VALERIE'S POV "So what are you going to do about him?" Papa finally asked, staring at me intensely. I let out a deep sigh at how fast his jovial expression changed, "Pa..." We were just having a relaxed conversation about his new hobbies and plans for tomorrow, why did he have to ruin it?My nonchalance to avoid the topic in general was not missed by his piercing eyes, as he turned fully on his seat to face me. There was no escaping the interrogations now...I could tell this very question had been itching to come out of his lips ever since we left the project site for Sky Walls. He really was standing on his words from earlier, that Hudson was in love with me.Isn't that just ridiculous?I admit, the man had been acting strange for the past few months but acting strange doesn't equate to... to... been in love, and with me of all people!Where is the logic in that?What about Charlotte? I mean HIS Charlotte, What about his kid?! Their kid Valerie, their kid! They had a kid together,
HUDSON'S POV *Knock on the door* "Boss?"My eyes whipped to the door instantly as his head popped in, "James," I said breathlessly, sitting up on my leather seat. Understanding the situation, James walked right in, shutting the door of my office quietly.We were currently home after a long day of preparation to get Val to see me. She no longer visited the Red Bites Restaurant, at least she hadn't gone there for a week now. I had planned to ask her about that, the day we met to go over some final touches for the project but I totally forgot about it in the spur of the moment. Mind you it wasn't my fault at all, she just looked so good that day. So good, that I could hardly focus on the words that left her lips. All I could think about was having her sit on my lap, pressing those soft round molds that was protruding behind her black body con skirt on my thighs. I wanted to sneak my fingers through the slit in front of that damned tight skirt of hers, to feel the smoothness of her thig
HUDSON'S POV I was literally bubbling with excitement at the prospect that she would be doing the calling, unlike how i had been calling her all these while. But at the same time, I couldn't help but be filled with dread at what she had to say to me. Such an exciting moment was ruined by just one text.I wished I hadn't seen that text. "I think it's about time she called, it's 11:31 PM." James mumbled, but even his voice sounded faint, all my attention was fixed on the shiny object that could transmit a call.I had gotten a new phone, a separate phone, just for her. I had been dropping texts and calls repeatedly to her, I couldn't risk Charlotte seeing those texts. I know it sounds bad, I know it's wrong. It was almost like I was cheating on Charlotte but I wasn't entirely doing anything wrong. I just wanted to talk to Val, it was not like I was acting on any of the thoughts that were regularly clouding my senses concerning her.I still had control over the situation, I could pull ou
Charlotte's POV "Madame, the-the line is still faint..." Kate stuttered with my test strips in hand while she held my gaze through the mirror."What did you say?" I asked sharply, slamming my hair brush on the dressing table. I was so prepared to pounce on her at those but as I turned from the mirror, a sharp pain shot through my abdomen instantly. Turning me into a moaning mess in seconds and I struggled to catch my breath while clenching my white flare dress in pain."M-ma-madame!" Kate cried out, and rushed to help me but I quickly pushed her away, managing to glare at her through the wave of pain that was going through my system. Trembling, she fell to her knees, letting out silent cries as she held the test strips. How dare she cry when I hadn't even cried! She was the reason this pain started anyway!Her earlier shrill must have resounded outside the room cause in no time Maria came bursting in through the door, her small eyes shining eagerly to understand the situation. Once s
Charlotte's POV I rubbed his back softly to help relieve him as the cough seemed so strong, offering him water in between. By the time he took a few sips of the water he laid back down on the bed, groaning in pain. "Do you have ache in your head, huddie?" I asked softly, which he nodded slowly as a reply.He looked so weak, so tired ... and fragile!All I could think of was helping him but how? He had always been the one taking care of me whenever I was sick, it was never the other way round. Even the few times he fell sick, he would always have James take care of his pills. I just used always cuddle him till he felt better.I never administered drugs.I was almost lost at what to do next when Maria suddenly showed up beside me again holding several drugs, "Here Madame, these are what he normally takes whenever his fever rises like this." She said and handed me a few tablets with a glass of water.Without wasting time I forced Hudson to take them, watching him slowly relax back to s
VALERIE'S POV "Grocery shopping, check! "Winter coats, check! "Knee high boots, check!" Hmm, what else... What else... Oh! "Special gigantic Santa soaks!- "Check!" "Drugs against Christmas fever, double check!" "Check! Check!" A voice whispered in my ear, making me jump in fright. "Nanny!" I cried out, while putting my hands on my chest to calm my pounding heartbeat. But she just kept laughing "Oh my, haha! You're so athletic! You at you jump!" A frown formed on my face as I watched her continue to tease me amidst her chuckles. "Very funny, Nanny" I scowled, "very funny" "Oh c'mon, I didn't mean to scare you!" She said, hitting my shoulder playfully. "You just looked so serious and busy... and... concentrated on what you were doing. What are you doing anyway?" I heaved a breath and dropped the check pad in my hands on the kitchen island while relaxing on it as well. "Well, I was just... Arranging stuff... Christmas stuff." I replied, hoping she would get
