Chapter 56
Keith raised his other eyebrow and regarded Hudson with his lazy and gentle gaze.
“Her room number,” Hudson growled, getting impatient with his best friend’s silence.
“You sure?” Keith stretched languidly on his seat while still eyeing his best friend. “Julian is with her.”
Hudson strode toward the couch and sank down, muttering a curse under his breath.
“You seem to curse more now,” Keith observed. “Can’t seem to get a grip on yourself.”
“Tell me something I don’t know.” Hudson glared at him. Couldn’t his friend point out something less obvious?
Even Hudson himself knew he had changed from a cold man to someone whose feelings now were like waves in the ocean – an uncontrollable fluctuation of ups and downs.
And damn if he didn’t hate it. He was always in control of himself… or used to be. But everything changed after his divorce from Cherise.
“Want to talk about it?” Keith asked, already knowing full well the reason behind Hudson’s change of character.
Hudson rubbed his face before glancing at Keith, but the moment his mouth opened to answer, Keith’s office door was opened unceremoniously, and their other best friend appeared.
“Yo, what’s up, my man?” Finley plopped onto the couch opposite Hudson and grinned at Keith before turning to Hudson with his brows knitted together.
“What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be with Emely?” he asked, earning him wary looks from both Hudson and Keith.
Hudson gave Keith a look, silently asking him why Finley was here, and Keith shrugged, not knowing why Finley was even visiting
him.
Finley was Finley. He always did whatever he wanted without thinking of the consequences. He was a cocky playboy who was only good at flirting and wasting his dad’s money, and looking down at those beneath him.
He wasn’t as
as emotionally intelligent as Keith unless he was told straight to his face what‘ then, he might not even understand why they would feel that way.
er people were feeling, and even
And right at that moment, of course, he couldn’t read the tension in the room.
“Ohh. Did you ditch Emely to sneak out with that Miss X? Finley wiggled his eyebrows at Hudson. “I dida’t think you were a playboy
like me, too, Hudson.”
“How did you know about me and Miss X?” Hudson eyed him suspiciously.
Finley rolled his eyes. “Oh please, I was there in the audience too. However, I don’t know why you joined her on stage. Making one of
your dreams come true?” he asked with a teasing gaze.
Keith and Finley knew about Hudson’s identity as Xav, how he admired Miss X, and how he wished to partner with her even once. But since her real identity was super secretive, as was Hudson’s as Xav, it was kind of difficult for them to dance together–until today, at least.
“Hudson danced with Miss X?” Keith asked in surprise. He couldn’t attend the dance performance, so he wasn’t in the loop yet.
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“Yeah, and they were oh–so–good. Like they were made to be partners all along.” Finley grinned and gushed. “Must feel like heaven, huh, to finally be able to dance with her?” he teased Hudson again.
Were they made to be partners all along? Hudson felt bitterness inside his heart. He was more than a partner to her; he was married to her, and he blew his chance.
“I wasn’t planning to dance with her,” he grumbled. “I saw her having difficulties and just went up to support her. I found out she had a high fever. It was a miracle she could finish her dance.”
Finley whistled and praised Miss X, “The best damn professional female dancer if you asked me. Pushing through all her discomfort to finish her choreography.”
Keith furrowed his brows, and something clicked in his mind. Miss X was feverish, and Hudson came to ask about Cherise’s room number. This was going to be interesting.
“So, what happened to her?” Finley asked.
“She fainted and was brought here,” Hudson replied begrudgingly at the thought of Julian cradling her against his chest.
“Oh, you are such a gentleman, Hudson,” Finley winked at him.
“I wasn’t the one who brought her here,” Hudson snapped.
“Julian was,” Keith quipped.
“Julian knows Miss X?” Finley’s eyebrows shot up high enough to reach his hairline.
“Miss X is Cherise, Keith explained with a small smile.
The room plunged into pin–drop silence before Finley laughed out loud and moved to sit beside Hudson, draping an arm around his
shoulder.
“You think this is funny?” Hudson glared at him.
“My friend, how do you feel, knowing that THE Miss X you have always admired is actually your ex–wife, who you always looked down on?” Finley’s smile widened as if enjoying the irony of the situation.
Keith bit his lip to stop his laughter from spilling out of his lips. Give it to Finley to be brave questions like this. Sometimes, Keith thanked God that t
this friend of his had no filter or sha
jh to ask Hudson important
“This is no laughing matter,” Hudson growled and elbowed him hard right on his chest, shoving inley away from him.
“Ouch“” Finley rubbed his ch*st but kept grinning. “It’s funny, alright. Oh, the irony of this,” he said exaggeratedly.
“You on her side now?” Hudson sneered while giving him a side–eye.
“Well…” Finley rubbed the back of his neck and added sheepishly. “She’s a great fighter and dancer. I might have judged her too unfairly before.”
“What’s so good about a woman who can fight?” Hudson grumbled under his breath again.
Finley rolled his eyes at Hudson. “A woman who can fight is hot, alright? And it’s not like she fights like a woman–biting, scratching. and pulling hair.” He wrinkled his nose as if disgusted by the thought of it but then added, “Cherise actually has techniques Taekwondo techniques and a black belt.”
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This time, Hudson rolled his eyes. Wait until you become the recipient of those ‘techniques‘ and see if you’d still praise her, he thought to himself,
She trashed his apartment, and the only things she broke beyond repair were all those antiques and paintings. Stuff that he loved and had collected painstakingly over the years.
