Chapter 189

Judy’s POV

I felt so incredibly stupid. Of course, Ethan had something to do with this. How could he not? He was always planning or scheming something. I should have known he wouldn’t stop and that he’d use Daisy to get his way.

I looked at Gavin’s rigid back as he processed this new information. He was furious, that much was clear. His fists kept clenching and unclenching.

This whole time I had been so upset with him, thinking he had been sleeping with both me and Daisy. Only to find out that it was all a plan set up by Ethan. Gavin wasn’t even in the hotel suite at the time of Daisy being there; he hadn’t known she was there. I should have talked to him instead of jumping to conclusions; but I thought the facts were clear.

“I might have done my part, Gavin, and I might have had my own reasons, but I’m not the mastermind behind this,” Daisy continued as she folded her arms across her chest. “I’m not the one you should be going after.”

Gavin’s jaw ticked and I could see the tension in his body. He was battling with himself; torn between ending Daisy or letting her go so he could seek out Ethan. At the end, the latter won, and he stepped away from her.

“Get out of my face before I change my mind,” he growled, his wolf’s anger palpable.

Daisy only smirked; she didn’t rush away, her eyes remained on his for a moment before they flickered to me and then I saw them darken. Without a word, she turned and walked away, leaving me feeling numb and incredibly stupid.

“Ethan’s here?” Irene asked, tears in her eyes. I looked at her, remembering how quiet she’s been, and my heart shattered for her. Her ex-fiancé was here and made it clear that he wasn’t here for her; he was here to fuck with me.

Nan and Chester had appeared shortly after, their concern clear on their faces as they looked at the scene before them.

I was frozen, unable to tell them anything about what had happened. My body was trembling; Ethan was never going to stop. I was going to have to live with him tormenting my family and me forever. And Irene will always suffer because of this as well.

She looked utterly broken and confused in that moment and my heart shattered even more for her.

“Chester, Nan, can you take Irene back to the suite,” he asked. “Matthew as well, wherever he is.”

“Last I saw, he was stuffing his face with dessert,” Chester said, pointing at the ceremony hall. “Yeah, we’ll go grab him and bring them both upstairs.”

Gavin nodded his thanks. At first, Irene refused to move; she was rooted to the ground, tears spilling out of her eyes as she thought about everything that had happened. She wasn’t sure how to feel at this moment and I couldn’t blame her.

But after some urging from Nan, she finally moved from her spot, following them, leaving me alone with Gavin.

I stared at the spot on the wall that Daisy was once pressed against. The ghost of her form still lingering.

Before I knew what was happening, Gavin closed the small distance between us, wrapping me tightly in his arms and pressing me against his chest. It was a gesture I wasn’t used to from him; he wasn’t the comforting type, but I immediately melted against him, hating my body for being so weak when it came to Gavin Landry.

I should hate him… I should be upset with him still, but I couldn’t. I was relieved that nothing happened between him and Daisy like I thought it did. I was relieved he hadn’t lied to me about anything.

My mind was whirling with all this new information, and I wasn’t sure what to do with any of it. He ran his fingers up and down my spine soothingly, another gesture I wasn’t used to from him.

He peppered kisses along my hairline, sending a chill across my flesh and melting even further. His warmth and scent engulfed me, and I could practically hear my wolf purring in contentment from his sweet and comforting embrace.

He ran his fingers through my hair, and I shivered from the feeling. I peeked up at him, tears in my eyes from everything that had happened.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I should have talked to you.”

“Did you really think I was fucking her?”

I nibbled on my lower lip, heat creeping up around my nose and cheeks; I knew he could see the redness easily on my face.

“I thought… I mean… yeah,” I said softly. “We aren’t…” I couldn’t finish the sentence; I hated how vulnerable and weak I sounded at this moment.

He cupped my face with his hands, forcing me to keep my gaze on his.

“I don’t fuck multiple women at once, Judy,” he told me firmly. “It’s messy and never ends well. I’m old enough to know better, don’t you think?”

I nod slowly; I shouldn’t have assumed the worst about him. But if he only saw it from my perspective… how would he feel if a guy answered my door and he was wrapped in only a towel.

I shuddered at the thought; that’s something Ethan would do and honestly, I’m surprised he hadn’t yet.

“I saw her in a bathrobe, Gavin. How would you have felt if the roles were reversed?”

His eyes darkened at my words, the image sinking in and making him feel like shit.

“You should know me better than that by now,” he told me, his tone almost cold, though there was a twinge of hurt.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have assumed the worst. But we need to focus on the bigger picture. Ethan is out there, planning shit. He did this, Gavin. That’s terrifying.”

He nodded.

“And I will find him and make him answer for his crimes. You should get back to the suite for the night. I don’t trust him not to show up here and try something.”

He released me and suddenly I felt cold without his touch. I bit my lower lip and nodded, hating how distant we still felt from one another. If there was one thing that this whole thing taught me, it was that maybe I didn’t trust him as much as I thought I did.

Did I ever trust him?

“Where are you going to go?” I asked him after a beat of silence.

“Don’t worry about that,” he said with a gruff voice. “I have something to do.”

I nodded and without another word, I went back to my suite. Nan, Chester, Irene, and Matt were in the room when I turned. Nan and Chester were packing their things, while Irene sat on the bed, looking like a ghost of herself. Matt was on the couch, scrolling through his phone mindlessly.

“What’s going on?” I asked Nan who paused her packing when she noticed me at the doorway.

“Our flight is tomorrow. I figured it’d be better if we prepared,” she told me with a shrug. “I assume we’ll be leaving quickly.”

I nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, we will definitely be leaving quickly,” I told her. “I’m sorry that this entire trip is messy, Nan. The last thing you wanted was messy.”

“Are you kidding me? This trip was awesome. Plus, you won the fucking competition, and I got to see it firsthand. Totally worth it,” she said with a grin.

“Pretty awesome that you won,” Chester said, giving me a high five.

I looked at Irene, who wasn’t engaging in conversation, but I could tell from the fact that she wasn’t in her own suite that she wanted to be around people. I sat beside her on the bed and gave her a sympathetic look.

“Are you okay?” I asked her.

She blinked a few times and shook her head, releasing some tears that fell onto her cheeks.

“I can’t believe he was here, and he didn’t come find me,” she whispered. “I truly meant nothing to him.”

“Ethan isn’t worth your time, Irene. I thought you knew that by now,” I told her gently. “He’s manipulative. I mean look at the mess he’s made in such a short time.”

She nodded and nibbled on her lower lip.

“A part of me still loves him and I hate myself for it,” she whispered.

I knew that all too well; having Ethan as my fated mate made things extra complicated. When he was around, my wolf was still drawn to him because she felt a bond. She will be able to feel it until he either marks another, or other marks me, replacing his mark completely. For a long time, Ethan was my everything. Growing up, he was my best friend. Then I found out he was a mate, and I was over the moon, but now I regret every little thing and I’m questioning if any of it was ever real, or some bit elaborate plan to break me.

“We aren’t going to let him get away with this,” I say, putting my hand on her knee. “He will regret the day that he fucked with us.”