Chapter 287
Hudson’s tone remained as gentle as ever, but Hannah couldn’t shake the feeling that something had changed. “Dad, Eliana’s already. married. I’m still single. What’s so wrong about wanting to find someone who’ll actually care about me?”
Hudson let out a long sigh. “What you’re doing isn’t ‘finding someone.‘ It’s just fooling around.”
Hannah couldn’t help snapping back. “And you? Are you going to pretend there’s nothing going on between you and Linsey?”
After hearing this kind of accusation so many times, Hudson had grown numb. “I see it now. You’re just like your mother. Neither of you respects me. And if that’s the case, I’ve got nothing more to say.”
Just as the conversation hit a dead end, Isaac shuffled in, scratching his head and rubbing sleep from his eyes.
Hudson watched him pull out a chair and slump over the table, eyes barely open. “Isaac, why have you been so tired lately? Are you feeling
sick?”
Isaac cracked one eye open and mumbled, “I’ve been memorizing vocabulary at night. I keep forgetting the words, so I just have to keep going over them… and over them…”
That got Hudson’s attention. “Oh? When did you start learning a second language? Did Hannah start teaching you?”
“No, a teacher did.”
Hudson frowned, confused. He hadn’t hired anyone. “What teacher?”
Isaac sat up and started looking for the milk. “The teachers at the Therapy Center, obviously. Dad, you really don’t know anything, do you?”
Hudson felt a pang of guilt. “I’ve just been too busy, Isaac. I’ve neglected you.”
After breakfast, another question occurred to him. “When did you get so close with the people at the Therapy Center?”
Hannah’s eyes were fixed on her brother at the same time.
She was silently hoping Isaac would finally bring up the fire at the Therapy Center. If he did, Hudson would surely blame Eliana for neglecting him, and she could finally shift his anger away from herself.
But Isaac did not mention the fire at all. “Eliana took me there once. The teachers and the other kids were really nice to me. They never make me feel stupid.”
Hudson looked at his son and felt something stir inside him. In some ways, the two of them were alike. Both had been looked down on by Belinda and Hannah for so long. They had been underestimated, but maybe, just maybe, all they needed was a chance to prove themselves.
And it was Eliana, the daughter he had always overlooked, who had given him that chance.
Seeing the emotion in his eyes, Hannah suddenly panicked. She did not want Isaac to steal her father’s affection too.
She quickly softened her tone. “Dad, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have spoken to you that way just now. I’ll apologize to the mana to work at the company?”
11 go back
Hudson finally tore his gaze away from Isaac and nodded. “All right.”
When breakfast ended, Isaac bounced back to his room to change clothes, excited to head to the Therapy Center for his language lessons. Hudson left the house with Hannah, but they were both surprised to find Belinda waiting outside. No one knew how long she had been
22:06 FTI, 8 Aug OD
Chapter 287
standing there.
“Mom,” Hannah said, delighted as she rushed forward. “You’re back! Why didn’t you ring the bell?”
Hudson, on the other hand, was calm, even distant. “So, you’ve come back?”
Belinda drew in a shaky breath. “If I hadn’t come back, would you have ever come looking for me?”
“You’re the one who left, weren’t you?” Hudson replied evenly.
Her lips trembled. “Fine. I’m back now, humiliated. When are you going to release Gavin?”
She had planned to wait until Hudson apologized to her personally, so she would return to Burke Manor in triumph. But instead, everything he did was a fresh hit to her pride. If she kept waiting, she feared someone else would take her place as lady of the house.
She should never have brought it up. The moment Gavin’s name left her lips, Hudson’s patience snapped. “You’re the one who sent him to cause trouble, and now you want me to release him? Do you think it works that way?”
Belinda, uncharacteristically, lowered her head. “Gavin’s sons have already been fired, and now he’s in jail. His family has no income left. Please, Hudson, I’m begging you. Let him go this once.”
For a moment, Hudson nearly agreed. But then he remembered how, that day, if Linsey hadn’t stepped in, it might have been him groveling to Gavin instead.
And if Belinda had cared about their marriage at all, she never would have let Gavin storm into the company and humiliate him.
His heart hardened. “You’re welcome to come home. But if you’d rather not, I won’t force you. As for Gavin, he brought this on himself. I won’t bail him out, so you might as well stop hoping.”
Just then, a car rolled to a stop in front of Hudson. Linsey was there to drive him to work.
S
As he opened the door to get in, Belinda grabbed his jacket in desperation. “Hudson, you really are so heartless!”
Linsey’s expression did not change as she glanced at them. Hannah immediately stepped forward to pull her mother back. “Mom, don’t lose control. That woman once kicked Uncle Gavin so hard he flew across the room.”
Before getting in the car, Hudson said, “Hannah, your mother’s upset. You’re staying with her today.”
On the way to the office, Hudson pressed his fingers to his temple and then said suddenly, “Linsey, can I take an hour off?”
She kept her eyes on the road. “Reason?”
“I want to see my daughter Eliana.”
Linsey was silent for a beat. “Alright. But you’ll have to make it up this afternoon.”
Hudson answered without hesitation. “Deal.”
At Starlight Media…
Eliana was startled when Hudson called to say he was already downstairs at her company. She set aside her work and took the elevator down. “Dad? What brings you here?”
“Nothing important. I just wanted to see you,” Hudson said. With her, he felt lighter somehow, more at ease.
Chapter 287
Why did I ever think she was dull and uninteresting? How could I have kept my distance from her for so long? he wondered
They walked together along the riverside next to her company. Eliana glanced at him. “Dad, I haven’t seen you in a while, but you took of much healthier now.”
Hudson smiled with quiet pride. “I am. My new assistant has been helping me take better care of myself”
Encouraged by her easy tone, the conversation flowed more naturally. “Ellie, if one day I drove your mother back to her parents‘ house would you blame me?”
‘Hasn’t that already happened?‘ Eliana thought, but she did not call him out on it.
“I already have a family of my own, Dad. I barely have time to keep up with my own life, let alone blame anyone.”
Hudson exhaled in relief so softly it was almost unnoticeable. “And what if one day I divorced your mother?”
Eliana froze, stunned. “Dad, isn’t that a bit extreme?”
He gave a dry laugh. “I’m just asking.”
Or maybe he was looking for a reason, some small piece of strength from her, to give him the courage to stand up to Belinda.
