Chapter 871 Nipping It In The Bud

Chapter 871 Nipping It In The Bud

The rhythmic dripping of the shower was the only sound that disturbed the quiet of the apartment. Tom emerged from the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist, and padded towards the bedroom.

He expected to find Lucy still busy with her phone call or scrolling through her phone. Instead, she was fast asleep, still fully dressed and her phone was vibrating faintly beside her.

A smile tugged at Tom's lips. Exhaustion had finally won her over, he thought as he leaned down, brushing a stray strand of hair off her face, a pang of protectiveness washing over him.

A muffled groan escaped Lucy's lips, but she didn't stir. Tom chuckled as he picked up her phone, intending to silence the notification before it woke her but when he glanced at the screen, and he saw the caller ID: Tyler, he decided to receive the call.

He quietly walked out of the bedroom as he answered the call, "Calling another man's girlfriend, are we?" he teased in a hushed voice, since he was aware that Lucas had a phone now so it couldn't be Lucas calling with Tyler's phone as usual.

A laugh crackled through the receiver. "Hey Tom, no need to get possessive. I've already given up. You can have her all to yourself. And just so you know, it's you I wanted to talk to," he said and Tom raised an eyebrow.

"Shoot," Tom said, leaning against the couch.

Tyler cleared his throat. "It's about Henry Rosewood. He invited me to dinner tomorrow night."

Tom's brow furrowed. Dinner with Henry? An unwelcome prickle of suspicion ran down his spine. "Dinner?"

"Yeah," Tyler confirmed. "Apparently, it's a thank you for helping him find his wife. I wasn't sure if I should go or not."

Tom fell silent, his mind racing as he considered this for a moment. "If you didn't know the truth about why she was in Ludus would you go for dinner with him?" Tom asked curiously.

"Of course. Henry Rosewood is an influential man and..."

"Then I think you should," Tom cut in.

"Are you sure? Besides, I don't think Mia would be happy to see me..."

"That is more reason you have to go. Act like you do not know a thing. Apart from the fact that Henry doesn't take rejection too well, I believe he has another motive for inviting you over so it might be good to keep an eye on things. Don't give Henry any reason to suspect you know anything. He might be trying to see how much you know, to make sure you don't breathe a word about Mia being okay and not suffering from amnesia."

"Yeah, I figured," Tyler sighed. "Just wanted to see what you thought. I just... don't trust the guy now that I know stuff," Tyler said and Tom nodded.

"Good thinking," Tom agreed. "Keep me posted on how it goes."

"I understand," Tyler said, his voice serious. "I'll be careful, Tom. I'll keep my eyes peeled and try to get a feel for the situation. I'll definitely get back to you after and let you know how it goes, how Mia seems to be doing." Tyler promised.

The gentle rise and fall of Lucy's breath a calming lullaby as he drifted off to sleep.

Away from there, steam billowed from the bathroom door as Lucas emerged, a towel wrapped around his damp hair.

He glanced at his phone on the nightstand, a silent reminder of the email he was yet to respond to. With a resigned sigh, he sat on the edge of the mattress and picked up the phone.

He unlocked the phone and tapped on the message. As he reread Amy's message this time, the image of her playful smile flashed in his mind at the playful jab about dreaming of him, and a ghost of a smile played on his lips.

A part of him, a curious, reckless part, wanted to delve into that, to tease her back, to see where that playful banter might lead.

But another, more cautious voice held him back. He didn't need complications right now. He barely knew Amy, and the distance between Ludus and Husla felt like a vast ocean separating them.

He began to type a response, his fingers hovering over the keys. [I had a good day. I'm going to bed now. Have a nice day...] he hesitated as he read the text.

It sounded curt. More like a brush off, he reasoned with a grimace, deleting the text with a frustrated swipe.

He sighed as he thought of the best way to respond without sounding so curt. [Hi! I had a good day. I was on my way to bed when your message came in. I hope you're good. Have a nice day.] he read it, and decided this sounded better.

He deliberately chose not to comment on the part about him being the first person she was reaching out to in the morning or the possibility of her dreaming of him.

Mentioning the dream felt like venturing onto a dangerous path, a path that could lead to confusing emotions and tangled desires. He didn't want to go there. He didn't want to be curious about what she had dreamt of. He didn't want to analyze what she might have dreamt of, or worse, let himself fantasize about it.

He knew how easy it was for that line of conversation to become flirty. He wasn't going to let himself fall into that trap by delving into a territory that could easily become flirty. It was best to nip it in the bud by not even responding to it.

Satisfied with the message he had composed, he hit send. Then, with a finality that surprised him, he switched his phone to airplane mode. No notifications, no distractions. He wouldn't be tempted to check for a reply, wouldn't be drawn into a late-night conversation. He could deal with that in the morning.

He settled deeper into the bed, the silence of the room broken only by the soft hum of the air conditioner. Despite his efforts to quell the curiosity, a flicker of it remained, a tiny ember refusing to be extinguished.

His thoughts drifted to what Tyler had said about him having a strained expression whenever it involved Amy and he shook his head.

This was a dangerous path, a tempting invitation to a world of what-ifs and maybes.

He wasn't going to think about that. He didn't care what Tyler, or Lucy or even Amy thought.

Before he could switch off the light in the bedroom so he could go to sleep, Tyler knocked on the door and peeked in, "I've spoken with Tom. I will be going to there tomorrow. So, I might leave for dinner from work," Tyler informed him.

"Alright. Good night," Lucas called back before Tyler left.

As soon as Lucas switched off the light, sleep, like a heavy blanket descended upon him, pushing thoughts of Amy and her dreams to the back of his mind as he slept off.