Chapter 42

**Chapter 42**
**Judy’s POV**

“Irene,” I said, feeling grateful that I sounded stronger than I actually felt. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

“Oh, I was just getting some things,” she replied with a smile.

“For my upcoming wedding,” she said, holding up her shopping bag. She looked at Nan and added, “And who’s this?”

I swallowed hard. The last thing I wanted was for Irene to be curious about…

I knew it wasn’t fair to blame Ethan for leaving me with Irene. After all, 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 felt a rush of frustration. It was hard to see her as anything but the person who had come between Ethan and me. Even though I understood that she was struggling too, my feelings often got in the way.

I often think about how my partner left me for someone else. Just the thought of him being close to her makes me cringe. I can’t help but picture him touching her the way he used to touch me.

At one time, we were deeply in love. He felt like my perfect match, and we were meant to be together. It’s hard to accept that everything has changed.

to be together forever. It was written in the stars; the Goddess paired us together.

But she made a serious mistake. Or maybe it was Ethan who took the wrong path. My heart ached, even after…

I thought I was over him. But does anyone really ever get over their ex?

“This is my best friend, Nan,” I said, pointing to her. Nan looked at Irene with a puzzled expression. She already knew everything about my situation with him.

Irene and I didn’t need to explain who she was.

Irene reached out her hand to shake Nan’s, but Nan just stared at it for a moment, a frown crossing her perfectly glossed lips. I gently nudged Nan on the arm to get her attention.

Irene was in a daze, unaware that something was wrong. Nan, feeling unsure, slowly lifted her hand and placed it into Irene’s.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Nan said, forcing a smile.

“Hello, Nan,” Irene responded warmly.

“I’m Irene Landry,” she said cheerfully, completely unaware that anything was wrong or strange. “I’m Gavin Landry’s daughter and Ethan Cash’s fiancé. It’s so nice to meet you!”

I noticed Nan trying hard to stay calm. She was struggling a bit, but she was holding it together.

She dipped her head in respect.

“And it’s an honor, Miss Landry,” she said, her words carrying a hint of sharpness.

“What are you girls up to?” Miss Landry asked, looking at both of us.

I glanced at Nan, who gave me a small nod.

I shrugged before looking back at Irene.

“We were just shopping,” I said.

“It’s kind of a girl’s day,” Nan added.

I noticed something in Irene’s eyes that I couldn’t quite understand.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, concerned.

“Oh, I see,” she said thoughtfully. “I’ve never had a girl’s day before. I guess I never really had friends to do that kind of thing with.”

I raised my eyebrows, surprised. It was hard to believe that she had never experienced something so fun and simple.

Irene Landry had never really had friends.

“Wait, you’ve never had friends?” Nan asked, surprised. She seemed to echo my own thoughts.

Trene shrugged casually, but I could see a hint of trouble in her eyes.

“Not real ones,” she admitted. “I guess I’ve always been more of a loner.”

“People are probably just intimidated by me or something. It’s no big deal,” she said.

—

**Chapter 42**

She bit her lip and looked down at the ground. I glanced at Nan again. I could tell that Irene wanted to be invited to our shopping spree.

I could tell that Nan was thinking the same thing as me because she gave me a small head shake when I looked into her eyes.

I grabbed Nan’s arm and turned back to Irene.

“Well, it was nice seeing you again, Irene.”

“We should be going now,” I said, pulling Nan along beside me.

“Oh,” Irene replied, sounding a bit disappointed. “Okay, I guess I’ll see you later.”

I nodded and waved over my shoulder as I kept moving, still dragging Nan with me.

Nan and I walked down the street. I could feel Irene’s gaze burning into the back of my head, but I tried to ignore it.

“She’s certainly an interesting character,” Nan said softly as we stepped into the boutique.

“Definitely,” I agreed.

We spent some time browsing through the clothes and chatting about what we liked.

In the evening, we went shopping for Nan and to find a birthday present for Talia. Nan chose a beautiful ruby bracelet that had a heart charm. She even had Talia’s name engraved on the charm.

After shopping, we headed to a restaurant for dinner.

“Thanks for going out with me today,” Nan said as she dropped me off at the house.

I smiled at her.

“You don’t have to thank me,” I replied. “I love hanging out with you.”

She smiled at me, and we shared a hug before I left her car. I returned to my dark and quiet house. Since my father passed away, the silence has been especially heavy. My mother has hardly left her room in the last few days. I went to check on her.

This morning, she didn’t seem interested in talking. If I can’t get her out of her room tomorrow, I might have to call her doctor for a home visit. She couldn’t keep going on like this; it wasn’t good for her.

She was fading away right in front of me, and I was really worried about her.