O P H E L I A ' S  P O V

I knocked quietly on the door and expected for a maid to answer, but was surprised when Levi himself opened the door with a smile on his face and an apron around his waist.

Gerald was the driver who was assigned to drive me to Levi's house. It was really nice to speak and see him after these few days that I hadn't.

"You're here," He said and stepped aside for me to come in. The mansion looked the same way it did as I left it. My clothes were still upstairs in my old room and it felt slightly weird to be standing here after two weeks.

I entered and bit my lip as I looked around and waited for him to instruct me on where to go. He frowned my way, "You know where the kitchen is," He mumbled.

I laughed nervously, "Right." I cleared my throat, forgetting momentarily that I, in fact, used to live here.

"S-So, where's Sam?" I questioned as I took a seat in front of the island, watching as Levi navigated his way through the kitchen.

"I let him get a day off," He said casually as he turned on the faucet.

My eyes widened slightly, "Then who's cooking?"

He spun around to face me with a teasing glare on his face as he gestured to the big apron around his waist which had World's Greatest Chef imprinted on it.

A blush coated my cheeks, "O-Oh. I just thought..." I rubbed my arm embarrassingly.

He chuckled and waved me off, "Nah, it's fine. People react that way when I tell them that I can cook. Although not many people know," He said.

I nodded my head, "If you don't mind me asking," I said softly as I traced the marble design on the counter. Why have a cook if you can do it yourself?" I asked.

He swung a kitchen towel over his shoulder and laughed lightly, almost as if expecting that question. "Like me, not all people have workers because they're incapable of doing it themselves or because they want to flaunt their money," He started. "I just don't have the time to do it. Don't have time to make breakfast for myself, or to keep the house clean, or to cook..." He shrugged. "Although I do find time to do all of these things by myself sometimes." He finished.

I nodded my head in understanding, "So, what's on the menu?" I asked, lightening the mood.

"Some good ole spaghetti and meatballs," He smiled gorgeously.

I smiled in response.

"Sounds good," I shrugged.

"Yeah, just sit there and look beautiful. Shouldn't be hard to do being you and all," He chastised as he looked away.

I felt a fire set on my cheeks as an unintentional smile made its way onto my lips.

For the next few minutes, I waited as he made the dish. Every slice of the knife with his hand or movement with his arms left his muscles flexing under the long-sleeved shirt that he wore and I found myself biting my lip gently as I looked down on the counter again, tracing a pattern with my fingers.

Why did it seem that Levi looked undeniably hotter than usual? Was he working out more? Working less that there weren't any bags present beneath his eyes?

"Hmm," He nodded in approval. "Probably the best sauce I've ever made. Come taste it," He ordered as he waved me over.

I stood up from my seat slowly as I made my way to him. As I arrived, he carefully held the pot spoon to my lips, "Careful, it's hot." He said softly as his gaze travelled to my lips, his hand positioned under the spoon in case anything dripped.

Carefully, I tasted the sauce and nodded my head, "It's delicious!" I said a little too loudly. "I mean- it's good," I mumbled.

Levi shook his head in amusement as he went back to work. I peeked over his shoulder in curiosity, "Need any help?" I offered kindly. I got a weird sense of Deja Vu, remembering the time Levi pinned me against the counter when he was making me a fruit salad.

"I'm good," He sent me a small smile.

"Are you sure?" I pushed as I stood to his left.

He hummed, "Yeah, I got it. Just waiting for the spaghetti to finish," He spoke.

I looked down at the floor for a quick second, thinking of another suggestion, "Oh! I can help you make the meatballs?" I swept my hands across his back, then to his right side as I positioned myself to the right of him, squeezing his arm gently, trying to ignore his rock, hard built.

He shivered and moved away from me, looking at me as if my touch burnt him.

"I-I'm sorry," I apologised as I withdrew my hand quickly.

He shivered at my touch. He sent me a tight-lipped smile as he went back to cooking, his muscles tenser than usual.

I bit my lip as I looked down at the floor once again. I told him that I had to think things over but yet, I still wanted him to touch me and kiss me like he used to. I was being completely hypocritical and I knew. What did I have to think about?

Did this entire ordeal mean that I didn't trust Levi? No, I trusted him. I was just quick to assume- anyone would've in my situation. But that didn't mean that I shouldn't have gotten an explanation first. I'm insecure and I knew that. It wasn't hard to figure that out.

My thoughts swarmed through my head like bees in a hive. The only honey that I collected from them was that in order for me to allow myself not worry every time Levi is in the presence of a beautiful woman, was to overcome at least some of my insecurities. And I realised that that process was only working when I was Levi.

If I wasn't going to do this for me, then I surely should do it for him. He shouldn't have to be proving himself all over again that he could treat me right.

Every day, without failure, Levi told me that I was beautiful. Even the days when I didn't see him because he was busy with work, he made sure he sent me a text with a compliment. He never made me feel that I didn't belong with him, and yet, here he still is, going through the same process that we did when we first met.

