Page 51 of Code of Heart

When she finally looked up again, he saw the weight she was carrying, too.

Wordlessly, she reached across the table and held out her hand.

He grasped it.

It was firm. Stable. Grounding. Not an apology, but an understanding.

“I don’t know how to deal with conflict,” she said, so quietly he almost missed it. “When someone’s upset, and I hear it in their voice, I…shut down.”

He squeezed her hand gently. “Then we’ll figure it out together.”

Her shoulders loosened a fraction. When she let out the faintest breath of laughter, it was the only sound that mattered.

Levi didn’t need a victory tonight.

He just needed her here.

Aurelia

Dinner had gone surprisingly well afterthatmoment.

Aurelia had slowly begun to relax again, the storm inside her settling as Levi’s words replayed in her mind. He hadn’t excused himself. He hadn’t tried to smooth things over with charm or pity.

He had seen her and acknowledged the amount of baggage she shouldered and offered something solid to stand on.

No one had ever done that before.

Not once.

Somehow, it had always beenherfault.

Or maybe it was easier for them to blame her because she was so willing to accept it to keep the peace.

That part of her? The part that curled in on itself, silenced itself just to survive?

That part needed to be buried six feet deep.

Levi wasn’t like Kyle. She was starting to believe that.

But even Levi had said it, thatunlearningdidn’t happen overnight. Reflexes don’t ask permission before firing.

Now her focus shifted to the most daunting part of all—cohabitation.

Tonight.In her house.

Her heart was so out of control that she fleetingly debated getting it checked.

"So…are you okay with us staying at your place?" Levi asked carefully, as if reading her thoughts. “You can come check out mine after dinner. I need to grab clothes for the next couple of nights anyway.”

She nodded, flushing with uncertainty…and to her surprise, desire.

This was stranger than a one-night stand. Because he wasn’t leaving in the morning. Or the one after that.

The rest of dinner was a relaxed blur as they laughed and got to know one another. But now she recounted the events from dinner while following Levi’s sleek, silver monument to indulgence through the winding streets of Joia City. They climbed steadily into the cliffs until the scenery gave way to silence, seclusion…and grandeur.

Not grandeur.Excess.

This was a neighborhood built entirely ofmansions.Glass, metal, stone…the kind that screamed money and existed for no reason other than to announce it.