THE CONTRACT OF LOVE

The Truth In His Name

Chapter Five: The Truth in His Name

(Anna's POV)

As Levi softly whispered that name—Teevee—I tensed my entire body. My heart pounding in my chest, my breath clogged in my throat, and for an instant.

Someone from my past only knew that name, the name I have for long forgotten, the name I couldn’t even remember, the name that it’s been twenty years since I have been called that, then someone from the presence just uttered it…

I had stared at Levi in shock, searching for answers on his face, but he had simply stared at me knowingly, his face impassive. He didn't lie. He didn't tell me. He just stared at me, as though he was expecting me to realize it myself.

That was what scared me the most.

I slept very little that night. I was lying beside him in bed, my muscles strained while his arms wrapped around me in a firm grip as if nothing had occurred. But something was amiss.

Levi was not the man I had believed him to be.

He had not entered my life by chance. This was not love or fate. This was planned. And now, I had to find the truth before it was too late.

Morning came early, but fear stayed behind

As soon as the sun rose, I attempted to act like everything was fine. I smiled at Levi, gave him a peck on the cheek and bid him farewell, watching as he drove off to work in his vehicle. But inside, I was besieged with questions and fear.

The minute he disappeared from view, I spun back around the house and locked the door behind me. My hands shook, but I pushed forward. I needed to know things.

I went to his room.

His room was neat, as always. Everything was neatly set, almost like he was leaving something in open sight. I locked the door and took a deep breath.

It's now or never, Anna.

Searching for the Truth

I started with the drawers, carefully opening them one by one. Clothes, watches, designer colognes… nothing unusual. I headed towards the bedside table, searching through bits of paper, receipts, anything that might give me some clue.

Nothing.

My heart began pounding faster.

I approached the wardrobe. It was massive, lined with designer suits and expensive shoes. But on the corner over there was a tiny locked drawer.

A locked drawer in his own house? That was weird.

I searched the room for a key, digging through his jacket pockets, the nightstand, even the bathroom. And then, after all that digging, in his desk drawer I saw a small silver key.

My hands were trembling as I went back to the wardrobe and inserted the key into the lock. It opened with a click.

There was a few of neatly stacked-up documents in there. My fingers trembling, I pulled them out.

At first, they seemed like business agreements—official documents with difficult jargon. But then, right at the end, I caught sight of it.

A birth certificate.

My breath had stopped in my throat.

I held the sheet aloft, my eyes scanning the information, and then—

I saw his name.

The Name That Changed Everything

Williams Levi Alex.

My vision faded. My hands gripped the sheet tightly as my whole body went icy cold.

Alex.

It was Alex they used to call him.

Alex—the boy I once knew.

The boy who'd walked out of my life.

My stepbrother.

I let out a strangled cry as I backed away, shaking hands almost letting the paper go.

Levi… was that Alex?

Same Alex I spent my childhood years with? Same Alex who had just disappeared from sight?

A wave of sickness swept over me. I pressed a hand over my mouth, my entire frame trembling.

Why hadn't I recognized him? Had he changed so much? Or had I shoved the past so far behind me that I'd forgotten his face?

The memories came flooding back in a flood.

My stepmother. The arguments. The way she had talked to me as if I were nothing. The way she had treated Alex differently than me, handing him everything and letting me rot.

And now—he was here.

But why?

This wasn't an accident. It couldn't be. Levi—Alex—had done this.

My breath came in sharp, shuddering gasps.

I had to leave here.

I had to run.