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Chapter 21
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2024-10-29 19:42:56It was Christmas Eve and Selena was going to spend tonight and the next few days at the Hudson estate. Her new sofa, lamps, tables, and chairs for her room had been delivered last week. She had kept the canopy bed because she loved it. Joanna had left her a holiday card and a poinsettia in her room. They had decided to keep their friendship secret. Selena didn’t want to compromise Joanna’s job and Joanna didn’t want the other employees eyeing her like she was a handpicked favorite.
Selena was so excited about spending the holidays with Christopher and his brothers that she almost forgot everyone’s gifts at the apartment. She had arrived two hours ago. After freshening up, she put on a red cocktail dress. The straps hung from behind her neck, lifting and smashing her cleavage together good and tight. It fit her body like a glove. She had put on a pair of black high heel shoes with straps
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Shit, shit, shit, he thought as he dashed across the shiny wood floor in the mansion. Christopher hadn’t gotten Selena a thing for Christmas. His plan had been when she asked where her gift was he would have said that the gift was marrying him in February and be done with it. He had already given her a million bucks in cash for the wedding and indulged her need to have a wedding in the first place – a wedding that required them to go to marriage counseling for a Catholic priest to marry them for crying out loud.Damn her for getting me a good gift and double damn Trevor and Bruce for getting her fantastic gifts. Trevor had stuck his tongue out at Christopher as Selena squeezed and kissed him like he was the only man in the room, leaving lipstick all over his cheek. Christopher had to top him – and Bruce. Normally, he didn’t care if and when he came off as an asshole, but this was different. Selena really was having a good time
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Christmas Day had been slow paced – and easy going thanks to Trevor’s light hearted banter. Selena would have been boiling mad all day and night if Trevor wasn’t good at lightening the mood and making her laugh. Spending time with Trevor had reminded her of his tips concerning Christopher. She had made a tactical error last night by going to Christopher. One of the tips was not to go to Christopher, but get him to chase her. But, after what Christopher had said last night she didn’t want him around her at all much less touching her. After dinner, Selena wanted to attend Christmas mass at St. Joseph’s. She was planning to go alone, but Trevor and Bruce insisted on going with her and then looked at Christopher. Her fiancé had rolled his
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They were having girl talk at a coffee shop. Beverly and Joanna looked horrified by the time Selena finished telling them about her Christmas at the Hudsons. “Ugh, God,” Beverly scoffed with revulsion. “I kept my mouth shut this whole time, but damn it I can’t do it any longer. Selena, call it off.” “What?” Selena blurted out with shock. “You heard me. It’s not worth it. Who does that jerk think he is? God’s gift to women? Even if it is for five years, it’s not worth it,” Beverly stated passionately. “I have to agree with Beverly,” Joanna said
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This couldn’t wait until she saw him tomorrow at the office. She drove her old Hyundai like a mad woman, weaving around traffic, angrily blowing her horn at jerkoff drivers to the New York Country Club. Christopher and Bruce were lunching with businessmen who wanted to build three luxury resorts in the Philippines. They were willing to come to New York when Bruce had told them that traveling for him and Christopher would be easier after the holidays. The men hadn’t wanted to wait because the longer they waited the harder it would have been for them to find contractors. A monsoon had hit the Philippines in October. The closes and most reputable contractors were already booked up until August. Other contractors close to the Philippines had unreasonable quotes. So the men had decided to meet the Hudson brothers to see what The Hudson Group had to offer.
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Selena woke up late the next morning to photographers and reporters outside of her apartment building. When the news had broken about the engagement, they hadn’t surrounded the building. But, now they were down there like they were waiting for the biggest news of the day. She knew they were there because the news of the engagement being off had gotten out. What she couldn’t figure out was how it got out so quickly. She didn’t feel like dealing with the hassle of going out for a bagel, so she just turned around and got back on the elevator. When she secured her lock on her door, her cell phone rang. She fumbled around in her purse for it. It was Megan. “Hello?” “Oh
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Selena was getting ready for her first night out as a single woman – again. She put on a silver shiny dress that hung low on her chest and rode high on her thighs. The dress was so short she couldn’t wear stockings, but that was fine with her. She had decided to let loose tonight. She was currently free of professional and personal responsibilities so why not try to have fun with her new freedom. Her heels were comfortable and matched her outfit. When she had bought the dress, she didn’t think she would have the guts to wear it because it was so provocative. Not now. If she was going to show off for Beverly’s blog, she may as well go all out. There was a knock at the door. Thinking it was Beverly, Selena swung it open without looking out the peepho
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Selena, Beverly, and Trevor were having a ball at The Oasis and it was only nine o’clock. When the three of them left Selena’s apartment, the three photographers got as close as they could, taking pictures of them getting into the black limo. True to his word, Trevor had Ray stop the limo at a jewelry store that was still open and bought her a diamond tennis bracelet, diamond earrings, and a matching necklace. There weren’t ungodly expensive, but the total still made her eyes water. Selena had put her new jewelry on in the limo. They had even enjoyed a glass of champagne as they rode to the club. As it turned out, Derek had given Selena tickets for the clubs Champagne VIP section. They were given purple wristbands that allowed them to go to the section and secure an oval shaped booth with purple upholstery for the night. The music play
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Christopher had thought he would never get to the big tacky club. He had hailed a cab right outside of Hudson. The driver was good and fast, but they had hit dead traffic. When the driver had told Christopher that they were only four blocks away straight ahead, he had paid the guy and got out. He had jogged the sidewalk, dodging drunk pedestrians all the way. Now he was standing outside in a line, waiting to get into to the place. A small crowd of people were hanging outside of the place. Christopher assumed they were nutso celebrity fans because he had cruised the whole blog, refreshing it for live updates and to see pictures of the rich and famous. There were no reporters which was a good thing. They were probably at Time Square. He looked at his watch. It was eleven-thirty. The line wasn’t that long and it was moving pretty good. Chris
