Devon Point of View

A warm current spread from the tip of my fingers where they touched her. It traveled all through my body spreading warmth and a kind of tingle-ish feeling in the bottom of my stomach that I've never experienced before.

It felt new but not bad.

As I straightened her posture a little by holding her waist lightly, I wondered how someone's waist can be so slim yet curvy.

Not to mention the body fit ball gown she wore, it was not too over the top that could snatch the attention from the main couple of the evening, but it was not too light that she would fade away among the crowd of guest.

The dress, her demeanor, her natural beauty, all combined gave her such an eternal vibe to her.

Looking at her slightly shaking hand, I held it and stabilized it as I whispered words of focus and support.

"Now, calm your breathing. Keep your focus on the aim only. Everything else doesn't exist at all. There is only you and your aim." I whispered, resulting in a shiver from her.

The shiver was a small one but it did affect me as well.

Goodness! I don't know what is happening to me today!

"Now, throw the ring." Illaria followed my instructions and threw the ring which shakily but surely landed on an item she was wishing for.

A painting.

The moment she won it, she turned back towards me with such a bright smile that even sun can be outshined at that very moment.

She looked so pretty and – hot!

No, not hot! But she looked extremely hot though!

Oh my! Why am I contradicting myself like a stupid person?

What is happening to me?

Although I know what is happening to me, I cannot follow the sudden surge of newly found feelings in such a tornado pace.

However, I did understand one thing; I do have romantic feelings for her from before and that is why they gushed out all of a sudden when time and opportunity presented.

"Look, I won! This is amazing, isn't it?" She looked at me eagerly, waiting for my praises.

"Amazing indeed." I praised her genuinely because despite it being her first attempt and despite being distracted herself, she still did it in her first attempt.

It's no wonder why people in the business world has such high respect for her.

Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw grandma nodding to herself and pulled away everyone with her only leaving me and Illaria to play the game.

Even if I were the densest person in the whole world, I could still guess the meaning behind her actions.

Now that I think back, I realized why grandma insisted on having only Illaria and me as a team for the wedding arrangement.

She was preparing this for a long time.

"I now want that stuffed toy." She said excitedly and held a ring tightly in her hand.

As if waiting for something, she did not throw the ring but was just looking at me with a questioning gaze.

It was only after staring back at her for a couple of minutes did I understand what she was waiting for so I held her hand and guided her again towards another win.

This time, she was even more excited than the last time as she held the pineapple stuffed toy to her chest and hugged it tightly.

I still could not understand the theory behind women and their love for stuffed toys. It's not just Illaria but my own female cousins as well; they are crazy for stuffed toys.

My twelfth cousin is culmination of this craziness. She has such love for these toys that she even wears small stuffed things as earrings and necklace.

What is it about these soft toys that makes them so silly about?

"This is so cute, my God! Just look at the beaded eyes, so adorable. It's so soft to hug." She squealed as she hugged it tightly.

Half an hour later, she has her hands filled with the things she won from the game. I got her a shopping basket that we provided to everyone just in case and piled all her things in that basket.

After putting away the basket of her things in my house, we got back to the party which is so bustling that even though it's a night, it's lit like a pleasant summer day.

We were walking slowly, side by side, sometimes our hands touching and sometimes our shoulders gazing against each other's.

My ears turned reddish red with every such touch and it's not just me that got affected, she was too. I could see a sea of blush flowing on her face in pink waves.

If she was beautiful before, blushing Illaria is beyond gorgeous and looked completely out of this world and ethereal.

"Are you – okay?" I asked after a moment of hesitation.

There was a lot of buzzing noise and hollering around us. Some noises from talking, some from playing, some from laughing and some from having a loud competition.

A few of my family members are teasing the main couple of the day as they walked around the streets, greeting everyone.

"Y-yes. Yes I am." She stammered.

Hesitating for a minute, I finally decided to ask about the issue that has been eating me from inside.

"Were you angry with me?"

"Um?"

"Were you angry with me when we met the day before?" The moment I reminded her, her blushing and happy face turned a little grim.

Oh, she was!

"Why?" I asked, knowing well that she was indeed furious the other day.

She did not answer but just looked at me for a minute before countering me with an unexpected question.

"Is there anything that you have to tell me?"

"Not really?" I frowned a little as I answered casually.

Somehow, I have an idea on what she is talking about yet, at the same time, I'm not confident as well.

"Good. Alright." When she accepted my reply with a polite smile and left the topic then and there, it gave me a sense of bad premonition.

It felt terrible inside me and I did not like it at all.

The previous shyness and romantic pink flowerly magic between us is now no more, replaced by a dark brewing storm from her.

I have been working with the government since I was in my teen and all these years, I've gained intimidating aura that can easily scare even the most influential people.

However, right at this moment, is the first time I'm scared of something or in this case, someone.

"Devon, Illaria; you are finally here. Come on, the engagement event is about to start." Mom ushered us towards the center of the place.

Zorion and Tiny are standing side by side in the middle, surrounded by crowd, smiling at each other. The guests look even more happy than the main couple as they laughed and clapped at them wholeheartedly.

Such a warm scene is cucumber to eyes.

"Hello everyone, welcome to Allard - Almond's engagement celebrations. We have a few customs in our family –" Grandma took over the mic and started talking enthusiastically.

And when grandma starts to address the crowd, it means the main event is about to start.

"As you all know, we Almonds have been here since centuries now and we have been friends or relatives with most of you all since a very long time. So, you must know that Almonds are the most appropriate mix of modern and tradition in a best ratio." Everyone chuckled at grandma's joking tone and serious words.

Even Illaria, who was gloomy until now also smiled.

"We shall now begin the engagement ceremony of our child Tiny Almond and her love of this life and probably several other lives too – Zorion Nigel Allard." Everyone clapped and so, the engagement rituals started.

"Let's go. We will be needed there for the ceremony customs." I spoke in a slow and soft tone, which Illaria ignored and just walked to the family without giving me even a look back.

Usually, I don't mind if someone was behaving like this but Illaria's avoidance and ignoring me made me so uncomfortable.

Although I tried to cover it up with a smile, I still couldn't put my full focus on the ceremony at hand.

"Tiny, Zorion, face each other first." Grandma instructed as every Almond got to their roles and tasks.

I, as Tiny's cousin brother, stood behind her with a tray full of stuff that's needed for the rituals and Illaria, as Zorion's sister, stood behind him with the tray of stuff as well.

"First pick up the peacock feather from the tray both of you." As instructed, the couple picked a peacock feather each and stood smiling facing each other.

Zorion looked confused at the same because he isn't aware of the rituals while Tiny has a lot of knowledge about them so she expressed her enthusiasm.

"It's the to-be-groom turn first. Zorion, please." Zorion looked confused at grandma not knowing what to do so my uncle prompted him from beside.

"Zorion, son, you have to tickle Tiny with the feature. The task is to make her laugh out loud by tickling and vice versa."

This specific ritual signifies the start of a new life with full of laughter and happiness.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Hello Sweeties,

Next chapter is here. Enjoy!

What do you think about the chapter? Good?

Everything was going well for them then why should Devon ask about the past and remind her of her anger?

Why exactly was Illaria angry with him though?

Almonds and their rituals. What are you views on their strange actions and rituals?

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Lots of Love

Lady Prim