Wickedly Yours

Part 87

The morning light streamed through the tall windows of the apartment, casting a soft glow over the room as you and Lucius sat down for breakfast. The scent of freshly brewed coffee filled the air, mingling with the warmth of toast and eggs that Lucius had prepared, as you both tried to settle into some semblance of normalcy. Despite the calm on the surface, the weight of everything—Volmer, the inquiry, the tangled web of your past—still loomed overhead.

As you reached for your cup of coffee, your spellphone buzzed gently on the table, a reminder of the world outside that you'd chosen to ignore since the night before. You hadn't looked at it once, not wanting to be dragged into the chaos that awaited you. But now, curiosity won over, and with a sigh, you picked it up and began scrolling through the messages.

The first thing you noticed was a string of texts from Thorne Avery, the familiar name causing a twinge of irritation to flare in your chest. Your thumb hovered over his name for a moment, unsure whether to open the messages, but curiosity got the better of you.

Thorne Avery: "Look, Bea, I didn't want it to get this far. It wasn't supposed to go down like this. I know I crossed a line, but this isn't me pushing for the inquiry—it's my parents. They're making a huge deal out of everything."

You exhaled slowly, feeling a knot form in your stomach as you continued reading. His tone had shifted, almost pleading now, a far cry from the arrogance you had come to expect from him.

Thorne Avery: "They don't care about what happened—they just want to save face, and I can't stop them from going to the Ministry. I've been trying to tell them to drop it, but they won't listen. I never wanted to hurt you. You know that. This whole thing has blown up out of my control, and I don't know what to do."

You frowned, feeling the mix of desperation in his words. Thorne was never the type to show this much vulnerability, but it was clear he was being pushed by forces outside of his control. His texts continued to flood in, each one a little more frantic than the last.

Thorne Avery: "Please, Bea. I'm trying to fix it. I didn't mean for it to get this far. I swear I'll talk to them again, I'll try to stop this. It's my parents—if it were up to me, I'd drop it, okay? I don't want this to hurt you. You know me. You know I'm not like them. I never wanted it to go this way. I'll make it right."

As you read through the texts, the tension in your chest only grew. The desperation in his messages was palpable, and it was clear that he was trapped between his own desires and the pressure from his family. You set the phone down on the table, your mind spinning with the implications of what he had said. He was trying to smooth things over, but it didn't change the fact that this situation had spiraled out of control, and now, both of you were caught in the middle of something much bigger.

Lucius, who had been quietly watching you, set down his coffee cup and reached across the table, his hand brushing yours gently. "What is it?" he asked, his voice steady but laced with concern. He had noticed the change in your expression the moment you started reading.

You glanced up at him, feeling the weight of Thorne's words pressing down on you. "It's Thorne," you said softly, your voice tinged with frustration. "He's saying it wasn't his idea to push for the inquiry—that it's his parents pulling the strings."

Lucius's expression darkened slightly, his gaze sharp. "I'm not surprised," he said quietly, leaning back in his chair as he processed the information. "The Averys have a long history of protecting their reputation at any cost. If they think this inquiry will clear their son's name, they'll do whatever it takes to push it through."

You nodded, your fingers nervously tracing the edge of your coffee cup. "He sounds desperate," you admitted. "He's saying he didn't mean for it to go this far, that he's trying to get his parents to back off."