Chapter 88
Hudson nearly choked on his own saliva when he heard Charles' words.
Were all the older generations that frank just like his grandmother, he thought to himself.
Charles turned to Agatha again and said with a smile, "Agatha, I apologize in advance for what I'm about to say to them." He waved toward Hudson, Dahlia, and Polly.
"Oh, go ahead." Agatha also waved her hand. "The younger generations need to hear. And since I can't seem to get past those thick skulls of theirs, you might as well say anything you like." Agatha trusted Charles. Furthermore, if he wanted to mock Dahlia and her grandchildren for mistreating Cherise, she was all for it.
She knew Hudson had had a change of heart, but it wouldn't hurt for him to hear about every wrongdoing he had committed so that it would be stuck in his mind, and he wouldn't do it again.
As for Dahlia and Polly, she hadn't had the time to talk to them. Might as well let Charles criticize them for it. Dahlia wasn't afraid of her; she could even be disrespectful, but Agatha was sure Dahlia wouldn't disrespect someone as powerful and legendary as Charles Alster if she wanted to keep living lavishly.
Charles nodded and gave Agatha another smile for agreeing to his request before turning to Hudson once again.
"How did it feel to mistreat a girl smaller and younger than you?" Charles sneered. "Felt like the all-powerful arrogant Alpha male? Actually," he paused before continuing, "just so you know, the leader of the wolf pack usually takes care of his mate and his pack members rather than being all bossy and ungrateful. So, by definition, you are not an Alpha male. You are just an arrogant asshole." Visit J {o} bnib.com to read the complete sentences for freeThis time, Hudson really choked and felt the tips of his ears grow hot from embarrassment. He had never had an older man chastising him after he turned into an adult, but right now, he felt like a small child being scolded after being caught doing something wrong.
Agatha and Julian hid their smiles behind their cup of tea and glass of wine while the maid and butler tried their hardest to maintain their best blank expressions. The maid and butler both loved Cherise, but as employees, they didn't have the right to criticize Hudson Amery, so hearing Charles say those words was satisfying.
"My brother would not be a jerk if his wife weren't that gold-digging country bumpkin," Polly huffed, trying to defend her brother.
As soon as she said those words, she felt six pairs of eyes looking sharply at her, and she shivered in fright.
"Wh-Why are you all looking at me like that?" Polly asked with a trembling voice but then cleared her throat to sound braver. "I'm just telling the truth. And you are only a maid and butler; how dare you look at me like that!"
None of the six pairs of eyes changed how they gazed at her. They might even turn sharper if it was possible, and Polly suddenly thought if looks could kill, she would have been mutilated on the spot!
"So you look down on other people beneath your class, huh?" Charles sneered at Polly. "Do you think, with your attitude, you will be welcomed when you marry whichever family later on?"
"Of course they would," Polly snorted.ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .
"Yes, they would." Charles nodded, agreeing with her. "But if you expect to marry someone richer or of the same wealth as the Amery family, you will be treated the same way you treated your ex-sister-in-law." "They wouldn't dare!" Polly said, her face showing the horror and terror of the thought of being mistreated.
"Why wouldn't they?" Charles' eyes turned even narrower. "You have no respect for other people. I'm sure their staff would be happy to insult and abuse you. Not to mention, if you marry someone richer, you will be seen as a gold digger, too. Your mother-in-law and sister-in-law will hate you so much, and that'll be enough for them to mistreat you."
"The only way for you to be able to mistreat and order everyone around will be if you marry into families who are way beneath the Amery, but that doesn't guarantee it too, as they might hate you so much and ask their son to divorce you, and you'll end up with a divorcee with a bad reputation and no sane men would want you to be their wife anymore. You'll end up alone until the day you die," Charles added.
Polly had gone pale and didn't know what to say. The thought of everything Charles Alster had painted for her future really terrified her. She wanted to complain and cry in her mother's arms like usual, but she realized they were still at her grandma's birthday party and couldn't escape until Charles dismissed them.
"And you." Charles' gaze turned toward Dahlia. "What's your excuse for treating your daughter-in-law so poorly?"
Knowing it would be her turn to be mocked, Dahlia winced and opened her mouth to defend herself but saw Charles hold up his hand to stop her from saying anything.
"Actually, never mind. I do not want to hear any of your excuses because it'll be the same as your daughter's excuse," he said. "If I remember correctly, you came from a middle-class family, am I right?"
Dahlia wanted to refute but closed her mouth again. Compared to the Alster family, her family might not even be considered middle class.
"And everyone from my generation knows what a gold digger you are, always trying to trap wealthy men into marrying you."
Dahlia's face burnt from humiliation. This was the second time someone dared to mention it to her, and it didn't get any less humiliating than the first!
"And if, based on your excuse for treating your ex-daughter-in-law poorly, it was because she was a gold digger, then maybe from now on, you should be treated the same way," Charles said as he reached out to take his cup of tea.
He took a sip before looking at Agatha and asking her, "Agatha, what do you think about mistreating your daughter-in-law the same way she mistreated your ex-granddaughter-in-law?"
Agatha smiled lightly and replied, "I'd love to, but I'm too old to insult or hurt her. It takes a lot of energy to mistreat someone." She sighed as if regretting it. "I should've done so when I was younger, especially since she always made my boys angry."
"Hmm.." Charles rubbed his chin as if thinking of the alternatives for Agatha. "How about this: you can ask your staff to do it for you. That was what she did, right?" he advised.
"My staff are all lovely people." Agatha sighed again. "They wouldn't even dare to hurt a fly, and they are nearly as old as you and me, as they have been working for me for so long."
