Madly Yours (Nora Reed) novel Chapter 224

Grant shot him a glare. "Excuse you?"

Jude's gaze drifted past Hudson and landed on Nora.

"And this is?"

Hudson naturally wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her closer against him.

"My wife, Nora."

Nora's heart skipped a beat.

Nora.

Not Jade.

It was the first time he had used her real name in front of an outsider.

"Jude Winslow." Jude extended a hand toward her with a warm smile. "Hudson's college friend."

Nora reached out and shook his hand. "Nice to meet you."

Jude's eyes lingered on her face for a fraction of a second before he smoothly turned back to Hudson. "You're a lucky guy."

Hudson smirked. "Yeah. My wife is pretty incredible."

Nora's ears flushed hot as she shot him a covert glare.

Watching their little exchange, Jude let out a soft chuckle.

Hudson kept his arm securely around Nora, his smirk lingering. "I heard you got promoted again last month?"

Jude waved it off. "It's an empty title. Nothing worth mentioning. I heard your chip project had a major breakthrough, though."

Hudson raised an eyebrow. "You're well-informed."

"Not well-informed. Just paying attention."

Jude smiled, and it was the kind of warm, gentle expression that made people feel instantly at ease. "If your project succeeds, it's going to completely reshape the landscape of the domestic tech industry."

Hudson didn't reply, but his smile widened slightly.

"By the way, we just released a batch of deer, wild boars, and a few foxes into the preserve this weekend. Hunt whatever you want."

Jude pulled a sleek black card from his pocket and handed it to Hudson.

Jude nodded, gave a sharp command, and the horse took off down the mountain trail, quickly disappearing into the dense forest.

The sound of hooves faded away, and tranquility returned to the mountain.

Grant stood there, staring in the direction Jude had vanished, and couldn't help but sigh.

"I've met a lot of people in my life, but Jude Winslow is the only one I'd actually call a true gentleman."

Sebastian nodded in agreement, miraculously not picking a fight for once.

"Yeah, he really is a good guy. Not arrogant, not insecure, totally flawless in how he treats people. And it's not that fake, calculated slickness either. He's genuinely just a good man."

Grant clicked his tongue. "It's a damn shame, though. Such a great guy, and he's stuck dealing with all that baggage."

Listening from the sidelines, Nora was curious. "What baggage?"

Grant glanced at Hudson. Seeing that Hudson wasn't going to stop him, he lowered his voice. "Jude was engaged to the eldest daughter of the Fairchild family. It was a childhood betrothal arranged by their families before they were even born..."

Arranged before birth?

That sounded incredibly old-fashioned...