Chapter 21
Jace chose a different approach, which was even more suffocating.
He stopped sending lavish gifts and started acting like the devoted one.
Every day, he showed up at Avery’s office entrance or outside her apartment with a lunch that he claimed he’d cooked himself.
He didn’t shout anymore. He just stood there, looking at her as if she were the one who had wronged him.
One evening, after she had ignored him completely, he drove his fist into a concrete wall. Blood burst across his knuckles.
He walked to her car window with his hand still dripping and rasped, “Avery, will you look at me if I’m like this? Just once…'”
Sitting in the car, Avery felt a wave of nausea rise as she watched Jace’s frantic display. She immediately locked the car doors and called the police.
To her, his so-called devotion was even worse than his old swagger. It felt like emotional blackmail and psychological torment.
Their parents had finally had enough. Julian and Jace had turned against each other over a disgraced woman. Julian kept letting personal matters disrupt his work, while Jace had fallen completely into the life of a wastrel.
Their father, Richard Mercer, called them both home.
“You two are out of your minds!” Richard scolded. “You’ve turned against each other over a disgraced woman, and you’re neglecting the family business! Stop it now, or I’ll cut you off financially!”
In the past, that threat might have worked. But now, their obsession had wiped away any
sense of reason.
Julian’s expression hardened. “This isn’t your concern.”
Jace went a step further, “Cut me off! I don’t need your money to win her back!”
The pressure only hardened their defiance. It fueled the very mania their parents hoped to douse and turned every setback into a sharper edge of possessiveness.
Through all of it, Avery didn’t waver. She handled the pressure and pestering the same way every time. She ignored them completely and never gave them a chance.
She kept her routine. She put in full days at work, hit the gym after hours, and spent weekends
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hiking or catching exhibits with new friends.
She blocked every number and account tied to the Mercers. She refused to respond and even called the police whenever she needed to.
It did affect her life, but she managed to keep the damage minimal. She showed up for therapy, did the work of healing, and poured her energy into growth.
She scrubbed Julian and Jace out of her world like stubborn stains that needed to go.
Avery’s indifference and their constant failures pushed the Mercer brothers to the breaking point.
One night, they ran into each other in the garage of a private club.
The sight of a massive bouquet waiting on Jace’s passenger seat lit Julian’s temper like a match. “Jace! I warned you to stay away from her!”
Jace scoffed. “Why? Because you hurt her the most? What gives you the right to say that?”
“Because I love her! I want to marry her!” Julian shot back without thinking.
“Love her? Marry her?” Jace laughed like he’d just heard the biggest joke in the world.
“Your love already ruined her! Marriage to you would be another hell! Don’t disgust her, Julian. She’ll never choose you!”
The pent-up anger burst out in an instant. Julian punched Jace hard in the face.
Caught off guard, Jace felt his lip split and blood spill. He froze for a second, then lunged at Julian in a rage. “How dare you hit me!”
They tore into each other like wild animals in the dim garage. Fists and kicks flew recklessly, driven only by fury and blind jealousy.
They cursed and swung with brutal force, fighting like enemies rather than brothers.
When they were finally burned out, they collapsed on the floor, torn up and gasping for air. Their shirts hung in tatters, their faces swollen with bruises, and their eyes burned with nothing but hate,
Jace wiped the blood from his mouth, pushed himself upright, and stared down at Julian. ” From now on, you’re not my brother,” he said, emphasizing each word. “Avery is mine! We’ll
see who’s better!”
He staggered to his car and peeled out.
Julian lay on the ground, his chest heaving, and his eyes fixed on the concrete above. What filled them wasn’t pain, but a cold, gnawing madness.
Whatever brotherhood they’d had ended right there.
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