Dahlia secretly sighed in relief and smirked inwardly. She knew the old witch did not have the heart to hurt her, but her relief was instantly wiped off.
"Hudson, I heard you fired all the staff at the Moonlight Villa," Agatha said to her grandson. "What about hiring younger ones who could do it?"
Dahlia and Polly gasped in horror.
"You can't!" they cried out in unison.
Hudson looked coldly at his mother and sister. "Why can't I?"
"We are your family," Dahlia hissed at him.
"All the more reason for me to do it," Hudson replied coldly. "You've been nothing but an embarrassment to the Amery family. If they can keep you in line, then I'll be happy to arrange it."
"That could do." Charles nodded in agreement and looked at Hudson, silently regarding him. "You might not be a lost cause, boy, but too bad the ship had sailed."
Hudson was confused by Charles' words. What ship? But he couldn't ask the patriarch of the Alster family, so he could only nod, thanking him for what seemed to be a praise by saying he might not be a lost cause.
Dahlia was fuming inside and felt like she was about to explode, so she quickly excused herself, dragging Polly along with her and Emely trailing behind them.
Once inside of her bedroom, Dahlia exploded.
"How dare that old witch let that old man speak to me like that!" she yelled and would have yanked at her hair if she hadn't remembered she would still need to face the guests later on.
"Mom, I don't want to be mistreated when I marry," Polly said in a frightened tone.
Dahlia took a calm breath and pulled her daughter into her arms. "Don't let his words affect you, Polly. No one will mistreat you. You are an Amery. If they dare to, they will go against the Amery family, and no one would want to do that." "But what about Hudson?" Polly asked. "What if he really does employ new staff for us?"
"Let's see if he dares," Dahlia snarled. She didn't think her son would dare mistreat his mother and sister, but if she knew how hard Hudson had fallen for his ex-wife, she wouldn't be so certain.
Emely just stayed quiet as she listened to everything. She could not believe how things had unraveled. Hudson going against his own family was never what she imagined would happen. She needed to call her man and tell him everything. In the ballroom, Charles was still talking to Agatha, and Julian and Hudson stayed with them.
"Hudson, are you really going to employ new staff for them?" Agatha asked.
"I think it needs to be done," he said firmly. "They should know that not everyone could be bullied."
Agatha looked at her grandson and sighed regretfully. "If only you've been like this during your marriage."
Hudson stayed quiet because he knew his grandma was right. It might be too late, but he would still do anything to make Cherise his again.
Charles looked around and noticed how the guests were all looking at them. "Well, Agatha, I'm sorry to have ruined your birthday banquet."
"Oh, don't worry about it." Agatha waved her hand. "As I've said, they needed to hear it. I'm an old woman, and most of the time, they did not take me seriously. To hear those words from an outsider, what's more, the legendary Charles Alster should be enough to embarrass them and make them think things through."
Charles laughed before turning serious again. "I don't think your daughter-in-law will change. She's too arrogant."
Agatha sighed again. "She's too old to change, but hopefully, the new staff Hudson will employ for them will be able to do their job properly."
"Alright, then." Charles nodded. "I should get going now, but before that, I'd like to invite you to a banquet I'll hold in a month."
Agatha looked at him in surprise. "What's the occasion for?"
"Oh, I just want to hold one, so you don't have to bring anything," Charles replied lightly. "Who knows, my grandson might find a wife during the banquet. God knows he's getting old now. A year later, and he might turn into an old man not suitable for marriage material anymore."
Julian turned pale and wanted to cry. Why would Grandpa say those words in front of so many young ladies? Was he planning to let him get drowned by the flocks of them?
Agatha laughed. "Julian is still young and a successful businessman. I'm sure he will have no shortage of ladies queueing to be his wife."
"One can only hope," Charles harrumphed. "Well, thank you for having me here, Agatha." With Julian's help, Charles stood up and kissed the back of Agatha's hand. "I'll see you during my banquet."
"I'll be sure to attend," Agatha replied with a gentle smile. "Thank you for coming tonight."
Charles nodded and bid his goodbye again before turning to leave with his butler and Julian seeing him off.
"I'm turning in, too," Agatha said to Hudson.
Hudson nodded, knowing his grandma was tired. "Leave the rest of the banquet to me," he said as he bent down to kiss his grandma's cheek.
Agatha nodded and went back to her room. As she was old, the guests understood if she left in the middle of her birthday banquet.
Before he attended to the guests, Hudson went back to the garden. He still wanted to talk to Cherise.
He searched around and found her huddled in the warmer part of the garden. He watched as the garden lights illuminated her beautiful features and felt stupid for not cherishing her during their marriage. "Cherise," he called and stepped into her line of sight.
Cherise jerked, surprised by the intrusion, and her serene expression turned into one of annoyance when she saw who it
was.
She stood and gathered that her grandpa had left, so she was going to return to the ballroom, but her wrist was caught by a strong hand.
"Seriously, Hudson, what do you want from me?" she asked with irritation and tried to yank her hand back. She wanted to kick him and curse Paula for dressing her in a tight-fitting dress.
So, instead, she taunted him, "The apologies and the gentleness you showed me. If I didn't know you better, I'd have thought you regretted divorcing me and wanted me back. Imagine how the media will react if they know. I can already see the big, bold title - Hudson Amery regrets divorcing his ex-wife and is now chasing her back. How humiliating it would be for you."
Cherise had expected Hudson to let her wrist go, but instead, his gaze seemed to intensify, and he asked, "What if I am, Cherise? What if I regret everything and want you back?"