Chapter 99
"Who knows?" Cherise shrugged. "Maybe it was all just for a show."
"The kid seems to have changed a lot, though," Charles said. "I never thought someone as arrogant as him would profess his love to you live on national TV. And you know what he did to his mother and sister, don't you?" Cherise had heard of Hudson cutting off Dahlia and Polly's allowances and also the change of staff at the Moonlight Villa, but she felt nothing toward Hudson.
She felt no gratitude as, in her mind, it was what Hudson should have done long ago since his mother and sister deserved it.
"Please don't tell me you have forgiven him for the three years of hell he put me through because of those changes in his behavior, Grandpa," Cherise groaned at the thought.
"Of course not," Charles snorted. "He might have helped you get revenge against his mother and sister, but he hasn't done enough to redeem himself. He needs to do more for me to forgive us."
"Thank God," Cherise murmured. She wouldn't know what to do if her grandpa wanted her to get back together with Hudson.
However, she knew her grandpa wouldn't ask her to do things against her will, such as marrying for business connections. Cherise's family and friends knew how much she valued love between spouses and wouldn't marry unless it was for love.
"From my observation, he seems serious and not totally a lost cause like that gold digger Dahlia and his sister, though," Charles continued. "But we all know you don't want him back, so Grandpa will never force you to return to him even if he tries hard to redeem himself."
"As long as you are happy, we will all respect your decisions, Cherise," Julian added.
"I know," Cherise sighed in relief, then beamed at them. "I have the best family and friends."
"That you do," Julian chuckled.
"What did you usually do to the flowers he sent?" Charles asked curiously.
"Oh, I asked Neil to distribute them to the secretaries," Cherise waved her hand. "I'll let him send anything, but I won't accept them. Let him waste his money," she giggled.
"That's great!" Charles exclaimed, agreeing with his granddaughter.
"So, umm, sorry for interrupting." Suddenly, they heard Neil's voice. They had all forgotten that Neil was still in the room holding the bouquet awkwardly.
"Do you still want me to give the flowers to the secretaries?" he asked as usual.
He knew Cherise didn't want to accept the flowers, but he asked her the same question daily to ensure her answer would still be the same.
He didn't want to assume anything in case Miss Cherise suddenly changed her mind and wanted to give the flowers to someone else.
Cherise thought about it and eyed her grandpa, who looked at the bouquet of rainbow roses longingly. She knew how much her late Grandma loved rainbow roses, and up until now, her grandpa still had a garden of rainbow roses at the main Alster Mansion in Country A in memory of her.
Making up her mind, she finally said with a grin, "I think this bouquet is suitable to be given to the best Grandpa in the world."NôvelD(ram)a.ôrg owns this content.
"I agree," Julian said.
Charles was surprised to hear that, and his eyes misted. He couldn't believe his grandchildren still thought of their grandmother, who had passed away a long time ago.
He sniffled and tried to act as if he wasn't touched. "I know I'm the best Grandpa in the world, and I will accept the roses even though it was a rejected bouquet," he grumbled.
Cherise laughed, knowing her grandpa was just acting tough. "Don't worry, Grandpa, I'll buy a bigger bouquet of rainbow roses for you tomorrow."
"You better be," Charles said sternly, but Julian and Cherise could see him trying to hold back a smile. "Will you be home tonight to have dinner with us?"
Cheride had been staying at Julian's villa, but since she had been so busy, she seldom had dinner with her family, and unfortunately, that night, she had already made plans.
"I'm sorry, Grandpa, but I can't join you tonight," she apologized guiltily. "I'm going over to Agatha's place. I owe her an explanation."
"That's fine." Charles waved his hand. He knew Cherise felt guilty for concealing her identity to Agatha, and since Agatha loved her like her own granddaughter, Charles also thought it would be good for Cherise to talk to her.
"But tomorrow, you'll have dinner with us," he said, and Cherise nodded.
"Oh, Neil." Charles turned to look at him and ordered, "Make sure to free Cherise's time for lunch tomorrow. She'll have an important meeting with someone from Country A."
Neil nodded and made a mental note to change the lunch meeting that had already been penned down for tomorrow. If the order came directly from the patriarch of the Alster family, then the meeting must be more important than any other meeting. Cherise became curious and asked her Grandpa, "Who will I be meeting?"
"You will find out tomorrow," Charles replied mysteriously.
"But if I don't know which company or project we'll discuss, how can I prepare for it?" Cherise asked with confusion.
"You don't have to worry about it," Charles assured her. "I've seen their business plan and proposal, but as the CEO of the Alster Group, you have the final say now."
Cherise looked at Julian for help, but her brother was also of no help. He had the same mysterious smile as her grandpa, and she had to give up asking since she knew she wouldn't get any answers.
