HUDSON'S POV I woke up with a start, eyes swollen and bloodshot from tozing and turning all night. My evening was stressful and tiring if I do say the least, so I should have been tired enough to be totally knocked out through out the night, right?But no, that wasn't the case at all. I kept having insane dreams about that brown haired cheat.I can't even believe I was thinking about her, all night ! About Valerie of all people. It was like she was stuck in my head. I closed my eyes to sleep for few minutes, next thing I know, am dreaming about her.And trust me when I say they were all horrid images. Completely horrid images of her kissing several men and letting them groupe her body, her breasts going down to her waist and... argh! Can you imagine it?Like what the hell is that? Why did I even have such images in my head? Like... how???Where did they all come from?This was that ball, I'm telling you. She messed with my head real good. I shouldn't have gone to that ball at all!
Valerie’s povWhat happened?Why did he suddenly collapse?? The questions were just falling one after the other from my lips as I hurried up the stairs with my silver high heels, Nanny Beth behind me. My thoughts were all over the place, all I could think about hurrying on those stairs was how I had ignored his calls. How I never reached out to him since I returned to the city.He had been calling repeatedly, both at the office and at home but I let it all go to voicemail. I was busy ignoring him, when he could have been in danger. When he could have needed me. Simply because I didn’t want him to nag at me to stay with him, I couldn’t bear to live in the same house as those people that called themselves my family. So I busied his calls and postponed going to see him, I shouldn’t have done that. That was selfish and unreasonable.“What if something happened back at home? Did you hear anything Nanny?” I asked, pausing on the steps to face her, my voice soft as though saying the word
VALERIE'S POVThe minute my brain processed who exactly the figure was, I half ran into the room and shut the door tight, my back against the door. My heart was racing rapidly, my chest heaving up and down as I took in the happy faces of my kids in front of me, “Ohhh, God. What is this? What is he doing here?”Mason turned to look at me, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. The little boy was probably wondering why his mom was standing at the door smiling sheepishly at him. But the fact was, the hospital doors were transparent and there was no telling that Hudson wouldn’t stand in front of it! And if he did stand in front of it, he would most definitely see us!The last thing I wanted right now was my kids seeing a total look alike of Mason! Especially after the misunderstanding this morning. If that were to happen, “Oh no, I can’t… I don’t want to even imagine,”My hands went to the top of my chest in an attempt to calm down my ragged breathing. And after a minute or so, I swallowed
VALERIE'S POV What is he staring at? I turned my neck to check behind me, but before I could let a word out,a strong pull on my arm tugged me forward and in seconds i was running. But not before I got a whiff of a certain blonde hair.Quickly, I struggled to pull away, "Hey, let me go!" I exclaimed, but his grip only got tighter and he pulled me even closer.But that didn't stop me, "Let me go, you big headed dick head!" his hand clapsed my mouth shut at those words, silencing my screams as he pulled me into a narrow hallway, out of people's sight.He only stopped when we reached an unlocked room and I pushed him away instantly, gasping for breath while he rushed to lock the door behind us.My eyes frantically looked around, noting we we're in some sort of storage room for drugs and papers before I turned to face him, "What is the meaning of this, Mr Rodriguez? If your posture has gotten so bad and you're in need for some exercising, don't you know the way to the gym?" I spat heatedl
VALERIE'S POV After half running through the hallway, passing quite a number of doors I finally reached the opening that led to the ground floor. Relief coursed through my veins at the sight of people going about their different affairs absentmindedly, with no knowledge of what had transpired between me and Hudson few minutes ago. I turned back a bit to gauge where I was coming from and to say I was surprised would be an understatement."I can't believe I let that dick head drag me all the way down there," the storage room I had just left him in was at the end of the long hallway. Possibly even the last room!I shook my head a bit at the absurdity of the whole situation. It was unbelievable. A bunch of nurses gave me weird looks when they saw the angle I was coming out from.I just gave them a tight smile and hurried off to the entrance. It didn't take long I found two dirty blonde heads chasing balloons in the parking lot and I hurried to them.They were the first to see me while
