We Want Mommy Not You Daddy (Cedar) novel Chapter 187

Chapter 187

Ridley’s POV

“Since I’ve delivered your birthday gift, I should be going now.” Cedar

gathered her belongings, already turning to leave.

“Wait.” I rose to my feet, my decision crystallizing in that moment.

Never in my life had I been more certain of what I wanted. On my

thirty–first birthday, I decided to be selfish for once. I’ve always

restrained myself, living for the Sterling legacy, but with my life

entering its countdown phase, I wanted to live for myself, just this

once.

I closed the distance between us in measured steps.

Cedar’s eyes widened as she watched emotions surge through my

typically controlled expression. Something in my approach must have

frightened her, because she took a step back.

Before she could retreat further, my hand found the small of her back, drawing her close. The heat of my palm against her waist seemed to

send waves of warmth between us.

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“Mr. Sterling, what are you doing? Please let me go.” Her voice

trembled like autumn leaves.

I gazed into her eyes, my voice dropping to a timbre I rarely used

outside of my most private moments. “There’s something I need to

tell you.”

“Whatever it is…” Her voice had softened to a whisper. “It’s late. Can’t

it wait until tomorrow?”

But I couldn’t let her go. Once I’d made a decision, I never wavered.

I wanted to try with this woman. Whether for that small, persistent

feeling in my chest, or for my children’s obvious hopes…

“When I blew out the candles earlier, I made a wish,” I said, my words

measured and deliberate.

Cedar’s eyelid twitched nervously.

Before she could respond, I continued. “I wished that before I turn

thirty–two, I would live without regrets.” My hand tightened slightly

at her waist, my gaze holding hers captive. “I can’t let you be the one

that got away.”

Cedar’s POV

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When I watched him smoothly accept the tie and handle it with such

care, my anxious heart finally settled. I’d worried he might find the

gift too modest for someone of his stature.

Instead, he treated it like something precious. For a moment, I felt

precious too.

But just as I was about to leave, Ridley stopped me, suddenly pulling

me into his embrace. My heart nearly burst from my chest as flashes

of our intimate moments from my dreams resurfaced.

I’d never been this close to a man in real life. Though I’d had admirers

in college, I always kept them at a distance. Yet somehow, with Ridley,

I didn’t want to pull away. Instead, I felt myself melting, wanting to

lean into his warmth.

I felt almost intoxicated as his gentle hand pressed against my waist.

My legs weakened beneath me, my body unconsciously shifting its

weight against his solid frame.

The last shreds of my rational mind urged me to leave, “Mr. Sterling,

what are you doing? Please let me go,” I managed, my voice barely

audible.

He said he needed to tell me something. I had a premonition that

whatever he was about to say would change everything between us.

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The shift felt too sudden, too overwhelming. “Whatever it is… it’s

late. Can’t it wait until tomorrow?”

But Ridley maintained his hold, even tightening his embrace slightly.

I felt like I might suffocate from the intensity of my own emotions.

My brain stopped functioning properly as I heard his words: “…I

made a wish… I can’t let you be the one that got away.”

The world seemed to tilt on its axis.

All other sounds faded to background noise as his words echoed in

my mind I can’t let you be the one that got away…

This powerful, untouchable man was saying these things to me.

What did he mean? What was he trying to do?

My mind went completely blank, his words short–circuiting every rational thought. I nearly collapsed against him, my legs refusing to

support me.

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