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Logan drove Cherise to her new apartment, and they chatted happily on the way there. When they arrived, they saw a moving truck and knew Julian had kept his promise of filling her apartment that
day.
But when did he ever break his promise to his beloved sister? Never. With Neil by his side, Julian’s tall and muscular b*dy was a sight to behold. Even Cherise thought her brother was handsome, especially when he was bossing Neil around, and asked him to properly place each piece of furniture the way Cherise liked it.
Logan parked the car on the side of the road, just behind the moving truck. Cherise quickly unbuckled her seatbelt to go to Julian, and Logan chuckled behind her as he saw her enthusiasm.
“Julian!” Cherise called her brother as she ran toward him.
Julian looked up from his iPad and looked at Cherise whose cheeks were flushed and looked happier. It seemed the sparring did a great thing for her.
“Cherise,” he called her back and beckoned for her to come closer. “What do you think of the arrangement?” he asked as he showed her his iPad, which looked like something from an architecture
company.
“You did all these?” Cherise asked with wide eyes. He had only one day to buy the penthouse furniture,
and he also drew architectural sketches showing where each piece of furniture should go, complete
with color, so she could already see what her apartment would look like.
She knew her brother was competent, but this was wow. This was another level c petency.
“I have to do the best for my sister, don’t I?” Julian asked with a broad smile, making him even more
handsome. If she weren’t his sister, she would have melted into a puddle.
Logan joined them and hummed out his appreciation. “Anything I can help you with?” he asked Julian.
“Neil has the same iPad and sketch. You can go up first to make sure he places everything perfectly.”
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“Alright,” Logan chuckled. His older adopted brother was bossy, but it was all for Cherise, so he didn’t mind. “I’ll go up first. See you guys upstairs,” he said as he took Cherise’s duffle bag with him, knowing she would want to soak in the bathtub after their grueling workout.
Cherise took the iPad from Julian and checked everything. It was perfect. She couldn’t wait until she went to the penthouse to see how it would turn out.
“Julian, I wish I was as competent as you,” she sighed.
Julian laughed and pulled her into his arms. “You are competent but lazy,” he teased.
Cherise punched his biceps, and he let out an ‘ouch‘ before laughing again.
“A great cook, a great fashion designer if you proceed with it, a very competent businesswoman, Angel,
Miss. X, Taekwondo Junior Champion,” Julian started listing Cherise’s strengths and alter egos.
Cherise’s eyes widened, and she looked up from burying her face in his chest. “You know I’m Miss. X?”
Miss. X was Cherise’s alter ego when she was dancing Salsa. A couple of years ago, she saw a man dancing alone in a competition – tall, broad shoulders, narrow waist, perfectly muscular b*dy with pecs peeking from his half–unbuttoned shirt, and he won that championship despite dancing alone.
It was too bad he was wearing a mask, so no one knew what he looked like, but Cherise had a feeling he
must be handsome. He called himself Xav.
That man was the reason Cherise learned Salsa. She wanted to become his partner, but too bad he only danced once. When she participated in the competition the following year, he was just there as a judge.
Just like him, she danced alone and also wore a mask, so no one knew who she w..
name Miss. X to match his first initial.
e chose the
Even though she couldn’t partner up with him, she knew he was staring at her intensely during here dance because she could feel his deep gaze with each of her movements, nearly making her flustered.
Fortunately, she was used to being the center of attention, and just like during the Taekwondo tournaments, she won the championship, too.
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Unlike in Taekwondo, where she had to stop participating, she didn’t stop dancing, as she always wore a mask. Now Miss. X was widely known as the best, seductive, and S*xiest Salsa dancer in the world. But she had never thought Julian would know that Miss. X was her!
Julian chuckled and pinched her cheek. “How can I not know my own sister? Even Logan and Grandpa
know it, too.”
“Grandpa knows?!” Cherise nearly shrieked in horror. Her choreographies were… as people said, seductive, and her costumes were always S*xy, showing too much skin. She couldn’t imagine what her grandpa must have thought about that part of her life.
Julian laughed, looking at Cherise’s horrified expression. “Don’t worry, Grandpa doesn’t mind it. He grumbled, but I know he’s actually proud of you, which is why he hasn’t asked you to stop, has he?”
Cherise let out a breath of relief. Despite initially wanting to be Xav’s partner, she actually fell in love
with Salsa dancing and wanted to continue doing it. She missed being Miss. X.
Maybe she should start sorting through her emails and see if some dance companies wanted her to perform because she used to be in high demand, and the tickets to her performances always sold out.
Julian drew Cherise closer to him and placed his chin at the top of her head. He felt somewhat sad
about Cherise’s words about her not being as competent as him. She used to be so confident. Actually,
she was better than him. She could learn everything easily and quickly.
It seemed that her time with the Amerys had broken her more than he had thought. Yes, she appeared confident now, but not nearly as much as before. He swore he would make sure her confidence level
returned to the way it used to be.
He was thankful Logan, Paula, and Katherine would also be there for her and helper in gaining her
confidence back.
Speaking of Katherine, maybe it was high time for him to meet her and gauge her out, but he needed
Cherise to settle down first before he could ask to meet that one friend of hers he hadn’t met.
As Cherise snuggled in her brother’s arms on the sidewalk, Finley and Keith drove by them. As Keith was the one driving, Finley was the one who noticed them.
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“Damn, Cherise is hugging Julian in front of everyone to see,” Finley exclaimed as he pressed his face. against the car window as if he could see them clearly by doing so.
“Logan Jennings and Julian Alster on the same day? She’s impressivel” Finley said with a huge smile.