VALERIE'S POV I wanted to say something, to react ... But I couldn't.Everything kept replaying in my head, the pieces coming together all at once as her beady eyes scanned my appearance repeatedly, her expression filled with malice.She was here in my home. Charlotte was right here in my home! Standing at my doorstep while her kid was inside? So she was Aby's mother? first of all that meant they lived around the area. Hell, that they lived at house we had dropped Aby before! The house that was just a few blocks away from us!That means...Hudson was living in that same house, in the same estate as me.His entire family, was living on the same street as me and my kids! His daughter... Oh my God, his daughter... Aby was the daughter he talked about?She was the one he wanted me to meet?And I had refused, not knowing... not knowing she was my kids classmates.They even attended the same school! Oh my God, they had even become friends! My kids and ...his daughter... they had become frie
VALERIE'S POV "You want to bring fake kids to Hudson to claim they are his?! When we both know you will never be able to have kids?! Have some shame Valerie! God!" She continued yelling but those words right there had me pausing, my eyebrows knitting together in a frown as I replayed the words in my head.Unable to have kids? "Wait!" My voice rang out from the foyer, making the security men to halt in their movements. "What did you just say?"I asked, narrowing my eyes at her approaching form. The security men had let her go on my signal. When she got right in front of me I repeated the question, "What did you say to me?""Exactly what you heard."She replied with a sinister smile,"You're infertile, don't you know? Infertile women cannot have kids, so how can you even have three?! Haha!" She let out a loud laugh right after as though it was the funniest thing in the world.But I was even more confused, what was she even saying? I had several tests after my divorce to confirm my pregna
VALERIE’S POV“Pa!”“Pa!” Babara’s loud voice echoed in the air even before we saw her face. The urgency in her voice clear, and it only seemed to get worse as the clicking sounds of her heels drew closer to Papa’s hospital door.My eyes flickered to Papa’s for a moment, just making sure I didn’t need to stop her before she got to him right. Cause I was ready to! I won’t let her rashness take away the only family member I had left. I wouldn’t let him encounter another panic attack, not on my watch!I think he kind of sensed my uneasiness, and gently placed his hands on mine. Wanting to assure me he was alright, and as much as that calmed me, I still wasn’t putting down my guard. Not while the enemy was so close by.And as if hearing my thoughts, the door slammed open!“Papa!” and in came Babara herself. Rushing in with all her might, desperation and anxiety coating her every move. “Papa, I have looked everywhere for you! Everywhere… hospitals after hospitals, ward after ward, just… ev
HUDSON’S POV“Do you understand now?”“First, the man you wanted left you, Amelia left you, Ethan also did, and now… your own father has abandoned you.” her voice sounded softly, almost considerate but the underlying cruelty was hard to miss. A total contrast to the nonchalant expression on her face, like even speaking to the woman on phone was not worth wasting her energy.It was enchanting, to say the very least.“No one wants you; no one wants to be with you.” She whispered slowly, “You will die alone, Charlotte. A long, lonely death. Remember that,”And just like that, the call ended. The phone sliding from her ears, every movement smooth like she had finished the deal right then and there, which she had though. The bait had been set.The bait we both agreed upon after Ethan showed up at our doorstep, with information about Charlotte. A very daring attitude from a person with his record of betrayal. Ever since he attempted to kidnap Valerie back then, he had gone off record. Which
CHARLOTTE'S POV“Oh yeah?” she sneered, sounding totally unbothered as I continued to brew with anger. “What will you do to Drake then? You see he made a deal with me; to hand over all his dealings with my family, testify against you in court, revealing all the many corpses that was buried underneath the garden in his house for you.”What?“What are you talking about you bitch, I killed no one!” I responded, my breathing shaky as memories of how so many dead bodies were used as fertilizer for the rose garden back home. Dead bodies that were as a result of several tortures and beatings given to men doing business with the heartless man that was my father!It was all him!How come this bitch was saying something else here? How did she even know about the bodies?!“Those corpses are as a result of the many murders that you have done over the years, Charlotte!”“That’s not true!” I argued angrily, losing my cool.“But Drake said it is, and he is testifying against you in court!” she insis
