Appealing To His Gaze

Devin's PovThis was it. The big day.Her beauty struck me like sunlight breaking through stained glass, scattering colors across the chapel walls. Every breath she took felt like proof of divinity, every step toward me a hymn. At that moment, I believed she was mine forever.The priest’s voice carried like a melody, each word settling with goodwill.“Do you, Devin Blackwell, take Stella Hale to be your lawfully wedded wife…”The world had gone quiet around me. The faces in the pews blurred into an indistinct smear of pastel dresses and dark suits. All I could see was Stella, framed by the white flowers arching above us, her black hair pulled into an elegant twist, her eyes bright with expectation. She looked perfect. ‘This feels like a dream.’I loved her… or at least I told myself so for years, I repeated it until it sounded like the truth. She was beautiful, sharp, the kind of woman who lit up every room with her energy. She deserved someone who adored her. She deserved someone wh

Devin's Pov‘Maybe I shouldn't have left the way I did…’My brain worked on overtime, thinking of every excuse I could use. Every lie I could pull. Anything.The instant Adrian’s hand clasped mine, sweat broke out on my palms. My chest squeezed like someone had tied wire around it. This was it. He was going to ruin everything. He was going to laugh in Stella’s face, announce what happened last night, and peel my world apart one layer at a time.But then, the words that left his mouth were… different.“Oh, heyyy, Devin right? I’m Adrian.”His grip was steady, his grin almost too easy. My name slid from his tongue like it had come from Stella’s lips, not mine.“You two haven’t met yet, I know, I know.” Stella’s voice chimed as she looked between us. “But hey? I’ve told you so much about each other.”Adrian tilted his head, his eyes still locked on me. “Oh my, it’s like I know you already.”The pause stretched. Suggestive. Lingering. My pulse spiked to high heaven.Then he added, “...Wit

Devin's Pov“Oh, I dare alright.” I seethed with rage as well as other unknown emotions. “Because if you dare to sleep with me despite knowing that you might have gotten some sort of disease from your boy toy then I have every right to say it.” With each word, I poked at his chest, pushing him backwards slightly.This time around, the smile had dropped from his face as he looked at me darkly.“Don't test me Devin. Whatever this tryst you're trying to pull is, don't pull Marcus into it. Who's to say you aren't the one who had it from the onset? From what I understand, only you exhibited any symptoms so you might as well have had it for a while.” he said.A sour feeling emerged in my chest when he kept actively protecting Marcus even now but since I couldn't understand it, I gritted my teeth and shook my head to clear my head. Instead I focused my attention on the fact that he was trying to blame me.The fuck? Does he think I'm a whore who sleeps around with any guy I see?“Fuck you, A

DEVINS POV.Work felt pointless today. Every click of the clock on the wall just reminded me of how deep I was stuck in this mess I called a life. My father’s words were still running wild in my head, slicing through my thoughts over and over again. There was no way out of this marriage. No amount of guilt, anger, or begging was going to change that. The stamp was final, the deal sealed, and my father had made sure I understood exactly what would happen if I ever tried to walk away.I sat behind my desk staring at my laptop screen, the same email sitting open for the past thirty minutes. I felt like shit,My hands hovered over the keyboard, but I couldn’t type a single word. I kept seeing Stella’s face from this morning, the hurt, the disbelief, the silent tears. I’d ignored her completely, like she didn’t even exist. Part of me hated that I cared, but I did. I just didn’t know what to do with it anymore.The door opened behind me, the handle clicking before I heard Timone’s voice. “Y

ADRIEN’S POV.The drive back felt longer than it should’ve. My head was a mess, the road looked endless, and all I could think about was how the hell I’d let myself get dragged into this shit again. Devin. Fucking Devin. Every time I thought I was done, somehow he found a way to crawl under my skin and ruin the rest of my day.I gripped the wheel tighter, the anger still crawling in my chest. The nerve of that man — standing there acting like he still had the upper hand, like nothing that happened between us ever meant a damn thing. He was still the same greedy, selfish bastard he’d always been. Arrogant as hell. Always pretending to be in control when, in reality, he couldn’t even face what he was. Too scared to say it out loud, too scared to live with it.And yet, I was the one who couldn’t stop reacting to him. I hated that part most.I told myself I should be more worried about Stella, that this was about her, not him, but that was bullshit and I knew it. Stella always bounced fro