Chapter 112

Judy’s POV

“A…are you serious right now??” Harper asked, taken aback by Chester’s words.

He nodded and sighed.

“Yes, Harper. I’m sorry,” he murmured, and then he walked past her and back inside. Harper stood frozen, her face red with anger and hurt all at the same time. My heart hurt for her; I knew how much she liked Chester. I could see it on her face every time that he was around. I knew how much it hurt for the guy you liked to not want you back… or to give you up so easily. But I couldn’t help but wonder if Nan was okay.

“I’m sorry…” I told Harper, not sur what more to say.

“I just don’t get it…” she whispered, staring down at her feet. “Everything was fine. Then that girl walked in and…” her voice trailed off.

“Do you think they are seeing each other? I know Chester went on a date the other day. Could that be her?”

I shook my head; Nan would have told me if she went on a date with a man. She would have told me all about it. The fact that she hadn’t mentioned it makes me wonder what this story was.

“I’m not too sure, Harper,” I settled on saying.

Harper nodded and sniffed back her tears before she turned her back towards me.

“I’m just going to go inside. If you need anything… I’ll be in my room,” she murmured.

Without another word, she walked into the mansion. I stared after her for a brief while before I sighed and grabbed my phone out of my pocket. I glanced at the screen, seeing that I had no. Missed calls or texts. Now I was doubt disappointed; I was upset that Gavin hadn’t reached out to me, but I was also upset that Nan hadn’t texted me after she left to tell me that she was okay.

I brought up her contact and pressed the phone to my cheek. It rang several times before I got her voicemail.

“Hey, Nan. Please call me,” I said to her voicemail box. “I’m worried about you…” I added before I hung up.

Sighing, I walked back inside. The mansion had gone quiet, and the kitchen was now completely empty. I knew Chester had turned in for the night. The food he made for us sat untouched on the counter. I wasn’t very hungry, but I figured I might want it tomorrow, so I put some plastic wrap over the container and stuck it in the fridge. I also grabbed a sponge and washed down the counters. I wasn’t sure what else Chester and Harper had done here while no one was here earlier, and the thought made me queasy.

After I was done cleaning the kitchen, I retreated to my room. I was sad that Nan left so suddenly; I was looking forward to this girl’s night. I went into the bathroom, brushed my hair back into a pony, and washed off the leftover makeup from my face. I grabbed my toothbrush and put some toothpaste on it. As I brushed my teeth, I let my mind wander for a few. It was such a strange and out-of-ordinary reaction for Nan to have. I thought about the party and how upset she was. She hadn’t mentioned it since, but she did say something about finding her mate.

My entire movement stopped as I stared at myself in the mirror, the toothbrush hanging from my lips.

Could Chester be Nan’s mate? The thought left an unsettled feeling bubble in my belly and my eyes grew impossibly large. It would make sense given both their reactions to one another. Did that mean that Chester knew about Nan and yet he still chose to go on a date with another woman… not to mention make out with Harper in the kitchen earlier this evening?

If that’s the case, maybe Chester wasn’t as harmless as I thought he was.

I spit the water and toothpaste out of my mouth and rinsed the brush off before placing it in its holder. I grabbed a hand towel and wiped off my lips before putting it back on the rack. I sighed and leaned against the counter, feeling a wave of dizziness.

This whole thing was getting to my head and I just wanted to get some sleep. After several deep breaths, I turned away, turned off the bathroom light, and stepped into my room. It was lonely without Gavin. I had started to get used to him spending his nights here even if it was out of the ordinary at first.

I checked my phone one last time and saw no missed texts or calls. I sighed and tried calling Nan again, but I got her voicemail… again. I put my phone on the charger, placing it on my nightstand before I crawled into bed. I hated being alone right now… I wished I could reach out to Gavin, but I knew he was busy. I wished I could get a hold of Nan… but she refused to answer my calls.

I had no idea what was going on, but I hoped that I could figure it out in the morning.

It took a while, but eventually, I was able to drift off to sleep.

When I woke the next morning, I felt restless and a bit numb. I grabbed my phone to see if I had a missed call and my heart skipped a beat when I saw a text message from Gavin. It was sent early this morning. I bit my lower lip as I opened the message.

