Chapter 22
Julian and Jace had tried everything they could think of to win Avery over.
They leaned on power, waved money, begged, stalked, and even staged injuries to win sympathy.
But every attempt shattered against the fortress Avery had built from cold silence and distance, leaving behind nothing but wreckage and a deeper despair.
At last, they ran out of steam and finally faced what neither wanted to admit-they’d lost her for good.
It wasn’t that she was heartless. They had shattered whatever fragile feelings she might have once held, along with her dignity and the life she was meant to live.
One drizzly evening, Julian parked at the corner across from Avery’s apartment.
He didn’t get out of the car. From behind the rain-streaked glass, he kept his eyes on the window, which was glowing with warm light.
He dialed the number he’d long since been blocked from, the one he had tried countless times before. As expected, all he got was the cold, busy tone.
He stepped out into the rain and made his way to the entrance of her apartment building. Rain soaked his expensive suit, and his hair plastered to his forehead, leaving him more disheveled
than ever.
He raised his head, letting the cold rain pour over his face, as though it might wash away the ache tearing through his chest.
Just then, a sports car screeched to the curb and skidded to a stop.
Jace jumped out of the car, looking just as drenched, his eyes burning with the same wild mix of panic and desperate hope.
Through the rain, they locked eyes, and in that glance, they saw the same despair and the same refusal to let go.
They didn’t shout, and they didn’t fight. They were like two declawed animals, with only enough strength left to make one last sound.
They walked into the apartment building one after the other. Then, they stepped into the
elevator in silence.
At Avery’s door, Julian’s hand felt heavy as he pressed the bell.
Avery opened the door, dressed in soft loungewear with a book still in her hand. Warm light
an
spilled out behind her, outlining her cold, indifferent face.
She looked at the two of them, soaked and disheveled, without a flicker of change in her expression. She showed neither surprise nor disgust-just the flat look she’d give delivery guys at the wrong door.
“Avery…” Julian’s voice rasped, rain dripping off his chin. “I… I know it’s too late for anything I say, but please… I’m begging you… Give me one more chance. Just one…”
He had never bowed this low to anyone. The plea caught in his throat. “Without you, I-”
Before Julian could finish, Jace shoved him aside and dropped to his knees, the crack of bone against tile ringing out sharply in the silence. Rain and tears streaked his face as he looked up
at her.
“Ave!” he said, his voice sounding rough and broken, “I was wrong! I know I was! Hit me! Scold me! Or kill me if you want! Just don’t throw me away… Please… I can’t live without you… I love you!”
The man who once lived for conquest now knelt before her, pleading for just one glance.
Julian stared at Jace, something ripping inside him. He closed his eyes, then followed, dropping to his knees. Pride and dignity meant nothing compared to the fear of losing her for good.
Once, they stood above her, thinking they controlled her fate. Now, they knelt like beggars, begging for a chance they had already destroyed.
Avery looked at their most desperate, humbled, and “devoted” faces and felt nothing at all.
After a long silence, she finally spoke. Her voice was as cool as the rain, stripped of hatred or anger, and holding only the tired indifference of something already over.
“When I look at you,” she said clearly, each word landing hard, “all I see is the disgust and the pain you left me with.”
Julian and Jace snapped their heads up. The color drained from both faces.
“Please,” she added, her gaze cool and unyielding, “disappear from my life for good.”
She stepped back and closed the door.
The soft thud echoed faintly in the hallway, yet it shattered their world. It snapped the last fragile thread of hope and left nothing behind.
Chapter 21
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