Christina’s POV

"It’s not about who’s afraid of who. If you two start something, you’ll both look like fools, and you’ll embarrass Christina. If you actually care about her, don’t put her in that position. She’s Luna Christina now—Hudson’s wife. Understand?" Naomi’s tone was firm.

Niall looked at me.

"I came here with you tonight to keep my word," I said quietly. "But I never promised you anything more."

He let out a heavy sigh. "Fine. I’ll leave if that’s what you want. I don’t want to make things difficult for you. But don’t forget—tonight you came here as MY date."

I watched him go.

"What’s wrong? Feeling sorry for him?" Naomi asked.

I shook my head. "No... I just feel a bit conflicted. I was his date tonight, and in the end, it almost feels like I abandoned him."

"So what if you were his date? You’re Hudson’s wife. And did you see him today? He was incredible. He stood up for you."

"I wonder why he did it."

Why the sudden change in attitude towards Genevieve?

When the party ended, I walked with Hudson to his car, neither speaking the entire way.

His phone rang. "Yes?"

"Hudson, have you no conscience? So what if Genevieve made a mistake? She’s young and foolish. Shouldn’t you be protecting her, giving her a chance to learn? Instead, you hand her over to the police? You’re ungrateful, and you’ll get what’s coming to you!" The voice on the other end was a middle-aged woman’s. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

"She did wrong. She deserves to face the consequences."

"How could you be so heartless? Have you forgotten what happened back then—"

Hudson cut her off. "Stop bringing up the past. I’ve indulged her and protected her in other things, but she crossed a line when she targeted my wife. I’m done with her, and I’ve done more than enough for your family over the years."

"And what of it? You owe us. You could never repay that debt in your lifetime. How can you live with yourself? Doesn’t it eat at you?"

Hudson’s brow furrowed.

"Can you even sleep at night? Don’t you have nightmares?"

I hadn’t meant to eavesdrop, but we were standing close and it was impossible not to hear.

What had happened between Hudson and Genevieve?

I’d never seen that look on Hudson’s face before.

It wasn’t anger, or resentment, or disgust. More like a mix of all three.

Seeing Hudson so torn made my heart ache.

Had I pushed him too hard when I demanded he deal with Genevieve?

Should I have been the one to back off?

After he ended the call, Hudson squeezed his eyes shut.

I could see how much he was struggling. I reached over and gently took his hand. "Hudson..."

He let out a heavy sigh, opened his eyes, and pulled me into his arms. "Chris..."

"I—" Whatever I wanted to say was lost in the kiss.

One arm wrapped around my waist, the other cupping the back of my head, he kissed me with a raw mix of need and feeling.

I slowly melted into it, lost to everything else, until my arms found their way around his neck and I kissed him back.

When we pulled apart, I leaned against his chest, listening to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.

We both understood what the kiss meant—an apology, his way of saying sorry.

But I didn’t need his apology; I needed the truth.

Why couldn’t he just tell me what was going on?

When we got home, I undressed and went for a shower. When I came out, I realized my evening gown was missing.

I turned to Hudson and asked, "Where’s my dress?"

"I got rid of it."

"Are you serious? Why would you do that? It wasn’t even mine."

"Exactly why I got rid of it."

"How am I supposed to return it now?" I complained. "You threw it away. What do I give back to him?"

"He can afford a dress."

"He didn’t ask for it back. I want to return it. I don’t want to keep anything from him," I said, shooting him a look. "And you went and tossed it."

"I’ll have someone find an identical one tomorrow. They’ll have it delivered to him. You’re not to handle it yourself, and you’re not to see him. Understood?"

"You’re jealous, aren’t you?"

"Let’s just go to bed. It’s late." He pulled me down to the bed with him.

"Genevieve must’ve been bailed out by now, don’t you think?" I thought out loud.

"No idea," he said flatly, as if he couldn’t care less.

"You don’t know, or you don’t want to know?" I knew I shouldn’t talk about her, but I couldn’t help myself.

His answer was a kiss that stole all the oxygen from my brain, and made me forget Genevieve ever existed.