HUDSON'S POV "Why is it taking so much time? does that doctor know what he's doing at all?" Mom bellowed, pacing back and forth in the hallway. We we're currently seated at the VIP ward, just outside Charlotte's private room waiting for news from the doctor.Admittedly, it's been quite sometime since the doctor went in to check on her and yet there was still no news from the nurses, and neither was the doctor coming out.But Mom's continuous tantrums was not helping matters at all. She had called for the nurses attention thrice already. "Okay that's it! That doctor must be a quack! How can they let someone like this become a doctor in a prestigious hospital such as this?! I'm reporting him right now. No! I'm no longer going to let him touch even a hair on her body!" She yelled and rushed to push the room door but I already had enough."Can you stop it?! Just stop it! What is wrong with you?!" she flinched at the tone of my voice, pausing in her tracks."I get it, you're worried abou
Chapter 33HUDSON'S POV Has there ever been a time when you see yourself doing a particular thing that you know you shouldn't do but you can't stop anyway?Because that was how I felt right now, holding unto Valerie's hand and running through a dimly lit hallway right here in the hospital.I knew something was up with me the minute I saw her in my sleep but what i never imagined was locking herself and I in a storage room!"What the is wrong with you,Mr Rodriguez? If you have bad posture, don't you know the way to the gym?!" She spat angrily at me.I took a glance at her and immediately turned away, partly because I was embarrassed by the kind of thoughts that were creeping to my mind the longer I stared at her.It was bad enough I shamelessly dragged her here just because I saw Charlotte in the crowd, but i wasn't going to loose my sense of proportion while I was at it.I honestly couldn't explain why I ran though, it didn't make sense. I wasn't doing anything wrong by talking to Va
HUDSON'S POV Mommy? What does that even mean?! How could she be married when her file clearly stated she wasn't, or was I mistaken? Without wasting time, I pulled out my phone from my pocket, checking past messages from James. Luckily, I wasn't one to delete receipts and soon I found the file he sent me that day containing all Val's info. I quickly zoomed in and read it out loud, "Name: Valerie Ann Marie Hernandez. Age: 26 Guardian: Henry Hernandez Marital Status: Single " See, single! Absolutely single! Which meant she wasn't married. So how could a child be calling her mommy then? Did she... did she mess around after our divorce and then got herself knocked up by a ... "Oh c'mon, that's not even possible! Even if she was a wildcat, she's from a respectable family after all. She couldn't have done that." I chuckled sheepishly at the thought but suddenly paused, all smiles disappearing from my face as a thought crept into my mind, "Or could she?" She dared to seduce
HUDSON'S POV“I can’t believe this!” Aby praised, smiling brightly too.“Better start to! Cause it’s all ours now! It’s our new home!” Mason squealed, jumping around with Miley as they screamed in delight.Wow, Mason was squealing with Miley! Now, that was new.Hahaha! He always complains of how noisy Miley was and yet today, here he was doing the exact same thing he normally complains about! And with her of all people! Hahaha!“You like it?” I called out, smiling and they eagerly nodded.“Yes! I can’t wait to tell Papa all about this!” Mason responded eagerly, mirroring his sibling’s reaction.“Really?! Then I can’t wait until you see your rooms!” I said, and immediately dramatic gasps filled the air. Excited squeals following after as I chuckled before leading the way. Taking the elevator instead of the stairs.“The 3rd floor?” Miles asked, watching as I pulled back from the button.“Yes my boy! Your rooms are on the third floor, Nanny Beth and the maids are on the second, while mom
HUDSON’S POV“Woah”“Look at all these buildings…” Miles mumbled softly; his green eyes wide with wonder as he stretched to look around despite been locked in place by the seatbelt in the backseat. “They are so tall! So tall… are they connected to the sky?”At his words, the others joined in stretching just a bit. Shuffling in their positions as they looked around, “Daddy, look! That one looks like a star!”A chuckle left my lips at the comment, a proud unwavering smile lingering on my features as I took in the sheer serenity and excellence of the environment, while my gaze flickered ever so often to the rear-view mirror so I could get a clear picture of the wonder in their eyes. Every one of them had their eyes wide as they stared out the car windows, curiosity swimming in their depths.Now I know how big of a mistake I have been making all this time that I haven’t taken them to my office or even to any one of our sites. I should’ve done so at least once! That way I would have seen j
HUDSON’S POV“Wow!”“Wowww!“WOWWWWW!” the kids gushed dramatically, their voices echoing all over the place as big smiles graced their faces. Causing everyone present to chuckle in delight and Aby to smile shyly as she concluded her final walk therapy for the day. Her every step slower than her usual steps but it was still a progress compared to not moving at all!And the kids were most supportive, simply ecstatic just watching her!“Amazing! You can walk now, Aby! You can walk now!” Miley gushed cheerfully, her happiness clear and very much contagious. Just as she had been ever since hearing Aby speak last night. A very eventul night might I add, we barely had any sleep at all! As the kids wouldn’t stop asking series of questions over and over and over again.They were surprised, that much was obvious. But above all, it was the sheer happiness they displayed that really got me. Their innocence and just pureness of heart… it was truly amazing. Just as I had thought, and even better!
