Chapter 29
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Tania
The buzz of the office hums around me, a symphony of ringing phones and clicking keyboards that I usually find comforting. Today, it feels like background noise, barely registering as I scroll through yet another email. My mind keeps wandering, replaying Levi’s proposal over and over.
His words, his sincerity, the way he looked at me like I was the only thing that mattered—it’s all too much. And yet, it’s not enough. Not when the scars of our past still feel so fresh.
“Earth to Tania,” Jenna says, snapping me out of my thoughts as she sets a stack of papers on my desk. “You’ve been staring at that screen for ten minutes.”
I blink, realizing I haven’t read a single line of the email in front of me. “Sorry. Just distracted.”
She raises an eyebrow but doesn’t press. “This came for you,” she says, sliding an envelope across the desk.
“What is it?” I ask, frowning.
She shrugs. “No idea. But it looks... personal.”
The envelope is thick, the paper expensive, and my name is written in Levi’s unmistakable handwriting. My heart skips a beat as I pick it up, my fingers trembling slightly.
Jenna smirks. “Love letter?”
“Get back to work, Jenna,” I mutter, though there’s no bite in my tone.
She laughs, retreating to her desk, and I’m left alone with the letter. I glance around the office, the weight of curiosity and hesitation pressing down on me. Finally, I slip the envelope open, pulling out a neatly folded piece of stationery.
Dear Tania,
I know you didn’t expect to hear from me like this, and maybe that’s why I decided to write. It’s easier to put my thoughts down on paper, to say the things I’ve been struggling to say out loud.
First, I want to apologize. For not trusting you with the truth. For letting my pride and fear get in the way of what we could have had. For breaking your heart when I should have been protecting it.
When I proposed, I wasn’t asking for perfection. I wasn’t asking you to forget the past or pretend everything is fine. I was asking for a chance—a chance to show you that I’ve changed, that I’m not the same man who let you go.
I know I don’t deserve your trust, not yet. But I hope I can earn it. I hope I can prove to you that this isn’t about the merger or the deal or anything else. It’s about you, Tania. It’s always been about you.
I’ve loved you since the moment we met, and that hasn’t changed. It never will.
Take all the time you need. I’ll wait for you.
Always,
Levi
I read the letter twice, then a third time, my heart pounding in my chest. Each word feels like a balm to the wounds I’ve been carrying, a glimpse of the man Levi has been trying to show me he’s become.
But it’s not just the words themselves—it’s the fact that he took the time to write them. Levi, who has always been about grand gestures and sweeping statements, chose something intimate, something raw and real.
It feels... different. It feels genuine.
I fold the letter carefully, slipping it back into the envelope as a strange mix of emotions swirls inside me. Fear, doubt, hope—they all fight for space, and for the first time in a long time, hope seems to win.
As I sit in my apartment, the letter resting on the coffee table, I can’t stop thinking about Levi’s words. About the way he’s been trying, the way he’s opened up to me in ways I never thought he could.
I pick up the letter again, my fingers tracing the edges of the paper. The tears I’ve been holding back finally spill over, a mix of relief and frustration washing over me.
“Why do you always have to make things so complicated?” I whisper to the empty room, my voice breaking.
But deep down, I know the answer. Levi has never been simple, and neither has what I feel for him. And maybe that’s what makes it real.