Chapter 59

Judy’s POV

“You know your father and I have a long history,” Daisy said, giving an awkward chuckle.

Irene nodded thoughtfully.

“Yes, his fated mate, my mother, was your sister,” Irene replied. “Unfortunately, my father isn’t on the market for dating at the moment.”

Daisy pressed her red lips in a thin line as she narrowed her eyes at Irene. Even she knew she had to be careful about what she said in the presence of Gavin’s daughter.

“We are only friends, of course,” Daisy said through her tight-lipped smile. “Don’t overthink things.”

She glanced in my direction and sized me up for a moment and then she curled her lip in disgust again.

“That dress is too tacky for me. I’ll find something else,” she muttered. She spun on her heel and walked away.

I let out a breath I hadn’t known I was holding. The fake smile Irene was sporting dropped immediately and then she turned to me.

“I hate that bitch,” she muttered. I was surprised by this, but I relaxed immediately after hearing Irene’s words and then I let out a soft chuckle. Irene gave me a gentle smile and nudged me towards the changing room. “Get changed and we can grab some lunch before we head back. I know you have tutoring this evening.”

“Sounds good,” I told her.

As much as I loved the dress, it was nice wearing my normal clothes again. Stacy was quick to take the dress and package it for me. Irene found a gorgeous dress for herself as well and Irene packaged that for her. We reached the counter, and Stacy rang up the dresses.

“For Judy, the dress is 3 million dollars and for Irene, the dress is 1 million,” Stacy said, lifting her gaze.

My mouth dropped open. That was so much money. I wasn’t expecting a simple dress to cost that much.

Without even blinking, Irene grabbed a black card and handed it to Stacy.

“You can charge both dresses to this card,” Irene said as she pulled out her phone to check her messages.

I stared at her dumbfounded at how casual she was to be spending that much money. Stacy looked delighted as she charged the card. Once it went through, she printed the receipt and handed the receipt and card to Irene. She carefully handed us each a box which Taylor and Gamma Derek took from us to help out. They were so well hidden in the shadows and kept to themselves that I completely forgot that they were even there.

I smiled my thanks to Taylor as he took my box, and he nodded in acknowledgment. We left the store, thankfully without any more run-ins with Daisy, and we grabbed lunch. This time, we invited the Gammas and Beta Taylor to join us, not wanting to be alone even for a second. Once we finished with lunch, we went to the Villa so I could tutor Matt.

“Mind if I steal you away for a minute?” Walter asked during the shooting portion of the tutoring session.

Matt was busy practicing his aim and was barely paying attention to us, so I nodded. Walter took hold of my arm and wrapped it through mine. We walked together, arm in arm, for a short while before he finally stopped to turn to me.

“So, I’m not sure if you heard, but the mascaraed Gala is this weekend,” he started in a rush. My cheeks blushed and I nodded as I bit my lip. “I just got a couple tickets to the event,” he continued. “And I was wondering if you’d be my date?”

I had a strange instinct to decline his offer, but I just got a 3-million-dollar dress, so I couldn’t.

“I would love to,” I told him. “It sounds like fun.”

He relaxed his shoulders and let out a breath of relief.

“Great, I’ll pick you up at 8 on Saturday night,” he told me and then he bent to kiss my cheek softly.

I nodded.

“I will see you then,” I told him.

I watched him as he hurried away and noticed that he had an extra pep in his step. I just hoped that I wasn’t going to be the one to take that away.

…..

Third Person POV

Saturday came quickly and Irene spent most of the day preparing for the Gala. She was excited to be able to show off her glamorous dress and her gorgeous fiancé on her arm. Ethan told her that he would pick her up this evening around 8 pm and then they would meet up with Walter and Judy. They were planning on sharing a limo for the event tonight and she was beyond thrilled about it.

Her father was also attending the Gala, but he wasn’t going to accompany them. He was getting there by himself, without a date. Irene had told him that he should find somebody to take, but he refused. Truth be told, she didn’t want him to be single at the Gala knowing that Daisy was also going to be there single, in hopes of capturing Gavin’s attention. She didn’t want her father and her mother’s sister to get together. The thought irritated her; she really couldn’t stand her Aunt Daisy, and she wanted her away from her family.

