Chapter 15

Hudson's POV

The next few days were a blur of Charlotte trying to coax me into talking things through, but I remained resolute, spending more and more time at the office.

To the outside I was mad at Charlotte but deep inside of me I knew what I was truly avoiding- that persistent thought that kept resurfacing again and again in my mind despite the workload. Who the hell would Valerie bring as a date? Some wealthy, older man, no doubt, who she could easily manipulate. Not my concern anyway, yet the thought lingered.

There was still the issue with Charlotte that I had to deal with, and occasionally, I'd feel a glimmer of willingness to smoothen things over, but then the memory of Abrielle alone in the empty school yard would surface on my mind and reignite my anger all over again.

Charlotte even went ahead to enlist my Mom's help, which is why I found myself standing in front of the house, taking a lecture on 'peaceful living' instead of actually getting into the car.

I was already