Chapter 12
The two best friends made their way through the bustling crowds. The changing colorful spotlights, the dancing crowd, and the beat of the dance music pumped up the blood in Cherise's body.Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g
She used to love such an environment as she loved dancing. It was a place for her to let loose. Her excitement heightened with the thought of seeing her adopted brother after such a long time. Erika stirred her toward a more secluded corner with a more private booth, and finally, they arrived at a booth with a man seemingly busy with his phone.
As if sensing their arrival, the man with dark hair and amber eyes looked up, and his lips curved into a gentle smile as he stood up to greet them. His.muscular and lean body was wrapped in a white shirt, his height towering above both women.
Cherise's eyes widened in this belief. Was the person in front of her her adopted brother? The last time she saw him, he was like a scrawny thug with a troublemaker aura, even though he had been taught about the etiquette of the upper class and how to be a CEO. But now... "Logan?" Cherise asked in disbelief and hesitation.
The man approached her, his amber eyes oozing with tenderness. He took her hand and lifted it; then his lips landed on the back of Cherise's hand before his deep voice called her the pet name he had always called her with, "Cherry." Cherise was stunned momentarily by how much he had changed. He now had a gentle aura similar to her brother!
She felt Erika nudged her arm and laughed, snapping her senses back to reality. "Logan!" She beamed and threw herself into her arms. "Oh my God, you've changed a lot! I wouldn't have recognized you if I passed you by on the street!" Logan let out a soft laugh and hugged her back. This was the girl he had vowed to protect, yet he heard of what happened to her during the past three years.
His eyes flashed with malice as he felt the skinny body in his embrace and saw the wounds on her arm when he kissed her hand, but they disappeared instantly.
"You've changed a lot as well," he smiled, his fox-like eyes dancing with joy as he saw the girl he'd been longing to see for years. "You've become a beautiful woman."
"I know," Cherise said smugly, making the three of them laugh due to her arrogance.
The two best friends made their way through the bustling crowds. The changing colorful spotlights, the dancing crowd, and the beat of the dance music pumped up the blood in Cherise's body.
She used to love such an environment as she loved dancing. It was a place for her to let loose. Her excitement heightened with the thought of seeing her adopted brother after such a long time.
Erika stirred her toward a more secluded corner with a more private booth, and finally, they arrived at a booth with a man seemingly busy with his phone.
As if sensing their arrival, the man with dark hair and amber eyes looked up, and his lips curved into a gentle smile as he stood up to greet them. His.muscular and lean body was wrapped in a white shirt, his height towering above both women.
Cherise's eyes widened in this belief. Was the person in front of her her adopted brother? The last time she saw him, he was like a scrawny thug with a troublemaker aura, even though he had been taught about the etiquette of the upper class and how to be a CEO. But now...
"Logan?" Cherise asked in disbelief and hesitation.
The man approached her, his amber eyes oozing with tenderness. He took her hand and lifted it; then his lips landed on the back of Cherise's hand before his deep voice called her the pet name he had always called her with, "Cherry." Cherise was stunned momentarily by how much he had changed. He now had a gentle aura similar to her brother!
She felt Erika nudged her arm and laughed, snapping her senses back to reality. "Logan!" She beamed and threw herself into her arms. "Oh my God, you've changed a lot! I wouldn't have recognized you if I passed you by on the street!" Logan let out a soft laugh and hugged her back. This was the girl he had vowed to protect, yet he heard of what happened to her during the past three years.
His eyes flashed with malice as he felt the skinny body in his embrace and saw the wounds on her arm when he kissed her hand, but they disappeared instantly.
"You've changed a lot as well," he smiled, his fox-like eyes dancing with joy as he saw the girl he'd been longing to see for years.
"You've become a beautiful woman."
"I know," Cherise said smugly, making the three of them laugh due to her arrogance.
"Let's have a drink!" Erika sat on one of the seats and began ordering drinks for them while Logan ordered juices for Cherise.
When Cherise heard her kind of beat, her eyes lit up with delight, and she excused herself before getting onto the stage and moving her body according to the music.
She let herself go wild. It had been such a long time she felt like herself. Her movements were sexy and seductive yet also powerful. It didn't make people l**t after her, but it was like watching a professional dancer.
With the way she swayed to the music, Cherise soon became the center of attention. The spotlight shone on her, and the crowd cheered for her.
"Go, darlin' Cherise!" Erika cheered. Knowing the music was about to come to an end, Logan went to the front of the stage and, with his arms open wide, waited for Cherise to make her final move.
As the music ended, Cherise spun on her spot and raised one hand elegantly, showing her back to the crowd.
The crowd all clapped for her, and a new beat began, making the crowd dance along with it.
Seeing Logan waiting for her, Cherise's smile grew wider, and she jumped straight into his arms. All her tensions over everything vanished as they stayed in each other arms, swaying gently, a stark contrast to the wild crowd around them. Logan waited patiently until her breathing returned to normal before gallantly leading her back to their booth, making the way and protecting her from being squashed by the crowd.
As he silently gave Cherise a glass of orange juice to replenish her energy and wet her dry throat, Erika couldn't stop complimenting her best friend.
"Darlin', you are still the best dancer I've ever known." She winked at Cherise and toasted her.
Unknowingly to them, the moment Cherise went to the stage, three eligible bachelors in their private booth on the second floor all cast their eyes on her with different gazes - one with disgust, another with complex emotion, and the other with wonder. "Hey, isn't that your ex-wife?" Finley asked the moment he saw Cherise go up the stage. "Look at her seducing all those men. And what's with her black figure-hugging dress?" He ridiculed everything about Cherise.
