Chapter 13: Birthday Outing
Moana

Despite everything that happened that day, Edrick still requested that I spend the night with him. I made sure to put more distance between us this time, hoping that we wouldn’t wake up in each other’s arms again in the morning.

When I woke up, my cardigan was still on and Edrick’s side of the bed was empty. I heard the shower running in the bathroom, so I let out a sigh of relief and took it as my chance to get up and leave the room before I would have to talk to him. Not only was it still awkward to look him in the eye with our new arrangement, but I was admittedly still a little upset with him for yelling at me publicly the day before.

I quickly got up and made the bed, opening the curtains out of habit to let some sunlight into the room before I put my slippers on and headed out.

“Moana?” Ella’s little voice said, the second I walked out of the room. It made me jump a bit. I wasn’t expecting her to be standing right outside the door.

“Good morning, Miss Ella,” I said, managing a smile. “Are you feeling better today?”

Ella nodded, but her eyebrows were scrunched together and her eyes were narrowed suspiciously. “What were you doing in my daddy’s room again?”

“I, um…” I stammered, realizing that I couldn’t use the crepes for breakfast excuse two days in a row.

“Good morning, Princess!” Edrick said from behind me, brushing past me to scoop Ella up off the floor. Her look of concern and confusion quickly turned into a wide grin.

“Daddy!” Ella exclaimed, giggling as Edrick blew a raspberry on her cheek. “Where are you taking me for my birthday?”

let out a sigh of relief to know that Ella seemed to have completely forgotten about seeing me coming out of her father’s room; I had also forgotten that today was her

room for breakfast, his muscles bulging through his white button-down shirt and his hair still a bit damp at the ends from his shower, “Daddy has to

smile faded and she began to

know, sweetheart,” Edrick replied. “But Moana will do something fun with you today. And I’ll be home later to have dinner and give you

“And cake?” Ella asked.

“And cake,” Edrick replied.

that morning, Ella was — unsurprisingly — quite sad that her father couldn’t spend her birthday with her, so I tried to come

asked, to which the little girl shook her head and folded her arm across her chest, sticking her

met with indignant refusal. I knew she just wanted to spend

entire time and didn’t let

will take you there,” Selina said to me as I put Ella’s sun hat on to protect

Ella’s training to visit the orphanage when I should’ve been keeping an eye on her, but

I was relieved to see her face disappear as the

asked Ella as

to admire her brand new matching blue sandals — she clearly liked the color blue, as I was quickly learning. “I don’t really get to go anywhere except for special

allowed to go anywhere. Even growing up in the orphanage, Sophia took us on the occasional field trip or ice cream outing. We even went to the local swimming pool twice a month in

“How come?” I asked.

across the lobby as soon as the elevator doors opened. “He says that too many people will know who he is, so he has to stay hidden. Because

stifling a laugh at Ella’s childish

left the building and climbed into the back of the town car where

took us to the theme park and bought our tickets, and soon Ella was bursting with

second time, I started to feel sick. And it was broiling hot outside in the summer sun, so hot that I had resorted to fanning myself with a pamphlet I picked up at the information booth. But Ella hardly seemed to notice the heat and

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