Chapter 42
Cherise was sitting in Julian’s living room between her two brothers as the news of Hudson and Emely’s engagement was blown up by the media, and the press conference was broadcast on the TV.
Logan and Julian shared a look over her head before eyeing their beloved sister worriedly.
Cherise had her eyes fixed on the TV screen without blinking, making Logan and Julian unsure of what she was thinking about.
Was her heart still not healed yet, and this news opened up the scars again?
“Cherise…” Julian took one of her hands while Logan did the same to her other hand.
Hearing Julian’s voice and the warmth of Logan and Julian’s hands around hers made her blink her eyes and peel them off from the TV screen.
“I’m fine,” she smiled. In fact, when she was silently watching her ex–husband’s press conference, she was searching for something in her heart – pain, loss, hate.
But there was nothing–nothing except maybe hate for Emely and Dahlia. She was also annoyed when she thought of how Hudson kept pestering her, cornering her, questioning her, and trying to k*ss her whenever they met.
It really wasn’t like him at all, but then maybe he couldn’t have S*x with Emely since she had just had a miscarriage, and he cared a lot about her health, which made him even more disg
eyes.
in Cherise’s
She wasn’t his toy and, as she had told him, would never be one. Maybe she used to be so dutiful and catered to his every need that he still felt he could still treat her the same way. There was no way she would let him get his way again!
Suddenly, her phone vibrated, and she swiped the screen to see that Katherine and Paula had bombarded her with questions about her feelings in the group chat they had created for the three of
them.
1/8
Chapter 42
Paula even cursed Hudson using every unimaginable word Cherise could think of, while Katherine just asked about her feelings and told her to forget that bastard.
Cherise couldn’t help but smile as she saw the texts. She had two best friends and two brothers who loved her. This was her world. A world full of love, and she loved it.
Then, another message popped onto her screen, and she burst out laughing.
Julian and Logan frowned, and Cherise shook her head as she read the text out loud.
“That son of a bitch! I will destroy him and his whole company and root out his family from this world! He had just divorced you not long ago, and now he is engaged to a trash? Say the word, and Grandpa will destroy him!”
Logan and Julian couldn’t help but laugh, too. The three of them knew their grandfather couldn’t have texted it himself, as his eyes weren’t as focused as when he was younger, so it must have been his butler
who helped to type it.
The image of the butler shaking and sweating while texting those words dictated by their grandpa made the three of them laugh even harder.
“Poor Winston,” Logan chuckled.
“He must be shaking now,” Julian added. “He got to face Grandpa’s wrath alone.”
“Lucky we are not there,” Cherise laughed again. “Well, enough of this. Are you ready, Logan?”
Today, they were going to go to an exclusive member–only gym that has the most complete equipment and everything else, including a shooting range, boxing ring, and nearly everything they could think of.
Logan was there to pick Cherise up when they saw the news, but as the brothers saw she was fine, they each let out a breath of relief.
“You sure you don’t want to come with us, Julian?” Logan asked as he picked up Cherise’s duffle bag.
“No,” Julian replied. “I’m going to the penthouse to monitor the furniture being moved in.
2/8
Emergency calls only
Chapter 42
Cherise couldn’t help but smile widely and threw her arms around Julian. “Thank you. I’ll have my own place now,” she said gleefully.
The two brothers chuckled and ruffled her hair at the same time, causing Cherise to complain loudly.
“Why are you mad?” Julian teased. “You are going to tie up your hair later anyway.”
This caused Cherise to stop complaining, but she still huffed. Julian and Logan still treated her like
a child.
“Alright, alright, let’s go.” Logan took her hand and pulled her along with him. “I don’t want to rile her up more, or I’ll suffer later on,” he laughed.
“It’ll be good for her to release any pent–up anger,” Julian smiled at Logan but then turned to Cherise. “Have you brought everything you need?”
Cherise thought about it, and yes, she had packed what she needed: her uniform, towel, toiletries to shower, and a change of clothes.
“I have,” she confirmed.
“The balm for bruises?” Julian asked.
Cherise rolled her eyes but still answered, “Yes, and also bandaids and other meds in case Logan
decided to go rough on me.”
Julian sharpened her gaze at Logan. “You hurt her, and I’ll break your legs.”
“I’d like to see you try.” Logan laughed. Julian was as strong as him, but Logan was wilder when fighting, just like a beast. “But you know I won’t hurt her, EVER,” he said seriously.
Julian nodded, knowing how important Cherise was to Logan. “Then off you go, and come to the apartment after you’ve finished.”
Cherise k*ssed Julian’s cheek, and Julian and Logan did that manly hug while Julian whispered a
warning for him not to hurt Cherise again and to take care of her afterward.
3/8
Chapter 42
When Cherise and Logan arrived at the gym center, they quickly changed into their Taekwondo
uniforms.
“I can’t believe I get to wear this again,” Cherise muttered to herself, and a sense of melancholy passed through her heart. How many things had she missed while being married to Hudson? Too many to
count, it seemed.
She shook her head to let go of the thought and stepped out of the changing room, seeing Logan was already waiting for her in a similar uniform, both wearing black belts they had earned through their youth training.
“You still look good wearing the uniform,” Logan smiled at her. He had removed his glasses and now looked different from his usual gentle self. Still gentle, but the dangerous glint in his eyes could be seen
clearer.
“As do you,” Cherise winked, and Logan quickly found a spot for them to spar. Luckily for them, there
weren’t many patrons at the gym.
They both got into their stance and without warning, Cherise delivered a speedy high kick that missed Logan just a hairbreadth away from his cheek.
“Starting off strong,
Cherry?” Logan chuckled.