CHARLOTTE’S POV“What the hell are they doing?”“Why are they even together at the hospital? Just what the fuck is this?!” my voice resounded everywhere, bouncing off the walls in the apartment I currently occupied with Raymond.But could you blame me? I was pissed off!Pissed off by the stupid ass video that was been displayed on the tv screen! A video of what supposedly had happened between my man and that bitch Valerie today! Or was this some sort of trick? That bitch Valerie was pulling a stunt again?But even if she did, how did Hudson come onboard with this?! To do this with her! Act like they were all perfect and okay, when I knew they were not! They most definitely were not! They shouldn’t even be!Valerie’s schemes have been exposed! Hudson knows all about this now, I was sure of it! I watched him drive off angrily that night, away from their new place. He didn’t go home that day I sent those cameras, they had a fight. I was sure of it!So why instead of packing his things an
HUDSON’S POVSilence settled between Val and I as we walked all the way to the ward. Our fingers still interlocked, until finally we reached the very door that held Miley’s excited laughs behind it. And then I stopped, facing Valerie right then.“What money?” I asked, but she simply blinked. Probably not expecting my question, but I heard the conversations between her and her aunties anyways. Or at least part of it, since they were already speaking before I arrived there. So…“The money your aunt was referring to” I explained, my voice calm as I waited. “She said something about a stolen money that was in Mason’s name, and you were going to be arrested for it if they called the cops. What was that all about?”“Oh,” was all she said, a deep sigh following right after. “It’s… it’s a bit personal,”Huh?“Personal?” I repeated, not believing she was about to do what I thought she would do. “How personal is this that I can’t even know about it? Mason is involved here, that’s my son, Valeri
HUDSON’S POVComing back home was nothing short of what I had expected. My kids gathered were together, happily playing games, absolutely oblivious of the current happenings surrounding me and their mom. As far as they were concerned; daddy had to take a little trip to check out a building site.A strategy Nanny Beth took to save them from the hassle of wondering why I wasn’t home for 2 days. But aside my kids, everything else seemed fine. The maids, Nanny (Whether or not she knew, she didn’t behave like it at all. But assuming she didn’t know anything will be highly stupid on my part cause Valerie tells her almost everything despite their huge age difference!) but above all, there was no Valerie.I wouldn’t lie to you, a part of me immediately thought of going back to the house outside the city, to check if she had still gone back there. But I just held back. Forcing myself to focus on taking a nice shower, eat a really satisfying meal and then catch up with my kids.The last time I
VALERIE’S POV“I-I’m truly sorry,”“I am- am so sorry for lying about that day,” I apologized, my voice breaking as I tried to keep my tears at bay. “I shouldn’t have lied! I should’ve… I didn’t know you and the kids were at the office, I didn’t know you guys wanted to surprise me so we could have lunch together. It’s all my fault! I’m sorry…”“Of course you are. You are sorry now, Valerie.” His voice sounded in the air, bitter but yet so calm. Unlike his explosive self that I had seen that day in the secret room. “But you weren’t sorry when you just lied to both me and the kids that day, running off to go clear evidences of your actions for fear that someone would get to it first before you do. Maybe someone already got to them-Charlotte had! She did send a few cameras after all; I’m guessing that is what got you agitated and also what had been bothering you days before the kids and I even went to your office!”“No! That’s not it at all,” I rushed to explain, “I wasn’t bothered about
CHARLOTTE’S POV“What? What did you say?”“They are still under the same roof? My Huddie is still living in that house? With her? with bitch Valerie?!"He simply nodded in confirmation, amplifying the horror I just heard. “How?!” I blasted, loosing my shit right then and there. “How is any of that even possible?! He should’ve left her by now! They should be fighting and him not forgiving what she has done! How can they still be together? That’s impossible!”“It is possible!” Raymond insisted, his tone similar to mine. “I saw him myself! I saw Hudson drive into that mini city of his- the Sky Walls! I saw him, and even waited for over an hour to see if he would come back out, but he didn’t! The man simply went home to his woman and kids, get over him kiddo. We need to leave the country before things get out of hand!”“No,” I responded, not wanting to believe a word he said.“Kiddo, You-“No! I said no!” I boomed, smashing the glass of water I was supposed to take my meds with. “I’m not
VALERIE’S POV“He just suffered from a mini panic attack, ma’am”“Given his age, attacks like this could often lead to stroke, full blown heart attacks, or even death on the spot!” The doctors voice resounded in my ears, sending yet another terrible ache throughout my temples. It has been this way since we took Papa to the hospital. And by we, I meant myself and Babara.Patricia came along too but quickly left after hearing he was still breathing and alive. Davis didn’t even come at all. Displaying their exact feelings towards their own father. Making me wonder even more that; what would have happened if I had already driven out of the estate before he collapsed today? What would have become of my Papa? Would he have- would he have really died? Just like that? Because his own children were too busy fussing over him instead of hurrying to get him to the hospital immediately?!“We have managed to stabilize his blood pressure for a bit, but I would advise no more shocking news to be brou