \u201cI can arrange for someone else to bring Aria to the office.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cConvenient? Of course it\u2019s convenient,\u201d I responded immediately. It wasn\u2019t ideal, but it was better than being cut out completely.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bringing Aria to the company weekly meant more chances to spend time with Ridley. If I seized every opportunity, someday he would surely recognize my worth. I believed this with absolute conviction\u2026\u00a0<\/p>\n
Leaving the CEO\u2019s office, I paused at the doorway to the secretarial department. An assistant quickly approached to greet me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I asked casually, \u201cThat woman who just met with your CEO about work\u2013who is she?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s Director Wright from Nest Design\u2019s interior design department.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I smiled coldly to myself.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A mere director from a subsidiary company, yet she dared to set her sights on the CEO?\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dream on.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Standing in the hallway, I slowly dialed a number: \u201cI want all information on that woman sent to my inbox within three days\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Sky Remembered the Touch of Our UnfiAnished Goodbyes by Lysa Orion Rehn 90 Ridley\u2019s POV\u00a0 75\u00a0 I stepped into […]<\/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-30489","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\/30489","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=30489"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30489\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30489"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30489"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30489"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}