CHARLOTTE’S POV“Isn’t my skin just glowing at first glance?”“It is Madame!” Kate gushed excitedly, “It’s so much bouncier than before!” I let out a small laugh at her enthusiasm, “I meant, doesn’t it look even better than usual?”“Of course, it is Madame” another voice belonging to my skin specialist cut in, “Your skin is so smooth, so soft, oh! I’m so jealous!” She gushed in similar patterns as Kate but it didn’t make me happy like it was supposed to. “I’m not talking about the massage!” I snapped, pausing their excitedly squeal instantly.“Don’t you guys see the natural collagen?” I murmured, frowning as I stared back at myself in the mirror. “Natural collagen?” they asked together like the word was not of this world. “Can’t you see the natural collagen from Huddie’s love on my skin?” I repeatedly, getting irritated by their absurd looks now.“Oh, yes, yes, we see it!” they chorused, smiling apologetically but I didn’t want their comments again. It was bad enough that despite how
CHARLOTTE'S POV“I even heard she had held the post once already when her eldest child was in the same class! What more does she want then? She thinks it’s her family’s heirloom or what?! Humph! I absolutely cannot tolerate someone like her holding such power when we have young, sexy, beautiful and sophisticated women like you Mrs. Charlotte, in our gathering. So, I seized the position from them and came to meet you here to celebrate! I am willing to bear the title in name for you Madame, but the actual power will be in your hands”By the time she was finished, I was beyond speechless. I didn’t know whether to smile or be skeptical about her. It was almost unreal but it was actually happening before my eyes. “So, Mrs. Charlotte, will you be our Parent Representative and the real power of the position?” she asked with a smile but I said nothing, still contemplating it all in my head as she continued speaking.“I went a bit overboard and ordered a jewelry set you can use on the day of i
HUDSON’S POV“We won’t be able to tell of her improvements unless you bring her in for checkup, Mr. Rodriguez” the doctor explained calmly after going through Aby’s monthly report. After that last time, she was diagnosed, a routine report on her behavior was requested every month and I had ensured I submitted.Not skipping a month or make excuses because in a way, it also helped me keep track of Charlotte’s contributions/ changes towards Aby. And I thought everything was going well, at least not until I was called in by the doctor earlier today. “She has shown signs of improvement from your reports but we cannot be sure it is not her mind building a coping mechanism to make her seem like she is well, which is not that bad actually. Just that, the dangers of this situation, is a mental break down. The day the coping mechanism doesn’t work like it usually did, the mind will be thrown into a frizzy and might drastically affect her personality. I advise you bring her in for us to be sure”
VALER’ES POV“I can’t believe you’re actually going! You’re really honoring his invite?” Nanny Beth asked for at least the billion time already ever since I informed her of my meeting with Grandpa. I had already told her I was going, explained things to her but still, she couldn’t seem to sink it in. Even until now that I was fully dressed and almost ready to leave.“I can’t believe you agreed to go to that house! I can’t believe you agreed to meet those people! After everything they did to you, this is just insane!” she bellowed in a semi shushed tone so the kids wouldn’t hear. They were literally in my walk-in closet area right in my room that Nanny Beth and I currently stood. So, you can imagine Nanny’s efforts to contain her frustration.After a moment of her glaring giant holes at the side view of my face and me continuously checking myself and behaving like I couldn’t just feel the intensity of those glares, I finally gave up and turned to face her. “Nanny…I will be fine. Comple
VALERIE’S POV“My dear… it’s so good to see you. Thank you for coming” Grandpa gushed with a smile so big that it had his blue eyes twinkling like Miles when he was excited about something. He made me feel warm all over with how welcoming and accepting he was. I had to blink a few times to keep the tears away as he scanned my outfit from head to toe.“You look absolutely beautiful, my dear!” he complimented and we shared a warm laughter at his attempt to blow kisses at me. “Oh, stop Grandpa! Everyone is staring” I playfully scolded, feeling genuinely happy to see him. He turned back to face the waiting audience at my words. And truthfully, his outburst from earlier had caught a lot of attention if not all. And if they were still a few people left, his next words definitely had them at full attention, making the entire house totally silent.“My dear, are you worried about these people? Don’t be!” he said dismissively before pulling me close, “Everyone, this is Valerie Ann Marie Hernand
VALERIE POVSo, I squinted my eyes in the direction of the voice and sure enough it was another one of Hudson’s cousins- Coco. I call her the black owl because of her insatiable need to always wear a black eyeshadow every single goddamned time.She probably thought it made her look badass but it just seemed tacky for me. Cause just how old are you exactly? That you would still be freaked with been ‘badass’ and trust me, she was probably older than Hudson! Hudson was in his thirties, so you could imagine.“Are you sure about that?” I asked and took steps in her direction. “Why would she join us? This is literally the last round! Let her wait for the next one” Amelia, Hudson’s mom and the very person I had been hoping to see insisted conclusively at Coco’s gesture to make me join them.I finally got to them and noticed it was a poker game, the game of cards. And you know what’s more interesting? Charlotte, Amelia, Coco and Hudson were in on it. They were the main players but, Charlotte