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Once they were inside, Selena told Christopher that she was going to lay down for a while.“All right, you can run, but you can’t hide,” he had said. Selena had rolled her eyes and climbed the stairs. After she had changed into a white T-shirt and baggy blue shorts, she lay on her back and dosed off. When she woke up, it was an hour later. She wanted to unpack the rest of the things for the nursery. Her plan was to call Beverly to see if she and Chuck could come over tomorrow so they could finish what they started. Selena padded to the nursery. She stopped short in the door way at the sight of Christopher with his sleeves rolled up putting the crib together. H
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Selena felt something on her cheek. At first she thought she was dreaming. Then she felt a pair of lips on her forehead. She opened her eyes. As they came into focus, she felt a thumb caressing her cheek. Her mouth dropped open at the sight of her estranged husband. “Christopher,” she said softly. “I’m here,” he said. I see that. “Hey, honey,” a familiar voice greeted. She turned her head to see Trevor on the other side of the bed. Bruce was standing behind him. “What . . . how did you know I
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Christopher woke up without a hangover which he was grateful about. He had expected one since he hadn’t eaten before he started drinking last night. It was five a.m. He usually woke up between six and seven. But, he had turned in early last night because of the brandy.He missed Selena not being next to him in bed. His bed had never felt so empty than it has for the past two months. Today was the last day he was going to wake up alone.Not wanting to waste a moment of the day, he got out of bed. Christopher picked up the phone on the nightstand to ring William. He knew it was still pretty early, but Christopher was somewhat sure William never slept. When his butler picked up on the second ring, Christopher had asked for his breakfast to be ready in an hour.After Christopher took a shower, he put on a tan suit with a white shirt. He didn’t feel like wearing a tie today so he inserted a silver stud in the collar where a tie would be. He grabbed his wa
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One minute Christopher was fixing himself a brandy and asking Heather if she wanted one, the next minute he was spilling his guts to her. He had told Heather everything that had transpired concerning his marriage – from the beginning to end. Heather was flabbergasted. She was quiet as a church mouse when he had finally finished. Christopher plopped down in the chair across from her next to the fireplace. “Don’t just sit there gawking, Heather. Say something.” She was still silent. And then her mouth dropped open. “That . . . was one of the most . . . craziest stories I’ve ever heard. I’ve heard of arranged marriages. I’ve even heard of marriages taking
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Christopher was in his study at the Hudson mansion meeting with the PI he had hired a month ago. He sat behind his desk, reviewing the pictures as the PI told him what he had witnessed on his surveillance. Christopher could tell Selena had gained a few pounds, which was to be expected. He hadn’t seen her in almost two months so she would be five months pregnant now. A few of the pictures included Selena, Beverly, and a blonde walking the sidewalks in the city. He swallowed hard at the picture of Selena walking out of the baby store carrying a medium size shopping bag. “All in all, your wife is on the up and up,” Randy Rhodes concluded. “The only men I’ve seen go to her penthouse were your brothers, movers, and delivery men. He had concluded h
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One month later . . . Selena was in the room that was going to be the nursery. It was right next to the master bedroom. Beverly and her friend Chuck was there helping Selena decorate. At first she thought it might be too soon to decorate the room, but then she realized that it would have been foolish to put it off while she had the time. Considering what was going on in her life, she was going to be a single mother. She had to get done what she could before her bundle of joy arrived. She had decided to keep the walls white to match the white changing table, crib, and double rocker she had ordered last week. The items had arrived yesterday. Beverly was so excited about helping Selena decorate she had insisted on coming over today. Selena had decided
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One month later . . . Selena had moved out of the Waldorf Astoria last week and into the penthouse. She still couldn’t believe how long this had gone on. She knew Christopher could be stubborn in business, but she didn’t think he was in his personal life. Selena had done everything she could for three weeks to get Christopher to talk to her. She had called and texted so many times that he blocked her number. Selena had gone to the mansion three times. Christopher was never there. She had asked the staff to tell him she had come by, but he had never called the hotel or her cell. Selena had gone to the office so many times that the last time security had stopped her and told her she was no longer allowed in the building. The last humiliati
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The next day . . . Christopher had texted Bruce last night to tell him he was at a hotel. He still planned to go to Vermont today and be there all day tomorrow. Selena had tried texting and calling Christopher herself. He wouldn’t respond to her. Thanks to Trevor’s finesse, Derek did not press charges against Christopher. But, he made Trevor pay a price. Trevor wouldn’t tell Selena what it was. Whatever it was Trevor didn’t seem to be bothered by what he had to agree to.Selena had gone to work. She could barely concentrate. It was so obvious that Desmond made her sit down and tell him what was wrong. Selena just told him that she and Christopher had hit a rough patch. She didn’t get detailed, but she did tell hi
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Bruce only heard shouting coming from the study. When the doors opened, Christopher strode out like a man on a mission. His face was red and fire was in his eyes. Bruce called out to him as he chased him out the front door. Christopher acted like he didn’t hear him as he walked to his Lexus. It was the same make and model as Selena’s just a different color. He slammed into the car a sped off. Bruce mumbled to himself as he jogged to the study. He was taken aback when he had seen Selena huddled on the floor hugging herself, crying uncontrollably. William had knelt down next to her, trying to find out what was wrong. “William,” Bruce said as he walked into the room. “I’ll take care of her. Collect the staff into the kitchen and don’