Gavin: Sorry I couldn’t come over last night. I’d like to see you tonight though. Dinner tonight?

I couldn’t help the smile that lit up my face. I pressed the reply button and typed out my own message.

Me: That sounds great!

I pressed send and then I quickly got out of bed. I didn’t bother changing out of my pajamas as I left my room and went down the stairs and towards the kitchen. My stomach was growling considering I hadn’t eaten last night. I hoped Chester was well enough to cook breakfast; if not, I guess I’ll just have to cook it myself.

I was honestly surprised when I saw him hard at work in the kitchen. There was no one else with him though. I glanced around the kitchen, wondering where the kitchen aids were but when I didn’t see them, my eyes found Chester’s. He had paused his movements behind the counter, and I could see that he was contemplating asking me something, but then he changed his mind and turned his attention back to what he was doing.

“Where is everybody?” I asked as I walked towards the breakfast nook and took a seat.

“I told them I wanted some space today and to take the day off,” he told me, without even glancing in my direction.

I watched him as he moved effortlessly around the kitchen.

“Is everything okay?” I asked, raising my brows at him.

He finished plating the food and then he slid it across the counter and in my direction. He was quiet as he walked over to the coffee pot and started to pour some into a mug for me. At first, I didn’t think he was going to answer my question. But then he brought me the coffee, along with the sweeteners and cream, and he leaned against the counter, looking defeated.

“Can I ask you a question?” He asked.

I nodded and started to sweeten my coffee and poor cream into the black elixir.

“Of course,” I answered.

I was honestly just glad that someone was at least talking to me. I would answer any question he had for me at this point.

“You’re 20, right?” he asked.

I glanced up at him and nodded.

“Yes,” I answered. “Why?”

“Usually, people find their mates at the age of 18,” he murmured.

I held up my hand to stop him.

“That’s a myth,” I told him. “You can find your mate at any stage of life. It doesn’t have ot be at 18.”

“How old is too old?”

I furrowed my brows.

“I don’t believe there is such a thing as too old,” I told him.

“But 35?” He asked.

I took a sip of my coffee, eyeing him carefully over the rim before I set the coffee mug down. I licked my lips and picked up my fork. Chester made the world’s fluffiest pancakes and the most delicious bacon I had ever seen. My mouth was watering at the sight of the food.

“That’s not very old,” I told him. “And as I said, you can find your mate at any age.”

He was quiet for a moment longer and I took that as an opportunity to start eating. I nearly moaned as the flavors burst in my mouth, and it made him chuckle and shake his head. It was good to see him smiling after yesterday, even if it was brief.

I picked up my coffee to take another sip.

“Have you ever found yours?” He suddenly asked, making me choke and gag on the coffee. I spit some onto the counter without meaning to and it made him jump back. He quickly grabbed some napkins to wipe the spill. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” I said between coughs. “I’m fine. Just took me by surprise is all…”

He looked at me sheepishly as he threw the napkins away.

“Sorry,” he murmured.

I shook my head and waved off his apology.

“Don’t be, it’s okay,” I told him as I settled myself back down. I took a deep breath and met his eyes; I didn’t want to lie to him. Besides, it didn’t matter anymore. The cat was out of the bag… Irene knew the truth and she was honestly the only one I didn’t want to know about this. Chester lived in this mansion, which meant he saw almost everything. He knew about my relationship with Gavin, so it didn’t matter if he knew even more details. “Yes…” I finally answered.

He glanced up at me with a frown.

“What?”

“I found my mate,” I told him. “When I was 18. I had known him for a long time prior and admittedly, I’ve always had a little crush on him throughout our childhood. We are from the same pack… so we were always around each other. When I turned 18 we discovered that we were mates and then he marked me almost right away.”

I brushed the hair away from my neck to show him my mark and he gasped when he saw.

“You’ve been marked?” He asked, his eyes wide with horror.

I nodded and sighed.

“Yes,” I replied out loud. I stared down at my plate, a wave of sadness washing over me. “We were supposed to get married.”

“So, why didn’t you?” He asked. “What happened?”

I bit my lower lip, remaining quiet for a moment, and then I looked up at him.

“He left me for Gavn’s daughter. “