Illaria Point of View

There it was again, in my hands—that letter.

I already knew what I was about to get myself into. Devon's 'letters' were always a mix of chaotic genius and embarrassment wrapped in a single crumpled page, and this one was no exception.

It started innocently enough. But like a rollercoaster, you could feel the awkwardness creep in, ramping up with every sentence.

He probably had no idea what he was doing, or maybe he did, and this was just his form of torturing me with charm.

"Dear Illaria, my cosmic light, my champion of spreadsheets and Excel formulas,"

I stifled a laugh.

He was already starting with this? I couldn't believe it.

My champion of spreadsheets? Really, Devon?

He knew how much I hated those spreadsheets—yet here he was, calling me a hero for filling in all those cells.

"I hope this letter finds you in a place where you can appreciate the true majesty of what I am about to say."

Oh, I could already hear him saying this in that overly dramatic voice of his, as if he were writing a love letter to some mythical creature.

But at the same time - damn!

I couldn't help but enjoy it. 'True majesty'? Seriously?

"Now, where to begin? I suppose I could start with the very first thing that pops into my head: you're not just a regular person, Illaria. No. You're like a secret recipe from a five-star restaurant, something so deliciously complex that even the greatest chefs could never quite replicate it."

I blinked. Did he just compare me to food? I mean, sure, I liked food—who didn't? But to be called a secret recipe?

That was... unexpectedly charming. I bit my lip to stop myself from grinning like an idiot.

"And your eyes? Oh, don't even get me started on your eyes. They're like two very mysterious, very intense GPS systems that somehow manage to guide me to the most ridiculous conclusions every time. You could tell me that the Earth was flat, and I'd probably believe you. It's your eyes, Illaria—they're like little supercomputers for the soul."

I swear, my heart was doing gymnastics. No kidding!

Okay, Devon, you're officially ridiculous; but I'm eating this up.

"And your smile? Let's talk about that. Your smile is like a combination of a rare, ancient artifact and a caffeine-fueled puppy. It's both precious and impossible to look away from. I imagine it's how the sun feels every morning, forced to rise and shine, whether it wants to or not. But instead of being annoyed, it's actually quite thrilled to do so. That's what your smile is like to me - bright, warming, and impossible to ignore."

Okay, I couldn't pretend anymore. I let out a soft laugh, then clutched the letter to my chest.

This is ridiculous, I thought, but God, I love it.

He was so Devon. How could I be annoyed when he was writing such weirdly perfect nonsense?

But the letter wasn't done. Oh no, it kept going.

"Now, I know what you're thinking: 'Oh Devon, stop with the nonsense.'
But the truth is, I'm trying to be as serious as I can. You make me think that maybe, just maybe, I could be something more than a walking disaster. And who knows? Maybe you're the only person who could turn me into a mildly functional human being. But hey, I wouldn't want to change too much. A little chaos never hurt anyone."

I smirked at that. Oh, Devon, you really know how to twist the knife. I wasn't buying that "mildly functional" nonsense, though.

The chaos he was talking about was his own special brand of madness, the kind of madness that left you with a sore stomach from laughing and a permanent eye twitch from confusion. I wouldn't change him for the world.

"By the way, I'm currently writing this while standing on one leg. I bet that makes this letter 20% more charming, right? It's a scientifically proven fact that balance increases the effectiveness of sincere gestures. If this makes no sense, don't worry, it's just one of those things that doesn't need to make sense. Kind of like me."

'Like me'? Oh no, he was pulling out his weird quirks again.

And here I was, pretending not to adore it. How could I? Every word was so ridiculously Devon that it made my heart flutter in the most exasperating way.

He sure knows how to write the most incredible nonsense and yet make my heart pound hard even with such nonsense!

The final line was the killer though -

"I'm probably not the guy you expected, and I'm certainly not the guy you deserve—but I am the guy who gets flustered thinking about you. So, take this letter as my very awkward but sincere attempt to say, 'I like you, Illaria. And maybe that's the only thing that makes sense in all this nonsense.'"

And then, of course, no signature. No flourish. No sign-off. Just... nothing.

Classic Devon!

I set the letter down and let out a deep breath. I'm a mess. But really, Devon's letter was an absolute disaster of charm, humor, and sincerity, and somehow, I loved every second of it.

It's your fault, you know, I thought to myself, shaking my head with a sigh. I'm not even mad. You just make me want to scream from how sweet and stupid you are.

But of course, I'd never say that to him. I was too busy pretending that I didn't secretly want to kiss the man who could write something so absurdly wonderful.

I could feel the corners of my mouth twitching up into a smile I absolutely wasn't going to admit to anyone.

I really need to stop falling for you.

Which is getting very much impossible with every passing fraction of second.

I couldn't let Devon's letter go unanswered. As much as I wanted to pretend, I wasn't charmed, I knew I had to reply.

But how? I couldn't just give him a bland response. No, that would be as boring as a spreadsheet.

So, I sat at my desk, biting my pen as I stared at the paper before me. I needed to be just as ridiculous as he was. I needed to step up my game.

This wasn't just a letter exchange; it was... something else.

And then, inspiration hit.

Dear Devon, my brilliantly odd peanut butter to my jam,

I rolled my eyes, even as I smiled at the absurdity of it. But I couldn't stop myself.

I must admit, your letter was... an experience. One I can only describe as a mix between an explosion of glitter and the very first sip of a perfectly brewed cup of coffee. Awkward, but somehow exactly what I needed.

I paused to make sure it didn't sound too much like a compliment, then continued.

Your comparison of my smile to a caffeine-fueled puppy might be the strangest thing anyone has ever said to me, but I can't deny that it made me laugh. Honestly, I'm still not entirely sure what you meant by it, but I'm choosing to believe it's a compliment. And as for the whole 'secret recipe' thing? I'm flattered. Honestly, I think I prefer being called a 'secret recipe' to being called 'just another person'.

I paused for a moment, thinking about his "mildly functional human being" comment. I had to throw that in there.

But let's get one thing straight: I'm pretty sure you're more chaotic than you let on, and that's saying something, because I'm definitely not the picture of stability myself. But hey, chaos builds character. Or something like that. I'll have to think on it.

I chuckled to myself, imagining Devon's reaction when he read this. But I wasn't done yet.

And as for your one-legged writing technique, I have to admit, I've tried it. It does make you 20% more charming. I've also decided that if I ever need to break a leg—or any other part of me—I'll make sure to blame you and your unconventional advice.

I couldn't help but laugh out loud at my own ridiculousness. But Devon had set the bar high. I had to bring my A-game if this was going to work.

By the way, I don't know how you manage to get flustered thinking about me, but if it makes you feel better, I've been known to turn five shades of red just reading your letters. So I guess we're even.

I signed the letter with a flourish, making sure it was just silly enough to keep him guessing but still genuine enough to show I appreciated everything he said.

Yours in chaos and bad decisions,
Illaria

And it has been a year since I wrote this letter to him.

One whole year of just bliss and bliss of love.

One whole year of just us and nothing else.

One year of Devon and me in relationship. Now, it's time to take the next step in our relationship.

And I know that this is the reason why Devon has sent a message to meet him today.

I know he has prepared what I think it is and what I've been anticipating for.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Hello Sweeties,

Next chapter is here. Enjoy!

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