VALERIE'S POV The drive to the office didn't take so long that in about 40 minutes time I was already inside De Hernandez Dreamz building and heading for my office while nodding to the series of greetings I received.I was seriously considering changing my office or at least the route to my office, because the amount of greetings and attention I get each time I came in was alarming. It was almost as if everyone knew when exactly I was coming and position themselves to be in my face. I get it though, everyone was currying favour and all but then, I would love to keep my schedules private. Who knows, I might end up seeing something that I wouldn't see on a normal day because they were not expecting me.I should talk to Rob about it. Speaking of Rob, I didn't see him in his office as I passed to mine.I was about to wonder where he went until I opened the door of my office and an all too familiar scent of a coco cologne hit my nostrils, it could only belong to him. I took a deep inhale
VALERIE'S POV "That's kidnapping Nana," I replied with a light smile, "But what do you mean that I'm going to the event, I don't remember informing you i was attending. And as a matter of fact, I won't be attending but why are you even attending in the first place? You don't have a child that goes there""What do you mean you're not attending?" She asked sharply, "All parents whose child attend that school will be present. All of them, this is the best time to mingle with the parents of your children's friends. Get to know them and see what sort of people they are, whether to cut them off from your children's lives or get closer to them. Believe it or not, you will need people with kids around the age of yours. It helps I tell you, take it from me." She explained, her words giving me a new dimension of the whole event."Besides, there will be a lot of shows and activity presented by the kids. I'm sure your kids are excited already, you better take your ass there! And besides, if you
HUDSON'S POV "You're really not going to call her, Boss?" James asked for the third time today after I told him to stop asking how the phone call with - You know who- went.I didn't even want to mention her name at this point, I felt too foolish to do it. Ashamed even, cause there I was, so busy making plans to be meeting a woman that didn't give a shit about me while my daughter was dieing in silence, all alone.I was so preoccupied with thoughts about Her that I didn't realize my daughter was struggling that bad. I mean, I knew something was up with Aby but I didn't know what exactly.I felt like it was something her mom could talk to her about it but Charlotte had to be the most dumb, self centered and foolish mother I had ever come across!I didn't even realize that there were mother's like Charlotte until we had Aby.But thinking about it all with a clear mind, we really were bad parents. Both myself and Charlotte. We were horrible parents, all caught up in our own lives and de
HUDSON'S POV I took a moment to actually look at her though, her short black hair that was styled in some sort of beach wave kind of thing as it hanged loosely around her shoulders, coupled with her complete white outfits, a top & trouser, and topped off with a cream colored shawl wrapped around her shoulders. She looked modest and at the same time elegant, despite her age. Only Mom could pull off such a look, she looked good."So my end point is that you two are a team, no one can afford to loose the other player. At least not right now, not now that Abrille has this condition. You need to -"So she told you that, huh?" I interrupted calmly, my gaze fixed on her features to make sure I read every one of the emotions that crossed her face. She pursed her lips at my question and swallowed gently before speaking, "Yes, she told me. She-"Did she also tell you her role in all of this?" I cut her off again, adjusting on my seat as i got serious. It was high time I put an end to this conv
VALERIE'S POV "Are you sure about this, Valerie?" Nana asked for at least the third time today. "You haven't practiced for a very long time, plus you had kids too. Don't you think this is a bit of a stretch?" Anyone could sense the worry in her tone and I totally understood her concerns but I had already made up my mind to do this so I must see it to the end."Which is why I'm here practicing, isn't it Nana?" I responded and paused to catch my breath for sometime. Sweat dripped down the side of my face, tiny baby hairs that escaped the bun on my head glued to my forehead from all the rigorous bodily movements I had subjected myself to for the past 40 minutes at a stretch. This was probably the 5th round of dancing that I had done since I arrived at Nana's estate this morning and girl! I had never felt so alive!Don't get me wrong, my lungs were literally killing right now, my throat was all patchy and begging for even a the smallest drop of water but still, I had this insane feeling
Third person POV *****Night of the show The stage was set up with big bright lights flashing down to give the audience a clear view of the presenters currently on stage. And right at the center were ten young dancers, completely dressed up for the role that were presenting. Each of them, not looking more than six years of age."We rock! Hurray!" They echoed in perfect sync and froze in their positions, the music in the background stopping almost immediately as everywhere fell dead silent. But then a moment later the sea of parents burst into cheers and applause, their delighted whistles piercing the air causing the young performers to grin excitedly before breaking free in their poses. Their innocent eyes sparkling with excitement and in the spur of the moment, a tiny dancer squealed, "Mommy! I did it!" spotting her mother in the front row. "Yeah, That's my girl!" The lady exclaimed, with as much enthusiasm flashing her personal camera wildly at the littke girl and the cro
Third person POV *****Night of the show And that she did. Cause just like other men, the man in front beside Hudson held his seat in pure anticipation, his eyes hungrily fixated on the woman's hip movement, not wanting to miss any moment of it, totally disregarding his wife. Then the music swelled, taking a sharper note, and instantly the woman spun around, facing the audience, the skirt of her bloody red dress shuffling from her movements as she revealed her face. Smokey green eyes first came into view, quickly followed by a flawless makeup and red bold lips. Her luscious hair was styled up in a classic side-parted sleek bun on her head, adorned by a single gold hairpin that seemed to shimmer under the dim lights of the stage, alongside het other jewelry. The audience held their breaths as the woman's bold looks came into view, the huge TV screens in the hall quickly picking it up and showcasing her to all. Everyone had one or two reasons to gasps out loud, if not for the
THIRD PERSON POV ****At the dinner after the show The sounds of glass clicking filled the air as the environment buzzed with light conversations and laughter, warm breeze moving gently in the space, probably due to the trees in the school grounds. But regardless, most will say it was a welcomed change from the heavily air conditioned hall they had just left about 30 minutes ago. True to the proprietress words, a dinner was specially organized after the show for the parents. Nothing too grand, just a few meals to warm the tongue and enough champagne to wash it all down but still, the chairs arrangement remained in the order of relevance to the school. A rooftop space was used to host the dinner. Several round tables that had already been decorated with white tablecloths filled the space, the color-coded ties on each chair round the tables signifying the rank/relevance of each parent. An Ivory colored tie for the Diamond class, a burgundy chair tie for the Ruby class and lastly
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