Chapter 247

Judy’s POV

“Gavin, Hun, who is that?” The gorgeous-looking woman, clinging to Gavin’s arm, asked. She was impossibly close to him, and I stood in front of them feeling less than. My entire body was trembling, though I was keeping myself together in front of him. It was the first time I’d seen him since our date last week, and now I was seeing him hanging onto a woman… or rather, a woman hanging onto him.

As she spoke, I realized she was the same woman who answered his phone when I called earlier. My stomach turned into one giant knot as I stared between the two of them, not entirely sure what to say.

Gavin stood frozen as well, his eyes strained on my face. They were dark and filled with something I couldn’t quite figure out.

“She’s Matthew’s tutor,” his words cut through my thoughts and my heart at the same time.

It felt like a slap in the face; was that all I was to him? Matthew’s tutor? I thought we were beyond that, but now I’m thinking I was completely wrong.

I wasn’t expecting this woman’s face to light up with a bright smile as she squeezed Gavin, pressing herself even closer to him, her large breasts against his arm, and he made no attempt to step out of contact with her, which was a knife to my chest.

“Oh, you must be Judy Montague,” she cooed excitedly. “I’ve heard so much about you. I watched the competition, and I must say, you were incredible.”

I was surprised by this; my cheeks flushed at the compliment from this strange woman.

“Thank you,” I said, proud that my voice didn’t come out shaky as I thought it would.

“Plus, Matthew has been going on and on about you. It’s nice that you’ve had such an influence on him. I wish I could have been more a part of his life, but I’m hoping that’ll change soon.”

My heart squeezed painfully in my chest, and I found myself looking at Gavin, almost expectantly. His eyes were trained on my face, trying to gauge my reaction, but I was desperately trying not to give him one.

“You are a lot prettier in person, I must say,” the woman continued as she studied me. “Gavin, sweetie, you didn’t tell me she was so pretty.”

Sweetie?

Gavin’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t say anything. I swallowed the lump in my throat before finally pulling my eyes away from his and looking at the woman.

“I don’t think we’ve met,” I told her, forcing a smile.

“Oh, where are my manners?” she chuckled. “My name is Rachel… I’m an… old friend of Gavin's.”

Rachel?!

As in THE Rachel?

The Rachel that Irene had recently told me about? The one that Gavin was prepared to propose to before her untimely death? How was it possible that she was standing in front of me right now? I thought she was dead.

I looked at Gavin again and saw that he was now expressionless; it was driving me crazy that he wasn’t saying anything. I wanted him to tell me that it’s not what I think it is… that Rachel was nothing more than a friend and not the woman he wanted to marry. This was not his old flame.

“I’d love to get to know you more,” Rachel told me before she turned to Gavin. “We should invite her inside so I can talk to her some more.”

Gavin tensed at that suggestion, and I felt my cheeks burning. I turned to look at Chester, who was seated in the driver's seat of his car, listening with wide and curious eyes. He gave me a look, which I returned before looking back at Gavin and Rachel. They were far too close together for my liking, and it was making both me and my wolf incredibly uncomfortable as we stood in front of them.

“Please, Gavin,” Rachel pouted, batting her lashes. “It would mean the world to me to get to know Matthew’s tutor, and plus, I need some friends. I just moved back, and I have no one to talk to.”

I could tell Gavin was reluctant; his jaw was tight, but eventually, he nodded. I hated that he was listening to her, wanting to please her, and not go against her.

Who was this woman to him?

Were they just friends? Or were they more than friends? Had he replaced me that quickly, and didn’t even bother to call me and tell me himself.

She clapped her hands eagerly before she wrapped her hand around my wrist, pulling me along with her and towards the Villa. I turned to look at Chester, who was watching with even wider eyes. When he caught my gaze, he shrugged his shoulders.

He wasn’t much help right now; there was absolutely no getting out of this.

As we entered the thought front doors, I caught the curious eyes of Alex, who was standing near the doorway in his usual post. He raised his brows at me and then glanced at Gavin, who was trailing at a distance behind me. I swear I heard him chuckle, which admittedly aggravated me. For some reason, Alex wasn’t the biggest fan of me, and he even plotted against me with Irene at one point.

I scowled at him as I was pulled into the parlor. The entire parlor smelled like Rachel, and it made my stomach feel uneasy.

Rachel sat with me on the couch, and Gavin sat in one of the chairs a bit away from us. I tried hard not to look at him, but I could certainly feel his gaze trained on my face.

“So, tell me, Judy, what’s a girl like you doing working for a guy like Gavin Landry?” She teased, giving Gavin a playful wink that made me scowl, though I suppressed it on my face.

“I’m not sure what you mean?” I asked, my brows furrowed.

She giggled.

“I mean, surely there were better jobs than just being a tutor to an 8-year-old,” she told me, a hint of something in her eyes. “What made you decide to do tutoring?”

I wasn’t about to tell her my entire life story and the fact that the only reason why I started working as Matt’s tutor was to get the money, I needed to bail my dad out of jail by paying off his debt. I glanced at Gavin, who was no longer looking at me, but his eyes were on Rachel.

My heart squeezed at the sight of him watching her.

“I’m a college student,” I decided to tell her. “And I could use the money. Gav… uh… Alpha Landry offered me a job, and with the pay amount, I couldn’t exactly say no.”

She nodded thoughtfully.

“Well, it was nice of him to offer you a job,” Rachel said with a genuine smile. “Gavin had always been so selfless like that.”

She glanced at him, her eyes shining with something that made me want to vomit right in the middle of the parlor. Her words had a double meaning, that much was clear, and I wasn’t about to sit around deciphering them.

Before I could say anything, the parlor door opened, and Gamma Derek walked into the room. He looked surprised to see me seated on the couch and he bowed his head out of respect to me; he was always respectful like that, which I appreciated, though I told him it wasn’t necessary.

“Alpha, sorry to interrupt. But there’s an urgent matter that needs your attention,” he told Gavin. “It shouldn’t take long.”

Gavin looked a bit uneasy having to leave the room; he glanced at me briefly before turning to Rachel and addressing only her, which was another ping in my heart.

“I’ll be right back,” he told her softly.

She nodded, her cheeks flushing at his attention.

He stood and stepped out of the room, leaving me alone with Rachel. I didn’t want to stay here any longer; I got the answers I needed and plus, Chester was waiting for me in the car outside. I didn’t want to keep him waiting any longer.

“I should get going, but it was nice talking with you, Rachel,” I told her as I stood to my feet.

She stood up as well.

“Have you heard about me?” She asked suddenly, putting me on edge and high alert as I turned to face her.

“I’m sorry?”

“I mean… have you heard what happened?” She asked. “When I told you my name earlier, you looked surprised. I’m assuming it’s because you heard about me…”

I nibbled on my lower lip and then nodded once.

“Guess I was just surprised that you’re still alive,” I told her, the words tasting bitter on my tongue.

“It’s a complicated story,” she admitted. “But I’m back now and that’s all that matters.”

“Yeah, why are you back?” I blurted, hating how vulnerable my tone sounded.

“For Gavin, of course,” she told me. “We were really close once… so close that I was considering marrying him. I want us to get that relationship back… I want us to have a second chance.”