Chapter 75
If Hudson was anything like Finley, he would have let out a whoop and punched his fist in the air as his grandmother finally tried to help him.
But he was Hudson Amery, the cold and aloof man everyone knew him to be. So, he kept his expression indifferent and sipped his tea, pretending not to listen to their conversation.
“I know you might think he was just saving his reputation by saying all those things, but he told me all about it and cried in my arms,” Agatha added. “He would never lie to me about such things.”
Hudson’s eyes twitched. Did his grandma need to tell Cherise that he bawled his eyes out while pouring his feelings to her? That would damage his image.
In her mind, Cherise had somehow expected this matter to be brought up even though she wished Agatha wouldn’t, but she could understand why Agatha asked her those questions.
Agatha seemed to hate Emely and she always loved Cherise. She always told her what a perfect granddaughter- in–law she was and she must have missed spending time with her.
“Agatha…” Cherise said helplessly.
“I know what Dahlia and Polly bullied you, and I’m sorry I didn’t see how bad it was,” Agatha continued. “Butl promise I’ll protect you from now on. And from what I saw, you’ve changed too. You might not even need my protection as you can protect yourself.”
Cherise shook her head and said firmly, not caring that Hudson could hear her. Maybe it would even be better if
he could hear her every word.
“Agatha, I’m sorry, but my marriage with Hudson was a nightmare. He had never loved me, will never love me, and he let his mother and sister bully me. And I’m sure he couldn’t manage Dahlia and Polly. He even still keeps Enely by her side. I don’t want to go through such a miserable life again.”
Hudson felt his heart plummeted. But what did he expect? For her to say yes to getting back together with him quickly?
She might even think she was a rebound because things didn’t work out between him and Emely. It was quite apparent that she didn’t quite believe he had a relationship with Emely other than him thinking of her as his
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sister–in–law.
He drew a deep breath to calm himself down. He knew she would answer like this, so he shoved down his disappointment, kept thinking he deserved this, and wouldn’t give up trying.
Agatha glanced at Hudson, silently asking permission for her to tell Cherise that he had a change of heart, but Hudson pursed his lips and shook his head slightly.
Agatha understood his grandson. He needed to prove his love for her. If she told Cherise that Hudson was in love with her now, Cherise wouldn’t believe her and she didn’t want to force Cherise into anything anymore.
Instead, she sighed and. apologized to Cherise again. “I shouldn’t have asked you to marry him in the first place.”
Looking at Agatha’s guilt, Cherise quickly reassured her that it wasn’t her fault.
“I went into the marriage willingly, so please don’t think any of it was your fault. Please don’t blame yourself.”
“Cherise, do you know why I chose you to marry Hudson even though you were an orphan, and that was against the norm of high society?” The change of topic startled both Cherise and Hudson.
Cherise didn’t care about it, but Hudson was intrigued by it. His grandmother had never asked him to marry anyone or be involved in anybof his affairs, so three years ago when she demanded him to marry Cherise, he was
livid.
But he loved his grandmaand, at first glance, thought Cherise was attractive. She was the first woman to make him feel any desire. He thought she would be good enough as a bed warmer but hated the rest of her.
Cherise chose to keep quiet again. She didn’t know why Agatha chose her for Hudson, for she had hidden her background well.
“As you know, it is easier for people in our class to marry for connections. An heir to a powerful family marrying an heiress to a powerful one would no doubt strengthen and establish the power of both families; that is why parents prefer that for their children,” Agatha explained, which Cherise nodded in response because she knew
all about it.
“But I never wanted Hudson or Polly to be used as a tool to strengthen the Amery Group’s stand in the upper class,” Agatha continued. “They are my grandchildren. They are human beings.”
Hudson’s lips thinned out. He never thought his grandma saw marriages of convenience in that way, but now
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that she said it, he didn’t want to be a tool.
Agatha then let out a long sigh. “But I realized by marrying you to Hudson, I was selfish and somehow made you a ‘tool‘ indirectly.”
“I didn’t feel used,” Cherise reassured her. Not in the way Agatha intended, though she was used as a ‘tool‘ by Dahlia, Polly, and Hudson in their own ways.
“I married my late husband out of love and that was what I wanted for my child and grandchildren,” Agatha kept continuing. “But Dahlia was scheming and drugged Hudson’s dad to impregnate herself, and as a gentleman, my son decided to marry her. That was how Hudson was born.”
Cherise couldn’t keep the surprise from her expression.
“You didn’t know, did you?” Agatha chuckled, and Cherise shook her head, while Hudson felt a pain in his heart. He didn’t want Cherise to know about his parents‘ marriage or how he was conceived, but maybe if she knew, she could see why he used to detest her so much.
“Dahlia was a social climber and a gold digger. She never cares about Hudson or her marriage as long as she is Mrs. Amery. I saw how unhappy my son was, and I didn’t want my grandson or granddaughter to have such marriages.”
A flicker of sympathy for Hudson passed through Cherise’s heart. She always knew Hudson wasn’t close to his mom, but to know he wasn’t loved at all, that his mom chose reputation and money over her own child, was
painful.
Cherise grew up in a loving family. Her grandparents love each other, her parents love each other as well, and they always showered Julian and her with love and affection; even Logan, who was adopted, was treated the
same way.
That, in turn, made her love Julian and Logan, and they loved her as best as they could as well. It was all about showing familiar love in her family. She couldn’t imagine living with family members who didn’t love her.
“Hudson grew up without maternal love and saw how vain his mother was… Still is I supposed,” Agatha spoke again. “And trust me, I know my grandson, Cherise. He had a prejudice against women who came from…lesser backgrounds.”
Cherise didn’t think too much about why Agatha used past tense in some of her words. Maybe Hudson had changed; perhaps the things that happened with Emely made him see some things differently, but she couldn’t
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care less about it now.
