CHAPTER 56AureliaLevi
Aurelia
Although Aurelia spent most of her time confined to the couch with her foot propped up, the days blurred together in a whirlwind of unexpected activity.
Somehow, the week had vanished right out from under her.
Now, the weekend had finally arrived, bringing with it the promise of laughter, teasing banter, and the much-needed comfort of the people she cared about most.
For the first time since everything fell apart, the entire gang was coming over for dinner.
The house was tranquil, offering a rare and fragile moment of peacefulness before the chaos descended.
Earlier, she had tried to help in the kitchen, but Levi had been an immovable wall of stubbornness, standing between her and anything remotely resembling productivity. His brows had drawn low with that perfect mix of concern and exasperation, his arms crossed as if daring her to try him.
The man took his role as Nurse Levi far too seriously. More than once this week, she had genuinely contemplated shoving him into the lagoon just to make a point. Though in the end, that fleeting frustration couldn’t outweigh the quiet, aching gratitude she felt for his care.
Even if it did border on maddeningly overbearing.
For most of the morning, she savored the peace, the crackle of the fire Levi had lit for her a soothing backdrop to her wandering thoughts.
Autumn had settled over Joia City, the air outside crisp and tinged with the faintest promise of cooler nights ahead. Levi had left earlier for an appointment, undoubtedly connected to his mission to take back Neuronix.
To his credit, he had kept himself remarkably busy this week, pouring every ounce of restless energy into two things: his warpath to take Neuronix back, which Owen had dramatically and affectionately dubbed The Reckoning , and a second, equally unexpected project.
Owen had insisted the plan needed a name and had already decreed, “Tyler will rue the day he took Neuronix from us! There will be a reckoning!”
The name stuck, and so did the fire behind it. But when he wasn’t plotting corporate revenge, Levi had thrown himself into a new distraction.
After barely surviving the dinner he had referred to as “Satan’s Gruel”—and swearing never to cross Aurelia’s culinary justice system again—he had come to her with an unexpected request: he wanted to finish the second-floor renovations.
She hadn’t taken him seriously at first. But when he had mentioned she deserved a proper office, and that maybe they should think about those extra bedrooms…it hadn’t taken long for her to say yes.
What she hadn’t expected was the army of contractors who descended on the house the very next day. Sawdust still clung to the air, mingling with the smoke of the fire, while echoes of hammering and buzzing power tools seemed permanently etched into the walls.
And yet, true to form, Levi had kept it all running like a military operation. He stayed on top of the cleaning, ensuring the chaos never touched her little sanctuary downstairs.
Thanks to her injury and Levi’s outright banishment from the second floor until it was finished, she hadn’t seen any of it. For once, she hadn’t fought him on it, deciding to let herself be genuinely surprised.
Remarkably, all that work had been finished in just over a week, and was completed only the day before.
But what really caught her attention were the oddly shaped black cases carried upstairs yesterday.
Levi didn’t have to say a word; the steady rhythm echoing from above made it clear he had, in fact, set up his drum set.
Now, as she lounged in the warm glow of the fire, her thoughts inevitably drifted to everything that had led her to this fragile, quiet moment after a storm of violence and betrayal.
It had only been a week since her life had imploded.
Owen, working alongside Charles and the police, kept her informed as the investigation unfolded.
Selene’s injuries—aside from various abrasions, a broken nose, bruises, and a concussion—would heal. But her arrest had been swift. She was being held without bail, facing an extensive list of charges that in Aurelia’s eyes were still not enough.
Kyle had finally woken from his coma. The thought of him made her stomach churn with anger and disgust.
The silver lining was the moment he opened his eyes; he had folded like a deck chair in a hurricane, confessing everything and implicating Selene as the mastermind.
But that wasn’t the worst of it. In his desperation for leniency, Kyle had thrown both Tyler Faulkner and Selene under the bus. He had admitted that Selene had given the compromising photos he had taken of Aurelia to Tyler—linking them both to her attack.
Aurelia’s anger tangled into a bitter knot.
She didn’t know who she hated more—Selene for orchestrating the whole plot and handing over the photos that almost destroyed her reputation, or Tyler for using them as a weapon against Levi and his—their friends.
At that moment, Tyler was winning that race, having climbed to the top of her list with every deceitful thing he had done.
Yet…even through her justified anger, she mourned Selene’s betrayal. How could she not?
She relived every memory, every moment of friendship, dissecting it under the harsh light of hindsight. Despite how much it hurt, she knew that wound would take far longer to heal than any of her physical injuries.
