Take a bite of the Forbidden Love

Chapter 5

The days following the confrontation in the study had been a blur of forced avoidance and quiet exits. Levitt had mastered the art of ghosting through the hallways of the Blue Mansion, packing her bags two days early under the guise of an urgent academic project. She had fled back to New York City, throwing herself headfirst into the rigorous demands of her final semester as a Bachelor of Business Administration student at Pace University.

She studied until her eyes burned, drowning the memory of Demetrius's rough, desperate kiss in a sea of corporate finance textbooks and market analysis.

When spring break rolled around, Aunt Renee had called, begging her to come back to the mansion for the holidays. Levitt had manufactured a lie about a mandatory internship workshop. She couldn't go back. She couldn't risk seeing the dark, furious storm in Demetrius's eyes, or worse, the intoxicating temptation of his lap.

Instead, she spent the week break staying close to her rented apartment near the university, filling her days by volunteering at a local Manhattan animal shelter alongside her two closest friends, Mary and Tasha. Surrounding herself with wagging tails and purring cats was the only thing that brought a genuine smile back to her face, soothing the ache of her suppressed feelings.

By Sunday evening, Levitt unlocked the door to her apartment, exhausted but fulfilled from a long day at the shelter. Mary and Tasha had dropped her off, leaving her alone in the quiet space. As she stepped inside, she noticed a neatly wrapped, cardboard courier package sitting on her small entryway table.

Curious, she grabbed a pair of scissors and carefully sliced open the tape.

When she pulled out the contents, her breath caught. It was a beautifully framed, high-quality photograph. Levitt felt a rush of pure happiness wash over her as she looked at it—it was a group picture of the specific stray dogs and cats she had personally rescued and placed in the animal shelter back home near the Goh mansion. Buster, the golden retriever mix with the patched eye, was sitting right in the center, looking healthy and vibrant.

She turned the frame over, searching for a note, but the sender section on the shipping label was completely blank. Anonymous.

Levitt frowned slightly, a wave of confusion replacing her joy. It was sweet, but highly unusual. She pulled out her phone and dialed the number for the hometown animal shelter.

"Hi, this is Levitt," she said warmly when the receptionist answered. "I just received the most beautiful framed photo of the rescues in the mail. Thank you so much! But I was wondering, why did you send it via mail? You could have just sent it through iMessage and saved the shipping fee."

There was a brief pause on the other end of the line, followed by the sound of rustling papers. "Oh, Levitt! It's wonderful to hear from you. But... we didn't send any package. Our budget is still pretty tight, so we wouldn't have spent money on framing and couriers. We actually thought it was a thank-you gift from you."

Levitt blinked, her brow furrowing. "From me? For what?"

"For the staggering donation we received yesterday!" the staff member said, her voice bubbling with excitement. "A wire transfer came through to our shelter account. It's huge, Levitt—it's enough to fund our medical supplies and food for the next two years! We saw the notification and assumed it was you, since you always look out for us."

Levitt's heart skipped a beat, a cold sweat breaking out on the back of her neck. "I... I only send my funds to you on the second day of every month. And you know my college budget, I could never afford an amount like that. Are you sure there wasn't a mistake?"

"No mistake on our end," the receptionist insisted cheerfully. "The reference memo explicitly stated: Anonymous donation on behalf of Levitt. We just assumed you hit the lottery or something! Whoever it is, they really love the work you do here."

After a few more exchanges, Levitt hung up the phone, her mind spinning in tight, chaotic circles.

She sat down heavily on her modest couch, clutching the framed photograph tightly against her chest. Her thoughts immediately began to race. Who could possibly know about her deep, secret devotion to this specific shelter? Who would have the staggering financial power to drop a two-year funding package effortlessly, without blinking an eye? And more importantly, who would explicitly do it under her name, shielding her beloved animals while keeping themselves completely in the shadows?

She stared down at the healthy, happy faces of the rescued animals in the photo. A sudden, terrifyingly familiar scent of cedar and rain seemed to whisper through her memories, making her chest tighten.

Could it be him? Could the man who treated her so coldly be the very same one secretly tending to the broken spirits of the creatures she loved most? Levitt pressed her hands to her burning cheeks, terrified of the answer, yet utterly consumed by the thought of him.