My Fiance is Sleeping With My Step Sister

Chapter 74

Devon’s eyes had always been sharp, too sharp sometimes. The kind that stripped me bare no matter how tightly I tried to wrap myself in excuses.

The days after my shift felt different. My fire was still alive under my skin, but it flickered in ways I didn’t recognize. Sometimes it surged too quickly, bursting to life when I didn’t call it. Other times it dimmed, leaving me strangely drained, like I had poured every last drop of myself into a flame that shouldn’t have been there.

And Devon noticed.

“Addy,” he said one morning as I tried to lace up my boots for training. “You’re pale.”

I laughed softly, hoping it would sound convincing. “Maybe you’re just seeing things.”

He crouched in front of me, catching my chin in his hand so I had no choice but to meet his gaze. His eyes burned into mine, steady, unyielding. “Don’t lie to me. I can feel it. Your energy it’s off. Something's wrong, what are you not telling me Addy."

"You know you can tell me anything, you don't have to hide things from me."

The truth clawed at my throat, desperate to be spoken. I pressed my lips together instead, forcing the words back down. If I told him, if I let the possibility slip from my mouth, it would become real. And I wasn’t ready.

So I smiled, weak and stubborn. “I’m fine.”

He didn’t believe me. I could see it in the way his jaw tightened, the way his thumb lingered against my cheek like he was trying to memorize my warmth. But he didn’t press, not yet. Devon was patient when he wanted to be. Patient, but relentless.

Later, during training, Joey pushed me harder than usual. Normally I would’ve welcomed the challenge, but today every strike, every dodge, felt heavier. My body lagged behind my mind. My breath tore from my lungs too quickly. I was getting tired too quickly.

“Focus, Addy!” Joey barked, irritation flashing in her eyes.

I clenched my fists, fire sparking faintly around them before sputtering out. My heart sank. I never lost control like that. Not anymore.

Joey noticed too. Her frown deepened, but she said nothing, her gaze flicking briefly toward Devon, who was watching from the edge of the field. He hadn’t moved all morning, arms folded, his expression unreadable.

When training ended, I could barely stand. I slipped away before anyone could stop me, but Devon found me in our room, sitting at the edge of the bed with my head in my hands.

He knelt beside me silently, pulling my hands away to search my face. His touch was gentle but his voice was firm. “What are you hiding from me, Addy?”

"C'mon Addy, you know you can tell me."

My chest tightened painfully. I wanted to tell him everything. I wanted to lean into his strength, let him shoulder this fear with me. But what if I was wrong? What if I gave him hope only for it to shatter?

“I’m not hiding anything,” I whispered.

He didn’t call me a liar, but he didn’t look away either. His thumb stroked the inside of my wrist, right where my pulse raced like wildfire. He could feel it, I knew he could.

That night, when he touched me, it wasn’t with the same hunger as before. It was careful, almost cautious, as if he feared I might break beneath him. It made my chest ache in ways I couldn’t explain.

I buried my face against his neck, breathing him in. “Don’t look at me like that,” I murmured.

“Like what?” His voice was low, almost rough.

“Like I’m slipping away from you.”

His arms tightened around me. “Because you are. And I’m not going to let you.”

Tears burned in my eyes, but I forced them back. I couldn’t tell him yet. Not until I was sure. Not until I had no choice.

But even as I lay awake beside him long after he had fallen asleep, I knew the truth I was trying so hard to deny. Something had changed inside me. And Devon wasn’t going to stop until he found out what it was.