Chapter 126
“And later… well, you know the rest, right?” Jimmy said, his voice low as he looked across the table at Avey.
“Yes,” Avey murmured, barely nodding. Her voice was weak, devoid of strength. She had known Lucian loved her knew it was deep and unwavering but she had never realized just how much. Hearing Jimmy’s words made her heart ache, and the weight of her past actions felt heavier than ever.
Even if Jimmy hadn’t told her all this, it wouldn’t have changed her determination. She would go after Lucian, no matter what. She loved him and was certain she’d win him back. I’m getting Lucian back for sure, she thought to herself, clinging to that conviction.
But still… hearing all of this, understanding the magnitude of Lucian’s feelings and the depths of his pain, brought clarity. It made her see just how much she truly mattered to him. He loved me that much… and I threw it all away, Avey thought, her chest tightening as guilt swirled inside her.
Jimmy, watching her carefully, leaned forward slightly. “Oh, yeah,” he said suddenly, his tone casual but laced with something sharper. “I almost forgot to tell you something.”
Avey glanced up at him, confused.
“This morning,” Jimmy began, his voice steady, “Lucian and I were talking. We were just catching up, you know? And then, out of nowhere, this… really beautiful girl showed up.”
Avey’s breath caught, her chest tightening.
Jimmy continued, his expression unreadable. “And judging by the way Lucian reacted when he saw her… I’m pretty damn sure there’s something between them.” He paused, then added with a hint of challenge in his tone, “Maybe you should give him a little break. Let him have some happiness for once.”
“Jimmy didn’t really know why, but he felt a strong urge to make Avey realize the magnitude of what she was about to lose. He wanted her to understand that this was something big, something she had lost for ever.”
Avey, who had been sitting slumped and defeated, suddenly shot upright. Her head snapped up, and her eyes widened in alarm. “huhh whatt?” she exclaimed, her voice louder than she intended.
Jimmy leaned back, smirking slightly as if satisfied with her reaction. “Oh, yeah,” he repeated, his tone calm but deliberate. “That girl. She walked right up to him, and the look on Lucian’s face? Shocked. Like he wasn’t expecting her. But there was definitely something there.”
From the side, Garry nodded, his grin adding to the tension in the room. “Yeah, it was pretty obvious. He seemed… different when he saw her,” Garry chimed in, though even he didn’t know much about the girl.
Jimmy glanced at Avey, watching her carefully as he added, “I mean, I don’t know all the details, but from the way she acted like she knew him really well and the way he looked at her? Yeah, there’s definitely something.”
Avey clenched her hands in her lap, forcing herself to take a deep breath. She couldn’t let her panic show. “Oh, well,” she said, her voice carefully calm. “It must be his friend. That’s all it is. Lucian doesn’t hide things from me, so it can’t be anything important.”
But as much as she tried to stay composed, a flicker of doubt gnawed at her. Who is this girl? she thought, a faint unease creeping into her mind.
Jimmy raised an eyebrow, his smirk growing colder. “You’re really that confident, huh?” he said, his tone challenging. “Funny, because she didn’t act like just a friend. And Lucian? He wasn’t acting like he was seeing just anyone. You sure you don’t feel a little… threatened?”
Avey’s heart raced, but she refused to let it show. “Why would I feel threatened?” she replied, her voice steady. “I know Lucian better than anyone. He doesn’t have feelings for anyone else. He can’t.”
Jimmy chuckled darkly, shaking his head. “You think you know him that well? Really?”
“Jimmy knew he was lying, that he was playing on Avey’s emotions, but he didn’t care. He wanted her to feel the pain, the same way Lucian had felt. He wanted Avey to understand what it was like to be left behind, to suffer. Deep down, there was a part of him that almost hoped the girl from that morning would end up with Lucian, just so Avey could see how it felt to lose him. She needed to feel the same heartbreak Lucian had gone through.”
Avey nodded firmly, her confidence unwavering. “Yes. Lucian would never”
Jimmy cut her off with a sharp laugh. “Never? You’re that sure, huh? That’s rich, coming from someone who used to parade Victor around like he didn’t matter. You knew how much Lucian loved you, and you still brought that guy into the picture.”
Avey froze, guilt washing over her in waves.
“You knew,” Jimmy continued, his voice rising with anger. “You knew how much Lucian loved you, and you didn’t care. You played with his feelings, Avey. You used Victor to hurt him, to push him away. And now you’re sitting here acting like you’ve got some claim on him? Like he’ll never love anyone else?”
“No, no, it wasn’t like that!” Avey protested, her voice trembling. “Victor didn’t mean anything to me! I… I only used him to try to make Lucian give up on me. I thought if he saw me with someone else, he’d stop loving me and move on.”
Jimmy scoffed, shaking his head in disbelief. “Move on? You thought that would help him move on?do you even hear yourself? You should have at least thought about Lucian’s feelings first, not just straight that he will give up ever thought he might be hurt,”
Avey’s voice cracked as she tried to respond. “I didn’t mean to hurt him i don’t know why i did that…”
“But you did,” Jimmy snapped, his voice cold. “You torturd him, Over and over again.
“Don’t you feel even a little shame?” Jimmy asked, his voice sharp and biting, his eyes boring into Avey. “Knowing all of this everything Lucian will definitely get hurt and did and the only answer you have is, ‘I don’t know’? Again and again, that’s all you’ve got to say?”
His tone grew harsher, his frustration boiling over. “I don’t know? Really? How can someone be this shameless?”
Jimmy shook his head, his expression one of disbelief and disgust. “Do you have any idea how pathetic that sounds? How disgusting it is to hear you repeat the same excuse over and over? You hurt him, Avey. Over and over again. And all you can say is, ‘I don’t know’?
—-