“You’re not worthy of loving Lucian, Avey,” Jimmy said, his voice hard as steel, each word cutting like a blade. His piercing gaze bore into her, unflinching and cold. “There’s not a single reason not one why Lucian should accept you back.”
Avey flinched at his words.
“I’ve told you all these stories,” Jimmy continued, his tone unwavering, “not because I thought you deserved to know. Maybe a small part of me wanted to remind you of what you lost. But the real reason?” He leaned forward slightly, his voice lowering. “The real reason was to see if you had anything any justification for the way you treated him. Any real reason for what you did.”
Jimmy shook his head, his expression filled with contempt. “And you’ve failed. Failed to give me even one good explanation.”
Avey’s head dipped lower. A creeping sense of dread began to take hold, growing stronger with each passing moment.
“Let me make it simple for you,” Jimmy said sharply, his eyes narrowing. “Lucian is a sensitive guy. He always has been. And do you know what he hates the most? Disrespect. Someone dismissing his feelings. Someone taking his efforts, his emotions, and throwing them back in his face like they mean nothing.”
His voice grew colder, the anger simmering just beneath the surface. “And that’s exactly what you did. You didn’t just hurt him. You humiliated him. You made a joke out of the purest feelings he ever had for someone. Do you think someone like you deserves him after that?”
Avey just closed her eyes.
Jimmy exhaled sharply, leaning back in his chair, though his glare didn’t soften. “So, you came here thinking I’d help you, huh?” he said bitterly. “You thought I’d give you advice? Tell you how to make things right? Maybe even cheer you on?” He let out a harsh laugh, shaking his head in disbelief.
“Let me make this very clear,” Jimmy said, his voice dropping. “After hearing you talk, after watching you fail to give even one reasonable answer for the way you acted, here’s my answer: stay away from Lucian.”
Avey didn’t responded just staying silent.
Jimmy leaned forward, his tone lowering but becoming even more dangerous. “And don’t think of this as advice. Take it as a warning,” he said, his voice like ice. “If I ever see my boy getting hurt because of you again if I see so much as a flicker of sadness in his eyes because of something you did you’ll regret it. I don’t care if he hates me for it. I don’t care if it costs me his friendship. I’d rather have him hate me than see him broken by you again.”
Avey felt the sharp sting of his words in her chest. She tried to speak, her voice trembling as she finally said, “I… I will never hurt Lucian again, Jimmy. I know I made terrible mistakes. I know I’ve hurt him in ways I can’t take back. But I came here because I want to make things right. I want to give him back the love he gave me. A hundred no, a thousand times more.”
Jimmy’s laugh was sharp and scornful, his eyes narrowing as he leaned back in his chair. “A thousand times more?” he repeated mockingly. “Do you even hear yourself? You couldn’t give him even a fraction of what he gave you. You came crying here after one rejection from him. One. Do you have any idea how many times Lucian cried for you? How many nights he sat awake, wondering why he wasn’t good enough for you?”
Avey shoulders trembeled.
Jimmy’s voice grew colder still. “Lucian isn’t strong enough to take the kind of damage you’ve already done to him, Avey. And you? You’re not strong enough to protect him from it.”
Avey’s whispered, “If I ever hurt him again… I’ll kill myself before I let him suffer because of me you know.”
The room fell silent, the weight of her words hanging heavy in the air.
Jimmy’s eyes flickered with surprise crossing his face before his expression hardened again.
Avey’s lips curved into a faint, bitter smile. “Lucian only has you, Jimmy,” she said softly, her voice resolute. “If I ever fail him again, you’ll be the one to pick up the pieces. And I won’t let him go through that. I won’t let him suffer because of me.”
Jimmy stared at her silent.
Finally, he leaned back with a frustrated sigh, his tone cold. “Don’t think saying this changes anything,” he said firmly. “Take my words as a warning, a threat, or whatever you want. But hear me loud and clear: if Lucian gets hurt because of you again, you won’t live to see another day. And don’t think your family or anyone else will protect you. They won’t.” Discover stories at empire
Cassandra, who had been sitting quietly, gasped softly, her eyes darting to Jimmy. “Jimmy, stop”
Jimmy’s sharp glare silenced her instantly. “Voice down,” he said coldly.
Avey placed a hand on Cassandra’s arm, shaking her head slightly. “It’s okay,” she said softly, her voice calm. She turned back to Jimmy, her expression unreadable. “I understand. And I accept it. But I won’t hurt him again. Not ever.”
“I’ll say this,” Jimmy said suddenly, his voice cutting through the heavy silence that had settled over the table. His tone was sharp, his gaze unwavering as he looked directly at Avey. “When someone puts you above everything else above even their own self-respect the least you could do is acknowledge their feelings. Understand them. Instead, you treated him like a fool. Like you were superior to him somehow.”
world doesn’t resolve around you…so stay on land Dont…
Avey winced at his words, her head lowering further.
Jimmy shook his head, letting out a bitter laugh. “What a waste,” he muttered, almost to himself. ” don’t act selfish now. Don’t ruin what little he has left by trying to worm your way back into his life. Just leave him alone.”
The finality of his words hung in the air, cutting deeper than anything else he had said. Jimmy stood up abruptly, pushing his chair back with enough force to make it scrape loudly against the floor.
“Let’s go, Garry,” Jimmy said, his voice laced with frustration. “This was a waste of time. What a mood killer.”
Garry hesitated for a moment, glancing at Avey, who was still sitting motionless. But Jimmy was already walking away, his shoulders tense and his steps firm, so Garry sighed and got up, following after him without a word.
Avey didn’t move. She sat frozen, her hands clasped tightly in her lap as she stared blankly at the table. Jimmy’s words replayed in her mind like a cruel echo, each one hitting harder than the last.
She thought back to everything Jimmy had told her in the past hour, every painful truth he had thrown at her. She hadn’t realized just how blind she had been until now. It wasn’t Lucian’s fault not even a little.
The problem was me, she thought bitterly, her chest tightening as the realization sank in. It was always me.
And the worst part? There hadn’t been any reason for it. She had hurt him, over and over again, for no reason at all.
Avey’s shoulders slumped, and she let out a shaky breath, tears slipping silently down her cheeks. The weight of her mistakes no matter how many times she thinks again and again its always heavy as sighh.
Cassandra, who had been sitting quietly beside her, reached out and wrapped her arms around Avey in a gentle hug. “It’s alright,” Cassandra murmured softly, her voice soothing. “Don’t worry too much, okay? its alright.”
But Avey didn’t respond. She stayed silent, her body tense as she stared blankly ahead, lost in the storm of emotions swirling inside her.
How did I let it get this bad? she thought, her heart aching. How do I fix something I destroyed so completely?
The faint sound of Jimmy and Garry’s footsteps faded as they walked away, leaving behind a silence that felt heavier than ever.
—