Selena had never received so many gifts at one time. She had gotten so much lingerie that she could open her own boutique. They had also played a drinking game that had almost all of them two sheets in the wind. Joanna was the only one still sober. She had opted out of the game.
The girls started telling bad date stories. Selena excused herself to use the bathroom. She walked to the bedroom and used the bathroom adjacent to it. When she walked out, she sat on the edge of the queen size bed. She thought about tomorrow and then her mind drifted to after tomorrow. What would married life be like now she knew she loved Christopher?
The door cracked open. Beverly stuck her head inside. “Hey, are you okay?” Her brown hair had grown another inch since December.
<Christopher had guided the girls who were all over him to a few of his old frat buddies and retreated to the other side of the room and took a seat. As everyone drank and flirted with the girls, Mel approached Christopher with two glasses. One was tall and full of clear liquid and ice. The other glass was shorter with brown liquid. “It’s ice water. You need to stay hydrated. We don’t want you waking up with a throbbing headache and cotton mouth in the morning. Your fiancé wouldn’t be happy with that,” Mel slurred and offered the tall glass to Christopher. He took it. “Thanks.” Mel sat down on a stool that matched the armchair Christopher sat in.
When Christopher opened his eyes again it was daybreak. The black man, who Christopher learned last night was called Cootie, looked down at him. “Hey, playa, you awake?” Cootie asked. “Yeah,” he answered hoarsely. He had a headache. “Ah, shit.” He slowly sat up. Cootie backed away to give him some room. Christopher looked around the room.Riley and Allen were dead asleep in armchairs with their flies open and their shoes off. The rest of his frat brothers were gone. Trevor and Bruce were no were to be seen. A few of the strippers were putting on coats.“What time is it?” Christopher asked weakly.“It’s almost seven a.m. Look man, I know you busy today, but I can’t leave without the rest
Ray had driven faster than he ever had since he had been working for the family to the Lenox Hill Hospital. Dr. Jonathan Kilmer had met them in the parking lot ten minutes after they got there. “You guys were lucky I had gotten out of surgery an hour ahead of schedule,” Kilmer said as he climbed into the back of the limo. “Mr. Christopher Hudson, I presume,” He said as he hovered over Christopher. They had never formally met. “Yeah. I would shake your hand, but you know,” Christopher stated with a deep frown. “Yes. Trevor said you were on the way to the church to get married and you just went limp, correct?”&
Christopher tried not to roll his eyes when Heather entered the limo. She had on gold wire-rimmed glasses, a white coat buttoned up to her neck, black stockings, and black high heels. A black purse hung from her shoulder and she was carrying a clipboard. The back of the car was getting full. It took her fifteen minutes to show up, which told Christopher that Kilmer had to convince his wife to come – and to ride to the church while she treated him. “Before I do anything, I need you to sign these forms,” she said without saying hello first. “I can’t,” Christopher bit out. “Can’t move your hands either, huh?” she said. He could have sworn he heard a
Selena had just finished taking pictures with her bridesmaids, Uncle Bill, and Aunt Elle. Her wedding dress was a princess ball gown with sheer long sleeves. The dress had a scoop neckline, but it didn’t show any cleavage. She had wanted to be respectful and wear something conservative in the church yet classy. Her reception dress, which she bought with the other half of the two hundred thousand dollars Christopher had given her, was a lot sexier and fun. There was a knock at the door. Susan walked to it and cracked it open. “Well, hello, Susan,” Trevor said happily. “Is the bride receiving visitors?”&n
At the church, Christopher didn’t think Selena could look more beautiful - until she reappeared by his side to walk into the ballroom at the Hudson Estate. Selena had changed into a satin formfitting white dress with a slit all the way up her thigh. The bodice of her dress was pulled back like a corset showing a respectable, yet tantalizing amount of cleavage. Her shoulders and arms were bare for him to admire. She had removed her veil letting her hairstyle show more clearly. “Wow,” he blurted out as she approached him. Selena bashfully glanced down. “I take it you like my reception dress.” “I like it a lot, but I liked the other one, too,” he assured her. &
Christopher and Trevor stood in the ballroom talking as the party continued. Christopher was thinking Selena and Megan had done too good of a job with the reception. It was almost ten o’clock and he hadn’t seen one guest leave. The reception had officially started at six. Christopher’s eyes widened when he saw one of the bartenders bend over and pull out two bottles of champagne. He was heading to the champagne faucet, as Christopher called it. He leaned towards his brother. “When in the hell is this going to end? Or are all these people planning to stay all night and drink everything we got in the house?” Trevor laughed. “Maybe they are having their homes fumigated and can’t leave yet,” he jested.&
“Excuse me, Hasnet,” Christopher said as he approached them. “May I cut in to dance with my wife?” Selena had no idea Christopher was so protective until tonight. She found it sweet that he wanted to make sure she wasn’t overwhelmed with meeting new people. “Of course,” Hasnet said as his white teeth appeared below his dark thick mustache. “And blessings to you both. May you have many babies,” he said with a curt nod. Selena resisted the instant frown that wanted to show. Babies? Having children was the last thing on her mind. “Uh, thank you,” Chr
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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’