Sorry Sir I Don’t Want You Back by Little Angelic Devil

Hudson froze as he handed his coat to one of the maids. He was as surprised as his grandmother and ex-wife. He came here because it had been a while since he had last visited his grandmother, but he had never thought to encounter Cherise.

It was but a very pleasant surprise for him. The last time he saw Cherise was when he attended her press conference and proclaimed to the whole world how he wanted her back.

Although he knew she would be residing at Julian's villa now that everyone knew she was the heiress to the Alster family every morning and night, he looked at the penthouse’s door across from his with longing, hoping for a chance to meet her.

But knowing she had not moved any of her belongings or that the cleaner still came gave him hope that Cherise would return to live in the penthouse again.

And Hudson was not wrong. Cherise had planned to stay in the penthouse after her grandpa returned to Country A. She was an adult, after all, and needed her own space.

Hudson moved toward the two ladies seated in the living room and bent down to kiss his grandmother's cheeks.

“Grandma,” he greeted her before he straightened himself.

“What are you doing here?” Agatha asked her question again, eyeing her grandson suspiciously. “Did you know Cherise was coming? Did you stalk her?”

Hudson looked at his grandmother helplessly. Did he look like a stalker?

“Can't a grandson visit his grandmother?” he asked helplessly, earning him a harrumph from Agatha.

Hudson looked at Cherise and had to swallow hard to stop himself from drawing her into his arms or his body from reacting.

She looked so delectable at that moment, with her cheeks and the tip of her nose pinkened slightly, maybe from the cold air, and her pretty pink lips glistening from her lipgloss. “Cherise,” he greeted her, his hoarse voice betraying his attempt to hide how much she was affecting him.

Cherise wanted to ignore him, but out of her respect for Agatha, she nodded in return and gave him a faint smile.

Agatha called out her butler. “Prepare the children’s table like last time. I do not need my time with my dearest Cherise to be disturbed by an ungrateful grandson."

“Oh, and don't forget to tell the chef to prepare a separate set for Hudson,” Agatha added.

“At once, Madam.” The butler bowed and called some maids to set up the table and chair at the same spot the last time they had dinner together.

“Oh, you don't have to do that, Agatha.” Cherise took Agatha’s hand and tried to dissuade her. As much as she didn't want to eat at the same table as Hudson, she knew she wouldn't be able to visit Agatha as frequently as she wished from then on since she would be busy.

But she didn't want to be the reason for Agatha and Hudson's estrangement if it would ever happen.

She knew Hudson loved and needed Agatha, having the same situation as her or even more severe as he still had a mother but hated her so much that his only motherly love came from Agatha.

“I don’t mind” Hudson said, surprising Agatha and Cherise.

He really did not mind. He knew Cherise was saying that to make sure his relationship with his grandmother would not sour, but he also knew Cherise would feel comfortable if he were to join them for dinner at the same table.

Ever since he realized his feelings for Cherise, all he wanted was for her to be happy and slowly be comfortable enough around him to show her his sincerity.

It was hard to do so as Cherise had consumed him, and he was not usually a patient man. He was used to doing everything fast, and to getting anything he wanted with just a flick of his hand.

His feelings for her had only seemed to grow deeper and stronger with each passing day; even all his dreams had changed from nightmares to Cherise - her laughter, her body, her sarcasm, basically everything and anything about her.

But if it needed patience to get her back, then that was what he would do. He could change himself to be the man she deserved.

“See, he doesn’t mind it, so you must not as well" Agatha smiled at Cherise. “He knows he deserves to sit at the children’s table.”

Cherise could only nod, while Hudson did not know whether to laugh or cry. When Cherise was with them, his grandma always made him wonder who her real grandchild was.

“Agatha, I" Cherise started to apologize again but was interrupted once more by Agatha’s butler telling them dinner was ready to be served.

“Let's talk while we are having dinner” Agatha patted Cherise’s hand lovingly and stood up. Cherise followed her toward the dining table, and Hudson went straight to the so-called children’s table willingly without sulking as he had said before.

The maids served the dishes, and for long moments, no one talked as they enjoyed their dinner.

Hudson looked at the dishes in front of him and found some the same as the last time they were dining there. Those must be Cherise's favorite food, he thought and tucked the information in his mind for future reference.

Halfway through dinner, Cherise could not contain her guilt anymore, and she blurted out, “Agatha, I'm so sorry for lying to you. I shouldn't have concealed my identity from you, but-" “Hush, dear child,” Agatha interrupted her gently and placed her cutleries down on the table before wiping her lips with the napkin placed on her lap.

She placed her hand, palm up on the table for Cherise to hold. Cherise did so, and Agatha placed her other hand on top of hers.