I lifted my arm slowly and rested it on Levi's arm, my eyes trained on his chest as he gently allowed me to turn him around. Our breathing was the only thing that filled the quiet room.

"Levi?" I said softly, my eyes finally leaving his chest to peer into his dark orbs.

He swallowed thickly as he looked down at me, "Yeah?" His voice sounded deeper than usual.

My fingers lightly traced the prominent six-pack beneath his shirt, "Can I kiss you?" I questioned softly, trailing my fingers up to his shaved jaw.

His hands clenched by his side and I felt his muscles tighten as he clenched his chiselled jaw, looking away from my stare.

My confidence faltered slightly...

but then he looked back at me and didn't utter a word.

Only then, I felt his lips crashing down on mine like a wave against the shore. His hands cradled my face tightly in his hands as his lips moved against mine in a fiery passion. Had Levi ever kissed me like this before? It had all been too long. His large hand then swept to the back of my head where it tangled in my bun and pulled lightly, allowing my hair to fall loosely down my shoulders. His hand instantly fisted my hair as he tilted my head more to the side to deepen the kiss.

I couldn't breathe and it wasn't because of kissing Levi too long. I had been drowning, trapped under the depths of the ocean as I tried to resurface. I now only realised that Levi was the only person who could save me. I couldn't do it by myself.

His kiss was a promise. An everlasting promise that ignited a million and one fireworks inside of me. It was a primal want of desire that I felt as his tongue swiped against my own.

A heated feeling made its way into my lower stomach and seemed to turn hotter when Levi positioned his hands under my thighs and hoisted me up, securing my thighs around his waist. The feeling grew larger and somehow ended up between my legs casting a tingly sensation as Levi's rough hands slowly caressed my thighs gently, placing me on the counter.

I vaguely felt him remove his hands for a second to the back of my neck to pull me into him when he reached back to turn off the stove, ensuring that out lips never left each other.

I moved my fingers through his locks and tugged gently as I arched my back into him.

"Wait, wait. Fuck, wait," Levi abruptly pulled away to rest his forehead against mine. He was practically breathless, like myself, as our breaths mixed together in a recipe of passion.

Levi was always calm after we kissed. No matter how heated or simple. Well, at least he appeared to be. His breaths were never ragged or uneven.

"Did I do something wrong?" I questioned softly as our foreheads continued to be pressed together, his eyes focused on the movement of his fingers on my bare thighs.

I should thank Shalissa for getting me to wear a sundress instead of jeans. I couldn't imagine how uncomfortable it would be, especially with how snug my jeans always fitted.

He shook his head, "No, no." His breaths were de-escalating back to normal. "I just have something for you," He pulled away from me for a moment to open a draw behind him.

He turned back to face me with a rectangular box in his hand.

"What's this?" I asked softly.

He shrugged in response, "Open it." He commanded gently.

I opened the box and a small gasp left my lips as I took in the sight of the diamond-encrusted necklace which sat on a nice ball of wool. I could vaguely make out my initials in italics along with a date.

"I got it made a month ago," He mumbled as he stroked my side with his thumb.

That was two weeks before my birthday.

"I don't know how I could've forgotten. I looked at it every day for a week, thinking if it was enough for you," He looked down at the movement his thumb made against my thigh.

"It's okay," I said softly. "People forget things. You own a large company and I'm sure that your mind was still occupied with the dinner with your parents. You were in the middle of a project and I was moping around in my room. You had a lot of things on your plate," I tried to reassure as I travelled my index finger across his jaw.

"That's still no excuse," He murmured childishly.

I smiled in response and shook my head, looking back down at the gift, my smile slowly disappearing as I watched it sparkle beautifully in the light.

"P-Please don't tell me this is a real diamond," I said as I looked up to meet his eyes.

The sheepish smile that made its way to his lips as he rubbed the back of his neck gave me my answer.

I groaned, "Levi," I whined. "It's absolutely beautiful but this must've cost a fortune! How much?" I asked.

"Do you really wanna know?" He teased as he inched closer.

"You know what, I really don't." I shook my head as my teeth sank into my bottom lip. "Wait a minute," I said. "The date isn't my birthday," I said confusingly.

"I know," He whispered. "It's the date we met."

I looked up to meet his eyes again, a gentle smile resting on my lips.

"Can we start over?" He sighed. "I really can't take this anymore," He said.

I smiled as I reached up to caress his cheek, "No," I said. "I can't start over with you, Levi," I said softly, keeping my face neutral and serious.

I bit my tongue to stop myself from smiling when I saw the look on Levi's face.

"What I mean is, I can't start over. That process was too long; don't you think?" I asked. "I don't think I can go through that again," I said.

"So, can we continue then?" He asked with a cheeky smile on his face after letting out a sigh of relief. "You wanna go away this weekend to my private island?" He asked casually. "To try to rebuild this. It'll be pretty hard to pick up from where we left off," He said.

I choke on my spit, "Y-You have a private island? As in, an entire island that's yours?" I asked.

He nodded his head nonchalantly, "What'd you say?" He asked.

I don't say anything. Instead, I pressed my lips to his.