Free Web NovelChapter 78: Chapter 78 Hidden Secretes
Christina’s POV
Verdict—She wasn’t subtle at all.
My face heated until I was sure it matched the color of the restaurant’s plush curtains. I tried to compose myself but failed miserably.
Octavia laughed,the sound reminding me of crystal glasses clinking."You’re growling at me with your eyes. Quite possessive of your mate, aren’t you? Jealous?"
"I wasn’t—"
"You absolutely were," she interrupted, eyes sparkling with amusement. "Your wolf was about ready to leap across the table."
"Akira was not," I protested weakly.
"Was too,"Akira countered in my head."I don’t trust pretty actresses around our contract mate."
I mentally shushed her.
Octavia leaned closer."Don’t worry, Hudson is completely off limits to me. We’re related."
I blinked rapidly, trying to process this information. "Related? You two look nothing alike."
"I’m a cousin from his mother’s side of the family. Not many people know Hudson’s mother wasn’t from a Northern pack." Her expression softened. "She met Hudson’s father in Highrise City. Fated mates. One look and they were completely gone for each other.She abandoned everything to be with him and had Hudson,but unfortunately..."
She trailed off, something sad flickering across her perfect features before she abruptly changed topics.
"It’s obvious he really likes you. I’m happy for him, honestly. Took him long enough to find someone he actually wants to marry."
She gave me this look—warm and kind and a little nostalgic.
"Hudson was always so withdrawn as a child.Very serious,always watching, calculating.The other pups couldn’t understand him." She shook her head. "Sometimes I think he’s still that way. Locked inside his own head."
I struggled to imagine Hudson as a child, small and serious-eyed, standing apart from others. freewёbnoνel.com
"How close were you growing up?" I asked, genuinely curious.
"We weren’t. Our families reconnected only a few years ago." She studied me with unexpected warmth. "He’s changed since he met you. In a good way."
I didn’t know what to say to that.Hudson and I were playing pretend, not transforming each other.
So Dominic Everett had been chatting shit?
Or maybe I’d messed up the name?
Was there another actress he’d been gossiping about?
"So Dominic was completely wrong," I muttered.
Octavia smirked. "Dominic says a lot of things. Most aren’t worth the breath wasted on them."
She leaned across the table, her eyes suddenly gleaming with mischief. "Want to hear a real secret?"
I nodded, unconsciously mirroring her forward lean.
"I’ve been married for six years. I have twins. A boy and a girl." She glanced around as if checking for eavesdroppers. "Nobody in the industry knows."
My jaw literally dropped. I stared at her, speechless.
Octavia Grey. Hollywood’s ice queen. The woman every magazine called "perpetually single by choice" had a husband. And children.
"How do you hide two entire pups?" I finally managed.
She laughed. "Very carefully. The press thinks my husband is my business manager. And the kids stay with family when I’m filming."
"That’s...impressive," I admitted.
"My secret weapon is that nobody expects it. Everyone assumes I’m too ambitious or cold for family life." She placed one finger against my lips. "Not a word to anyone."
"Cross my heart," I promised, then hesitated. "Could I possibly get your autograph? My friend Ysolde would literally kill me if I didn’t ask."
"Of course." She smiled warmly. "I’ll sign whatever you want."
***
Later, sitting in Hudson’s car as it glided through nighttime Highrise City, I couldn’t stop thinking about the opportunity that had just fallen into my lap.
Designing for Octavia Grey. At the Venice Film Festival.
The career boost would be astronomical. And it had Hudson’s fingerprints all over it.
"You arranged this, didn’t you?" I asked, watching his profile illuminated by passing streetlights.
He kept his eyes on the road. "I merely made an introduction."
"Thank you," I said simply.
He nodded once, the minimal acknowledgment so typical of him.
I studied him, really looked at him. Hudson Laurent had kept his side of our bargain faithfully. Protected me from Niall. Given me space in his home. Connected me with opportunities. All while asking very little in return.
Meanwhile, I’d been guarded, suspicious, constantly waiting for the catch, the moment he’d reveal some sinister motive.
After all, if even fated mates could betray you, what could you expect from someone bound only by contract?
Akira stirred within me. "He’s really good to us. Like safety."
"Since when do you trust anyone?" I asked her silently.
Akira huffed and retreated from my mind. Clearly, she was operating on nothing but unguarded instinct.
I stole a glance at Hudson’s face, thinking about Octavia’s words.
Hudson wasn’t falling in love.
Not with me, anyway.
He kept some precious ex tucked away somewhere in his chest. Cassian had said he’d waited for her for years, wouldn’t let anyone touch her memory.
Still... even if he didn’t like me that way, it wasn’t true that he treated me badly.
I couldn’t deny that.
He’d been careful, considerate, even gentle in a way that was almost frightening.
I snuck another look.
My gaze lingered on his jawline.
He looked tense even when he shouldn’t be.
This man approached everything with the same focused, maddening sincerity.
No wonder he’d clawed his way to the top of the billionaire food chain while most people his age were still figuring out how not to be crushed by student loans.
Take our fake marriage, for instance.
He hadn’t just planned it—he’d rehearsed it.
Scheduled meetings. Run-throughs. Talking points.
At the time, I’d thought it was excessive, some neurotic control-freak behavior.
But obviously it worked.
Octavia was an actress who lied for a living, and she hadn’t suspected a thing.
Speaking of rehearsals...
There was one scene we hadn’t perfected yet.
I glanced at him again.
Despite the two inches of space between us, I could feel the heat radiating from his thigh.
Something fluttered in my lower belly—warm, reckless, impossible to ignore.
The traffic light ahead turned red, and the car rolled to a stop. In the quiet hum of the engine, I made a decision.
I pressed the privacy screen button. Hudson glanced over, one eyebrow slightly raised in question.
"I just wanted to say thank you. For everything," I said, then leaned across the space between us and planted a quick, soft kiss on his cheek.
I pulled back, heart racing stupidly fast for such an innocent gesture.
The car filled with silence. Heavy, thick, charged silence.
When I dared look at him again, Hudson’s eyes had darkened, turned molten with lust. His gaze locked on my lips.
"That’s not the kind of kiss I want," he said, voice rough with want.
"What kind do you—"
I never finished my question.
Hudson moved with supernatural speed, closing the distance between us.
