hapter 91\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cedar\u2019s POV\u00a0<\/p>\n
68%\u00a0<\/p>\n
I stepped through the gleaming doors of an upscale boutique on Michigan Avenue, the unfamiliar scent of luxury and perfume greeting me. My heart fluttered with a mix of anxiety and anticipation. The Lakefront Tower design exhibition was only two days away, and I still hadn\u2019t found\u00a0<\/p>\n
the perfect outfit for the opening night.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This wasn\u2019t the kind of place I\u2019d normally shop\u2013these luxury boutiques had always felt like foreign territory to me. But with my new salary, I could finally afford to splurge a little. Besides, if I was going to be presenting alongside Mr. Sterling at the exhibition, I needed to look the part. I rationalized the expense by telling myself I\u2019d wear it to future events too. One investment piece for my professional wardrobe.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After spending forty minutes sorting through designer racks, I settled on a sleek charcoal gray dress with subtle detailing around the neckline- professional enough for a corporate event but with just enough flair to stand out. As the sales associate wrapped up my purchase, a flash of\u00a0<\/p>\n
movement caught my eye.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the children\u2019s section, partially hidden by a display of haute couture, stood a small figure in a pale pink tutu. Her graceful posture immediately captured my attention\u2013back perfectly straight, chin slightly elevated, arms positioned with precision that belied her age.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I recognized her immediately. The little girl from Navy Pier\u2013Aria.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She was adjusting the tulle of her performance tutu with meticulous care, her expression serious and focused. What struck me most wasn\u2019t her technical precision, but the shadow of melancholy that seemed to hover around her. No six\u2013year\u2013old should look that somber, that burdened.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWould you like to see how it looks in stage lighting? the boutique assistant was asking her. \u201cThe fitting room has special theatrical lights.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Aria nodded silently, her eyes downcast.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I glanced around, expecting to see that woman\u2013Daisy\u2013hovering nearby with her affected smile and watchful eyes. But there was no sign of her, just a suited man who appeared to be security standing at a respectful distance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Something about the scene felt wrong. I found myself walking toward them before I\u2019d made a conscious decision.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cExcuse me,\u201d I said to the security guard, keeping my voice low. \u201cIs she here alone? Where\u2019s her guardian\u2013Daisy, the woman who was with her\u00a0<\/p>\n
at Navy Pier?\u2018\u00a0<\/p>\n
The man stepped forward with a stern expression, positioning himself between me and Aria. \u201cExcuse me, ma\u2019am. I\u2019m afraid I can\u2019t allow strangers to approach Younger Miss.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Before I could respond, Aria looked up from adjusting her tatu. Her eyes widened in recognition, and to everyone\u2019s surprise\u2013especially the guards\u2013she quickly moved around him and came to stand directly in front of me, her small face tilted upward with unmistakable recognition.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The security guard appeared completely taken aback. \u201cMiss Aria?\u201d His voice held confusion and concern. Clearly, this wasn\u2019t typical behavior for\u00a0<\/p>\n
her.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve met before, I explained gently, not wanting to create a scene. \u201cAt Hvy Pier a few weeks ago. 1 knelt down to her level. \u201cHello again,\u00a0<\/p>\n
Aria. That\u2019s a beautiful tutu you\u2019re trying on.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She nodded, the ghost of a smile touching her lips.\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
11 15 Mon, Feb 2\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 91\u00a0<\/p>\n
*4\u00a0<\/p>\n
60%\u00a0<\/p>\n
The guard looked between us, clearly unsure how to proceed. Arla a obvio comfort with me bad thrown him off script. 1\u2026 well, this is unusual. Miss Arta rarely approaches anyone.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Where\u2019s her guardian?\u2018 I asked, still troulded by the absence of supervising Ming Black, I believe?\u2018\u00a0<\/p>\n
He hesitated, then sighed, seeming to decide that since Arla trusted me, quick drink at the Bellevue Club, Naid she\u2019d be back shortly. He checked\u00a0<\/p>\n
could speak freely: \u201cMiss Black said she needed to step out for a\u00a0<\/p>\n
watch with a frown. \u201cThat was about an hour ago.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
My eyebrows shot up. An hour? She left a six year old child for an hour witle she went for cocktails?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Sky Remembered the Touch of Our UnfiAnished Goodbyes by Lysa Orion Rehn 91 hapter 91\u00a0 Cedar\u2019s POV\u00a0 68%\u00a0 I […]<\/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-30490","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\/30490","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=30490"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30490\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30490"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30490"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30490"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}