Hudson looked at the lonely table in the corner of the room, and his lips twitched. Not only had his grandmother not greeted him or been the wingman he wanted her to be, but she had also put him in a corner like a small child in a time-out! He wanted to protest but thought better of it. He could give the two loves of his life a time to catch up with each other. From the way they teared up when they embraced each other, it was obvious they needed it. Furthermore, he could still hear their conversation from where he would be sitting and gather whatever information his grandmother was willing to dig out from Cherise for him.
He walked toward the table and sulked a bit. Even if he thought he was okay with it, it still didn't feel good to be excluded.
Cherise only remembered she was still wearing her coat when one of the maids offered to put it away for her. She apologized because of etiquette and everything, but Agatha just brushed it off, telling her it was alright. Cherise stood up and shrugged off her coat, revealing her power suit, which lit Agatha's eyes up.
"You look good in a suit, my dear," Agatha praised her, making Cherise smile. "Sit. I heard you've started working for Angelworld Jewelry. Tell me all about it."
Cherise sat down and looked quizzingly at Hudson, who shook his head. He never told his grandmother about Cherise working at Angelworld Jewelry. "You knew?" she asked as she turned to look at Agatha.
"I'm still the matriarch of the Amery family, you know?" Agatha said proudly. "Even if I'm not out and about, I have sources to tell me things."
"So you knew about the contract termination between Angelworld and La Jewel?" Cherise asked, feeling guilty about it because it would still affect Agatha.
Agatha waved her hand as if it didn't matter at all, and maybe it didn't because the Amery Group was huge with many sectors, and La Jewel was only one small sector of it.
"I personally think your CEO was too nice to my grandson," she paused to glare at her so-called grandson, who was listening closely to their conversation.
"She shouldn't have given that much to him," she added. "She should just terminate the contract without giving him anything."
That made Cherise giggle. "You know it'll affect your bank account, right?" she asked.
"I have more than enough money to last for the rest of my life and many lifetimes over, and they have more than enough as well," Agatha pointed out.
Cherise knew the feelings. Her family also didn't need to work if they didn't want to but then what was the fun in that?
She wasn't like all those high-society women who only wanted to lounge around, shop, gossip, have tea parties, and all. She loved working.
Actually, she loved the sense of achievement from doing something, just like being the champion of Taekwondo, being Miss X, and being Q.
She guessed Katherine and Paula felt the same way as her, while Julian, Logan, and Hudson, as men, sought the feeling of having power and influence over others.
Agatha and Cherise stopped talking as the maids brought up their dinner, and Cherise became teary again as she saw most of the dishes were her favorites.
"You still remember.." she whispered.
"Cherise, of course, I remember." Agatha reached out and squeezed her hand. "I love you as one of my own. Of course, I'll always remember."
Cherise stood up and went to hug the old lady who always cared about her from behind. "Thank you. I love you, too."
Agatha patted Cherise's arm and felt her eyes become misty. She always felt guilty for not being able to protect Cherise from Dahlia and Polly, and even Hudson, but like others, she didn't know the extent of Dahlia and Polly's bullying toward Cherise until Hudson and Cherise divorced.
Dahlia very seldom came to visit her, while Polly, even though she visited more often than her mother, always acted clingy and like a cute little child whenever Agatha told her to be nice to Cherise.
Since Polly was her only granddaughter, Agatha had a soft spot for her in her heart and never once thought she could be so cruel to her own sister-in-law.
Of course, Agatha knew they disliked Cherise, but once she knew how much they hated her, she called them to her mansion and chastised them about it.
She wanted to punish them more, especially Dahlia, but they were under Hudson's care. Hudson was the one who could cut them off any allowances, but he was blinded by his prejudice and Emely. Unfortunately, by then, Hudson had divorced Cherise and Agatha felt too guilty to try to contact her.
She felt Cherise needed to distance herself from anyone connected to her grandson, and as much as it pained her to lose such a lovely granddaughter-in-law, she could understand her decision and respected it.
Which was why she felt elated when Hudson told her he was bringing Cherise home for dinner. She made sure the chef cooked Cherise's favorite dishes to let her know she would always be welcomed by Agatha. Hudson, being served at the same time but only for one person, looked at the exchange between his grandmother and ex-wife and felt his heart squeezed uncomfortably again.
He really regretted divorcing Cherise. He could now see clearly how close those two women were, and he had torn them apart.
He regretted taking Cherise away from his grandmother. He knew his mother and grandmother weren't close, and Polly only visited Agatha once in a while.
His grandmother must have been lonely, and Cherise must have visited her lots of times throughout their marriage for them to become this close, and he had taken away the one person who truly cared about his grandma other than him. Agatha cleared her throat and said, "Alright, enough of trying to make an old lady cry. We should start eating before the food gets cold."
Cherise blinked her eyes, smiled and returned to her seat where they began eating while Agatha asked about her job, with Cherise happily answering any questions thrown at her.
Hudson started eating at the same time and realized he really knew basically nothing about Cherise. He didn't know the things she loved or her favorite food, which, judging by the spread of dishes in front of him, was seafood.
He listened intensely to Cherise and Agatha's conversation while he ate, and the more he listened, the more confused he became.
