Chapter 92 Chapter Ninety-Two

Chapter 92 Chapter Ninety-Two
Another Jace’s POV 

“Your mom is going to be at the party. You’d better get your girlfriend out of there, because you know how she gets.”

My smile dropped as I read the text. I glanced over at Grace, seated on the couch in the sun room, her face lifted up to the rays that streamed through the glass walls. My heart softened…as it always did when I was around her. 

For a second, I forgot about the alarm bells ringing in my head, lost in the dust particles that floated around her head like a halo. 

And then my phone buzzed again. 

It was another message from my father. “Ryan’s going to be with her. I wonder how your grandfather would handle it.” I could picture him, smiling like he’d won a bet, gloating over the arguments that would happen. 

He knew my grandpa hated him—and he always had a sneaky comment to toss into his arguments with my mom, aimed at my grandpa. 

“Your father got lucky. You think he would’ve built an empire if he didn’t win that bet? He’s a gambler who got lucky.”

“Jace?”

Grace rose from the couch, a small smile touching her lips. I shoved my phone into my pocket as I walked over to her. I took her hand, slipped my fingers through, and kissed the back of her palm. “Merry Christmas,” I whispered. 

She frowned, her lips curling. “Merry Christmas? You’re a day too late for that, Jace Hunter. And I’m pretty sure you told me enough times yesterday—and the day before.” She tilted her head, her eyes narrowing slightly, like she could see through my thoughts. “Is something wrong?”

I shook my head. “No. Everything’s perfect with you here.” I meant it. She was perfect to me—smart, funny, gorgeous, witty as hell…it made dealing with my family easier, knowing I had her by my side. 

Knowing I would spend the next four years, or more, far away from them and close to the person I loved. 

“Mm.” Grace tapped her chin. “I know something’s wrong, but since you’re generous with the compliments, I’ll let you keep your secrets to yourself for now.” She stepped closer, her gaze dropping to my mouth. Her voice lowered. “Since we’re all alone, what do you think we should do to make the time go by quicker?”

My arm snaked around her waist without a moment’s notice, pulling her to my chest. She giggled, her eyes twinkling with satisfaction. I leaned in, slanting my head as my lips hovered… “I can think of a couple things.”

“Someone’s going to see us,” she protested weakly, but did not attempt to pull away. Her arms found their way around my neck, her fingers toying with my hair. “But your grandpa’s house is like…gigantic, so I bet we’ll be alone for a while.”

“Yup.” I nodded, easing in just a little more. Just enough to feel her soft exhale on my face. Her lips parted slightly, and mine fitted perfectly with a kiss. 

Her grip on my hair tightened just a little bit as the kiss deepened, and my fingers trailed up and down her spine, making her shiver. 

It was just us, in our little bubble, where I could pretend nothing existed except the sun and the light and the sound of her tiny whimpers. 

The kiss ended, only because we had to breathe, but I rested my forehead to hers, a slow grin stretching over my face. “I think, Miss Thompson, that if we were to live together, I might find it hard to keep up with my attendance.”

“Why?” She pursed her lips, her fingers twirling my hair again. 

I splayed my hand higher on her spine, possessively. “Because I have an unhealthy attachment to you, that’s why. I’m thinking about skipping my grandpa’s party and hiding out here, because I know he’s going to introduce me to a bunch of people and I’m going to have to leave you alone. And then some other guy is going to swoop in and whisk you away.”

Grace snorted. “Some other guy? What makes you think I want this other guy?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe he’s handsome? Richer? And he has a card without a limit?”

She tucked her tongue in her cheek, pretending to think about it. I held back a laugh, watching her go through the motions. “Mm. Let’s see,” she replied, “how tall is he?”

“Taller than me.”

She shook her head. “I like your height just fine.”

“What about his card?” 

“Does it belong to him, or did he get it from his grandfather?”

I bit my cheek to keep from laughing out loud. “Let’s say it belongs to him. What would you do?”

She planted her hands on her hips, stepping back from me. Her nose turned up in a mock, disappointed expression. “Are you trying to say I’m just after your money, Jace Hunter? If so—” she continued, without giving me a second to speak, “—then you’re absolutely right.”

I clutched my chest, staggering back. “Your brutal honesty has crushed me, Grace Thompson.” I sighed, shaking my head with a dramatic flair. “Now I’m going to have to stay by your side the entire time.”

“The entire time?” She looked pleased. 

I nodded. “Yup. You’ll have a permanent shadow for the rest of today, Miss Thompson.” I dropped into a low bow. “Jace Hunter, at your service.”

When I straightened, she had a confused frown tugging at her brows. And she was looking…at the door. “Grace?” I asked. I turned, wanting to see what had gotten her attention, and my smile fell off. 

Ryan. 

My brother stood in the doorway of the sunroom, a smug smirk on his face. He turned to me. “I didn’t know you two were playing house. Is this what high school students do? Plan a life when they haven’t gotten into college, yet?”

I marched up to him, my tone cold as dry ice. “What the hell are you doing here?”

He stared at me, his shoulders arching with a loose shrug. “What else? I’m attending grandpa’s Christmas party. The same one he throws every year. What?” He folded his arms. “Was there a list of people who were not invited this year?”

