Sorry Sir I Don’t Want You Back by Little Angelic Devil

Julian had heard so much about Katerine and, of course, had seen her pictures, but that still didn't prepare him to face the real deal.

He thought she was purposely being seductive, just like many ladies he had encountered, but Katherine was different.

Everything about her, without her even doing anything and just standing there at the top of the staircases with Cherise, was just that - seducing. But thankfully, he wasn't interested in looking for a girlfriend, and she didn't affect him that much.

Paula bounced down the steps and asked the two gentlemen, "How are my creations?"

"Stunning as always," Logan chuckled as he hugged and kissed her cheek.

Julian did the same when Paula turned to him and praised her, "Gorgeous works."

"They are, aren't they?" Paula sighed and smiled brightly at her two best friends.

Cherise hooked her arm with Katherine's and asked, "Ready?"

Katerine laughed; the alluring sound filled out the spaces between them. "You like to feel like a princess, don't you?"

"I do," Cherise grinned and tugged her gently forward. "Let's go."

The two best friends walked down slowly and carefully, and when they reached the bottom, Julian went straight to Cherise.

"You look beautiful," he said as he hugged his sister and pecked her forehead, careful so as not to ruin her makeup or hairstyle.

"Don't I always?" Cherise looked at Julian with shining eyes full of happiness and a hint of teasing.

Julian was happy to see Cherise like this. All dolled up and finally back where she belonged.

"You always are," Julian agreed.

"Cherise, you look good," Logan pulled Cherise away from Julian and gave her a big hug, which Cherise returned happily.

Katherine took the chance to look at Julian. Handsome and gentle - those were her words to describe Julian. She had heard about his ruthlessness, but she knew he had a soft spot for Cherise and her friends.

She stepped toward Julian and boldly snaked her arms around Julian's waist, startling the man who was looking at Cherise and Logan.

"Julian, I'm Katherine. Glad we finally met," she said, her lips next to Julian's ears.

Julian, who was startled by her boldness, quickly regained his composure and hugged her back. There was nothing wrong with it, he thought. He always hugged Paula whenever they met, and Katherine was Cherise's friend, just like Paula. "Yes, we finally met," he replied gently.

The next second, he jerked and drew back his head when he felt a tiny sharp pain in his earlobe.

Did Katherine just...

She chuckled, making Julian frown, and couldn't help but blurt out, "Are you a dog?"

Katherine winked and stepped away from him, joining Paula, Logan, and Cherise, who were chatting.

Cherise turned to see her and remembered she hadn't introduced Katherine and Julian.

"Oh, Julian," she looked at her brother. "This is Katherine."

"She has introduced herself," he replied dryly.

Cherise looked back at Katherine and whispered, "You spooked him, didn't you?"

"A tiny bit," Katherine chuckled.

Cherise laughed, knowing it would happen. "Don't worry, he'll live."

Paula suddenly spoke, "You guys better go, or you'll be late."

"And that's something we don't want to do," Cherise said, her voice full of mischievousness.

They all went to the waiting car, and before they got in, Paula reminded them to record any 'altercations' that would happen at the banquet.

Cherise and Katherine laughed and promised her because they knew for sure those 'altercations' would happen.

At the hotel where the banquet was being held, Emely tried to sit still despite her excitement.

Finally.. Finally, she'd get what she desired. She would be engaged to Hudson and soon be the country's most envied woman.

She pretended to concentrate on what Polly was rattling about while her mind was already envisioning the wealthy life she'd be having.

She knew Agatha would not come, and while she pretended to be sad and blamed herself when Hudson broke the news, in reality, she didn't really care because she'd still be engaged to Hudson even without that old witch's blessing. While the ladies were bustling with excitement, Hudson was in another room with Keith, and the atmosphere was solemn.

"They should arrive soon," Keith told Hudson.

After a few days of locating the doctor, his special force was finally able to bring him to Country B. True to his words, the men he sent told him the doctor lived far up the mountain where not even a car could reach. They had to rent motorbikes to get to him and practically forced him to come with them. "Where do you want to place him?" he asked.

"The villa," Hudson simply replied. He would question the doctor right after the banquet.

Keith typed in his instructions and Hudson's villa's address to his men before teasing Hudson, "You don't look happy for a soon-to-be engaged man."

Hudson glanced at Keith and shrugged. "You know why I'm doing this."

Keith regarded his best friend and said slowly, "Actually, you can still do something about this."

"Do what?" Hudson asked. "Cancel the engagement and humiliate Luis' beloved in front of the guests and the whole country?"

Keith sighed and said nothing anymore. Hudson was too loyal to his brother and unfortunately realized his feelings for Cherise too late.

Hudson realized he'd now be shackled in a marriage worse than his first, but this was his own doing. This was the best decision; he kept reminding and convincing himself even though he knew it wasn't.

A knock sounded, and Finley's head poked in when the door opened.

"You ready to be engaged, Hudson?" He grinned.

Hudson shrugged and stood up, going to the door with Keith following behind him.

Finley eyed Hudson warily and asked, "Why do you look like you are headed to the death sentence instead of getting engaged?"Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

Keith chuckled, thinking Finley could also see how miserable and against the idea of this engagement Hudson was.

"You could at least shed that..." He made a gesture of pointing to Hudson's whole body and continued his sentence, "whatever. Your usual coldness, I guess, and smiled."

Hudson brushed past him without saying anything as he went to Emely's suite to fetch her so they could go to the ballroom together.