“You don't have to explain anything to me, Cherise," Agatha said gently. “I trust you have your own reasons for doing it"

“But-"

“No buts” Agatha shook her head to stop Cherise from saying anything more. “And no feeling guilty because if I remember correctly, you never really told me specifically that you were an orphan.”

“You told me you were in this country alone, and I assumed you were an orphan,” Agatha continued. “And yes, you did not correct me, but it doesn’t mean you lied to me. You just omitted the truth, and after knowing you are the Alster’s heiress, I can quite understand why you chose to do so."

“You are not mad at me?” Cherise asked, her voice starting to quiver from the amount of trust and understanding Agatha had for her.

“Why should I2” Agatha asked. “Other than hiding your identity because of what you've been through as a little child, you also wanted Hudson to fall in love with you during your marriage instead of making it a business alliance between two powerful families, didn’t you?"

Cherise nodded, not believing herself to speak without ending up crying.

“Love... It's what we hope to have, yet hard to get if you are in our world." Agatha sighed wistfully. “Hudson has changed, though. Don’t you want to give him another chance?”

“I'm sorry, but I can't,” Cherise said softly and shook her head. “I hope I didn't disappoint you." “Cherise, I've told you repeatedly that you are precious,” Agatha squeezed her hand. “You can never disappoint me. You saved me when we first met, you even stayed married to my grandson for three years even though you were abused, and you still visited me after you got divorced. To avoid an incomplete reading experience, visit Jo(b)n''b .cOm. You saved me from loneliness. So tell me, dear child, how can I be disappointed in you?”

Cherise was ready to face Agatha's anger or disappointment, but instead, she received understanding, trust, and acceptance. Agatha's words touched her, and a lone tear slid down her cheek.

She stood up and hugged the old lady. “Thank you,” she whispered.

Agatha hugged her back and felt pity for Cherise, but she knew Cherise wouldn't welcome it, so she rubbed her back before drawing back and wiping the tear on Cherise’s face.

“Let's continue our dinner before you make this old lady cry a river,’ Agatha smiled and teased, relieved when Cherise laughed in answer and went back to her seat.

Hudson, who had been listening to everything silently, felt his heart being squeezed hard by an invisible hand, and it pained him to the point that he needed to rub his chest in an attempt to soothe it.

He was ready to be rejected, but to hear the words from Cherise still hurt him every time. There was also the way she looked so vulnerable right now just because his grandmother trusted her, accepted her lies, and comforted her.

Those were the things he should have done as her husband last time but did not.

Now, he yearned to be the one who wiped away her tears, who comforted her every time she was feeling down, and who she felt gratitude and love for.

It took every fiber of his being not to rush up to her and envelope her in his arms, apologize repeatedly, and swear to love and cherish her forever because he knew it was too soon to do it.

He took a deep breath and repeated in his mind, “Patience, Hudson. Patience. Remember that you can't force her anymore if you wish to gain her love back.

“I'll tell you a little secret, Cherise,” Agatha said, making Hudson thankful for the distraction. “I've always known you come from the same class as us,” Agatha revealed, shocking Cherise and Hudson.

Agatha laughed when she saw Cherise’s flabbergasted expression.

“You had this...air,” Agatha waved her hand, “about you. The way you talked, the way you moved, and your posture. Even though you tried to cover them with practical clothes, your elegance still showed.”

Cherise opened her mouth and closed it again, not knowing what to say. She had never really thought how she carried herself would give her away. She thought acting timid was good enough, but apparently not.

“When you have lived as long as I have and seen many things, it is easy to spot those signs,” Agatha added. “But I thought you came from a fallen family and didn’t want to talk about it." Cherise could understand it. Most upper-class families that had gone under or “fallen families’ usually seldom talked about the time of their success.

“Furthermore,” Agatha continued, making Cherise even more baffled by how much more the old lady knew. “I have always suspected you are Angel.”

“Before you ask how I knew, a huge company like Angelworld Jewelry had never taken an interest in La Jewel, but after you married Hudson, suddenly they were interested in an exclusive cooperation, and I, for one, knew those collections were Angel's designs and not Katherine Sterling's."

Cherise’s eyes widened in disbelief before she laughed and shook her head. She was amazed by how perceivable Agatha was with details.

“It seems nothing can escape your eagle eyes,” Cherise said with amusement.

“I may be old, but I can still spot real and fakes," Agatha winked, and they laughed together. Then she changed the topic out of nowhere, asking a question that surprised Cherise and made Hudson's ears perk up and kind of hold his breath.

“Cherise, my dear, do you think Hudson is handsome?”