My jaw clenched as my fists balled up tight. “I don’t care if you came for the party.” I got the message from my father already, giving me a heads-up. “What are you doing here? You can find somewhere else to be.”

Ryan’s smirk deepened into a scowl. A familiar, mean scowl. It meant that he was looking for trouble. I stood firmly in front of him, glancing over my shoulder to make sure Grace was okay. 

She looked puzzled, a little worried. 

I smiled at her, reassuringly. I was going to handle this. I wasn’t going to let my family hurt the person I cared about the most.   

“He’s going to kick you out,” I told Ryan. “You know he’s not like mom or dad. You can’t fool him.”

“Really now?” He arched his brow, his smirk returning. “I didn’t know you two were best friends. But,” he shook his head. “This is my grandfather’s house too, isn’t it? Which means I have the right to be anywhere I want.”

He shoved past me forcefully, clipping my shoulder in the process. I gritted my teeth as pain flashed through my arm and chest, tipping me off balance for a second.  

“Hi. I’m Ryan. Jace’s brother.” 

I whirled around, grabbing my shoulder as another jolt of pain shot through my arm. “Get away from her,” I snapped. 

He glanced over his shoulder with a fake, innocent smile. “I’m not doing anything wrong, little brother. Am I? I’m just trying to introduce myself to your girlfriend. She’s part of the family now, isn’t she? I heard grandpa specially invited her and her mother over.”

Trusting anything that came out of Ryan’s mouth was like drinking from a bottle with a glaring POISON label on it. 

I stepped in front of Grace, blocking him off. “She doesn’t want to meet you. And if you're going to stay here, then we’re leaving.”

I took Grace’s hand, leading her out of the room. 

“Does she know why grandpa likes her? Why he’s tolerating her presence?”

I didn’t look back. “Ignore him.”

Ryan chuckled. “You know, Grace?” he called after us. “Grandpa really likes you. He really, really likes you. But it has nothing to do with the fact that you’re from a humble background, like he wants everyone to believe about him.”

I stopped, my eyes flashing with anger. I had no idea what he was getting at, but knowing my brother, he would say just anything to get on my nerves. 

“Ryan,” I warned.

He smiled like he’d been waiting for me to take the bait. “In fact, you’re probably the first girl he’s ever approved of.” His eyes flicked to mine before settling on Grace again. He took a step closer. “He says you make Jace look like he finally grew a spine.”

“Enough.” I hissed. 

Ryan spread his hands innocently. “What? I’m giving her a compliment.”

His smile sharpened as he cocked his head. “The rest of the family, though?” He let out a short laugh. “We’re  just waiting to see how long that spine lasts.”

My jaw tightened.

“Come on, Grace.”

“He has a record, do you know?” Ryan continued, his voice dripping with mockery. “A sealed juvenile record that my parents had to pay so much to keep buried. And guess what he did?”

I let go of Grace’s hand, storming over to him. I got into his face. “Shut up,” I growled.  

He laughed loudly, pushing my chest. “He got it because he beat me, his brother, to a bleeding pulp. I spent a night in the ER. And I had to get sixteen stitches.” 

He caused it. 

It was his fault. 

“Ryan,” I repeated as my knuckles cracked. “I’m warning you.”

He ignored me. “It wasn’t even the first time he’d gotten into trouble.” He shrugged. “Jace has always had a temper. Grandpa likes to pretend he’s the golden grandson now, but that’s not who he is.”

“I said shut your mouth.”

His grin widened. “Tell me, Grace…” he folded his arms. “How long do you think it’ll take before he puts his hands on you the way our father used to put his hands on our mother?”

The room went deathly still. “Ryan,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

“He takes after him, you know.”

My fist slammed into his jaw before I even realized I’d moved, the sound of his head snapping to the side filling the air with a sharp crack. Grace gasped shakily, her hands covering her mouth. 

“See?” Ryan spat blood to the ground. “I told you. He’s hot-headed. He’s just putting on the good boy act, because you’re the only girl who’s ever tried to fix him.”

I stared at my fist, trembling inside. 

I punched him. 

I knew he was goading me, but I gave in. And I punched him in front of the one person that mattered the most.  

Ryan staggered to his feet. He swiped at his mouth, grinning manically. “My advice to you, Grace, is for you to run. Run as far as possible away from the Hunter family. We’re all fucked up, especially your sweet boyfriend here.”

“Jace…”

Grace rushed over. I stiffened, waiting for the rejection to come. I waited for her to tell me she was done—I was abusive, I was fucked up, I was a disappointment, and she couldn’t do this anymore. Instead, I felt her hand on mine. 

She took my shaking fist, slowly opening it. “Are you okay?” She asked softly. 

My brows twitched. She was asking me if I was okay? Not pushing me away? 

I nodded, barely able to speak. 

“Good,” she nodded. Then she faced Ryan, her voice sterner than I’d ever heard it before. “If anybody is fucked up, it’s you. You’re a narcissistic, manipulative piece-of-shit older brother.”

She jabbed a finger at him. “I don’t care if you don’t like me, if your mom thinks I’m not good enough for your family. But I won't let you mess with Jace’s head. Do you understand?”

My mouth hung open. 

I stared at her. 

She was…defending me. 

Nobody had ever done that before.