Chapter 19
Chapter 19
He apologized, his voice sincere.
“Sorry, Avery, I thought you weren’t coming back.”
I glanced at the ashtray, now overflowing with cigarette butts, and walked over to him.
Bending down, I picked up a fallen cigarette butt from the carpet and asked, “Did you
think I’d leave? Go back to Franklin with
William?”
“Would you go?”
He met my gaze, his deep eyes betraying a flicker of unease.
With a determined smile, I sat on his lap, my
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slender arm curling around his neck.
As I closed the gap between us, his scent, pleasant, with an undertone of tobacco, washed over me.
But it didn’t bother me in the slightest.
“Lucas, do you regret getting engaged to me?”
He froze, his eyes widening in surprise before he quickly shook his head.
“How could I?”
“Then why,” I pressed, “when you saw William, did you suddenly want to pull away?”
I feigned dissatisfaction, my voice carrying an edge of challenge. “Am I just a prize to be traded, something to be pushed around in your world?”
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He stared at me, his gaze heavy with
conflicting emotions.
Silence settled between us as he seemed to
wait for me to continue.
I blushed under his piercing look, sensing his impending words, but instead, he leaned in and kissed me.
It was his way of answering, of showing me
what words could not.
After a brief, stunned pause, he pulled back, his eyes dark with emotion.
“Avery, do you know what you‘ re doing?”
“I do.”
I nodded; my voice was soft yet sure. “I just want you to know, I’m not someone who
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gets swept up in relationships, and I’m not someone every man wants.”
“I liked William before because he treated me
well because he wanted me. But when he
started treating someone else the same, I stopped wanting him.”
“Stopped wanting him?”
“Yes, stopped wanting him.”
I nodded again, my heart swelling with warmth as I looked into his eyes.
The affection in his gaze made me tighten my arms around his neck, pulling him closer, not wanting to break the bond between us.
“So, Lucas, remember to tell me when you stop loving me. I’m not someone who can’t
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move on…”
Before I could finish my sentence, his kiss swallowed my words, deep and urgent.
He pulled me close, pressing me into his
embrace.
My back, through the thin fabric of my clothes, could feel the heat of his palm, sending a shiver down my spine.
His kiss was both fiery and tender, a mixture of longing and care.
I felt like I was dissolving in his arms, losing myself to him.
He lowered his head, his fingers gently brushing aside the strands of hair near my
ear.
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His whisper, warm and intimate, sent a thrill
down my spine. “Avery, you will never have
that chance.”
I murmured a simple “Hmm,” and pulled him closer, my arms tightening around him as if to make sure he was real.
I heard that William, just to see me, had stayed in the hospital for two days on
purpose.
But I didn’t go to visit him once.
I heard that when he couldn’t find me at the hospital, he came to the company to search for me several times.
Each time, Lucas‘ s people sent him packing.
But he didn’t give up.
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He insisted on seeing me one last time before leaving.
In the end, his parents came to Riverdale, gave him a good beating, and dragged him back to Franklin.
William’s parents had never been on good terms with Grandpa Mark..
They thought they could use William‘ s marriage to me to win the old man‘ s favor.
But their plans were shattered when their son messed everything up.
Not only that, but their reckless son was causing trouble for his uncle and his wife in Riverdale.
If they kept pushing, the Spencer family
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would soon have no place for them.
I was jolted awake by the shrill ring of the phone in the morning.
As soon as I answered, my father‘ s furious voice blasted through the line.
“Avery, haven‘ t you always claimed that your mother built this company from the ground up? How could you bring yourself to destroy it?”
