Chapter 78
As gentlemen of the upper society, they didn't condone physical abuse of women from any class.
They knew many men did it, but the three best friends hated those men. Men should never lay their hands on women.
It might be hypocritical for Hudson and Finley to feel that way since they abused Cherise mentally and emotionally, and Hudson used to choose Emely and ignored her when Cherise was burnt by the breakfast she made, but they would never hit a woman. Hudson, Keith, and Finley each had a grim expression, and they were silent, trying to contain their anger.
Ever since Finley had changed his thoughts about Cherise, he felt the same way as Hudson and Keith. He became quite protective of her, especially once he knew Hudson was in love with her.
Their bond was special. They did not only feel protective toward each other, but it extended to their loved ones as well, which was why Finley used to taunt Cherise by comparing her to Emely.
He always thought Hudson loved Emely and felt the need to protect her place next to Hudson when she was in another country, a place Cherise took from her by marrying Hudson.
But that was all in the past. He now knew the real Emely and felt no sympathy whatsoever for her. His protectiveness was toward Cherise now.
"Did she say who abused her?" Finley asked through gritted teeth.
"From Cherise's words, it looked like my mom and Polly, but I wouldn't put it past them to ask the maids to abuse her too," Hudson all but growled out his words in anger.
Even though Keith had suspected it, he couldn't help but clench his fists tightly. He was a doctor, and his job was saving people.
Yes, he had a special task force who would do the opposite, but he only used them for war if the government demanded him of it, or helping others in covert missions, and not for hurting innocent people.
"I've heard of evil mothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, but I couldn't believe Dahlia and Polly would resort to physical abuse," Finley said, his face becoming even grimmer, and he wished he was in the gym right now so he could release his anger toward some poor punching bags.
"I'm going to see them and ask them about this," Hudson growled and stood up to go to the villa he had purchased for his mother and sister to live in.
Keith grabbed his arm tightly, stopping him from going and making Hudson stare dagger at him.
"It's too late at night now," Keith reminded him. "You can confront them tomorrow."
Hudson was so angry that he picked up a glass and hurled it against the wall, making Finley jump. He had never seen Hudson lose control before, and this was too scary for his poor heart.
"Calm down, Hudson," Keith, who was good at being calm in every situation, had calmed down and pulled Hudson down to sit down.
But Hudson was too consumed by anger, regret, and guilt and yanked back his arm.
"Calm down? You asked me to CALM DOWN, Keith?" he practically shouted. "I was the one who let it happen! She was abused because of me! And she took it willingly because of me!"
Keith moved fast, twisting one of Hudson's arms behind his back and curling his other arm around Hudson's throat, headlocking him.
Hudson's free hand instinctively went to grab Keith's arm, trying to get free, but Keith only tightened his hold.
"I know you are blaming yourself and angry at yourself and your family, but everything had been done, and you couldn't change the past," Keith's voice was eerily calm.
"If you can't calm down, how are you going to deal with this?" he asked. "Remember the last time you weren't calm? You did not investigate clearly how Emely lost her baby, and it made you lose Cherise." Despite Keith's gentle nature and Hudson's bigger body, he was still as strong as Hudson. After all, he had a military background, and he was one of the few people so far who could restrain Hudson. "Are you calm now?" he asked when Hudson stopped trying to break free.
Hudson nodded, and Keith stepped back, letting him go. Hudson rubbed his throat, and Finley quickly gave him a glass of water, which he gladly accepted.
Finley was glad he never got to be on the bad side of his two best friends. Even though he was strong, he could never win against any of them in a fight.
Hudson watched as Keith went to his bathroom. When he returned, he placed two paracetamol tablets for Hudson to take and another med, which Hudson recognized as the sleeping pill Keith sometimes gave him. "Take these, a shower, and sleep," Keith ordered him like the doctor he was. He knew Hudson was going to be okay and needed to rest, so he said, "We'll go now. And remember, don't lose your head tomorrow." Hudson uttered his thanks to his best friends and followed Keith's order before hitting the bed and letting sleep consume him.
***
The following morning, Cherise felt more refreshed but still didn't want to go back to the penthouse.
Last time, she was able to avoid Hudson for two weeks; this time, she might not, and she wouldn't risk it.
When she went down for breakfast, she saw Julian having coffee. At the sight of her brother, her worry and whatever anger she had left dissipated quickly-that, plus the aroma of the breakfast. "Morning," Cherise smiled and went to her brother to peck his cheek.
Julian placed his cup down, wiped his lips with a napkin, and returned the kiss.
"You visited late at night," he said as Cherise sat and started to take a slice of bread and smeared it with strawberry jam. "How was your time with Agatha?"
Cherise launched into it excitedly, telling him how Agatha loved the tea and what they talked about, but she omitted the part about her and Hudson's argument at the penthouse.
Julian listened to Cherise attentively, and as someone with a sister complex, he could see that something had happened to her.
Cherise being in this house and arriving late at night was another sign, but if his sister didn't want to tell him about it, he would not force her to spill whatever had transpired the night before that made her seem sad and mad. One thing he could do was to cheer her up, and he had a thought in mind on how to do it.
