We Want Mommy Not You Daddy (Cedar) novel Chapter 146

Rachel’s POV

The ballroom air had crystallized around us, every breath visible in

the tension. I watched Daisy Black dab at her carefully manufactured tears, her designer dress still immaculate despite her theatrical collapse to her knees moments earlier.

“Auntie Rachel, I swear I never meant to harm Aria…”

But my gaze had already hardened to ice. None of us were fools. Once the veil of deception had been torn away, anyone who couldn’t see

the truth wasn’t fit to be called family.

“Daisy,” I said, keeping my voice steady despite the rage building inside me, “the Sterling family has never treated you with anything but generosity.” I kept my posture rigid despite the rage building

inside me. “When your family’s design firm collapsed during the

recession and your uncle tried to marry you off to that elderly

developer to settle debts, it was our family who intervened. We

rescued you out of respect for old associations, not because we

couldn’t manage without you.”

“I know,” Daisy sobbed, shoulders trembling. “I’ve always been

grateful to the Sterlings…”

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“Is this.what you call gratitude?”

Ridley’s voice sliced through the room like winter wind across Lake

Michigan. Daisy shuddered violently and collapsed fully to the marble

floor, expensive heels skittering away from her feet.

Disappointment and fury coursed through me. I had given this

woman my complete trust, entrusting my granddaughter–my

sensitive, talented Aria–to her care. For years, she had been the

primary influence in Aria’s young life. If Cedar Wright hadn’t

discovered the truth today, we would still be blind to what was

happening under our own roof.

“Daisy, why would you do this?” I asked, barely containing my rage

behind a practiced socialite’s composure.

“Auntie Rachel, I was wrong…” Her voice cracked. “But you have to understand–I’m not her mother. I don’t have that natural bond, that

endless well of patience. When Aria defied me again and again…” She swallowed hard. “Sometimes firmer methods were the only way to get

through to her.”

“Auntie Rachel, I know nothing I say can erase what I did. Please give

me another chance. I’ll take better care of her, be twice as attentive. I

swear this will never happen again. Please, just one more

opportunity…”

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The once–celebrated Chicago socialite was now begging on our floor, crying as if her heart would break. I could barely stand to look at her and coldly averted my eyes to the painting on the far wall.

Ridley’s POV

Daisy crawled toward me, clutching at my suit pants. “Ridley, even

you correct the children when they misbehave. I just used my own

methods. I was wrong, but surely not unforgivably so. Please, give me

one more chance? Aria is only six, and she’s… sensitive. If you replace

me with someone new, how will she adjust? The child psychologist

said familiar people should care for Aria. Suddenly changing her

routine will only make her withdraw more–Ahh!”

Before she could finish, I grabbed her chin with calculated force. I felt

my control slipping, something that rarely happened in boardrooms or business negotiations, but when it came to my children, all bets

were off.

“Daisy Black, you calculated that the Sterling family wouldn’t replace you, so you felt free to abuse my daughter?” I could feel the ice–cold fury spreading through my veins. “Did you truly believe I would give you another opportunity to harm her?”

“No, that’s not it,” Daisy’s tears streamed down her cheeks. “Ridley, I truly love Aria, and she loves me too. Yes, sometimes I lost patience during rehearsals, but you can’t deny that Aria still needs me. Ridley,

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please,.one more chance? Ask Aria herself if she wants me to stay…”

Aria stood near the table, wrapped in a melancholy that no six–year- old should know. Her eyes stared unfocused outside, as if whatever was happening had nothing to do with her.

E

I released Daisy with disgust and turned toward my daughter. The

rage I felt instantly softened at the sight of her small frame. Even

crouching down, I still towered over her.

“Aria, sweetheart,” I tried to gentle my voice, though it still carried

the cold edge that had served me well in business. “Tell Daddy, do you

still want Miss Daisy to be your dance teacher?”

I’ve never been good with tenderness. The boardroom, architectural

plans, and business acquisitions come naturally to me. But with Aria,

I always try to soften my approach.

Aria’s gaze gradually focused, landing on Daisy who knelt on the

floor. Though disheveled, Daisy’s expression shifted to something

that made my blood freeze–a look my daughter clearly recognized.

I watched Aria’s small body suddenly tense, her posture rigid with

fear.

I missed nothing of her reaction. Cedar had been right all along. In

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Aria’s eyes when she looked at Daisy was pure terror.

I had unknowingly allowed my daughter to live in fear for several

years.

“Aria, darling,” Daisy’s voice took on a sickeningly sweet quality,

“please give me one more chance?” She inched closer.

In her eyes was pleading, but more prominently, threat.

This woman was threatening my daughter right in front of me.

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