“And, well…” Jimmy began, his voice softening as he leaned back in his chair. “Days went by with him endlessly talking about you. Every time we met, it was the same thing your name, your smile, your laugh. He was completely consumed by you.”
He paused, glancing at Avey, whose lips curled into a small smile as she listened. Jimmy noticed how she seemed lost in thought, probably imagining Lucian’s innocent, boyish face lighting up as he talked about her. For a moment, she looked genuinely touched, as if the idea of Lucian’s adoration brought her some bittersweet joy.
Jimmy’s gaze hardened slightly, though. He cleared his throat and continued, “And then, one day… he came to me, grinning like a fool, and said, ‘It’s decided.'”
“I was like, ‘What’s decided?'” Jimmy said, raising an eyebrow as he mimicked his younger self.
“And then, in that innocent, determined way of his, Lucian said, ‘I’ve found the perfect sister-in-law for you.'”
Jimmy glanced at Avey, his own smile faltering slightly, replaced with an expression of restrained anger. “Yeah,” Jimmy said, his voice heavy. “He said it was you.”
Avey blinked, her heart skipping a beat at those words. Her mind reeled, trying to process the weight of what Jimmy was saying. Sister-in-law. Wife. Those words felt heavy, almost suffocating. And yet, if someone asked her now, she’d agree happily, without hesitation.
Jimmy sighed deeply, shaking his head as he looked back at her. “But you ruined all of it,” he muttered, his tone sharp. Then, as if catching himself, he shook his head again and exhaled slowly, continuing his story.
“After that, he went all in,” Jimmy said, his voice tinged with a mix of amusement and sadness. “He started talking about you even more if that was even possible. ‘Will she like me if I do this? What’s her favorite color? What does she like to eat? Does she like someone else? What if she doesn’t like me?’ Blah, blah, blah. It was endless.”
Jimmy rolled his eyes for effect, but there was a faint smile tugging at his lips. “Man, Lucian would go on and on about you. My ears would get tired just listening to him. But you know what? I was happy for him. Genuinely happy. Because, for the first time in a long while, he seemed… alive again. Like he’d found a reason to smile, a reason to dream.”
Jimmy chuckled softly, shaking his head at the memory. “You should’ve seen him, Avey. He was so damn cute and innocent back then, like a kid talking about his first crush. He was so excited, so full of hope. It was infectious.”
Avey’s heart ached as she listened. She could almost see Lucian’s younger self, full of joy and excitement, dreaming of a future he wanted to share with her.
“And, yeah,” Jimmy continued, his smile fading slightly, “he had all these plans. Big, grand plans. He’d say stuff like, ‘I’ll make her the happiest person in the world. I’ll repay her for everything. She’s too good for me, but I’ll make sure she knows how much I care.'”
Jimmy paused, his voice growing softer. “His whole world was about you, Avey. His thoughts, his dreams, his plans everything. It was all for you.”
He let out a faint chuckle, though his eyes glistened slightly. “Sometimes, he’d come out with the craziest ideas. Like, ‘When I get married, Jimmy, I’ll throw the biggest, grandest wedding anyone’s ever seen. Everyone in Wolly City will celebrate with me.'”
Jimmy’s voice grew lighter as he recounted Lucian’s dreams. “He used to say, ‘Jimmy, when I get married, I want you to handle everything. All the responsibilities. I don’t trust my parents to do it, and, well… I don’t have a father. So, will you act as my father for the wedding?'”
Jimmy’s voice faltered slightly, and he paused to take a deep breath.
“His plans were… ridiculous,” Jimmy said with a soft laugh, shaking his head. “He wanted to make sure every single person in the city rich or poor was happy during his wedding. He used to say, ‘I want DJ speakers in every corner of Wolly City. Music everywhere. Free food for everyone. I want the whole city to dance and celebrate for a full month before my wedding. Everyone should feel happy, loved, and joyful, just because it’s my wedding.'”
Jimmy leaned back, a genuine smile crossing his face despite the faint wetness in his eyes. “He was… so damn stupid. But in the best way. Who else would think of something like that? Who else would care that much about making everyone happy?”
He chuckled softly, his voice tinged with nostalgia. “Lucian wasn’t just dreaming about his wedding, Avey. He was dreaming about a life where everyone could be as happy as he wanted you to be. That’s the kind of person he was stupidly selfless, ridiculously kind, and endlessly optimistic about the people he cared about.”
Avey sat silently, listening intently as Jimmy spoke. She watched him closely, noticing the genuine smile on his face as he recounted Lucian’s dreams and plans. There was a warmth in his voice, a tenderness in his words, that made it clear how much he cherished those memories.
The way he talked about Lucian, the details he remembered, the fondness in his tone it all felt so genuine, so deeply personal. Avey couldn’t help but feel a smile creeping onto her face, unbidden but impossible to stop.
As Jimmy described Lucian’s innocent enthusiasm and the wild, over-the-top ideas he’d come up with, Avey’s mind filled with vivid images of Lucian as Jimmy had described him. She could almost see him, his bright eyes sparkling with excitement as he shared his grand plans for a city-wide celebration. A chuckle escaped her lips before she could stop it, the sheer absurdity of his ideas making her feel lighthearted for the first time in what felt like forever.
Lucian really was too cute, she thought, her heart fluttering as warmth spread through her chest. Butterflies danced in her stomach as she imagined the boy Jimmy was describing so full of life, so pure, so unreasonably optimistic.
For a brief moment, Avey forgot the weight of the situation she was in. The guilt, the regret, the pain all of it faded into the background as she got lost in the sweetness of Jimmy’s story.
Even Cassandra, who had been quietly listening from the side, couldn’t help but smile. There was something infectious about Jimmy’s warmth and the way he spoke about Lucian. His words carried so much love, so much nostalgia, that even Cassandra felt her heart soften. Find exclusive stories on empire
Jimmy glanced at Avey, catching her smile, and for a moment, his expression shifted. The warmth in his eyes dimmed ever so slightly, a flicker of something colder creeping in as if he remembered why they were having this conversation in the first place. But he didn’t say anything, instead continuing to share his memories of Lucian, the small smile on his face returning.
Avey’s own smile lingered as she listened, her mind still replaying the image of a younger, joyful Lucian. She clung to the feeling, to the lightness it brought her. It was a glimpse of the boy she had hurt, the boy she had taken for granted and the boy she wanted to make things right with, no matter what it took.
