Chapter 0042
Judy’s POV
“Irene,” I greeted, thankful that I sounded stronger than I felt. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”
“Oh, I was just picking up a few things for my wedding,” she said, holding up a shopping bag. Her gaze shifted to Nan. “And who’s this?”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. The last thing I wanted was for Irene to take an interest in Nan and try to steal her away too. I knew it wasn’t fair to blame Ethan leaving me on her—she was just as much a victim as I was, if not more. But I couldn’t help myself. Every time I looked at Irene, I thought about how my mate had left me for her.
I grimaced at the very thought of Ethan touching her the way he used to touch me. We had been so in love. He was my fated mate. We were supposed to be together forever. It had been written in the stars—the Goddess herself had paired us.
But either the Goddess had made a grave mistake… or Ethan had taken a wrong turn.
My chest ached, despite my insistence that I was over him.
Does anyone ever truly get over their mate?
“This is my best friend, Nan,” I said, motioning toward her. Nan already knew who Irene was—I didn’t have to explain.
Irene held out her hand for Nan to shake, but Nan just stared at it, her perfectly glossed lips curling into a slight frown. I nudged her arm discreetly, silently urging her to snap out of it. Irene couldn’t know something was wrong.
Nan hesitated before finally lifting her hand and placing it in Irene’s.
“It’s nice to meet you,” she said, forcing a smile.
“Hello, Nan,” Irene said cheerfully, oblivious to the tension. “I’m Irene Landry—Gavin Landry’s daughter and Ethan Cash’s fiancée. It’s so very nice to meet you.”
I saw Nan struggle to keep her composure, but she managed.
“And it’s an honor, Miss Landry,” she replied, her tone a little sharper than before.
Irene didn’t seem to notice the bite in her words. “What are you girls up to?” she asked, glancing between us.
I looked at Nan, who simply shrugged.
“Just shopping,” I answered.
“It’s kind of a girls’ day,” Nan added.
Something flickered in Irene’s eyes, something I couldn’t quite place.
“Oh,” she said thoughtfully. “I’ve never had a girls’ day before. I guess I never really had friends to do that kind of thing with.”
I raised my brows. Irene Landry? No friends? That was hard to believe.
“You’ve never had friends?” Nan asked, mirroring my thoughts.
Irene shrugged, looking troubled. “Not real ones,” she admitted. “I guess people are just… intimidated by me or something. It’s no big deal.”
She bit her lip and stared at the ground.
I glanced at Nan again. It was obvious—Irene wanted an invitation to join us. And judging by the slight shake of Nan’s head, she knew it too.
I grabbed Nan’s arm and turned to Irene.
“Well, it was nice seeing you again, Irene. We should be going now,” I said, pulling Nan alongside me.
“Oh,” Irene said, sounding disappointed. “Okay, I guess I’ll see you later.”
I nodded, waving over my shoulder as I continued dragging Nan down the street. Even as we walked away, I could feel Irene’s eyes burning into my back.
“She’s certainly an interesting character,” Nan murmured as we entered the boutique.
“Certainly,” I agreed.
We spent the evening shopping for Nan’s outfit and picking out a birthday gift for Talia. Nan settled on a gorgeous ruby bracelet with a heart charm, even getting Talia’s name engraved on it.
After shopping, we grabbed dinner at a restaurant before heading home.
“Thanks for going out with me today,” Nan said as she dropped me off.
I smiled. “You don’t have to thank me. I love hanging out with you.”
She grinned. We hugged before I got out of the car and headed back into my dark, quiet house.
It had been too quiet since my father was taken. My mother had barely left her room in days. I had checked on her this morning, but she hadn’t wanted to talk.
If she didn’t come out tomorrow, I’d have to call her doctor for a home visit. She couldn’t keep going on like this. She was wasting away right before my eyes…
And I was terrified for her.