From the way Cherise was describing her job, it didn't feel like she was just a mere personal assistant. It felt like she was the CEO of Angelworld Jewelry instead.
But it was impossible. As much as Julian loved her, he wouldn't give away a company to his girlfriend, would he?
At least Hudson wouldn't. Did Julian love Cherise so much that he was willing to let one of his companies be a playground for her?
That thought made him want to growl in anger. If Cherise wanted it, he could also give her La Jewel.
He would fight Julian for her.
He had lost her once because of his stupidity; he would try his hardest to get her back, even if it meant going against someone more influential than him this time.
Soon, their dinner ended, and the maids cleared their table. Hudson kept waiting for his grandmother to ask him to join them but sighed in defeat when he finally realized his grandmother would not relieve him from his corner time soon. "Can I open your gift?" Agatha asked Cherise.
"Of course." Cherise smiled at her, and Agatha asked her maid to bring Cherise's gift to her.
She unwrapped the gift to replace a huge tin, and when she opened it, she found a few smaller tins inside.
Agatha picked one in her hand and smiled brightly before closing it and opening the others then chose one to be brewed for them to enjoy.
"How did you get these tea flowers?" she asked Cherise. "They are not available in this country."
"I actually stole them from Julian." Cherise laughed. "We love tea, and he always has an assortment of them ready at his place."
Jealousy coursed through Hudson's pores again. They loved tea, and Julian always had an assortment so Cherise could drink whatever tea she wanted,?
He really wanted to take those tea flowers from his grandmother and dump everything at the lake outside the house.
Alas, he could not do it, or his grandma would behead him on the spot.
"Speaking of Julian Alster, I heard you are with him now?" Agatha teased Cherise.
Cherise only laughed in response. With Hudson sitting within earshot, she couldn't tell Agatha she wasn't 'with' her brother. Some sentences are incomplete if you are not reading this novel on Ebookex.com. Visit Ebookex.com to read the complete chapters for free."But I heard you are also close to Logan Jennings," Agatha continued. "Which one is your beloved now?"
Cherise shook her head and this time she could answer with certainty. "Logan is not my beloved, but I'm close with him."
"I understand." Agatha nodded in understanding. "If I were you, I would choose Julian as well. He's handsome and wealthy. And that body... Very dreamy like his grandfather. Logan is not bad, too, but I heard he could be brutal."
Hudson nearly passed out hearing Agatha's words. He did not need to listen to his grandmother's preference for men or how dreamy she found them!
"You knew my-" Cherise realized her mistake and quickly corrected herself. "You knew Julian's grandfather?"
Thankfully, it seemed like neither Agatha nor Hudson caught on to her mistake, as Agatha replied, "Yes, I do know him. My husband and Charles Alster used to do many business together."
That made sense. The Alster and the Amery had always been among the top groups of their countries. It wouldn't be a surprise if they had worked together before.
"So many ladies were clamoring for his attention and I would have too if I weren't already in love with my late husband." Agatha laughed.
"Was he as gentle as Julian?" Cherise asked, wanting more information to tease her grandpa about it, and Agatha didn't disappoint her.
"He is, but he is more flirty than Julian." Agatha laughed again as she reminisced about the past. "From what I heard, Julian always kept away from the ladies until you came along, but not Charles."
"You mean he was a playboy?" Cherise asked in shock. Never in her life she pictured her grandpa as a playboy.
"No, not a playboy." Agatha shook her head, her smile still playing on her lips. "Just a flirt. Until he met and fell in love with Eloise, who was such a lovely woman."
Eloise Alster, her grandmother, just like Agatha said, was a very lovely woman. She, Cherise, and her mom used to be close until they died and left her with the men of the family.
Agatha gave her the same feeling Eloise used to give her, and maybe that was why Cherise became close to Agatha. Then she thought of Agatha's words about her grandpa being a flirt. Maybe her grandpa was like Katherine. Cherise couldn't stop imagining what would happen if he was still one. The image of her grandpa flirting with another old lady or even a younger one gave her goosebumps.
Not that she would be against her grandpa having another wife even if he was too old for it, but she did not need to have that image in her mind.
Luckily, the maid served them the tea Agatha had chosen, and Cherise could stop thinking about it as she enjoyed her cup of tea.
Hudson took a sip, replaceing it to be quite pleasant. It brought back memories of Cherise bringing him tea whenever he worked late in the villa.
He frowned when he remembered the taste of the tea from Keith's office and the one Cherise gave him. They tasted the same. Did Keith give her some so he could sleep peacefully? Maybe he needed to ask Cherise or Keith about it later. "Cherise, did you watch Hudson's press conference?" Agatha suddenly asked, surprising Cherise and making Hudson's ears perk up.
Was his grandma finally going to help him get her back?
"I did." Cherise nodded.
"You and Julian... Are you guys serious?" Agatha asked carefully, and Hudson held his breath while waiting for her answer.
Cherise couldn't answer that question without revealing her identity, so she chose not to reply.
Hudson didn't know what to feel because Cherise neither confirmed nor denied her relationship with Julian every time his grandma asked her.
But then he thought it didn't matter. As long as they weren't married yet, he still had a chance.
Agatha looked at Cherise calculatingly before asking, "Now that you know the truth about Hudson and Emely, do you think you can forgive him and give him another chance?"
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