Page 117 of Code of Heart

Mourned his marriage.

Mourned the love of his life.

Mourned the part of himself he knew he would never get back.

CHAPTER 50

Aurelia

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Charles asked gently, his eyes searching hers for any flicker of indecision. He occupied the guest chair by her hospital bed, a notebook balanced on his knee, his brow furrowed in concern.

Aurelia’s fingers twisted in the blanket; her gaze fixed on the sterile sheets.

The truth was, she wasn’t sure about anything anymore. Her body ached, her heart felt fragmented beyond repair, and her mind replayed every horrible moment of the past twenty-four hours on an endless loop.

But one memory stood out in sharp, unforgiving clarity—Levi’s face when he saw her in that hotel room.

Thatlook. The raw accusation. The disgust.At her.

She would never forget how she had begged him to listen, pleading for one moment to explain, and how quickly it was denied when he walked away. After the hateful things he had said—things meant to cut deep and leave a scar—heleft.

He had made promises, held her to them when it was convenient for him. But the first time their marriage was tested, he proved what he really thought of her.

He didn’t trust her.

She had given as much of herself as possible. Had laid herself bare, shared her deepest fears and vulnerabilities…and still, he believed the worst.

A marriage without trust wasn’t a marriage at all. It was a prison sentence.

Eleanor’s inheritance was thrown in her face like a weapon, as if every hardship she had survived, like living out of her car andfighting for every scrap of stability, meant nothing. She didn’t flinch, but the words left a ringing silence in their wake, like a slap that never quite landed but hurt all the same.

In a matter of seconds, Levi had become everything she hated—no better than Kyle. Abuse didn’t always leave bruises. Sometimes it left invisible wounds that never quite healed.

She wouldn’t let anyone treat her like that again.Not ever.

While the doctors ran their endless tests, while the police asked their endless questions, she had had plenty of time to think. To feel. And to realize that no one could save her from this pain but herself.

Her thoughts circled back to Eleanor and her final message—how love wasn’t the goal. Living life on her terms was. Becoming the fierce woman Eleanor always believed she could be.

Levi had cracked her open, forced her to face the world again…but he was also the reason she was closing herself off now.

No.

She pushed that thought away. That was the old Aurelia talking. She wasn’t that timid woman anymore and was in control of who she became. And she refused to let the Kyles—or the Levis—of this world have that power over her again.

She was enough.

She always had been.

“Yes,” she said, her voice low but unshakably steady. “I’m sure. File it. Serve it. I don’t care about the cost. I don’t want anything from him. I just want it over.”

Charles faltered, his concern deepening. Then he nodded slowly. “Understood. I can have the paperwork ready tomorrow.”

Aurelia stared down at her hands, her throat tightening. In a whisper, she confessed, “I went into this heart and mind wide open. I thought…I really thought it could work. I triedsohard.” Her voice trembled. “I’m sorry I failed. If you want to rescindyour decision from last night, I’d understand. No hard feelings. But even after all of this, I know one thing for sure…” She swallowed hard, fighting back fresh tears. “I’m enough. Even if I’m alone, I’menough.”

The words weren’t a mantra. They were a promise to herself.

Charles exhaled a long, weary breath and shook his head, his expression morphing into something more paternal. He looked at her the way Eleanor used to…right before delivering one of her trademark, soul-rattling lectures.