HUDSON’S POV “I will- I will take care of you. I will take care of you Aby, you can stay with me! You can live with me, even if your mommy doesn’t want you!” her voice sounded softly. But yet, with just the right amount of sincerity, that had my head swiping up at her with wide eyes. Because I knew. I knew the very implications of her words.I understood them all!Even she did, but yet… here she was. Her eyes teary as she knelt to Abrille’s height, a child that wasn’t even hers or had anything to do with her in any way! She was here, holding her hands, holding the world for her as she uttered words that no woman I knew would ever say.Not after understanding everything that she had experienced ever since our paths crossed.“I want you, okay? I want you, Abrille Rodriguiez.” She continued softly, “Even your daddy wants you too! Miley wants you, so do Miles and Mason! And grandpa! We all want you, Aby. We love you, and we want you. We are right here and you can also come to my room too
HUDSON’S POV“Val? “Valerie!” I called out, my heart throbbing in my chest as my mind went on an overdrive. It was the same thing. The exact same thing that happened that day! That day when the accident occurred and I was too late to stop it!It was happening again; Val’s call, talked about Aby and then-“Oh God!” I breathed, my legs moving on their own accord and before I knew it, I was storming out of my office and down the hallway! Heading for the elevator!If only this thing could move faster!“Argh! Move dammit!” I cussed harshly, pressing on the down button more than necessary. Just so I could get down faster. To which I eventually did, just after wasting nearly 2 minutes of precious time!The drive, like that day was swift. Like really swift and probably dangerous as well for anyone that was on the road but, I had to do it. It was the only way to get home faster and I so wanted to do just that. I didn’t want a repeat of the last incident when I was several hour
VALERIE'S POVWait for her, for her mind … because that is where her problem is. The accident and the suddenness of everything that happened left a scar on her, it was too much and her already delicate mind couldn’t take it. So, it shut down completely. Like her brain went on an overdrive on the day of the accident and something just snapped. Her mind only did what it thought as necessary to save itself and that was shutting down.There was no medicinal cure for it, everything just depended on her. The only thing we could do was take care of her physically, help her with her therapy sessions and try to make her life as normal as possible in other to trigger her normal self back home. The situation really was… sad.So sad, that I couldn’t stop imagining the level of shock such a little girl must’ve gone through when she found herself flying through the windscreen of a car that was on high speed and getting smashed against the iron bars of the estate gates. I couldn’t imagine… it was he
VALERIE’S POVA FEW MONTHS LATER“Mommy?”“Mommy where are you? I’m going to be late again!” Her whiny voice complained, causing me to hasten up a bit amidst the pile of colored ballet shoes.Purple slippers… purple slippers, purple slippers… where are you?Ugh, goodness me!“Where is it?!” I grumbled, totally exasperated by this absolutely annoying search that I had to do right now. This is a pair of shoes I would always see here, amidst all these other shoes but somehow, today when I actually need it, I can’t see it anywhere!“Mommy!”“I’m coming!” I sounded out, groaning in distress as I quickly grabbed a white pair before rushing out of the room and down the stairs. Anything was better than nothing at this point. Besides, white goes with any color, right? A white on purple wasn’t so bad right?“I’m coming, sweetie. Mommy is coming!” I called out, taking the steps two at a time just to get down in time before Miley would bring down the entire building with all her impatient screami
VALERIE’S POV“I will go first,” he said, facing me completely on the seat. I just nodded, relaxing my right arm on the seat so I could face him too. This position left little distance between us, but it was comforting. It felt warm, and I loved it too.I really have been loving a lot of things these days, haven’t i?“I- I want to apologize to you” he started,“For?”“For been such an idiot. For been unreliable, childish, the worse possible husband you could have gotten when we were younger! I was… you were a victim, a victim of my family’s messed up ways. It was like everyone had an agenda 5 years ago; mom wanted to pair me and Charlotte, Grandpa wanted to pair you and I, my father… my father wanted to save his ass and let the rest burn, and me… I wanted to prove Grandpa wasn’t right about everything concerning me! Everyone had a game plan, everyone except you.”“You were just yourself and so real… that’s why we couldn’t stand you. You became the victim, an innocent victim in all our
VALERIE’S POV“Is everything ready?”“Yes Val, she’s leaving now. Like right now” Rob droned, obviously tired of my repeated calls in the past 30 to 40 minutes. But could you blame me? I was the worried one right here. I mean, with Hudson aggressively sweeping through everything that has to do with or had somewhat any connection to do with Drake and Charlotte, I was bound to get worried for Lucia!I couldn’t let him get to her now he was in his beast mode.He hadn’t even come to the hospital ever since he left that morning after walking in on my conversation with Rob at the cafeteria. I admit, his features did seem gloomy but that was to be expected after receiving so much information about those around in a short span of time. It was a lot.Just a lot! And right now, he seemed to be pouring all his anger in a different direction. And that is by raiding every possible lair Drake could be hiding, taking anyone in his part too! But the crazy thing is, these people weren’t going to the p