Chapter 103
That morning, Hudson woke up at Crescent Villa after not returning there for so long. As he had told Cherise the night before at his grandmother's mansion, the villa didn't feel like home anymore without her in it.
He went back there after leaving the Amery Mansion because as much as he was sure of his answer to Chrerise's question about whether Crescent Villa didn't feel like home anymore, it was because he loved and missed her, he just needed to make sure of it in his
heart.
He woke up and thought about the night before, when he arrived at the villa.
Just like after their divorce, when he reached the villa the night before, it was dark as none of his staff knew he was returning.
Loneliness struck him again when he saw the couch where Cherise usually drifted off to wait for him. She would wake up whenever she heard him walk in, looking groggy, yet there was always a loving smile on her face as she greeted him, helped him with his coat, and asked if he wanted any supper, which he always declined.
Hudson shook his head and slid off the bed to get ready. He didn't need that loneliness, as it was what destroyed his childhood.
After his shower, an image of Cherise choosing his clothes, a matching tie and cufflinks, entered his mind.
When he went downstairs to the dining room, he could see Cherise in his mind - she was already sitting there waiting for him, her eyes shining with love, the table spread with his favorite breakfast cooked by her. "Good morning, Sir," his butler's voice sounded, bringing his mind to the present.
"Good morning." Hudson nodded.
"Your breakfast is ready, Sir."
"Thank you."
Hudson sat down and ate silently, suddenly doubtful about his answer to Cherise's questions. Everything he missed was about her serving him.
Was she right then? That he only wanted her back because he wanted someone to be at his beck and call?
He felt uncomfortable about it. He knew he loved Cherise. He didn't doubt it. But if that was even a tiny part he wanted her back because of it...
He frowned and tried not to think about it.
The butler saw his Young Master's expression and quickly asked, "Sir, is the breakfast not up to your taste? I could ask the chef to prepare something else."
Hudson shook his head both to clear his mind and answer his butler, "No, it's delicious as usual." It was indeed delicious, but he would prefer to eat something Cherise cooked, though he wouldn't tell his staff about it.
The butler nodded and sighed inaudibly. Their Young Master now seemed to be more forlorn, and they knew the reason. It was a pity the Young Master realized his feelings for their lovely Young Madam only after they divorced.
They still did not know why he was so against her when they were still married. He had never looked down on his own staff, but it was a different case for his own wife.In order to avoid an incomplete reading experience, visit J Ob n ib.com. However, as staff, they could not say anything because it was not their place to do so.
After finishing his breakfast, Hudson's heart still felt uncomfortable, so he did the only thing he could only think of - seeking clarity or a second opinion from someone he knew was unbiased.
He called Miles to inquire about his schedule for the day, and he only had two meetings but tons of paperwork. He asked Miles to reschedule the meetings and bring the paperwork to his penthouse so he could check and sign them later on.
After doing so, he informed his butler he would keep staying at the penthouse as usual but might come back once in a while, and then he drove to Keith's hospital.
Meanwhile, at the restaurant, Cherise was examining the man in front of her. Her initial thought of Theodore Kingston was right-he was a handsome man with dark blonde hair and blue eyes and should also be around their age. The difference between him and her ex-husband and two brothers was that he was gentle.ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .
Julian looked gentle, but still, there was cunningness to him, while Logan had that ruthlessness about him, having grown up on the street that he even had to fight with others for a piece of bread.
All three of them had that air of arrogance that all CEOs have, which was not a bad thing in their circle, as Cherise herself had it. It contributed to their commanding presence, which would be needed in the vicious business world. But Theodore Kingston had none of that air around him. He was simply....gentle. Maybe he was more like Keith? Gentle and calm. But Cherise knew even Keith could be ruthless since he was the leader of a special task force. She considered it while Theodore patiently waited for her answer and concluded that she had never met someone like him.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Kingston, but you have to fill me in about our encounter," Cherise finally replied.
"Call me Theo, please," Theodore replied.
"It's alright if you don't remember. I can tell you about it." he laughed.
Goodness, even his laugh was as gentle as he looked, Cherise thought and nodded, encouraging him to continue.
"It has been many years since we met," Theo said with a faraway sad look, which only lasted for a few seconds before it was gentled again. "I was the boy who found you in the forest and brought you home with me." Cherise frowned. He found her in the forest and brought her home with him?
Then her eyes widened as she finally registered what he meant. He was the one who saved her after she escaped from the ship where she was held hostage during the kidnapping!
Her memory about the incident after the kidnapping was hazy, and she had somewhat suppressed it, but it came back to her now, though it was still blurry.
After she escaped, she kept running, but everything around her was dark, and she stumbled into a forest. Being a five-year-old child at that time, no matter how brave she was, in the end, her energy was depleted, especially with her fear at the thought that the kidnappers might still be searching for her.
She remembered the only thought that kept her going was of the older brother who sacrificed his life so she could escape. To find someone, an adult, to help her call the police to help save that older brother left behind on the ship was her only source of strength. She didn't know how long she ran, and without water or food, she nearly fainted until she saw someone running toward her and then hugging her.
Cherise remembered telling the person in a panic about the kidnapping, the ship, and the older brother before she passed out.
When she woke up, she was not in the forest nor in a room she was familiar with, but there was an older couple looking at her with concern and doctors around her.
But then she slipped into darkness again, and that happened many times. Every time she woke up, it was only for a few minutes before she would sleep again.
Now that she thought about it, the person who found her was really a boy. And that boy would also always be present whenever she woke up, holding her hands and telling her stories even though she only heard it for a few minutes.
She searched through her memory and remembered he did say his name was Theo. After Cherise became better, the older couple, who were Theo's parents, asked her for her name and what had happened for her to appear in a forest near their vacation house. Cherise told them who she was and politely asked them to call her parents so she could tell them where she was.
It took her parents more than a week to pick her up since Cherise was still too weak to travel, and her parents needed to make sure their private plane was equipped with the best medical equipment and doctors for Cherise's condition.
It turned out Cherise had been missing for more than a month, and the ship had sailed to another country, which took more than twelve hours to reach by plane.
While waiting for her parents to arrive, they always called her every day, and Cherise had told them to help the older brother. They promised her they would, but when she went back to Country A and had healed completely, they told her the bad news - that the older brother who tried to stop the attackers from going after her had been killed.
Since then, she told them she wanted to live a normal life just as Cherise and not Cherise Alster until she was strong enough to face any enemies because she felt the older brother's death was because of her no matter what her family told her. During her healing process at Theo's vacation home, he was the one who always kept her company. When she had nightmares and cried at night, he would rush to her bedroom and comfort her until she fell asleep again.
Cherise wondered why she had forgotten the boy. Maybe because she suppressed the memory, perhaps because she was too invested in getting stronger in all senses, or maybe because she fell in love with Hudson and lived in a living hell. Who knew? Not even she knew the reasons, but she knew she was grateful to Theo.
She assessed Theo again and finally smiled at him. The boy back then had grown up to be a very gentle and handsome man. She should've known it by how he was so kind to her at one of the most horrific moments in her life.