More secrets
1802 Words
Valerie Blake
Alessandro stood near the large floor-to-ceiling windows, his jaw tight, his dark eyes burning with irritation.
And Cindy stood a few feet away from him.
She was pacing angrily, blonde hair falling over her shoulders, her hands moving sharply as she spoke.
Both of them turned toward me at the same time.
For a brief moment, none of us said anything.
Then Cindy’s eyes widened slightly.
“Well,” she said slowly.
“This is unexpected.”
I closed the door behind me.
“What are you doing here?” I asked coldly.
Cindy crossed her arms.
“I could ask you the same thing.”
Alessandro exhaled quietly, running a hand through his hair.
“Valerie—”
But I held up a hand, stopping him.
My eyes stayed on Cindy.
“I asked you a question.”
Her lips curled slightly. “I came to talk to Alessandro.”
“About what?”
She tilted her head.
“About Hudson.”
The name made something inside my chest tighten.
I stepped further into the room.
“So the two of you were discussing my husband behind my back?”
Alessandro’s voice cut in immediately.
“He’s not your husband anymore.”
The firmness in his tone made me glance at him briefly.
His expression softened when our eyes met.
But Cindy laughed lightly.
“God, this is dramatic.”
She grabbed a glass of whiskey from the table and took a slow sip.
“You two really deserve each other.”
“Say what you came to say and leave,” Alessandro said coldly.
I folded my arms.
“And now you’re here because…?”
Cindy’s gaze shifted to me. “Because you deserve the truth.”
A bitter laugh escaped me.
“That’s funny.”
She frowned. “Why?”
“Because you’ve been sleeping with my husband for years.”
Her expression didn’t change.
“Yes.”
The bluntness almost stunned me.
“You’re not even going to deny it?”
“No.”
Her honesty felt almost insulting.
“I don’t see the point in lying anymore.”
My nails dug into my palms.
“For how long?”
She sighed. “Five years.”
The room went silent.
My heart stopped for a moment.
Five.
Years.
I shook my head slowly. I should be slapping her and dragging her hair now, but I knew that wouldn’t remove the ache or betrayal I feel now.
Cindy shrugged again.
“It started about a year after you got married.”
My stomach twisted violently, of course I knew, I had just found out but hearing this from her felt like a blow to my face. She didn’t feel remorseful.
I looked at Alessandro.
He didn’t speak. But his silence told me everything.
“You knew,” I whispered.
His eyes filled with guilt.
“Yes.”
My chest tightened painfully.
“You knew Hudson was cheating on me… and you didn’t say anything?”
“I couldn’t,” he said quietly.
“Why?”
“Because I didn’t have proof that wouldn’t destroy you.”
My laugh came out hollow.
“And this doesn’t destroy me?”
“Valerie—”
I turned back to Cindy. “Why are you telling me now?”
Her eyes darkened.
“Because Hudson lied to me.”
My brows furrowed.
“About what?” Cindy placed her glass down slowly.
“About everything.”
She took a deep breath.
“You think Hudson started cheating because he fell in love with me?”
“That’s exactly what I thought,” I said coldly.
She shook her head.
“No.”
“Then why?”
Her next words made my blood run cold.“Because your marriage was never real.”
The air in the room seemed to freeze.
“What did you just say?”
Cindy looked directly into my eyes.
“Hudson didn’t marry you for love.”
I felt my heartbeat pounding in my ears. “Then why did he marry me?”
She answered without hesitation. “For your company.”
My breath caught.
“Valére Luxe.”
The name of my company echoed through the room like thunder.
“That’s ridiculous,” I said immediately. I had only started my company during my final year in college.
But my voice didn’t sound as confident as I wanted it to.
Cindy shook her head.
“It’s not. Haven’t you wondered why you both got married right after college ”
She stepped closer.
“Hudson’s family has been planning this for years.”
I stared at her.
“Planning what?”
“To take control of your empire.”
My mind struggled to process her words.
“That doesn’t make sense.”
“Oh it does.”
She folded her arms.
“You built one of the most powerful beauty corporations in the world.”
Her eyes sharpened.
“And Hudson’s family wants it.”
My chest rose and fell rapidly.
“That’s insane.”
“No,” Cindy said softly.
“It’s strategy.”
“How long?”
“Since college.”
“Since… college?” I asked again.
Cindy nodded.
“Hudson started pursuing you right after he learned who your father was.”
The memories flashed in my mind.