"Don't worry, we won't ask you to handle something you couldn't," Julian reassured her.
Cherise could only nod. She supposed she needed to wait until the next day to find the answer herself then.
"Well, how about we have lunch together?" Charles asked his grandchildren.
Julian snickered, making Cherise blush and Charles confused.
"You don't want to have lunch with your grandpa?" Charles asked with a raised brow.
"Cherise has been leeching off Hudson," Julian laughed.
"Hey, it's not my fault he keeps sending lunch like the flowers," Cherise defended herself. "And they are always from expensive restaurants."
Charles laughed when he realized what was happening. "And you accept it to waste his money as well, I guess?" he teased her.
She might give the flowers to others, but everyone knew Cherise was a foodie and could not give away food, especially tasty ones from expensive restaurants.
"No teasing, please," Cherise groaned as she hid her face behind her hands. Then she spread her fingers to peek at her grandpa.
"Does it make me weak or bad?" she asked. "I mean, I don't want him back and should just throw them away to humiliate him instead of eating them, right? Or give them away."
"Why would it make you such a person for accepting his food?" Charles tried to comfort his granddaughter. "It's good that you don't waste food since many people in the world can't even afford a meal. I'll be more disappointed if you have thrown them away instead." "What Grandpa said," Julian agreed.
Cherise let out a breath of relief and placed her hands back down on her lap. At first, when Hudson sent her breakfast and lunch, she wanted to give them to Neil, but she couldn't resist the aromas of the food, so she accepted and ate them herself. But in her heart, she felt like she was agreeing to get back together with Hudson if she accepted any of his gifts.
Now that her grandpa and brother didn't think that way, she could enjoy the food more without feeling conflicted, which relieved her.
"Since that was the case, Neil," Charles turned to Neil and ordered, "Why don't you go and order some food for me and Julian?"
Neil was quick to ask about their preferences. Because neither Cherise nor Julian had any lunch meetings, he went to buy the lunch himself to ensure the food would not be mashed up during the delivery process.
***
That afternoon, after making sure everything for the day had been sorted out, Cherise drove toward the Amery's Mansion.
She wondered how she was going to explain how she had lied to the gentle old woman and whether Agatha was angry that she had concealed her identity.
Cherise hoped not because the thought of making Agatha angry or disappointing her broke her heart. They had a strong bond, and it would be a shame to have a fallout with her.
She knew the best way was to apologize and explain her reasons clearly without trying to make excuses because Agatha deserved it for loving her and making her life bearable during those three hellish years.
Agatha was her source of light in the darkness of the Amery family. After her mother passed away, Cherise had no older female relatives, so she really cherished their relationship.
Cherise arrived at the massive iron gate, was greeted by the guards with a smile, and allowed to pass through easily as they knew how close she was to their Old Madam.
Driving forward, Cherise's heart began to beat faster. She seldom feared anything, but this time, she feared seeing disappointment on Agatha's face.
But her fear vanished the moment the Mansion came into view. She saw the old lady already waiting for her with her personal maid at the main door, smiling gently.
Cherise quickly killed off the engine and jumped out of her car, forgetting about the gift she had bought for Agatha. "Agatha, you shouldn't have waited for me at the door like this," Cherise said with worry. The air was chilly, and it wouldn't have been good for someone of Agatha's age, even though she was wearing her coat.
"Oh, dear child, I've only waited a few minutes before you arrived." Agatha took Cherise's hand and patted it assuringly. "Let's go in. I'll ask the chef to add some of your favorite food."
"You don't have to," Cherise objected. She was happy to eat whatever the chef had prepared.
"Oh, pish posh." Agatha waved her hand. "Surely you don't want to eat the tasteless food this old woman is eating."
Cherise smiled. She didn't mind eating any food, but she knew it was useless to argue with Agatha about it.
"You go in first." Cherise suddenly remembered the gift. "I need to take something from the car."
Agatha chuckled and let her hand go, entering her mansion and waiting for Cherise in the living room. She loved Cherise and knew the young girl had brought her gifts because she never failed to do so whenever she visited her. Cherise appeared a few minutes later while Agatha was telling the chef what to add for dinner.
"Agatha, I brought you the special blend of tea you love," Cherise said as she placed the box on the table.
"Thank you." Agatha embraced her. "You are such a precious child, Cherise. It was too bad Hudson realized it too late."
Cherise drew back and said, "Agatha, I-"
But her words were cut off when they heard the sound of a car engine coming from outside the mansion.
Cherise frowned. Did Agatha already make an appointment with someone else, and was she intruding?
She looked at Agatha and saw her frowning, indicating that she was also confused about who was visiting her. They both looked at the door and were surprised to see Hudson entering the mansion and taking off his coat. "What are you doing here?" Agatha asked her grandson.