Chapter 119
Hudson tilted his head down and felt his heart squeezed by the pain he saw in Cherise's bleary eyes. He knew she was drunk, but didn't they say drunk people spoke the truth?
His hold around her shoulder tightened without him realizing, and he replied hoarsely, "I know, Cherise. I'm truly sorry. I was foolish not to have realized my feelings sooner and let you feel unloved. But I'm trying really hard to make it right now. I am. So give me a chance, alright?" By the time Hudson finished saying those words, Cherise had already dozed off again in his arms. He didn't let go of her, instead placing a tender kiss on her forehead - something he had never done during their marriage.
Neil stayed silent but heard everything and saw it through the rearview mirror. He was quite surprised at the determination, pain, and gentleness in Hudson's voice and action.
He knew Hudson wanted Miss Cherise back. Hell, everyone knew about it. But this was the first time he witnessed Hudson Amery's sincerity. No one who changed that much - from cold and aloof to gentle could be faking it.
"Go straight to the basement carpark," Hudson commanded. Although Neil had no idea what Hudson wanted, he still followed his orders.
Once Neil parked Cherise's car at her designated spot, Hudson went out before walking around the car, opening Cherise's side, and gently picking her up in his arms.
Neil quickly closed the door and locked the car before moving toward the elevator to tap the penthouse key card so they could go up.
Hudson pressed Cherise's thumb on her smart lock door to open her door and gently placed her on the sofa.
He wanted to take a bottle of water from her fridge, but she didn't let him go. Her arms around his neck held him tightly, and she made a whining sound when he tried to pry them away.
Left with no choice, Hudson sat beside her and asked Neil to grab two water bottles for him and Cherise.
Neil didn't waste any time getting them, uncapping them so Hudson would feed the water easier to Miss Cherise.
As if coaxing a child, Hudson spoke patiently and gently toward Cherise. "Cherise, you need to drink water. You'll feel better after this," he said as he held the mouth of the water bottle against her lips while his other arm circled her shoulder to keep her upright. "I don't want to," Cherise whined and pouted, her teary eyes wide and making her look innocent. This was the first time Hudson and Neil had seen this kind of cute stubbornness from her.
Hudson felt helpless looking at this side of her, but he knew he couldn't give in to her. He tried coaxing her again. "Come now, Cherise. Just take a sip, and then you can sleep," he said, bringing the bottle to her lips again, but something unexpected happened. Cherise suddenly buried her face even further into Hudson's chest and groaned. "Ugghh... I don't feel good."
Hudson and Neil knew what was going to happen next, but before either one of them could move, Cherise vomited all over her suit and Hudson's.
Hudson strode fast toward the guest bathroom, taking Cherise in his arms. He placed her on the floor, her face facing the toilet bowl.
He kneeled beside her, not caring about the state of his suit or the strong smell of vomit, and gently stroked her back, soothing her until she stopped throwing up.Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.
Only then did he switch on the shower, take off his suit jacket and shirt, and throw it under the running water to get rid of the smell just in case it brought another bout of vomiting from Cherise.
Neil, the professional PA, was also ready to attend to his boss' needs. He had a water bottle in one hand and a wet hand towel in the other.
Cherise sat on the floor with her head resting on the toilet bowl. She felt sleepy and tired after throwing up, but Hudson kept forcing her to gargle and drink water, so she did.
Hudson shocked Neil again when he said, "I'm going to give Cherise a shower in the master bathroom. You can make yourself comfortable and stay in one of the guest rooms tonight." Seeing Neil's reluctant expression, Hudson asked, "Would you prefer her to sleep reeking of vomit? I used to be her husband, and there is no part of her body I haven't seen." Hudson knew he wasn't supposed to say those words to an outsider, and seeing how furiously Neil was blushing, he didn't care about it for now and only thought of Cherise's comfort. Even though Hudson's words seemed reassuring that he wouldn't do anything to Miss Cherise, Neil still sat rigidly on the sofa and looked toward the main bedroom on the second floor.
No one knew the t*****e Hudson was putting himself in. The love of his life was naked and quite unaware of what was happening except that she wanted to sleep.
Hudson half-closed his eyes and used a loofah so he didn't need to touch her skin, or he knew he would lose what little self-control he had left. He quickly washed and dried her body before putting on panties and pajamas on her.
It all took less than ten minutes, and when Hudson went down the staircases, Neil thought, That was fast. Someone like Hudson Amery would have lasted longer, wouldn't he? So he shouldn't be forcing himself on Miss Cherise. But if he did, he would feel her wrath tomorrow.
"Neil, I'm going to my penthouse to shower, and then I'm coming back here so I can check on her," Hudson said. "Open the door for me later on."
With that, he went to the guest bathroom to gather his suit jacket and shirt, left Cherise's penthouse, and went to his.
He quickly went to his bathroom, took off his pants, and placed everything in his laundry basket before taking a quick shower. He didn't want to leave Cherise for too long just in case she vomited again or became restless in her sleep.
In Cherise's penthouse, Neil was contemplating what to do. Would Mr. Hudson sleep in Miss Cherise's bedroom? But that was wrong!
Even though Mr. Hudson would not do anything to her, if Miss Cherise found out he let Mr. Hudson sleep on the same bed as her, he would surely get fired, wouldn't he?
And what if Mr. Julian knew about it? Arghhhh... He wished he had stopped Miss Cherise from drinking too much.
As he was deep in his dilemma, he heard the door being knocked. He quickly opened it to find Hudson freshly showered and wearing a black silk pajama.
Neil swallowed and was about to tell Hudson maybe it wasn't such a good idea for him to stay the night, but Hudson walked past him, entered the penthouse, and went straight to one of the guest bedrooms.
When he returned to the living room, he held a pillow and blanket and placed them on the long couch.
As if able to read Neil's mind, Hudson glanced at him and said, "Would you rather be the one checking up on her?"
Neil instinctively shook his head. Even though he was Miss Cherise's PA, how could he, as a man, enter her bedroom without her acknowledgment and check up on her? That was unacceptable!
"Just as I thought." Hudson nodded. "I will be sleeping here to hear Cherise's movements throughout the night."
"Go have a shower and sleep in one of the guest bedrooms," Hudson repeated his order. "If you are afraid I would do anything to her, you can always check on me. And don't worry about Cherise and Julian. I'll deal with them myself."
Finally, Neil relented and obeyed Hudson but kept his guard up all night. He kept checking to see if Hudson was sleeping on the sofa, and the times Hudson wasn't there, he could see Miss Cherise's bedroom door open wide, and Hudson only spent a few minutes there.
It seemed Mr. Hudson had really changed, he thought. From what he heard, Mr. Hudson had never cared for anyone, not even Emely. Usually, he would employ the best nurse rather than deal with it himself.
And no one would have believed him if he had told them Mr. Hudson did not get even the slightest bit angry after being puked on.
***
The following day, Cherise woke up with a groan. She felt like her head was being split into two when suddenly her bedroom door was opened, and a familiar deep voice greeted her.