60 - DEVLIN

Pungent acid rises in my throat as my back presses into Corbyn, and the sounds of me gagging only filter through, as his voice does, "Not in the dress."

I spin in his arms, but as I go to find solace in his touch, I find myself pressing against where he's holding me at an arm's length.

"You'll ruin your makeup," he says, as if I just unboxed a plant.

"You knew," I yell, shaking my head as I try to back up from him, but he grips onto me right before I stumble backward.

"You didn't think he would let Gavin get away with trying to claim the prize, did you?"

“What are you-”

I’m mid-scream when he interrupts me, “A Queen's debt, is a King’s to settle."

"How did he even know that, Corbyn?" I step into his space, needing to hear him confirm it, for him to say it out loud… he told him.

I can wait all I want here, but the silence from him is exactly what I expected, it’s the calmness that’s fallen over me, that I didn’t see coming.

Did I want Gavin dead?

Yes.

Am I upset that