Being a playboy himself, he had this twisted idea in his mind. He seemed to appreciate anyone who could manage to juggle more than one relationship at a time, as long as all parties involved were
singles.
“So you don’t think she’s a gold digger and slut anymore?” Keith gave him a side eye and asked sarcastically.
“Well…” Finley rubbed the back of his neck and said sheepishly, “You and Hudson told me she didn’t ask anything for the divorce, neither did she take anything. And after watching her doing that Taekwondo shit, I’m impressed by her.”
Keith chuckled upon hearing that. At long last, Finley had a change of heart about Cherise. Maybe he could use him to help make Hudson jealous and realize his feelings for her.
“And you, being a playboy, also appreciate her being able to get both the most influential CEOs of Country A and C in the palm of her hand. She might even be better than you in that regard.”
Finley snorted and crossed his arms across his chest. “No one is better at being a player than me,” he said as if it was something to be proud of.
Keith shook his head helplessly. He wondered what kind of woman would bring this best friend of his to
his knees.
“It takes a playboy to appreciate someone similar, huh?” Keith asked, just to make Finley feel smug about himself. He would never think of Cherise as a playgirl, but he knew there must be some kind of deeper relationship between Logan, Cherise, and Julian.
“You are damn right about it,” Finley said with a smug smile but then turned curious. “Did you see the moving truck? Do you think she’s moving in with him? And Regal Apartment is new and so damn expensive, right? She wouldn’t be able to afford it.”
“Mind your own business,” Keith said simply, making Finley roll his eyes. He didn’t know how he had
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survived being best friends with two serious men who didn’t like to gossip like himself.
Not long after, they arrived at the Amery Group building, and Keith parked his car in the underground parking lot Hudson had reserved for him whenever he wanted to visit.
They went up the elevator and greeted the receptionist, who, of course, knew who they were. She let them take Hudson’s personal elevator, which went straight to his office floor.
Finley barged into Hudson’s office without knocking while Keith just followed him calmly.
Hudson, who was lost in thought as he caressed the wedding rings Cherise had designed for them, quickly placed the box inside his desk drawer, but not before Keith’s observant eyes saw it.
“Don’t you know how to knock?” Hudson glowered at Finley, who just went straight to the couch and slumped on it like he owned the place.
Keith shook his head and calmly lowered himself onto another couch opposite Finley.
“Hudson, you might not believe the things we learned about Cherise today,” Finley said excitedly. This made Hudson raise an eyebrow and look at Keith for an answer, but Keith just shrugged his shoulders.
He had never seen Finley getting this excited when talking about his ex–wife, and he wondered what they saw. It couldn’t be good, he thought.
“We were at the boxing ring, right, and we saw Cherise and Logan there,” Finley began his story.
At the mention of Cherise and Logan, Hudson’s b*dy stiffened.
“And guess what?” Finley bounced on his seat like a child asking his parents about something exciting
that had happened at school.
“What?” Hudson asked with annoyance. Couldn’t Finley just finish telling him whatever it was he
wanted to say?
They were doing Taekwondo, and both of them wore black belts!”
Hudson’s eyebrows raised so high, and he looked at Keith, who nodded in admission.
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Cherise was an expert at Taekwondo? How did he not know about this? Why did Hudson feel like he knew nothing about his ex–wife? But it explained the way she expertly attacked him during the few
times she did.
“And damn, she was so good at it. She landed kicks and punches at Logan, and her defense was great, too,” Finley kept telling Hudson what they saw, including how Cherise and Logan pinned each other. down and rolled around the ground.
When Hudson pictured them pinning each other down, the three of them suddenly heard a loud crack, and Hudson looked down to see he had snapped the pen he held in his hand into two.
Keith, as usual, had a faint smile on his face. He knew Finley’s gossipy mouth would be able to make Hudson jealous.
“You okay?” Finley frowned when he saw the snapped pen.
“Julian bought Cherise one of the penthouses at Regal Apartment,” Keith said lazily before Hudson could answer Finley’s question.
Finley gaped at him and accused, “You knew and didn’t say anything while I asked you in the car?”
Keith shrugged again but saw Hudson’s jaw tensing and his fists clenching tightly on the table.
Although Keith was only a doctor, he was also kinda an informant, although he wasn’t a great hacker.
Hudson knew he had some special forces working for him, so if he said Julian bought a penthouse for
Cherise, then it must be true.
Hudson didn’t want to hear anything about Cherise anymore because it someho “de his ch*st hurt.
He suddenly stood up and told his two best friends, “I’m going home. Stay if you want to.”
Then he took his suit jacket and left his office without even saying goodbye or giving another backward glance at Finley and Keith.
“What’s wrong with him?” Finley huffed.
“Stressed out,” Keith half–lied. “You know he has difficulty sleeping. It worsens the mood.”
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“Oh yeah, you are right.” Finley nodded as if he were just remembering how Hudson had nightmares when he slept. “Have you been able to make it better?” he asked Keith.
“A little bit,” Keith said. They then talked about Hudson’s health as they left the building, too.
Hudson asked Miles to drive him back home because he didn’t believe he could concentrate on the road while his thoughts were filled with Cherise, their wedding rings, Logan pinning her down, and Julian buying her a penthouse in the most expensive apartment complex.
“Sir, we have arrived,” suddenly, Miles‘ voice broke his train of thought. He didn’t know how long they had arrived at his home as he had always been absent–minded lately.
He opened the car door and froze when he saw a moving truck in front of his mansion. The many staff members were moving inside and outside his house, with Emely standing in the middle of his living room and giving instructions as she looked ready to be Hudson’s wife.
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