“You were doubting my ability,” Cherise smiled smugly when her kick landed where she wanted it to land and caught Logan by surprise. It seemed she hadn’t lost her moves at all.
“Then let’s get serious,” Logan smiled, showing his perfectly white teeth.
When Logan said ‘Let’s get serious, he meant it. He punched Cherise on the side of her cheek, just like she had kicked him before, and she dodged it successfully just because of her instinct and muscle
memory.
Their attacks and defenses were swift and speedy. And the more time passed, the more pumped up
Cherise felt.
She loved sparring with Logan because he didn’t hold back on her. Okay, he held back a little bit so as not to injure her too much, but he used at least 80% of his move, strength, and speted.t,
4/8
When Chenise unew
easily.
As they were enjoying their sparring, they didn’t know two people were watching them as they boxed,
“Hey, isn’t that Cherise and Logan Jennings?” Finley was the first to see them.
Keith turned his head to where Finley pointed and was surprised to see the black belt Cherise was wearing. It didn’t surprise him to see Logan wearing one, but Cherise? The meek, timid, and shy ex–wife of Hudson had a black belt in Taekwondo?
“Damn, she’s wearing a black belt,” Finley said as they stopped boxing and just watched the show. “And looked at her movement. She could take down Logan easily.”
They didn’t know Cherise was a Junior Champion during her youth. None might remember her because she only participated once before Julian and her grandpa asked her to stop, afraid she would draw too much attention to herself and their enemies might recognize her.
“When did she learn Taekwondo?” Finley wondered and asked Keith. “Do you think Hudson knows about this part of her?”
“I’m sure he doesn’t,” Keith replied. He knew Taekwondo moves, and Cherise was really good at it. Her attacks were able to hit the opponent’s weak points and strong enough to send Logan a few steps back, and all her movements were fluid. Why didn’t she show this side of hers when she was married to Hudson? Hudson wasn’t the only one who was intrigued by her now.
“Shit, she’s good,” Finley said with admiration. “I don’t think I can win against her that black belt. We need to tell Hudson about this. Bet he’ll be as surprised as us.
e really earned
After nearly two hours of sparring, Cherise finally sat on the ground, her breathing uneven while Logan still looked his usual calm self.
“You did good, Cherry,” he said as he pulled her up and led her to the nearest bench. “But your stamina has declined by a lot.”
the three yea
Cherise knew about it. She realized it herself. During she spent married to Hudson, she never exercised at all. No jogging, no nothing except for doing household chores. It seemed she needed
5/8
Chapter 42
to start exercising again.
Logan passed her a water bottle, and she gulped down everything like she had been lost in a desert and had just found a source of water. When he saw she still hadn’t had enough, he passed her his water bottle, which she gratefully took..
Next, Logan took her towel and carefully wiped the sweat from her face.
“God, my whole b*dy is sore,” Cherise groaned as she stood up and stretched. “How are you not affected by my attacks?” she asked Logan with narrowed eyes.
Logan laughed, rolled his sleeves, and parted his uniform, showing his abs and arms that were full of bruises from Cherise’s attacks.
“Oh, so I did do some damage to you,” Cherise said smugly, which made Logan laugh harder.
“You should pity me instead of getting smug,” he said helplessly.
“Just showed that I can still protect myself,” Cherise said with sparkling eyes.
“Alright,” Logan just agreed with her, knowing it was futile to disagree. “Take a shower now. Julian is waiting for us.”
Cherise took her duffle bag and relished in the warm water of the gym shower. She didn’t take long in the shower because she preferred to soak in the bathtub of her new penthouse.
Logan stepped out of the men’s locker room at the same time as Cherise, looking self again with his shirt, pants, and glasses. Today, Cherise wore a sleeveless dres Logan remembered what Julian told him to do.
“Sit and take off your coat,” he ordered Cherise, pointing to the bench again.
Cherise obeyed him, knowing what he was going to do.
his usual gentle
1 a nick coat, and
Logan unzipped Cherise’s duffle bag and rummaged around until he found the balm for bruises. He carefully massaged all the bruises on Cherise’s arms. It was impossible not to get any bruises when they were sparring, and Julian was fine with it as long as Logan took care of his sister afterward.
6/8
Chapter 42
All the while, Finley and Keith were watching them.
“I think Hudson is right,” Finley suddenly said. “I think Cherise is with Logan. Look at how gentle he is with her. But he said she’s with Julian, too. This is so confusing.”
“Let’s not get into their affair,” Keith reminded the nosy Finley. He noticed Finley had changed his attitude toward Cherise after seeing how great she was when fighting Logan.
“How
can I not?” Finley gasped. “Quick, let’s take a shower and go to Hudson’s office. We need to tell him what we just saw.”
After thinking about it, he agreed with Finley. He actually had been conflicted after Hudson told him of his guilt. He didn’t know whether to keep pushing Hudson to realize his feelings for Cherise or just let him get married to Emely.
But then he always knew Emely was cunning while Cherise was nice. He’d rather Hudson end up with Cherise than Emely. His best friend didn’t need to have another snake in his family.
His mother was enough for him; even Polly was a bully. If Emely really became his wife, Hudson would suffer, and he didn’t want his best friend to suffer.
Engagement could still be broken. As he told Hudson the night before, there were other ways to fulfill Luis‘ last wish. And as his best friend, when he watched the press conference, he knew Hudson didn’t love Emely anymore. It looked even like he didn’t want to be engaged with her. It was just a responsibility he felt toward Luis‘ last wish and Emely.
He needed to save his friend from future suffering. If he didn’t end up with Cheris able to avoid another woman like his mother.
would at least be