Strangely, he wasn’t mad at her about it. Yes, he lost a lot from that one fight, and not only in terms of stuff. He seemed to have lost Cherise forever, too, and the feeling choked him more than losing everything else.
He rubbed his ch*st as he felt another dull ache in his heart.
“You okay, Hudson?” Keith, who was always observant, did not miss Hudson’s small gesture.
“Just “Hudson rubbed his ch*st again, then shook his head and shrugged.
Keith cocked his head to one side and nodded, understanding that Hudson wasn’t ready to talk about it, or maybe he didn’t want to open his heart in front of Finley because that playboy was a gossip monger. He couldn’t keep a secret if his life depended on it.
“Hey, you guys sure Cherise is just a country bumpkin?” Finley asked his two best friends. “I mean, to get a black belt in Taekwondo and learn to dance and be the best… That would mean taking lessons, and lessons mean quite a lot of money, right?”
Keith raised an eyebrow and thought Finley wasn’t as stupid as he thought after all.
“And to be that good, she must have been training for a long time,” Finley added. “Maybe Cherise has a hidden background?”
“I’ve checked but couldn’t find anything,” Keith replied. “How about you, Hudson?” He eyed his best friend.
“Couldn’t find anything except what she had told me and Grandma.” Hudson was frustrated. He felt cheated by Cherise.
“Dammit!” he slammed his fists on his thighs, channeling his frustration. “Why didn’t she tell me she has a black belt in Taekwondo and that she’s Miss X?”
Finley looked at him as if he was crazy, and it unsettled Hudson.
“What’s that look for?” He glared at Finley.
*Just… You wouldn’t believe her if she’d told you anyway.” Finley shrugged, and the truth pur
Hudson straight in his gut.
“He’s right, you know,” Keith said lazily. “You never wanted to hear anything that came out of
mouth.”
“Yeah.” Finley nodded vigorously and went to Keith. “If she told you she’s Miss X, I’m sure this was what you’d do.”
Finley pinched Keith’s chin and said with a faint smile, mimicking Hudson whenever he wanted to make Cherise feel small.
like you?
“You are Miss X? Is this a way for you to make me like
sneered. “Your desperation and lies disgust me.”
Don’t be delusional, Cherise.” He pushed Keith’s chin back abruptly and
Keith couldn’t help but bark out a laugh. Finley’s acting was spot–on.
“That’s what you’d do to her.” Finley grinned at his own stellar performance and went back to sit on the couch.
Hudson frowned when he realized that was how he had always treated Cherise. Seeing it from an outsider’s perspective, he understood why Cherise wouldn’t want to tell him.
He was an asshole of a husband who hated her. Why should she even try to open up to him? But she did, didn’t she? She used to.
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But he always told her to shut up in a way, not even bothering to listen to her, until she became more quiet around him.
“God.” He covered his face with his hands.
“Don’t overthink it, Hudson,” Finley said. “She is your past. You are going to get engaged to the love of your life in a week. Don’t let
Cherise affect you.”
Hudson froze and let out a bitter chuckle. Finley was right. He had to take care of Emely now.
Julian’s words echoed in his mind – Cherise was now Julian’s responsibility, and Emely was his.
And yet,
he still felt the need to see Cherise. He wanted to know if she was alright..
He looked at Keith and said, “Keith, help me ch*ck if Julian is gone.”
Keith shrugged and stood up, knowing his friend wouldn’t stop asking if he didn’t do what he wanted him to do.
Finley looked at Hudson suspiciously and asked, “Hudson…. Do you regret divorcing Cherise?
Regret? Did he regret it? He didn’t know. He didn’t f**king know his own feelings.
Finley took his silence as a ‘yes‘ and said hesitantly, “But… You’ve been in love with Emely all this time, right? You impregnated her, for God’s sake, and chose to divorce Cherise to be with Emely. Surely you are not regretting it now,”
“What is love?” Hudson asked, more to himself rather than Finley.
“Love is when you always think about that person all the time, wanting always to be close to her, hate it when she’s close to other men, and believe it or not, that one person you love will be able to affect your mood like a bitch, Finley laughed. “But it’s all worth it because you guys will solve problems together, and at the end of the day, she’ll still be yours.”
Hudson frowned again. He did think of Emely all the time when they were young, but he didn’t have a problem when she had other male friends or chose Luis over him. He was hurt, but it didn’t last long. Maybe more disappointed rather than hurt, but he was happy
for them, just like he had told Emely.
And Emely never could affect his mood. He was happy when she was around him, but now the happiness of being around a friend.
e thought about it, it felt more like
But he was never angry with her, not that she ever tried to make him angry. She was always gentle.
Finley’s explanation didn’t make him understand what love was. Instead, it made him even more confused.
Finley, who was watching Hudson, saw the confusion in his best friend’s eyes, and his own eyes widened in disbelief.
“Hudson… Don’t tell me.” he began saying, wanting to ask Hudson of his suspicion, but at that time, Keith came back to the office, interrupting him.
“The special VVIP room. She’s alone,” Keith told Hudson. He then went to sit in his chair and began working again after delivering the
news.
“Thanks,” Hudson mumbled, left, and walked toward the VVIP room.
When he opened the door and slipped inside, he felt his heart squeezed painfully in his chest. He had never seen Cherise looking
sick with an IV drip connected to her hand.
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In his mind, Cherise was always healthy and smiling, even wh
