Chapter 17

Jace's bombshell hit like a master key, forcing open the gate Julian had kept locked tight with denial and pride. Everything that had been gnawing at him for months came flooding back—those sleepless nights, the way his focus slipped, the reflex to compare, the guilty thrill whenever Jace failed, and the stab of panic when Avery left. He'd told himself that he was just losing control or struggling to adjust, but it wasn't that at all. It was jealousy because he cared. It was the beat of a heart that had already fallen. Maybe he'd fallen for Avery long ago. Maybe it happened while he was "playing" the boyfriend and she was quietly taking care of him. Maybe it was in the way she endured the pain, yet still looked at him without blame. Or maybe it went all the way back to that afternoon by the courts, when she looked up and met his eyes. His pride had kept him blind, and so had the habit he'd mistaken for love—those years of duty and obsession with Tessa. He had ignored his real fee