She knew her father was smart enough to see through Daisy though, so she tried not to stress too hard.

“How do I look?” Walter asked as he leaned against the doorframe of Irene’s bedroom. She turned to look at him and her face lit up. He was so handsome in his suit and the silver mask with features that complimented his attire made her grin even wider.

“Like my father,” she admitted. “Did you cut your hair?”

He nodded and ran his fingers through his hair.

“Yes,” he answered out loud. “I wanted to be cleaned up for tonight so I figured a haircut would be nice.”

“Well, you look very handsome, Walter. Judy is a lucky woman,” Irene told him thoughtfully.

He shrugged and glanced at the ground.

“I’m the lucky one,” he murmured. “I really like her. I think I’m going to ask her tonight to be my girlfriend.”

Irene frowned and thought about it for a moment.

“You don’t think it’s too soon?” She asked.

He frowned.

“I know it might seem like it’s too soon, but I truly feel as if she’s the right one for me,” he breathed.

“But she’s not your fated mate.”

He raised his brows.

“And Ethan isn’t yours. But you’re still marrying him. You know he’s the right one for you,” he reminded her.

She blushed at the reminder and then bit her lower lip.

“You’re right,” she admitted. “I just don’t want to see anyone get hurt.”

“I would never hurt her,” he told her. “If she doesn’t want to move to France with me, then I’ll see about moving here permanently. I can open my own business here and start new roots.”

Irene raised her brows.

“You’d do that for her?” She asked. “Even after a couple of dates?”

He blushed.

“I think I might be falling in love with her,” he admitted. “Those couple of dates were all I needed to know for sure. I guess tonight I’ll find out if the feeling is mutual and then we will go from there.”

Irene smiled thoughtfully at her cousin and then stepped closer to him to hug him.

“I’m so happy for you, Walter,” she breathed.

She stepped back and fixed his mask on his face.

“Are there more masks?” She asked.

He nodded.

“Yeah, one of the maids brought in a box of masks,” he answered.

She nodded and stepped around him to leave her room. She walked down the grand stairs and reached the front foyer where the box of masks was. Her father was staring down at them; he looked as handsome as ever and it was funny because the suit kind of resembled Walters. They truly did look alike; the family resemblance was quite obvious.

“Are you picking out a mask?” Irene asked him.

He looked up at her and then nodded.

“I’m not sure which one would go better with my suit,” he said thoughtfully, examining each mask carefully.

She frowned at the box and then saw one that looked exactly like the one Walter was wearing.

“Walter is wearing something similar, and he went with this silver one,” Irene said, lifting the mask up to Gavin’s face. “I think it looks great with the color mesh.”

Gavin looked at me for a brief moment before putting the mask over his eyes. He looked insanely like Walter and Irene had to blink a few times.

“Okay,” Gavin finally said, nodded. “This one will do.”

Irene nodded and grabbed a mask that matched her dress. Just then, Adam opened the front door and Ethan walked into the foyer. He had a smile on his face and a bouquet of flowers for Irene. She gushed over the flower and kissed him sweetly on the cheek while he told her how beautiful he looked.

Gavin took off the mask and slipped it into his front pocket as Walter came walking down the stairs.

“I had a driver pick up Judy and bring her here,” he explained. “Has she arrived yet?”

Adam peeked his head outside.

“It seems she just pulled up,” he announced.

Walter waited with bated breath for Judy to step into the house. After a few minutes, her incredibly beautiful form stood at the doorway. She had her hair half down and half but curled to perfection. Her dress was the most beautiful thing ever seen and it fit her form perfectly; it was made for her. She looked flawless and jaw-dropping.

She gave an awkward smile as she glanced around the foyer, everyone had their eyes on her. Ethan stood with his arm around Irene, but his eyes were fixed on Judy and his mouth was nearly on the ground. Walter’s eyes were lit up and excitement was clear on his face, making her blush.

But it wasn’t their eyes that caught her attention, it was Gavins. He stood at a distance away from her, his eyes never wavering as they took her in.

There was something in them she couldn’t quite tell though; his eyes were clouded dark with something that kind of resembled lust.