VALERIE’S POVLeaving the bustling gathering behind, I walked over to a secluded part of the mansion. From my memory, this area used to be some sort of relaxation spot for when the sun was down. It had these transparent glass walls that gave an overview of the well-trimmed flowers of the gardens around.Plus, the peace and quiet anyone could get by just been here, I say it made the area all the more enjoyable. But regardless of the place’s beauty, it wasn’t the reason I was here. The reason I was here though, was standing not too far from me. Probably about 6 steps or there about, and cladded in a perfectly tailored black suit, with his dirty blonde hair styled in his usual wave. - Hudson Rodriguez.I think its safe to say his side profile looked good. He didn’t even look angry from the game, like I had imagined he would. He was just…lost in thoughts?Hmm, I wonder why…. “Hey,” I called out, to get his attention and his head turned in my direction. I noticed how he let out a low sigh s
VALERIE'S POV But my moment of triumph didn’t last long at all cause I somehow ran into a certain blonde hair on my way back to the main hall for the party. “Here she is, the little manipulative, bitch” Charlotte sneered, narrowing her eyes at me. ‘Ugh, not now please.’ I groaned inside my head and moved to the other side to leave but Charlotte quickly blocked my path. I moved to the previous path but she got back in the position again. She was obviously trying to get a rise out of me. “What do you want, Charlotte?” I asked after we went through the same process for the third time. “I should ask you that," she retorted sharply, "Why are you here? How can you come here?! Have you no shame?" "Huh?" I scoffed, blinking my eyes at the absurdity of her questions. "Excuse me? What exactly should I be ashamed of, Charlotte?" "A friend of mine invited me for his late wife's memorial, I honored his invite by coming here, what is the shame in that? And why are you all agitated and in
VALERIE’S POV“Mommy, are you ready yet?”“No, sweetie. But I’m almost done!” I responded, trying another set of earrings.“Ohhm” he groaned softly at my response, making me smile because I knew he was doing the whiny dance again, where he stomps his foot around in circles as he complained. It was supposed to be some sort of protest, but I just couldn’t help the chuckles that leaves my lips anytime he did it.Frankly speaking, I was surprised he still came to ask, cause he has at least done this 5 times already under the span of 30 minutes. And all the times, I gave the same response to his overly excited self.“Why are you taking so much time, Mommy? Grandpa’s waiting for us,” Miles asked, moving to check out my face from the vanity mirror I currently sat in front of. “Are you done now, Mommy?”Argh…“Yes Miles! Yes, mommy is ready now” I responded to him, ruffling his hair for a bit. Excited cheers filled the air as he ran out of the room. To tell the others, I’m sure.As you know,
CHARLOTTE’S POV“I think you made a mistake, Madame”“No”“I didn’t. I couldn’t have” I muttered quietly, just enough for Maria that stood beside me to hear.“But Madame… he-they- they all look very happy!” she insisted, choosing to voice out my inner worries rathe than have faith like I wanted. And that alone, annoyed the shit out of me!With a death glare I turned to her, “Go and try to contact those greedy bastards, again! They still have my videos and I want it!”How dare those criminals?!First, they contact me and tell me they have the videos ready, even requesting for a ridiculous sum as payment! An amount I couldn’t even afford at the moment, all because Hudson had my cards connected to his accounts frozen!Then, when I finally came up with a tangible sum to at least get one video, those bloody twats decided to go mute on me! To ghost me! Like what the actual fuck?!“You make sure you keep calling, text them! I need that video now!” I whisper yelled at her, my eyes housing my
HUDSON'S POV“It feels like I haven’t seen you since forever! Hudson wouldn’t even let me meet the kids, claiming you all needed some family time! He’s so stingy…” Grandpa complained, narrowing his eyes at me as Val chuckled before guiding him to a seat.“We are back now though, so you can come visit the kids whenever you want! I’m sure they will love that” Val comforted, taking a seat beside him. And almost automatically, my smiles fell. “You’re sitting there?” I questioned, gesturing to her.“Why?! You’re so far from me! Come over here”Almost immediately, Grandpa grabbed her hands stubbornly. “Huh? Why does she have to do that?! You’re not a child and you most definitely don’t need her to care for you right now!”“Well, I do!” I retorted seriously, not liking how he was arguing about my woman with me. She was my woman and not his!“I do need her to take care of me! I’m hurt! Only her can help”“Huh? You? Hurt? From what?! Falling off your ego, now?!” Grandpa taunted, his voice loud
