Devon Point of View

Now, this is slightly unnerving!

I tried hard to ignore but when a person is sitting right in front of you and staring at you without blinking, that too if that person is a beautiful woman, that too if that person is someone who you slowly getting interested in and that too if you have something that you hide from that person.

Truly unsettling!

"Umm, grandma asked you to come at least by tomorrow night. Spend a night in Almond house and the day after it will be the engagement party so we'll have some time in hands to do the last-minute checks." I tried to sound as casual as I can.

The way she narrowed her eyes and glanced at me with glints of doubt, it almost felt like she can even guess the color of my underwear just by looking at me.

It's that penetrating!

Did I somehow overdo it in the past few days?

Does she suspect something about me?

That's not possible right? I was always called the best in covering up for myself.

"Also, the invites for the party are prepared, I got you some to invite your acquaintances." Gulping secretly, I continued, not minding at her stares.

Not minding? Huh, I mind if she looks at me with such wary eyes.

"Alright. I can do that. Thanks." She nodded without any hint of smile on her beautiful face.

I've seen Illaria smiling, fuming, aggravating, confused and displaying many other emotions on her beautiful attractive face but now, looking at her expressionless features; I didn't like it.

These past few days, as I spent time with her, although on the grounds of working together for our siblings' wedding, I learnt and experienced a few things that I've never in the past.

One of those was a slight pounding in my heart whenever I look at her.

Obviously, I'm an Almond so I know what that means.

I'm kind of sort of starting to have thoughts on her that a man who is more than a friend will have.

Although I'm the most serious and cold kind of a person in the whole Almond family, I can clearly distinguish and recognize my feelings well.

However, looking at her impassive face, it's putting me on the edge.

What exactly is going on in her mind?

"You seem tired and worried; is everything alright?" I asked her after handing out the bunch of invitation card to her.

The cards are personally designed and made by my cousins with the intervention of elders here and there. One look at them and you will know how peculiar yet how well designed they are.

They are simple yet grand. Simply beautiful.

"The work has been wearing me down these couple of days. Nothing more." She answered simply. "The cards are beautiful. I see they changed the border design on the card in the last minute."

"Ah yes, this design won unanimously." I said with a small smile expecting her to return me back with one of her own like always but this time, I'm very disappointed.

She only nodded slightly and put the cards inside her bag without speaking a word.

Now, I'm sure she is somewhat displeased because of me and I have a feeling that it has something to do with a little detail that I hid from her.

"Well, my friend from the investigation department got hold of some vital information about a person in your company. You might want to look at it." Saying, I pulled out a small paper roll from my laptop bag and gave it to her.

Without opening it, she put it in her bag as it is which startled me a little more.

"Aren't you going to read it now?"

"No."

"What if you don't understand something?" She just shrugged back and stood up, taking her handbag, she was preparing to leave.

"I'm in a hurry today so I have to leave early. Let's meet tomorrow evening in Almond house. Have a good day." She turned around and left without even giving me a second look.

I sat there, lost in thoughts for whole half an hour, not knowing what to do. Mindlessly, I walked out of the building and walked my way home even though I have a car.

After walking home for two and half hours, I reluctantly took a nice cold shower before going to meet Tiny and my other cousins.

The whole Almond colony is bustling with activity. There's decoration going on, the infrastructure for the party carnival is already made long back and uncles are busy arranging the stalls and stage accordingly.

Each and everyone of the family is busy with some kind of work. While my female cousins are getting their skin and hair spa done, my male cousins are getting manicure and pedicure that my female cousins imposed them with.

"I mean, who will be so free to admire and administer a boy's beauty of hands and feet? This is so ridiculous." My fifth cousin complained endlessly.

"A man's hands are more beautiful when they are bit rough and callusy." My sixteenth cousin commented.

"Eww, look at my hands now, it looks like I've stolen a mannequin's hands and attached them on me. Hey, wait, please don't paint my nails." My nineth cousin cried out suddenly, trying to pull his beautified hands back from my twelfth female cousin but unfortunately, he couldn't win.

The result; his nails have a new art in half an hour.

"Devon, come brother, we are done with him, now is your turn and I won't take no for an answer." The eldest of my female cousins gestured me to take the just emptied seat with a warning in her eyes.

Now, this one is a the most violent female cousins of mine because one, she is a cop; two, she is elder to me so she has some power over me and three, the most important one, if we agree to her from the beginning, we can get away with a lesser damage. If she has to say it for the second time or insist her way, then the damage shall be bigger and more permanent.

While I saw my other male cousins shaking their heads secretly, indicating me to run away, I could only ignore them because I want to settle down with a lesser damage.

Getting a manicure and pedicure is much better than getting my eyebrows done and shaving off my hair on hands and legs.

A little hair on a man's arms and legs is considered his charm and pride.

"Hmph, look at Devon, he is so compliant and clever." My eldest female cousin praised me as she started her work on beautifying my hands and feet.

First she had me soak my feet in hot water with some rock salt, in the meanwhile, she washed my hands in hot water, used some foamy wash to wash them, then used some other aromatic liquid to was them, applied some greasy cream on them and massaged them.

All the while, I did not even know when she cut my nails and shaped them. Although I don't have dead skin, still the dead-kind of skin around my nails is now white, smooth and soft looking all alive and blooming.

"Tsk tsk tsk, Devon, why don't we put both your hands in jade boxes." My own brother teased me, followed by chuckles around the room.

"Just look at the nail art on his nails. Hey Devon, why don't you put you hand over you mouth and say in a screechy tone 'Oh My Gosh'?"

"Yes, say it."

"You should, it will suit you so much." One after the other, all my cousins, male or female, got psychotic and started to tease me.

Looking at their expectant gazes, I sighed in resignation and did what they wanted me to. Snickers, chuckles and gleeful laughter followed making the whole house filled with warmth of family togetherness and love.

Others might think that my cousins are making fun of me and laughing at my expense which is true but it is nothing in offensive sense. For one, Almond treasure their morals like gold and silver and we would never be rude to anyone who doesn't deserve it.

"Argh, Tiny, what are you doing?" My fifth cousin hollered over his lungs, startling all of us.

When we turned to look what is happening, we saw Tiny, the bride of the event, applying some kind of yellow face pack on his face – forcefully.

"Look at your rough skin, are you donating your skin to make shoes and handbags after you die? Why is it so hard and rough?" Tiny reprimanded him, making everyone speechless.

She forces a generous amount of face pack on his face and applied it evenly before finishing it off with slices of cucumber on the eyes.

"You can wash your face after twenty-five minutes; we will then apply some cream to follow up." And the fate of my fifth cousin is set for the whole day.

He will be remaking his leather skin by the hands of Tiny.

The discomfort I was feeling because of Illaria's passiveness was soon comforted by my family with their antics.

However, that did not work for long as I know I have to face Illaria tomorrow night and find out what she is so concerned about.

Having feelings for a woman and hiding something from her is like a double-edged sword.

"Alright, now it's Devon's turn. Come on, boy." My eldest female cousin beckoned me and I frowned in confusion.

"Oh, what are you looking at? Come on, it's time for facial and hair spa. You don't want to look haggard the day after, do, you?"

Facial?

Hair spa?

Uh huh, I so want to reject her offer but one look at her –

Sigh!

~*~*~*~*~*~

Hello Sweeties,

Next chapter is here. Enjoy!

What do you think about the chapter? Boring?

Why is Illaria being so cold to Devon? Any reason you could think of?

Devon's family such a package of entertainers. Agree?

Will Devon be able to find out why Illaria is indifferent to him?

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Lots of Love

Lady Prim