"I have some business to attend to in our home country," Julian started, and Cherise looked at him with nonchalant eyes while munching her bread.
It wasn't a rare occurrence for Julian or other CEOs to travel abroad from time to time, so Cherise didn't expect anything out of it, but Julian surprised her with his next words.
"How about you taking a holiday and coming back with me?" he said with a smile.
Cherise blinked her eyes a few times, and her chewing stopped mid-way as if she couldn't believe what he said.
She regained her composure and quickly swallowed her toast. "But what about Angelworld? I can't leave it behind."
"Oh, I'm sure Neil could handle everything on his own." Julian waved his hand.
"Are you sure?" Cherise asked hesitantly.
It hadn't been long since she took the position of Angelworld's CEO. What would her employees think if she took a holiday only after a few months of working? She didn't want them to think of her as a slacker. Julian could see the conflict in his sister's eyes and offered, "We can take Logan, Paula, Katherine, Tristan, and the whole 'True Love's campaigning team with us."
Cherise eyes widened. "Are you saying we should shoot the campaigns in Country A?"Content © provided by NôvelDrama.Org.
"Yes." Julian nodded and suddenly had an idea, so he added, "The campaign with you and Tristan... The Cinderella story. We can shoot it at the Alster Mansion."
Cherise fell silent for a few seconds before she asked, "Have you asked for Grandpa's permission?"
Julian shook his head, and his lips turned into one of his rare mischievous smirks, which he would not be caught dead showing to anyone else other than Logan and Cherise and maybe their grandpa. "We should just barge in and surprise him."
She fell silent again before she squealed and threw herself at Julian, nearly tipping Julian's chair backward and them tumbling to the floor if not for Julian's fast reflect in catching her and steadying the chair. "Grandpa will be grumpy when we all barge in unannounced," Cherise giggled in Julian's arms.
"That's the main point," Julian laughed and added with twinkling eyes, "But we both know he will be faking it and actually enjoy having all of us there."
"He will," Cherise grinned. "He might even prank the campaign crew."
Julian laughed at that and ruffled her hair. "So, are you going to tell your friends and Logan about it?"
"I will!" Cherise jumped out of Julian's arms and tried to rush to her bedroom, but her excitement about going back to her home country after depriving her of doing so couldn't be contained.
But Julian caught her arm and pointed to her breakfast sternly. Cherise pouted but sat back down and wolfed down her food quickly.
Julian chuckled and shook his head helplessly as he watched Cherise forget her grace and any etiquette of eating so that she could share the news with her friends and their adopted brother.
"Slow down, or you'll choke," Julian reminded her gently, which Cherise ignored. "I'll deal with Neil and the crew while you just need to break the news to your friends and Logan."
"When are we going?" Cherise asked as she finally finished swallowing the last bit of bacon on her plate.
"Tomorrow afternoon," Julian said, and Cherise didn't argue with him.
She knew she didn't need to bring anything. Paula and Katherine could pack in one day. Logan had clothes at the Alster Mansion. Tristan had nothing to do besides the campaign they'd be working on together, so he wouldn't be a problem either. "Wouldn't the crew need more time to prepare?" she asked.
"We can provide them with anything they need," Julian answered lightly.
Cherise beamed. Sometimes, she had forgotten what it felt like to just be the heiress of the Alster family. She could get anything she wanted with just a snap of her fingers.
Julian, as the heir, had even much more influence than her, so she shouldn't worry about anything.
She had missed Country A so much, and going there with her friends while working on her 'True Love' campaign was going to be great!
"Alright, now you can go and call your friends while I deal with the rest," Julian chuckled.
Cherise quickly stood up, kissed him on the cheek, and rushed to her bedroom. She took her phone and had a conference call with Katherine, Paula, Logan, and Tristan, telling them about Julian's plan.
Katherine complained quietly about how she wouldn't be able to pack everything she needed in less than two days, but Paula reminded her they could buy anything they needed in Country A if they forgot to bring things.
Tristan was excited to visit the Alster Mansion and meet Charles Alster, whom he had not met after a few years, while Logan just smiled. Visit to read the complete chapters for free. Some sentences are incomplete if you are not reading this novel on Jo b nib.com. They were all so excited and talked for a long time, making plans on what to do and everything else, and Cherise told them to come to Julian's villa early the next day so they could go to the airport and board the Alster's private plane together.
***
Thanks to Keith reminding him to take his meds before going to sleep the night before, Hudson woke up without a headache.
Because of the sleeping pill, he slept without a nightmare and woke up later than usual.
Thankfully, it was Saturday, and he didn't have to go to the company.
He quickly called Miles and asked him about his schedule for the day, and he let out a breath of relief when he learned that he only had one dinner meeting with a foreign businessman. Hudson had a mission today: to confront his mother and sister and the maids and butlers at his and his mother's villas.
He needed to know who exactly abused Cherise and how badly, and he'd make sure they paid for it.