Chapter 38

Judy’s POV

“W…what are you doing here?” Matt asked, his eyes wide as he stared up at his father.

Gavin corked a brow upward and stared back at his son.

“I was called in for a parent/teacher conference,” he explained. “I was surprised to see your mother already here.”

Matt glanced at me, his cheeks burning red, matching mine.

“My… my mother…” Matt whispered, staring at the ground now.

“Yes,” Gavin said, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear and running his fingers down my cheek, causing goosebumps to form on my flesh. “I thought she had to work today and wouldn’t be able to make it. I was surmised when I saw her here.”

Matt lifted his gaze to look at us; questions surfacing in his eyes and a lot of confusion. He was just as lost as I was. He couldn’t believe that his father was actually playing along with our antics.

“I asked her if she could come here instead. I didn’t want you to be mad at me,” Matt admitted, shifting in his shoes uncomfortably.

“I see,” Gavin said, leaning back in his seat. “And you thought I wouldn’t understand your situation?”

Matt nodded, biting his lower lip and chewing on it nervously.

“I didn’t want you to be disappointed in me,” he murmured. “I’m sorry, Dad.”

“How about you tell me exactly what had happened,” Gavin said, his eyes never leaving his son’s. “Why did you beat up that boy?”

Matt lifted his gaze to meet his fathers and then he looked at me. His cheeks were getting even redder, and I knew he didn’t want to say it out loud. I wondered what had happened to cause him to act this way, but I also knew it wasn’t my business. I wasn’t really his mother. Come to think of it; I wasn’t really sure who his mother was.

I knew that Gavin’s fated mate died during childbirth years ago, but did she die during Irene’s birth, or Matthew’s birth? If it was Irene’s birth, then Matthew would have had to have come from a different woman. I didn’t even know Gavin had a son until I started tutoring him; he’s been kept out of the limelight for so long, that I found myself more curious about the dynamic than anything.

“I can leave if you want to talk to your father alone,” I finally said, starting to stand, but Gavin’s hand prevented me from going anywhere.

“Whatever you need to say to me, you can say in front of your mother,” he said, his eyes never leaving his sons.

Matt nodded and fiddled with his fingers for a moment before finally speaking.

“He was telling me that I was motherless and unwanted. Not even my own father wanted me,” Matt murmured. “He told me I would never be an important part of the Landry family. I was about to leave the lunchroom, but then he pushed me and told me that I didn’t deserve the last name Landry and that my mother probably killed herself because of me. I couldn’t take it anymore and I punched him in the face. I forgot my own strength and broke his nose…”

I gasped and covered my mouth with my hands, finally breaking free from Gavn’s hold on my hand. He had loosened it when he heard the story, and I could see his eyes were wide as he stared at his son.

“I’m sorry, Dad. I know I’m not supposed to fight… but I couldn’t—”

Gavin held up his hand to silence his son before he could utter another word. I wanted to scold Gavin for dismissing his son’s words like that, but then he turned around to face the principal, his eyes icy and sending a chill down my spine from his cold aura.

“As I said before, my son would have had a proper reason for doing what he did. Now, I’d like to know what exactly you are going to do about that boy who was bullying my son?”

The principal looked taken aback as he looked from Matt to Gavin and then to me.

“I… I’m so sorry. I had no idea…”

“No, you didn’t,” Gavin said, interrupting him. “You didn’t bother to ask. You were quick to point your fingers at Matthew without giving him a proper chance to explain things. As the biggest shareholder of this school, I want that boy suspended for what he had done to my son and if he ever speaks another ill word to anyone else in this school, especially Matt, then he will get expelled. As for Matt, no punishment is deserved at this time.”

Gavin stood up, taking hold of my hand once again and pulling me to my feet as well.

“I’ll be taking him home for the rest of the day,” Gavin said with finality.

“Y… yes sir,” Principal Thorne said, lowering his gaze. “I apologize for this misunderstanding.”

As Gavin started to walk towards the door, he paused before opening it.

“Oh, and you’ll need a new receptionist. My Beta just fired yours,” he added and then he opened the door and stormed out of the office, pulling me along with him.