How could he smile when he was feeling unhappy about this arrangement? Besides, he seldom smiled in front of others, and he didn't need to force himself to do it. Everyone knew how aloof and cold he was. "What's wrong with him?" Finley asked Keith in confusion.

Keith grabbed his shoulder and squeezed before walking away to go to the ballroom.

Finley chased after him and said, "You know, I have had this feeling since we met at your office..."

He stopped talking when the elevator arrived, and they stepped into it before continuing in a hushed tone, "I think Hudson doesn't want to marry Emely anymore. I think he likes Cherise now."

Keith gave him a sidelong glance and shook his head. See, even a simpleton like Finley could see the change in Hudson.

"The less you know, the better," Keith murmured as he leaned against the elevator mirror wall.

Finley was quiet until he gasped like he had just discovered a big secret. "I knew it!" he whisper-yelled. "But why is he getting engaged with Emely and not trying to get Cherise back?"

"You really have changed your mind about Cherise," Keith said softly as they stepped out of the elevator and walked toward the ballroom.

Finley smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, she might actually be awesome."

"Hudson has his reasons," Keith said and reminded him, "And keep this a secret. We don't want our best friend to be in trouble."

Finley might not be the best at keeping secrets, but once he heard he might get Hudson in trouble if anyone knew, he would keep the secret since they were best friends and he was loyal to both Keith and Hudson. When Polly opened the door and saw her brother, she smiled widely and told the love birds that she'd meet them at the ballroom before leaving the room.

Emely, who had specifically chosen a long white gown shy of a wedding ballgown to look pure, smiled at Hudson and hooked her hand around his arm. "Thank you for doing this, Hudson," she said with a shy and gentle smile.

"This is the only thing I could do to take care of you," Hudson uttered.

Emely froze for a split second but got her bearing back as they walked toward the elevator.

"Still, I need to thank you," Emely forced herself to keep smiling gently. He didn't need to remind her he was doing this because of Luis, she thought to herself.

"I promised you," Hudson said with his usual aloofness as they stepped into the elevator and braced himself to act like before - when he hadn't realized his feelings for Cherise and could still be gentle toward Emely. He forced himself to relax as they walked into the ballroom and took the stage as the host introduced them to the guests.

Cherise, Katherine, Logan, and Julian arrived late, but that was what Katherine had planned. She wanted them to be the center of attention to get back at Dahlia and Polly.

When the car stopped at the hotel's lobby, Katherine stopped Julian and Logan from going with them.

"I'll text you when you can come in." She winked at both men.

Logan chuckled as he guessed what Katherine had in mind. Julian looked at the exchange between friends and settled back against his seat, trusting whatever they were going to do.

"Is Katherine going to be a bad influence for Cherise?" Julian suddenly asked Logan, which startled Logan. "Why do you ask?"

"She seems bold and shameless," Julian shrugged.

Logan laughed. "What did she do to you?"

"She hugged and bit my earlobe." Julian was suddenly annoyed at the memory.

Logan's laugh became louder in the silent car. "That's just the way she is. I've gotten worse treatment from her. Just be prepared to feel like she's seducing you all the time."

"As long as she won't be a bad influence to Cherise," Julian said, in which Logan reassured him she wouldn't.

As Katherine had predicted, the door to the ballroom had been closed.

Cherise looked at Hudson and Emely's picture near the door and felt a pang in her heart. She and Hudson had never had a wedding banquet, much less an engagement banquet. "Cherise, you okay?" Katherine's worried voice broke through her reverie.

Cherise shook her head to clear her mind and get rid of the uncomfortable feelings in her heart.

"I'm fine," she smiled.

"Are you sure?" Katherine asked with concern. "We don't have to attend if you are still not ready to see them together."

"No, I'm truly fine," Cherise reassured her. "It's just... I never got to have my dream wedding."

Katherine hugged and comforted her, "You loved him too much for three years. So much so that you were willing to throw away all your privileges and become their maids. It's natural to still feel hurt now and again." Cherise chuckled. Being best friends, Katherine would know what she was feeling even if she lied.

"You are right." She sighed. "I know I don't want him back, and time will heal."

"Yes, you will find someone better than him, and you'll be happy."

Cherise nodded and gave Katherine a squeeze. "I'm fine. Let's show them what I'm made of?"

Katherine assessed her best friend, and when she saw that Cherise was really okay and determined to face Hudson, his family, and his mistress, she nodded.

Looking at the closed door, she asked with a faint smile, "You are going the dramatic way, aren't you?"

"You know me." She winked, and they signed their names in the guestbook before showing the bodyguards guarding the door their invitations, and they were let in.

When the door was opened, all the guests had been seated in their assigned seats, and everyone turned to see them.

Dahlia, who saw Katherine, quickly rose from her seat and went to welcome her.

"Katherine, I'm so glad you could make it," she said warmly and hugged Katherine, putting on a show for all the guests.

"I really love the "True Love' collection," Dahlia added in a voice loud enough for many guests seated at their tables around them to hear her. "I can't wait for it to be released." And as she had predicted, the guests began whispering.

"Is she Katherine Sterling?"

"I can't believe Dahlia knew her!"

"They look like they are close. Dahlia had even seen her newest unreleased collection."

All those whispers fed Dahlia's vanity, and she felt smug inwardly.

"Is she your plus one?" Dahlia, still acting warmly, turned to see the lady who came along with Katherine and froze when she realized who the lady was.