I had hidden the fact that I was from one of the wealthiest families in America because I didn’t want anyone to get close to me because of my family reputation, but somehow it got leaked and people found out, so I didn’t see any need hiding or denying it anymore. And that was exactly when he approached me, I didn’t really think about it, or I did but I pushed it at the back of my mind.
Hudson showing up everywhere, and then we had started dating during my first year of college.
Hudson trying to charm my parents, insisting he loved me.
My stomach twisted violently.
“You’re lying.”
But this time the words sounded weak.
Cindy reached into her purse and pulled out her phone.
“Am I?”
She opened a file and turned the screen toward me.
Emails. Documents. Contracts.
Hudson’s name was everywhere.
Plans. Projections. Strategies.
All connected to one thing.
Valére Luxe.
My hands started shaking.
“This can’t be real…”
Cindy’s voice softened slightly. “It is.”
She took a step closer.
“Hudson never intended to stay married to you forever.”
My head snapped up.
“What?”
“He just needed access.” My chest tightened.
“Access to what?”
Cindy’s eyes turned dark.
“Your board of directors.”
The room felt like it was spinning.
“Once he gained enough influence,” she continued quietly, “he planned to push you out.”
The words felt like poison.
“Push me out of my own company?”
She nodded.
“And then marry someone else.”
My voice came out as a whisper.
“You.”
Cindy hesitated.
“Maybe.”
The silence that followed was suffocating. Everything suddenly made sense.
Hudson’s distance.
His family’s hatred.
The constant pressure about children.
It had never been about love.
It had always been about power. A slow, cold anger spread through my chest. “How far did the plan go?”
Cindy hesitated again.
Then she said quietly—
“Far enough to destroy you.”
My eyes narrowed.
“What does that mean?”
Her gaze flicked briefly toward Alessandro.
Then back to me.
“There’s something else you should know.”
My heart began pounding again.
“What?”
Cindy took a deep breath. “Hudson wasn’t just planning to take your company.”
My stomach dropped.
“He was planning to take your inheritance too.”
The words echoed in my mind.
My inheritance.
“My father’s estate?” I asked slowly. She nodded.
“Yes.” My throat felt dry.
“How?”
Cindy hesitated.
Then she said something that made the entire room fall silent.
“By proving you’re mentally unstable.”
The shock hit me like a physical blow.
“What?”
“He’s been documenting everything.”
She pulled up another file on her phone.
Photos. Videos. Private moments.
Arguments.
Every time I had cried.
Every time I had lost my temper. My chest tightened with rage.
“He was building a case.”
My voice trembled with fury. “A case for what?”
Cindy looked at me carefully. “To have you declared unfit to run your own company.”
The world seemed to tilt beneath my feet.
“And once that happened,” she continued softly, “the board would remove you.”
My hands curled into fists. “And Hudson would take control.”
The silence in the room stretched endlessly.
Then something inside me snapped.
I laughed.
A low, dangerous laugh that didn’t even sound like it belonged to me.
Cindy frowned slightly.
“That’s… not the reaction I expected.”
I wiped the corner of my eye.
“Hudson really thought I wouldn’t fight back.”
Alessandro stepped closer to me.
His voice was quiet but firm.
“He underestimated you.”
I turned to Cindy slowly.
“And you.”
She raised an eyebrow. “What about me?”
“Why are you telling me all this?”
Her expression darkened. “Because Hudson betrayed me too.”
“How?”
Her voice dropped to a whisper. “He planned to get rid of me after the takeover.”
My eyes narrowed.
“And the children?”
Cindy hesitated.
“What about them?”
“Are they even his?”
The question hung in the air.
For a moment, Cindy didn’t speak.
Then she smiled slowly. A strange, dangerous smile.
“Oh, Valerie…”
My heart began to race again.
“You really don’t know, do you?”
My voice turned cold.
“Know what?” Cindy leaned closer.
And whispered something that made my blood run ice cold.
“Those children…”
She paused “…might not belong to Hudson at all.”
The room exploded into stunned silence. My breath caught in my throat.
“What did you just say?”
I had thought about this but I brushed it off after I saw those files the private investigator sent to me. Who would have thought even after 5 years of cheating on me with another lady he still couldn’t father a child, and here he was raising an unknown man’s child. How would hudson react when he finally finds out the kids aren’t his, does he even really love the kids, that manipulative b*st*rd.
Cindy straightened slowly.
Her eyes gleaming with something dark.
“I guess the real story is just beginning.”
- Writer