Matt followed closely behind us.

We didn’t stop walking until we were outside of the school and near the car that Beta Taylor was waiting in. The other Gamma warriors were standing guard, but not close enough where they could hear the conversation, but close enough where they could step in if anything were to happen.

“Want to tell me what the hell you two were thinking?” Gavin asked, finally releasing his hold on my hand.

I dropped my gaze to the ground.

“It’s my fault, Dad. I asked her to pretend to be my mom,” Matt blurted, quickly trying to reason with his father. “I didn’t want you to be upset. I was scared so I asked Judy if she could help me during our tutoring session last night.”

Gavin’s eyes flickered to me.

“And you went along with it?” He asked, narrowing his eyes.

“I probably should have asked him more questions about what had happened,” I admitted. “I’m sorry, Alpha. I didn’t mean to deceive you.”

“You are both foolish and acted childishly. Did you not think that they would ask questions about my marriage? The world would have known if I had gotten married, don’t you think?”

I nodded and bit my lower lip.

“I wasn’t thinking properly. I shouldn’t have insinuated that we were married,” I murmured. “I’m sorry.”

He shook his head as if he was disappointed in me. I couldn’t help but feel like a child being scolded by her parent.

“Please, don’t be upset with her. It was my idea,” Matt said, grabbing his father’s arm. “Don’t be mad at Judy.”

“She’s the adult,” Gavin said, narrowing his eyes at his son. “She should have known better.”

“It’s okay, Matthew,” I said, trying to keep the tears from spilling out of my eyes. “I’m sorry I couldn’t pull this off for you. But you don’t need to defend me. I will take whatever punishment he hands me.”

I turned to face Gavin and took a deep breath.

“If you want to fire me, then that’s okay. I will find a new job,” I told him.

Gavin narrowed his eyes at me, and he stared at me for a long moment before rolling his eyes and walking towards the car. I turned around to face him, watching his retreating back. I furrowed my brows. Confused about what had just happened. I looked down at Matt who was equally confused.

Matt then shrugged and walked towards the car as well.

I stayed rooted to the ground, unsure if they wanted me to follow them or not. It wasn’t until they were both in the car that Gavin glanced in my direction.

“Get in, we don’t have all day,” he muttered.

I quickly joined them in the backseat of the car.

Beta Taylor had the window separating the backseat from the front seat rolled up, giving us some privacy. We were stuck in traffic for a bit, and it was taking the ride longer than usual to get back to Gavin’s villa. At one point, Matt ended up falling asleep. He rested his head on my arm, and I felt his breathing lighten.

Gavin looked down at his son and sighed.

“I’m sorry,” I said in a soft tone. “For how things went down today. I shouldn’t have gone along with it.”

“No, you shouldn’t have,” he replied sharply but also keeping his tone low so he wouldn’t wake Matt.

I sighed and glanced out the window, not sure what more to say.

“But thank you for being there for him,” he added, surprising me.

I turned ot look back at him, blinking a few times.

“You’re thanking me?” I asked, raising my brows.

“Don’t let it get to your head,” Gavin murmured. “Matt doesn’t have a mother figure in his life, so it’s nice that you were there for him when he needed one.”

I bit my lip, unable ot keep the smile from spreading across my face.

“I’m sorry if this is a bold question, but who is Matt’s mother?”

Gavin was quiet for a long while and I thought for a second he wasn’t going to answer me. Honestly, I expected him not to answer me. But then he glanced in my direction.

“My sister.”

I gasped and snapped a look in his direction.

“What?” I asked, shocked.

“Don’t get the wrong idea,” he said sharply. “Matt is my sister’s child. I’m his uncle.”

Realization dawned on me; Matt wasn’t actually Gavin’s son. That’s why his identity has been kept out of the limelight for so long!

“What happened to your sister?” I asked.

“She’s in a rehab facility getting the help she needs. Matt was young when he was taken out of her home. It wasn’t a good environment. I didn’t want him growing up as a foster child, so I took him in. he started calling me dad a few years ago and it just kind of stuck. I’m pretty much the only father he knows.”