“Well,” Jimmy began, his voice dropping as he leaned forward slightly, “the good days were over for him. From that day on, it was… rough. Honestly, it was hard for me to handle his rollercoaster of emotions. I kept telling him, ‘Let’s move on.’ But he couldn’t. He just wouldn’t.”
Jimmy paused, his expression growing heavier. “You know, Avey, I had always thought of you as someone important. Not because of anything you did, but because Lucian cared so much about you. His feelings for you made me see you in a good light. But after everything that happened after hearing so many things about how cold you were it… it saddened me. It even made me angry.”
He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck as if trying to release the tension building there. “But Lucian… Lucian was Lucian. Even after your cold rejection, after you acted like he didn’t matter, he never not once complained about you. Never said a single bad thing about you.”
Jimmy’s gaze turned to Avey, his eyes sharp but his voice softer, almost reluctant. “He’d sit there, all broken and hollow, and still he’d make excuses for you. ‘She definitely had a reason,’ he’d say. ‘She would never act like that toward me without a good reason. Maybe she was in a bad mood. Maybe she misunderstood something.'”
Jimmy scoffed, shaking his head. “His voice… it was so damn depressing. He never stopped trying to justify your actions, like his feelings didn’t matter. Like the pain he was going through wasn’t important. He just couldn’t accept that you might have rejected him for no reason at all.”
He leaned back, exhaling deeply as his eyes remained fixed on Avey. “Anyways, I told him to move on. Over and over, I told him, ‘She doesn’t deserve you. Let it go.’ But he wouldn’t listen. And honestly? I didn’t like you after that, Avey. I didn’t like the way you treated him, the way you hurt him. Even if he said it didn’t matter, even if he forgave you… I didn’t. I couldn’t.”
Jimmy’s jaw tightened, and his next words came out sharper. “From that day on, I started seeing you differently. Even though Lucian loved you and even though I was ready to welcome you as a sister-in-law I couldn’t see you in the same way anymore. I didn’t like you then, and I don’t like you now.”
He paused, his gaze unwavering as he looked directly into her eyes. “I hate you,” he said plainly, not bothering to soften the blow. “I’ll say it straight. I hate you.”
Avey flinched at his words, her chest tightening. She nodded faintly, her voice trembling as she replied, “I know. And… I’m sorry to disappoint you. I really have no idea why I did what I did. I don’t understand myself, either.”
Her lips curved into a sad, bitter smile. “But I can see how much Lucian cared for me… how much he must have talked about me to you, made plans for the future. Hearing you say ‘sister-in-law’ like it was a real possibility it’s… it’s good to hear, but it makes the pain worse.”
Her voice cracked slightly, and she lowered her gaze. “It’s reasonable for you to hate me. I don’t blame you for it.”
Jimmy stared at her for a moment longer before continuing, his voice calmer now but still carrying a weight of emotion.
“Lucian didn’t give up after that, though,” Jimmy said, shaking his head with a faint, bitter laugh. “He kept trying. Day after day, he tried again and again, no matter how much it hurt him.”
He leaned forward, his voice growing more intense. “You don’t know what his love for you was like. It was relentless. Blind. No matter how many times you rejected him, no matter how cold you were, he kept coming back. Rain or shine, whether he was sick, in pain, or drowning in responsibilities, he would still try. Every single day, he’d be ready to put his heart on the line for you.”
Jimmy’s voice trembled slightly, a mix of anger and sadness seeping into his words. “He was stupid,dumb,Crazy and mentally ill in love with you. Blind to everything else. He didn’t see the damage it was doing to him, didn’t see how much he was breaking himself for someone who didn’t care.”
He exhaled heavily, running a hand through his hair. “And it wasn’t just once or twice. It was constant. He didn’t stop. He couldn’t stop. He didn’t care how many times you turned him down or how much it hurt. He kept hoping. Kept believing that one day, maybe you’d feel the same way about him.”
Jimmy leaned back, his expression dark and tired. “And that’s what made it so hard for me to watch. Because no matter how much I hated you for hurting him, I couldn’t stop him from loving you. He didn’t see what I saw. He didn’t feel the anger I felt. All he saw was you.”
Avey sat silently, her hands trembling in her lap. Jimmy’s words hit her like blows, each one sharper than the last. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.
“He was so full of love… and so stupid,” Jimmy said, his tone lightening slightly as he let out a soft chuckle. “You know, if you’d told him to stand under the blazing sun and not move an inch, he would’ve done it. Without hesitation.”
Jimmy shook his head, a faint smile tugging at his lips as he thought about Lucian’s innocence and blind devotion. “And the craziest part? He wouldn’t have moved, no matter how much he was sweating, no matter how much it hurt. That’s just who he was. Blindly loyal. Always trying to make everyone else happy, no matter the cost to himself.”
Jimmy’s smile faded, his expression hardening as his gaze shifted to Avey. His eyes narrowed slightly, his tone growing sharper. “Sadly, some people actually tested that out.”
At those words, Avey’s head dropped, shame washing over her like a tidal wave. Her hands clenched in her lap as memories she’d tried to suppress came rushing back.
Jimmy watched her closely, his voice dripping with disappointment. “Yeah, you know what I’m talking about, don’t you?”
Avey tried to smile, tried to play it off like it wasn’t as bad as it sounded, but the attempt fell flat. Her lips trembled, and the faint, forced smile disappeared almost immediately.
“I really don’t know why I did it,” she stammered, her voice cracking. “I… I don’t know what I was thinking. I”
“Don’t bother,” Jimmy cut her off, his voice cold and final. He leaned back, crossing his arms as he looked at her with disdain. “You’re just making excuses. Don’t even waste your breath.”
Avey flinched at his words, her mouth opening and closing as if she wanted to say something but didn’t know how to defend herself. She felt the weight of his anger, his judgment, and she knew he was right. There was no justification for the way she had treated Lucian, no way to explain it that wouldn’t sound like an excuse.
—–
Sigh, guys, I’d like to sincerely apologize for the mistake I made. I honestly didn’t know better since I’m a beginner author. I didn’t understand how to set privileges properly, and I made a big mistake.
Please, don’t buy the second level it’s too expensive and not worth it. I can’t change it now since I can only adjust it once a month, and it’s locked. Instead, I’m putting the third level up for five chapters at a more reasonable price.
I really didn’t mean to mess things up, and I’m sorry if I caused any frustration. To those who’ve already bought the second level, I’m really sorry for the confusion. I’m writing this late at night so I can let you all know and save you from a big loss. Please buy level three instead.
Thanks for reading, and again, I apologize. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.
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