Lahat ng Kabanata ng Appealing To His Gaze : Kabanata 51 - Kabanata 60

DEVIN’S POV.He was already out by the time i closed the door, not a care in the fucking world, like he didn’t just rip my goddamn heart out six months ago and mail it back to me in pieces.Aiden was in my bed. tucked in like he never left. like he hadn’t ghosted me. like he hadn’t vanished and made me think he was dead. and now he was telling me to calm down?fuck that.I stood outside my bedroom door too long. just… breathing. trying to remember how to fucking move, how to exist now that he was here again. The scent of him still clinging to my hoodie like it had claws. My hands smelled like him too. my lips. Every part of me was buzzing with some leftover static from that kiss, from the weight of his body slamming into mine like he’d been starving, like it was the only meal he wanted.God.but I had to leave.i had to move .so I shoved myself forward, one foot after the other, dragging my ass down the hallway. thinking maybe i’d hit the kitchen, grab coffee, scream into a mug or somet

DEVIN'S POV I kept scrolling. thumb twitching. couldn’t even focus on the screen, wasn’t reading shit, just moving like the motion alone would keep my head from splitting in half. Nothing helped. Everything buzzed. Not just my phone, not just the hallway lights above me flickering like they were laughing at me, but inside. like a swarm. a fucking swarm in my chest.I stood there like an idiot, arms crossed, back against the office door, pretending I wasn't checking the time every five seconds. pretending I didn't care that he was late.Byron was never late. but then again, i wasn’t the kind of guy people were early for, was i?not the type of guy anyone waits on, not the one you rearrange plans for. i was the fuck-up. the background noise. the one who was too quiet, too angry, too much . Always. I knew that. I'd lived that. I wore it at every second guess, every clench of my jaw, every time I picked at my skin until I bled just to feel something. the door clicked. opened. and then

DEVINS POV.I woke up too warm. I didn’t move. Just blinked slowly into the soft, golden haze leaking through the blinds. Everything smelled like sex and skin and Aiden—his cologne rubbed raw against my neck, his breath soft on my shoulder. I felt his arm draped over my waist like a fuckin' vice. Possessive. Heavy. Comforting. Like he was still afraid I’d vanish if he let go.And maybe he was right.I stared up at the ceiling, trying to think, trying not to think. But I could still feel it. Byron. The way his hands felt on my hips. The way his mouth moved when he said my name. The sharp flicker of pride in his eyes when he told me he’d spoken to the investors. Said I had something real. That rawness. That drive."I've seen kids burn out," he'd said. "But you... you've got hunger. I can work with that."I’d been high off it. High off him. The way he pulled me in like I was more than just another boy with fast skates and daddy issues. The way he told me I was good. And when he kissed m

DEVIN'S POV.I kept my hand on the doorknob because it felt safer to hold something. My fingers were stiff from how hard I’d been gripping it, but letting go made me feel like I’d fall forward. Aiden stood in the entrance, chest rising and falling too fast, like he’d jogged straight into the house without stopping once. His eyes were red around the edges, faintly swollen, and he kept blinking like he could force them to look normal if he tried hard enough."What?" I said. My voice didn't come out with inflection. Not angry, not confused-just flat, like it slipped out before I could decide what I wanted it to sound like. Aiden pressed his lips before answering. His jaw shook a little, then was set firm, holding himself together by the edge of his teeth."I said Marcus was dying," he repeated, this time slower, like he thought I hadn't heard him properly the first time. "He has cancer. He didn't want it public. He didn't want anyone to know. I stayed because he begged me to. I stayed be

STELLAWhen I stepped off the plane, the weight of the air hit me first, heavy and warm, and I didn’t even bother letting myself settle before reaching for my phone. I already had Devin’s message typed out halfway through the descent because there was no point in pretending. I always sent the same thing every time I came back from any trip, whether it was two days or two weeks. It didn’t matter. Nothing about this marriage felt real enough to change routine.I hit send on the text.“Just landed. I’ll be home tomorrow. I hope you missed me.”I didn’t pause. I didn’t wait for the little “delivered” symbol. I didn’t check whether he opened it or not. I didn’t expect anything back because Devin never replied immediately, and even if he did, I wouldn’t have believed whatever he said. I knew he didn’t miss me, not in any way that mattered, and I didn’t miss him either. We both existed in this agreement that wasn’t born from choice or affection. It was part of Festus’ plan, part of what he w