Page 50 of Code of Heart

She didn’t explain.

She didn’t ask for forgiveness or make excuses.

She simply gave in—quietly, completely.

CHAPTER 27

Levi

Fear and resignation.

That’s what Levi saw in Aurelia’s eyes when she finally looked up and said,“We can live in your house. Just let me know what works best for you.”

It wasn’t the words that gutted him; it was the flat and hollow way she said them. Like someone flinching before the blow ever came, already giving up the fight.

It made him sick to his stomach.

She wasn’t simply agreeing…she was surrendering.

He played the conversation back in his head during the long stretch of silence that followed. Her joke. His response. The shift in her posture. The way she had disappeared right in front of him.

And then it clicked.

He had misread her.Spectacularly. She hadn’t been mocking him—she had been trying to keep things light. Trying to navigate unfamiliar ground with humor, he had responded like a man with something to prove.

Not because of her, but because of what he hadn’t yet unpacked in himself.

He looked at her now, sitting still and small and silent, and all he could think was:No. This wasn’t how this night was supposed to go.

God, he was such an ass.

“No,” he said aloud, voice quiet but firm.

Aurelia blinked, the only indication that she heard him.

“No,” he repeated, more strongly. “We’ll stay at your house.”

She frowned, like she didn’t understand the words.

“It’s not about convenience,” he continued, calm and clear. “Your house matters to you. My place? It’s a status symbol with walls. That’s not home. Not to me. But if yours is…then that’s where I want to be.”

She didn’t speak. Just watched him wearily, unsure if she should believe him.

And god, that did something to him. Made him feel like every carefully constructed part of himself was a sham.

He thought of Estrella’s note again.History of past trauma. Sensitive to conflict. Avoidant under pressure. Proceed gently.

He hadn’t proceeded gently at all.

So now, he would.

“This morning, we promised to be honest when we’re upset,” he said, his tone softer. He fiddled nervously with his chopsticks. “We blew that. Both of us. But maybe that’s the point. We’re not supposed to get it right on day one.”

That earned a flash of something across her face—a ghost of a smile, uncertain but real.

“I know it wasn’t about the house,” he added apologetically. “You were joking. I see that now. But I’ve…been with people who only saw me for what I could give them. Not who I was. And it left some marks.”

He didn’t shy away from saying it. He wasn’t hiding from it anymore.