Chapter 14

He didn't give up. Instead, he threw himself into Ivy's life with a relentless, obsessive persistence.

When she and Rhys went to try on ceremony gowns, he ordered one in Ivy's size too—and made sure it was more expensive and more elaborate than the one Rhys had bought her.

Rhys naturally refused to be outdone. Seeing the price war escalate, Ivy put a stop to it.

But she didn't go to Damon. She turned on Rhys instead. "If you keep playing these stupid games with him, you're banned from my room. You can sleep in the study."

The threat worked instantly.

Rhys immediately backed off. He even flashed Damon an apologetic smile. "Sorry, man. My mate won't let me waste money, so I'll have to bow out."

Then he turned around to go coax Ivy, who was pretending to be mad.

Damon watched it all, his fists clenching so hard his knuckles cracked, but he still followed when they moved on to the next shop.

With Ivy's warning ringing in his ears, Rhys held back for a good while.

But when they reached the jewelry, he snuck a cautious glance at Ivy and tried negotiating. "Ivy, I want to get this set for you. If he tries to outbid me, can I just—"

He didn't finish, but Ivy already understood.

She raised an eyebrow at him. The refusal was obvious.

Rhys still wasn't willing to give up. He reached out and hooked his finger against her palm.

She could never resist when he did that. "Fine. A little. Don't go overboard."

Rhys lit up. He kissed her cheek, then turned to go head-to-head with Damon.

The Thorne family was wealthy, but next to the Davenports, they couldn't compete. After only a few rounds, Damon's face was already strained.

He was losing to Rhys.

Every time Rhys called out a higher number, it hit Damon like a blow.

But he refused to admit he could lose to Rhys. Or rather, he'd turned the jewelry into a stand-in for Ivy—something he was determined to win.

Damon gritted his teeth and kept bidding.

Ivy couldn't stand watching it anymore. She didn't want to see Damon burn through everything his parents had worked a lifetime to build.

So she stood up, walked over to Damon, and looked at him directly for the first time. "Damon."

Damon wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and smiled at her. "Ivy, don't worry. Whatever jewelry you like, I'll make sure I get it."

Ivy shook her head. Her voice was flat, carrying no emotion. "If the jewelry is for Sienna, go ahead. But if you're buying it for me, I'm telling you now—I don't need it. Even if you buy it, I won't take it."

Damon scrambled to explain. "No, it's not for Sienna. I've already made things clear with her. We have nothing to do with each other anymore. Ivy, I only want you."

Ivy didn't acknowledge his explanation. Or maybe she simply didn't care.

She just looked at him calmly and said, one last time, "Damon. Your kindness—I don't need it. And I don't want it."

What was done was done.

No matter what Damon did, it couldn't undo the damage she'd suffered. And she wasn't going to turn back.

So instead of doing all these pointless things, they should both go back to their own lives and never cross paths again.

Damon opened his mouth, watching helplessly as Ivy turned and walked back to Rhys's side.

He was only lost for a moment before he brushed her words aside.

He was convinced that if he could just show Ivy he was better than Rhys, she'd come back.

After all, they'd grown up together. Over twenty years of history. On that alone, Rhys could never beat him.

With that thought, Damon's resolve hardened again.

He didn't change one bit. He kept hovering around Ivy, and anything she so much as glanced at would show up at the Davenport Estate gate that same night—along with things he'd once promised her but ended up giving to Sienna instead.

But looking at all of it, Ivy only felt endless irritation.

The moment Damon dropped something off, she'd have it sent right back.

His reckless spending soon caught the attention of his parents back in Thornfield. Aldric didn't say a word—he just froze Damon's accounts.

The second Damon's accounts were cut off, Sienna lost access too. She tried reaching Damon but couldn't get through. So she bought a plane ticket and followed him to the Capital.

Damon had no idea. The next time he tried to buy something for Ivy, his card was declined. Under Rhys's mocking gaze, he broke into a cold sweat and immediately called Aldric to find out what happened.

Aldric was beyond disappointed. His voice was ice-cold. "Your mother and I didn't build this Pack's wealth so you could throw it away. Until you come home, you won't see another cent."

Then he hung up.

Damon stared at the shop attendant waiting for payment. He forced the corners of his mouth up and managed, "Sorry. I don't need it after all."

Then he fled.

Rhys watched him go, then hurried back to tell Ivy everything he'd seen.

Halfway through, he noticed Ivy looked distracted. He leaned in and pressed a firm kiss to her lips. "Are you feeling sorry for him? I shouldn't have told you."

Ivy snapped out of it. She gave him a look. "No. I was just thinking about the vows for the Marking Ceremony."

As for Damon—whatever he was going through now had nothing to do with her anymore.

Rhys wrapped his arms around her waist and nuzzled into her neck. "Just say it. Say you love Rhys Davenport the most, and you'll only love him for the rest of your life."

Ivy rolled her eyes, but she couldn't hold out against his repeated pleading. She gave in and repeated it back to him, word by word.

The second she finished, Rhys dipped his head and kissed her lips. "Me too."