HUDSON’S POV“To the mansion, James!”“Yes, Boss!” he responded solemnly, his attitude reflecting my mood as we drove off from the darned restaurant.I knew this was a bad idea. I just knew it!Now, here I was getting all worked up from seeing her again. Fucking crazy woman!She still didn’t give a shit about her child! Everything else was important to her, everything else held value in her eyes except her daughter! Her very own flesh and blood! If I hadn’t watched over her all through her pregnancy and even the delivery, I would honestly be doubting f Abrille truly was hers!Because how do you explain this? How?!Even postpartum depression wouldn’t make someone this selfish! How could my own… how could such a little girl be tied to this self-absorbed person?!It broke my heart the more I thought about it. Just how much my little girl had to suffer because her mom was like this.But I won’t let this continue. I won’t allow her life to be destroyed simply because of this! I will make s
CHAPTER 231VALERIE’S POV“What happened?!” I whisper yelled as soon I flung the door open. My eyes frantic as I scanned the room for the one person I was looking for. And the moment I spotted his tangled-up self in the sheets, my feet moved on their own accord, next thing I knew I was all over him. My heart beat suspended in panic as I rushed to help him out.“Oh, my goodness, what happened here?!” he winced from pain as I pulled on a side of the sheets. “Oh my, sorry! Sorry…does it hurt? Does it?” he nodded gently to my question. His expression pitiful as slowly, I untangled with from the sheets that had wrapped him up like a sausage roll!“Hold on, let me see” I cooed softly, helping him relax as I gently checked his bandages. Everything looked good. There were no blood stains or any signs of an added injury, so we were all good. But only after I had calmed down did, I realize just how quickly our sleeping arrangements had changed.Nanny Beth’s orders were strict; no sharing of bed
CHAPTER 230VALERIE’S POV“I don’t-I don’t know…”“You don’t know? You don’t know what exactly?” he questioned; his tone perplexed. “Charlotte, you accused me of emotional abuse! On national Tv! I have even received a copy from court concerning the details of YOUR sue! And you sit there to cry that you didn’t do it? It was someone else and you don’t know who that is?! Can you hear yourself?”“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry baby” were the words she kept whispering. Her cries filling the air as I listened, as we all listened. Myself, Hudson and Charlotte herself!“I’m sorry Huddie, I will fix this I promise! I will close the case right now and-” she whispered; her voice thick with emotion as she addressed him.“No need!” He interjected, his voice firm. “Just send the documents after you’ve signed them, if you want that is. Otherwise, see you in court, Charlotte. I’m not letting you ruin my daughter!”“No. No way! No Huddie, no!” Charlotte cried out, her voice panicky and I knew he was leaving.
CHARLOTTE’S POV“Char?”“Ohh Charlotte…” the voice sang out, its mocking laughter following soon after as it echoed everywhere in the hotel room that I currently stood in. Looking all confused and properly scared to the bones as I couldn’t find the source of the sound.Someone was definitely talking; laughing and taunting at me, right here in this hotel room I had booked after no luck at getting into Hudson’s other buildings that he owned! Everything he owned had cut me off! All the entitlements I enjoyed and had been enjoying all these years, framing my lavish lifestyle… everything has been cut off!It was just me now.Me and this hotel room, plus the voice I as currently hearing inside it!“Don’t tell me you don’t recognize me now, Char” the voice continued, sounding clearer and clearer as a silent sob left my mouth. My lips trembling as I refused to believe it. I refused to believe the obvious truth that was right before me.“No,” I whispered, my hands flying to my ears to block ou
HUDSON’S POV“I’ve just talked with Charlotte, she decided to move out of the house. You don’t need to worry about the kids anymore, I got you!”A smile crept to my lisp as I read that last line; ‘I got you’. It felt extremely comforting to hear, just as it was having her sleep beside me on the hospital bed for the rest of the day before she finally went home to the kids.That was also before we publicly announced the end of our partnership as well. An extremely closed off event to be honest, not the way I would’ve wanted it but the situation demanded it. Plus, Val absolutely refused for me to be on my feet for more than an hour. A bit laughable if you ask me, but I loved every minuet of it! To watch her fuzz over me brought me so much assurance and comfort that finally silenced the constant doubtful voice in my head. It has always been there, making me feel like what we had wasn’t real and Val just tolerated me for sex and the kids. But now, I was sure. I was so sure it wasn’t like
CHARLOTTE'S POV“Get out!” she said simply, moving towards me again. Her gaze purposeful and dead serious, I could tell she wasn’t playing but before I could give a response. “Get out of here!” she yelled, pushing me backwards again, this time with more force compared to earlier.That was when I knew this bitch wasn’t playing at all. What the hell did she mean by doing this? Right here! In front of everyone! To disgrace me?! To proof she had the man and I didn’t?!“Hey!” I snapped, aiming to push her back as well as my anger broke free. But she immediately snapped my hands away, clenching it tight before pushing me backwards again. This time, into a clique of nurses close by. “Get security!” she called out, “She is not allowed here”And like a movie, a nurse ran out. Obviously to do as she had spoken. That means, I would be… thrown out? Thrown out of a hospital that my Huddie laid in all hurt?! I didn’t even know if he was okay! First, I hurt him. Maybe not literally but still, it was