These thoughts continued to plague her until Charles had visited, carrying with him the crushing weight of Eleanor’s legacy…which came in the form of an overwhelming stack of paperwork that would officially transfer her assets.
The scale of it all was staggering.
Much of it had already been liquidated. But Starhaven Manor…and several other properties…
The idea of living there was impossible.
It wasn’t home.
But as she stared into the fire, a new vision took hold—one she hadn’t dared think about since she first learned of the inheritance. How Starhaven could become something more.
A sanctuary. A place of hope .
A home for kids like her, aging out of foster care with nowhere to go.
The thought brought a soft, bittersweet smile to her lips. Her eyes fluttered shut as a desperate need for a nap overtook her, and for the first time in her life, she let herself dream.
Levi
That morning, Levi once again found himself seated across from Estrella in her comfortingly bright kitchen, where this journey had all begun.
The familiar aroma of brewing tea drifted through the air, but unlike that first meeting—when he had sat here composed and smug—today, he felt anything but put together.
His expression was tight, his posture tense, a hand unconsciously rubbing at the stiff muscles in his neck from yet another night spent on the couch.
So much had happened in the past few weeks, his thoughts were a tangle of regrets and what-ifs. Or maybe it wasn’t confusion at all. Perhaps it was the unfamiliar discomfort of having to ask for help.
But Estrella, ever patient and ever knowing, simply sat across from him, those intense cerulean eyes watching, her hands calmly stirring a spoon through her tea.
“I must say,” she began softly, her voice warm with maternal understanding, “I was both surprised and relieved to receive your call. Now…tell me, Levi. What’s weighing on you?”
The gentle kindness in her voice cut straight through the storm in his head.
Levi exhaled slowly, his eyes dropping to the untouched mug of tea in front of him, as if the answers he so desperately needed might rise from its surface.
“I…” His voice cracked, forcing him to start again. “I screwed up. In the worst conceivable way.”
He swallowed hard, the shame thick in his throat.
“I’m sure you saw the photos in the tabloids. The ones of Aurelia…” His jaw clenched.
Estrella’s mouth pressed into a thin, disapproving line, but she said nothing. She didn’t need to.
Levi dragged in a shaky breath and pressed forward.
“The way that night unfolded…when we found her…” His voice broke again.
“I thought she had betrayed me. And I—god, I reacted . I was such an ass …I didn’t even give her a chance to explain.
I said things I can’t take back. I didn’t think.
I didn’t listen. I let every scar from my past dictate how I saw her at that moment.
And now…” His eyes burned as he stared at the tea. “Now I don’t know how to fix it.”
Estrella’s gaze softened, a knowing light flickering behind her eyes.
“Betrayal,” she said gently, “even when it’s only perceived, can rip open old wounds. But you’ve already taken the first step by acknowledging that mistake. Redemption doesn’t start with grand gestures, Levi. It starts with accountability.”
He gave a short, bitter laugh. “I’ve done that. And…mercifully, she’s giving me another chance. But I don’t know how to deserve it. I can admit now that we rushed into things—especially the physical side of our relationship. And I think…I think it made everything worse.”
Levi swallowed hard. He couldn’t remember the last time he had blushed over anything, but his cheeks burned now.
“She’s become my greatest weakness,” he admitted softly. “And that terrified me. It still does.”
Estrella leaned forward, her gaze piercing straight through his defenses.
“Do you love her?”
The question slammed into his chest like a wrecking ball. He didn’t hesitate.
“Yes,” he whispered, voice ripe with vulnerability.
“I love her more than I ever thought possible. But I’m not ready to tell her that.
Not until I prove it. I want to ask her to marry me again…
properly this time. Because she’s the one I choose —not because of some contract, not because of obligation. Because she’s it for me.”
Estrella nodded, her expression softening into something almost proud.
“Then show her,” she said simply. “With every action. Words are powerful, but trust is rebuilt through quiet consistency. Know her. Learn the things she loves, the things she fears. Listen more than you speak. And when the moment feels right—not because you’re desperate or afraid—tell her. Tell her everything.”
Levi swallowed the lump in his throat.
“I don’t want to lose her,” he rasped. “I’ve already lost so much. And without her…I’m nothing.”
Estrella smiled, her voice low and sure.
“Then don’t lose her,” she said. “But remember, Levi—this isn’t about not losing her. It’s about becoming the man who deserves to keep her.”
Levi left Estrella’s home with his heart heavier but his path clearer.
No more empty promises. No grand declarations before he put in the work.
He would love her with his actions, not only his words. Actions that were quiet, steady, and unshakable.
And when the time was right, he would fight for the future they were always meant to have.
Together.