"What's wrong with it?" Keith asked. "I think she looks good in that dress, and her dance is not that seductive."
Keith knew Finley had always been prejudiced against Cherise, especially since Hudson didn't love her. Some sentences are incomplete if you are not reading this novel on . Visit to read the complete chapters for free. No matter how beautiful Cherise was, no matter how good she was, in Finley's eyes, she would always be a wicked gold-digger who trapped Hudson in marriage using his grandmother. It was really a pity, actually.
"Let's have a drink!" Erika sat on one of the seats and began ordering drinks for them while Logan ordered juices for Cherise.
When Cherise heard her kind of beat, her eyes lit up with delight, and she excused herself before getting onto the stage and moving her body according to the music.
She let herself go wild. It had been such a long time she felt like herself. Her movements were sexy and seductive yet also powerful. It didn't make people l**t after her, but it was like watching a professional dancer.
With the way she swayed to the music, Cherise soon became the center of attention. The spotlight shone on her, and the crowd cheered for her.
"Go, darlin' Cherise!" Erika cheered. Knowing the music was about to come to an end, Logan went to the front of the stage and, with his arms open wide, waited for Cherise to make her final move.
As the music ended, Cherise spun on her spot and raised one hand elegantly, showing her back to the crowd.
The crowd all clapped for her, and a new beat began, making the crowd dance along with it.
Seeing Logan waiting for her, Cherise's smile grew wider, and she jumped straight into his arms. All her tensions over everything vanished as they stayed in each other arms, swaying gently, a stark contrast to the wild crowd around them.
Logan waited patiently until her breathing returned to normal before gallantly leading her back to their booth, making the way and protecting her from being squashed by the crowd.
As he silently gave Cherise a glass of orange juice to replenish her energy and wet her dry throat, Erika couldn't stop complimenting her best friend.
"Darlin', you are still the best dancer I've ever known." She winked at Cherise and toasted her.
Unknowingly to them, the moment Cherise went to the stage, three eligible bachelors in their private booth on the second floor all cast their eyes on her with different gazes - one with disgust, another with complex emotion, and the other with wonder. "Hey, isn't that your ex-wife?" Finley asked the moment he saw Cherise go up the stage. "Look at her seducing all those men. And what's with her black figure-hugging dress?" He ridiculed everything about Cherise.
"What's wrong with it?" Keith asked. "I think she looks good in that dress, and her dance is not that seductive."
Keith knew Finley had always been prejudiced against Cherise, especially since Hudson didn't love her. No matter how beautiful Cherise was, no matter how good she was, in Finley's eyes, she would always be a wicked gold-digger who trapped Hudson in marriage using his grandmother. It was really a pity, actually.
While his friends were discussing his ex-wife, Hudson's hawk-like eyes had locked on her the moment she entered, scanning her from head to toe. Those cold, dark orbs of his glinted with mixed emotions - surprise, displeasure, and anger, especially as he saw everything that happened, including her intimate interactions with Logan.
"Wait, is that Logan Jennings? The cunning fox of the Jennings Group?" Finley asked in disbelief when he saw Cherise jumping into Logan's arms. "Damn, how did she know him? It seems we have underestimated her shamelessness in seducing successful CEOs." Tired of hearing Finley looking down on Cherise, Keith said in his usual calm manner, "We don't know about their relationship, so don't jump to conclusions just yet."
"What else can they be if not lovers?" Finley snorted. "Wait... Why are you always defending her? Don't tell me you've fallen for that golddigger too!"
Keith looked at his foolish friend and shook his head helplessly. There was no point arguing with a simpleton. He glanced at Hudson from the corner of his eyes, and his lips curved up slightly as he saw the intense jealousy in Hudson's eyes, even if his face remained expressionless.
Hudson himself felt a turmoil in his heart. He wondered how his meek and shy ex-wife turned into someone who was fun and lively after their divorce. She used to wear unfashionable clothes, yet looked at her now with that figure-hugging little black dress that showed off her curves for everyone to see. It was supposed to be only him who was allowed to see those curves!
And since when did she know how to dance? And another powerful CEO appeared with her? That Logan Jennings had successfully brought the Jenning Groups to become the top three companies in Country C within a span of three years of his reign, and now was branching out to Country B.
Was this his ex-wife's true nature? Why did she pretend to be meek and obedient when they were married? Frustration bubbled up in his heart, nearly making him smash his glass against the wall if not for his strong self-control.
Downstairs, Cherise was having the best time of her life - laughing with the seductive Erika and the gentle Logan, reminiscing about their pasts, catching up with the latest news of their lives, dancing like they didn't care about anything, and drinking to their heart's
content.
Feeling the need to relieve herself, Cherise excused herself to go to the restroom, leaving Erika and Logan still dancing on the dance floor.
Seeing his ex-wife separate herself from her friends, Hudson got up from his seat and left the room.
"Where is he going?" Finley asked Keith.
"Maybe he's tired of your yapping and wants to take a breather," Keith mocked, knowing what Hudson was about to do.
Finley grumbled, "Everything I said was true. Never mind, let's drink more!" Finley, being the partygoer of the group, poured more drink into Keith's glass.
In the restroom, Cherise reapplied a thin layer of ointment over her wounds. She looked at herself in the mirror and was satisfied as she saw her bright eyes, her flushed cheeks, and a genuine smile on her beautiful face.
She washed her hands and checked her watch. It was time for her to go home. She exited the restroom, intending to tell Erika and Logan about it, but her wrist was grasped, and she was dragged to a dark and secluded corner; a familiar scent of cologne entered her nostrils.