Take a bite of the Forbidden Love

Chapter 10

The rest of the day belonged entirely to them, isolated from the rest of the world within the quiet walls of Levitt's apartment. Demetrius didn't leave her side for a single moment. They made the absolute most of the stolen hours—cooking together in the cramped kitchen, tangled up on the small sofa, and letting the lingering tension of the past four years completely dissolve.

Leaning back against his broad chest, Levitt traced the lines of his palm as he talked about his time in London. For the first time, the cold, impenetrable architect spoke passionately about his work to her. He detailed the grueling negotiations, the complex structural blueprints, and the final handshake that secured his firm's first massive international high-rise project.

"It's a massive win, Levitt," he murmured, his voice laced with a rare, quiet pride. "The firm is officially on the global map."

Levitt beamed, her heart swelling with genuine joy for him. "I knew you could do it," she said, turning in his arms to face him. "Congratulations, Demetrius." She pulled his lapels down and kissed him deeply, a sweet, lingering reward that left them both breathless.

Demetrius smirked, threading his fingers through her hair. "Thank you. Now, what about you? Your new journey starts tomorrow, doesn't it?"

Levitt laughed softly, a sudden wave of nervous excitement hitting her. "Yes. A clerical assistant at the magazine. Honestly, I still can't believe they hired me. I'm just a fresh graduate with zero corporate experience."

"They hired you because you're brilliant, disciplined, and relentless," Demetrius corrected firmly, his eyes burning with an intense, unshielded pride that made her blush. He cupped her cheek, his thumb tracing her cheekbone. "I always knew you'd succeed. You have no idea how agonizing it was, controlling myself not to simply take you and make you mine the very first night you walked into the Blue Mansion four years ago."

Levitt blinked, stunned. "First sight? But you were so cold. You literally stormed out of the dining hall!"

"Because you called me uncle," Demetrius growled playfully, a subtle twitch at the corner of his lips. "You looked so delicate, so impossibly breathtaking, and completely off-limits. I knew if I let myself near you, I wouldn't be able to stop. I wanted you to finish your degree, to secure your own future, and to stand on your own two feet first without any distractions—even if that distraction was me. But then..." His gaze softened into something agonizingly tender. "...I saw you sneaking out into the bitter winter snow just to feed and rescue those abandoned strays. I saw how fiercely and selflessly you loved them. That was the moment I fell completely, irrevocably in love with you."

A lightbulb suddenly went off in Levitt's head. The anonymous framed photo. The staggering two-year funding package.

She sat up straight, narrowing her eyes at him. "It was you."

Demetrius shifted uncomfortably, suddenly looking very interested in a loose thread on the couch cushion. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Demetrius Goh, don't you dare try to play innocent!" Levitt gasped, lightly hitting his chest as tears of overwhelming affection pricked her eyes. "You're the anonymous donor! You did that for my rescues!"

Seeing he was caught, Demetrius let out a low, defeated chuckle and wrapped his powerful arms around her waist, pulling her back against his chest. "They needed the help. And you loved them. It was the only way I could support the things closest to your heart without breaking the boundary we needed at the time."

"You are absolutely, hopelessly crazy," Levitt whispered, her voice cracking with emotion. She turned in his lap, cupping his face in both of her hands, completely overwhelmed by the quiet, monumental depths of how he had cherished her from the shadows. "Thank you. For everything."

Driven by pure devotion, Levitt leaned in, happily and completely submitting herself to his touch, letting her actions show him the depth of her gratitude and love.

Holding her close as her lips met his, a profound sense of freedom washed over Demetrius. For as long as he could remember, he had grown up under the suffocating, heavy shadow of his older brother Peter. To survive the expectations of the Goh empire and protect his own identity, he had unconsciously built a rigid, freezing armor around his heart. But lying here, held by the only woman who had ever seen past his walls, the ice was entirely gone. Levitt had melted his cold persona away, leaving him free to love her with everything he had.