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She glanced at Hudson and saw the hurt in his eyes. She didn’t know why Agatha was saying all these to her in front of him, but she must have her reasons, and Cherise could only listen silently.
“I know this does not excuse him for looking down on others, but this should give you an idea of why he thought you were a gold digger and how much he hated you because of it.”
Cherise could only nod in response. She could understand it, but it still wouldn’t and couldn’t erase the hurt he inflicted upon her during their failed marriage.
“When I first met you, I knew from the start you are such a caring girl,” Agatha continued since both Cherise and Hudson had nothing to say. “You helped an old lady you didn’t know and stayed with me until Hudson arrived. You knew we were rich, and when I wanted to give you some money, you rejected me politely.”
Cherise remembered the time. After she helped Agatha from falling down the stairs, she kept her company until Hudson arrived as Agatha had said, and that was when she fell in love with Hudson.
She realized now that she was a vain person, too. She fell in love with Hudson because of his physical appearance, but love could spring out of nowhere, and unfortunately, that turned out to be the beginning of her three–year living nightmare.
Agatha had wanted to transfer her some money to show her gratitude, but she declined because she didn’t need it. Even if she were really poor, she still wouldn’t accept it because she helped Agatha out of the goodness of her heart, and she really liked Agatha.
“With Hudson being brought up with less love than he deserved, he became this cold and aloof person that we all know, and I thought at that time, you could thaw his heart,” Agatha finally explained why she chose Cherise as her granddaughter–in–law.
“I could see the love you had for him. Not for his money, influence, power, or family name, unlike his mother, and I felt you would be good for him. I thought he would feel your love and change–opening his heart and having a happy marriage full of love just like what I wanted him to have.”
“I thought I could make him fall in love with me too…” The words escaped Cherise’s lips in a whisper before she could stop them.
Hudson felt his heart being pierced again. If only his mother weren’t a gold digger. If only she loved him. If only she loved his father like Cherise used to love him, then Hudson wouldn’t have a strong prejudice and distaste for
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Without the prejudice, at least he could judge love fairly, unlike what he had been doing before he realized he was in love with Cherise.
But his lips curled into a bitter smile. Who was he kidding? He was a grown man. He shouldn’t blame everything
on his mother. If he really wanted to, he could be nice to Cherise when they were married.
Even if he didn’t love her back then, as her husband, he should not treat her like a S*x doll whom he only used to
have S*x with.
He should even protect her from the bullying she received from his mother, sister, and friends.
But he didn’t do it, did he? He did the opposite. He showed his hatred toward her, which propelled everyone to
mistreat her.
So, it wasn’t because of her mother not loving him. Maybe partly it was because of it, but the most significant
part was because he was simply a jackass.
He saw every woman with a lesser background as a gold digger, except Emely. They had been friends for so long, and she was the first girl to show him kindness and even save him from the car accident.
He projected his hatred for his mother onto every other woman, which was just so wrong, and it made him lose the chance to be in a loving marriage with someone who loved him for him.
He hated himself for being blinded by hatred toward his mother. He hated himself for treating Cherise who loved
him so much with disgust.
But this only strengthened his resolve to get her back. He had done her wrong, and it was time for him to make it right by her.
“Is there any chance of you giving Hudson another chance?” Agatha asked, knowing she was pushing her luck.
As much as Cherise hated disappointing Agatha, she shook her head with no hesitation. “I’m sorry, Agatha, but I can’t. He hurt me too much, and I don’t want to deal with Dahlia, Polly, his friends, and Emely. I’m happy with my life now.”
Agatha had expected as much, given how Cherise had been poorly treated, and now they have an additional scheming woman in their family named Emely.
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As much as it saddened her, she knew if she were Cherise, she might most probably choose not to go back to his
grandson.
“I understand,” Agatha patted her hand reassuringly and added when she saw the look of guilt on Cherise’s face. “Don’t feel bad about chasing your happiness.”
Cherise breathed in relief. “I’d like to visit you from time to time if
you don’t mind.”
Agatha smiled at her and said, “Of course, I don’t mind. I’d love it.” Then she added, “Well, it’s getting late. I really enjoy our time together.”
Cherise and Hudson stood up at the same time. They knew Agatha needed to rest, so it was time for them to go.
“Thank you for having me here tonight and for the delicious dinner,” Cherise said as they hugged at the main
door.
“Anytime, Cherise,” Agatha said and seemed to remember something. “Oh, it’ll be my birthday in a month. I hope you’ll attend.”
This time Cherise hesitated. She didn’t want to have too many interactions with Hudson or anyone connected to him except for Agatha.
As if being able to read her mind, Agatha added, “Don’t worry about my foolish grandson, granddaughter, Dahlia, or that other scheming woman. If they do something, you have my permission to fight back just like you did during the engagement party.”
Cherise couldn’t help but laugh. With those words, how could she reject the invitation?
“Alright, I promise I will come.” She nodded.
“And you can bring Julian and Logan. God knows my poor old eyes need something beautiful to look at.” Agatha winked at Cherise, making her laugh, and Hudson groaned.
“You might bring Katherine, Paula, and Tristan as well,” Agatha added. “I’d like to know your friends.”
“Should I be creeped out by you knowing about my life?” Cherise laughed.
“Gossip is my entertainment now,” Agatha laughed along with her.
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They then said their goodbyes and Hudson got to finally hug his grandma and k*ssed her cheek while she whispered to him that she had done what she could do, the rest was up to him, and for him to drive safely.
Hudson and Cherise remained silent during the drive home.
When they reached their floor, Hudson handed her car key back and opened his mouth after not talking to her throughout dinner.
“Cherise, I’m sorry.”
