Chapter 216

Judy’s POV

“Why was Dad and Irene fighting earlier? I could hear yelling,” Matt asked during the tutoring session.

I tensed at his words; I didn’t want to tell him the whole truth because it would only hurt him to find out it was his sister who tried to poison him a few months ago. I had to protect Matt from the awful truth; I knew Irene felt guilty about it and that Matt wasn’t in any danger, but if he found out the truth, he would never trust her again.

“Just some differences,” I decided to tell him with a shrug. “It’s nothing to be concerned about.”

He looked at me, a small frown on his face.

“Differences?” He asked. “They’ve had disagreements before… but it was never anything like that. Something felt off.”

I bit my lower lip, trying to keep my eyes fixed on the coffee table.

“Irene did something bad, and it put a lot of people in danger. She’s sorry and it won’t happen again, but your dad is upset about it. They’ll be okay. They just need to talk it out and figure out the best outcome for everyone.”

Matt went quiet as he processed my words.

“Oh,” he said softly. “It must have been really bad. You can’t tell me what it is?” d

I sighed and shook my head.

“It’s better for you right now that you don’t know,” I told him. “But your dad loves you both and he’ll do what he can to protect you.”

“Do you think he’s going to make Irene go away?” He asked, a nervous tint in his eyes.

I smiled at him and found myself wrapping an arm around him, pulling him close. It wasn’t often that I had to provide him with this level of comfort. He’s strong-minded, a good fighter, strong, and intelligent. But I forget that he’s also a little boy. He’s almost 8 years old and he follows in Gavin’s footsteps. But he’s still just a child and he has worries and fears just like any other child. He doesn’t want to see his family being broken apart.

“Your dad would never do that,” I assured him. “Maybe if he saw Irene as a real danger then he would. But she’s not a real danger and he knows that. Trust me, if she was… she wouldn’t be anywhere near this Villa right now. Or the pack for that matter. But she’s only in her room, reflecting on her past behavior. She’s not going anywhere. You don’t have to worry about it.”

He nods, his small body relaxing slightly.

The door of the parlor opened one of the villa maids walked in holding a few shopping bags. She looked exhausted, but when she saw me, she gave me a bright smile.

“Miss Montague, I went shopping for a new outfit for you. I wasn’t sure which would look better, so I got you a few different options. They all should be your sizes, but if we need to get them adjusted that shouldn’t be an issue. We only have a few hours though, so we should try them on now and get you ready,” she told me with a warm smile lighting up her features.

I glanced at Matt; we hadn’t finished tutoring yet. I wanted to get his homework done out the truth which could end up happening considering these walls tend to whisper.

“I’m having dinner tonight with your father and your grandmother,” I told him.

He raised his brows.

“My grandmother? Why?”

“She wants to have dinner…” I told him.

He stared at me for a moment too long.

“With you?” He asked. “My tutor?”

I nodded, trying to come up with a logical reason as to why she would want to have dinner with me.

“Yes,” I told him. “She wants to get to know the person who’s tutoring her grandson,” I say as I rub his head.

He let that process for a moment; his eyes turning thoughtful. Then, he nodded, seemingly accepting that answer.

“Will you be mad if I have to cut today's session short?” I ask him, feeling bad that I’ve missed the last couple of tutoring sessions and now I have to cut today’s session short.

He shook his head as he started to pack up his stuff.

“No, my homework is almost done,” he tells me. “I can finish the rest later. Enjoy your dinner.”

He stands up and waves at me before retreating from the room. I looked up at the maid who gave me a small mile.

“Sorry,” she said softly.

“No, it’s okay,” I tell her. “Let’s try on these clothes.”

I didn’t think it was going to take as long as it did, but within the next couple of hours, we were finally finished with trying on the clothes she bought. She didn’t just buy a few nice outfits, she bought a ton. There were bags more than when she initially came into the parlor. She had an entire car full of clothes.

“I couldn’t decide,” she stated with a sheepish smile after the hundredth blouse I tried on.

After a while, I settled on a nice evening dress with a cardigan. The maid helped me do my hair so it flowed in even ringlets down my back and was pulled out of my face. She applied a little makeup, but not enough to make me look like a hussy; just enough to make my features pop and brighten my face a little more.

I put some flats on for shoes, thankfully she also went shoe shopping, so I didn’t have to worry about either. Once I was dressed, I took a look at myself in the mirror, feeling my stomach knot.

I was still wrapping my head around the fact that I was having dinner with Gavin’s mother… Donna Landry. From what I knew about her these last couple of days, she couldn’t stand me. I could only imagine how this dinner was going to go. No amount of dresses and hair was ever going to make that woman like me, so I didn’t understand why she would invite me to dinner with Gavin.

As I met Gavin in the parlor, I noticed him before he noticed me. He was scrolling through his phone, seated on the couch. He wore a business suit like he was about to go to a business meeting, and I suddenly felt as if I wasn’t dressed properly enough. Maybe I should have worn something fancier; this was a dinner with his mother after all.

He looked tense as he stared at his phone and for a moment, I wondered if it had anything to do with Irene.

I cleared my throat, getting his attention.

His eyes shifted from his phone to me; there was a moment of pause in his expression. His eyes scanned my entire body, taking in my dress that hugged my figure, but was still classy enough for dinner at his mother’s manor. Then his eyes found mine for a moment, his expression softened making my heart skip a beat.

“Are you ready?” I asked him. “You seem lost in thought.”

He swallowed before turning his phone screen off and standing. He shoved his phone into his pocket.

“Yeah, we should get going. She hates it when people are late,” he murmurs. “Shall we?”

I nod, watching him carefully. I wanted to ask him if he talked to Irene some, but I didn’t want Matt to overhear. It would have been better if we had this conversation in the car. I expected either Taylor or Erik to drive us, so I was surprised when it ended up being Gavin the one to drive.

“Why are you driving us?” I asked him as we pulled away from the villa.

“Do you have a problem with my driving?” he asked; he sounded dry, but I was starting to understand him well enough to know that he was teasing.

“No, but I thought driving places yourself was above you,” I teased right back.

“I drove on our date, did I not?” He countered. His brows raised.

My cheeks were heated at the mention of our date; until now, it kind of felt like an elephant in the room.

“That was different,” I said, my voice going soft as I looked out the window. I felt him smirking without even looking at him and for some reason, that annoyed me.

I turned to look at him, narrowing my eyes.

“Got something to say?” I boldly asked.

He shrugged.

“Are you going to keep that attitude during dinner because getting my mother to like you won’t be easy,” he told me, that smirk never leaving his lips.

“And why would I care if your mother liked me?” I asked, folding my arms across my chest. “I don’t care if she likes me… she already doesn’t like me.”

“Tonight will certainly be interesting,” he muttered.

“You find this funny, don’t you?” I asked him in disbelief.

He shrugged one shoulder.

“Yeah, maybe I do,” he murmured. “So what?”

I opened my mouth to say something, but the sight of the manor caught my attention, and my entire body went cold.

We were here.