Sunday nights were family movie nights for my family. Three of us would sit down on the couch and watch whatever family-friendly, faith-spewing movie my parents chose. It was entertainment for them, but a lesson in good values for me. I despised those movie nights. I hated how those dumb movies tried to convince me that kindness came without cost. My parents would force me to finish the movie, or they wouldn't let me sleep. With school early the next day, I desperately needed that sleep. That tradition of movie nights ended when I ran away from home.

But some habits still remained. Now, if I do not finish a movie, no matter how shitty it is, I can't sleep. I spent years watching movies, always scrutinizing actors' faces. And I spent years acting like a good kid. I learned how to read people. Learned how to charm them. I knew my strengths. Yet none of this was enough to face Levi.

I could see my expression in the mirror's reflection: how I clenched my jaw, how I furrowed my brows. How one signature, one goddamn signature, brought me here.

While I was busy facing the consequences of my actions, or battling my demons in front of the mirror, I heard the lock of the room. Levi was out. Which meant he had been inside for around twenty minutes. Not a solid lead, but still a lead. But that was not all I knew. I knew he was married. And Cybil, his mother, was talking in the continuous tense about Julia, which meant she was at least alive. Since Julia was a noble, she couldn't possibly leave the country for good. So, how can you reach the ex-wife of the enigmatic Saint of Ascaria?

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You fucking can't.

I was butt naked in the shower in the house he bought, scheming for Levi's downfall. Well, not exactly downfall, but at least one piece of actual information about him. I got out of the shower to not catch a cold and quickly wiped myself. I picked whatever I grabbed from the clothes drawer and hastily put it on. It was time for some online stalking.

I grabbed my phone and jumped onto the bed. I searched his full name. Yet again, it was countless articles and tabloids about how he donated an astronomical amount of money to a charity, or how his company created a new effective drug for an unknown disease, or anything you can think of about a morally righteous person. Then I added the name Julia to the search. There was very little information about both of them being together. He was married when he was 18, then divorced when they were 23. So that marriage lasted five years. But, why?

He evidently didn't love her, so why didn't he divorce sooner? His marriage ended seven years ago. The most I could gather from the internet was young Levi and Julia's wedding photos. Which raised the question: what about our wedding photos? I searched my name next to his. There was nothing. He hadn't released his fake husband to the public yet.

I was distracted by my own neediness. This wasn't jealousy about an ex-relationship that ended years ago; this was my insecurity about how little I felt compared to her. Yes, theirs was an arranged marriage, but it lasted five years. And they were relatively young. So that relationship, presumably, shaped Levi in one way or another—another mystery for me which I couldn't possibly uncover.

I needed to start slow. Instead of focusing on enigmas, I needed other people to reach Levi. Like... Like... His fucking sly secretary. What was that snake's name? Holden. I needed to get some information out of him soon.