The Tyrant's Wife

Chapter 374: Natalie and Devonte

"How is my most handsome superstar?" Natalie smiled as she sat down across from Devonte.

He let his eyes roam over her body. Natalie was a beautiful woman, and today she had used that to her advantage. She was wearing a blue romper with a small golden belt that made her waist look even smaller than it was, bringing emphasis to her curves at the same time. She wasn’t wearing any makeup today and aside from her purse and belt, she had no jewelry or accessories.

Yet she still managed to light up the room as soon as she walked in. Everyone had been unable to stop themselves from looking over at her when she walked in. A brief hush had befallen the restaurant as soon as she walked in through the door, her high ponytail bouncing slightly as she walked over to him.

"You look amazing." He couldn’t help himself from saying, and even then he didn’t think he had done enough justice to the way she looked. He didn’t think there was a word in the dictionary that could quite describe her accurately.

She flashed him the goofiest grin. "Thanks, superstar."

"Superstar?" He chuckled, realizing she was calling him that for the second time in the last half a minute.

She shrugged. "Well, you’re going to snag another Bolar tonight.

He raised a brow. "Are the results out already? I didn’t get that memo."

"Jackass." She rolled her eyes. "I don’t need the huge announcement to know my man is going to win."

Though she was starting to wish the Bolar Awards secretly told the winners they were going to have something to celebrate. Her stomach was in knots and she wasn’t even one of the contestants. She couldn’t imagine the kind of nervousness Devonte was feeling.

"I may have to disappoint you," he said. It wasn’t because he doubted his skill as an actor.

It was quite the contrary.

He had always been one of the best actors by most people’s standards but in truth, he had never really made conscious effort before. It was always so deep-rooted in him that it felt like second nature. In the last year, however, he’d needed to drag himself out of bed on filming days and even his best days weren’t nearly as good as his half-assed days. In the last movie which was also the movie that had him enrolled for the Bolars, the crew had needed to do multiple takes and half of the time, it was his fault.

In the end, he decided not to take any more movies after that disastrous one.

Natalie knew exactly what he was talking about. She placed a hand over his. "I know what you’re worried about, my love, but you did your best. And it turned out great."

He grinned at her. "You are my girlfriend and one of my greatest fans. You will think I did a great job even if all I did was give the fakest smile to the camera for a fraction of a second. The Bolar Awards isn’t about popularity. It’s about skill and performance."

That was true, but she also knew she was right about him beating himself up too hard. "If those professionals have working eyes, they will see no one else deserves the win."

He wasn’t sure whether it was her adoration for him speaking but he was not about to be pessimistic when she had cheered him on so much over the years.

Thanks to the asshole doctor who kept giving him fake medicine, his health had taken a nosedive for months. Natalie had been there with him every step of the way, grabbing her pompoms to cheer him up when he was at his lowest—figurative ones.

Though she did show up once in a cheerleader uniform to act out one of her college fantasies. It turned out she’d imagined him as a top basketball player and herself as a cheerleader. In her darkest fantasies, she would ’accidentally’ take a wrong detour and end up in the dressing room, where he would be the only one left.

They’d spent the whole night acting out all her fantasies.

"You look like you have dirty thoughts." She raised a brow, catching the mischievous grin on his face.

"I am." He ran his tongue over his bottom lip.

The waitress brought over the menus, sporting a friendly smile. "Hi, would you like anything to drink?"

"Merlot would be nice." She said and glanced at Devonte.

He ordered the same, and when the waitress left, he leaned over the table to whisper to her, "I’ll have that, because I have no choice. You know what I would really enjoy having?"

Her cheeks flushed and she was certain she didn’t want to answer that. Not in the public restaurant.

_____

Devonte ended up winning the Bolars—again.

When his name was called out, Natalie couldn’t stop her tears from falling freely. She saw the surprise on his face as he stood up and walked to the stage. When he held the trophy in his hand, he did what he usually did with every win—he thanked his fans, held the trophy out and said, "this is for you."

For years, that always meant the same thing. It was for his fans. But this time, it had a different meaning. It was for her. Everything he had done for years was for her. Including seeking help even after trying to do so and ending up with a swindler.

However, this win also marked the end of his career as an actor. He had vaguely alluded to that on stage but only after the award ceremony did his agent let the news spread all over social media.

Natalie slipped her hand into his and looped their fingers on their way home, tilting her head to glance up at him. "I’m going to miss seeing you on the screen though."

"I have dozens of movies you can watch." He winked.

She flushed. She didn’t think that was what he meant but her mind couldn’t help flashing to the night they acted out their fantasies. She’d walked in on him recording a video for his fans and they’d forgotten to turn it off before they got to it.

By the time they realized it, they decided to keep the recording. To themselves, of course.

"I don’t mean that." He tapped her nose.

"I know. Which movie did you mean?"

"Come with me and I’ll show you." He winked.

She thought they were going home but she didn’t mind this either. She would go anywhere with him.

That didn’t mean they wouldn’t be recognized by countless fans. In fact, a retinue of heartbroken girls swarmed around them by the time she could ask him where they were going, and he had to answer a dozen questions about why he was retiring.

Of course, he gave generic answers like him being tired and too drained from doing the same thing over and over for so many years. They didn’t seem to bite but they didn’t push either.

After what felt like hours of signing autographs, he finally led her to their destination.

"The movies?" she blinked.

"Will you watch one with me? It’s only being aired tonight." He glanced at her.

She nodded and let him lead her into the theater. He bought them a humongous bucket of popcorn and coke, as well as a myriad of snacks. Which was great because she was famished. She’d had a knot in her stomach for so long as she hoped he won the Bolars because she couldn’t imagine what would become of Devonte if he didn’t. Now, she felt like she could wolf down everything in sight that was edible.

She looked around the theater when the opening credits rolled. Was it only the two of them?

Considering what time it was, she shrugged. Maybe not many people watched late night showings.

It didn’t take long to realize this was not a movie. It was Devonte.

"Oh my God." She exclaimed when she saw his handsome face fill the screen.

"I can’t believe I haven’t done this yet." His voice filled the speakers. "You’ve been part of my life for so long that I sometimes forget this crucial step is yet to happen."

He let out a sigh, then picked up a microphone. "This is for you, Nat."

The next moment, his deep, soothing voice filled the speakers with the sound of his singing.

Her eyes stung as the lyrics blasted through the speakers. He was singing Westlife’s I lay my love on you one of the songs she’d listened to on repeat on many occasions. It didn’t matter how old the song was, she would always love it. And the man she loved was singing it to her.

He was a mess by the time he finished singing, and that was before she realized he had gone down on one knee. She turned to glance at the live Devonte next to her and he was on one knee too.

"Marry me, Nat." Devonte on the screen said, at the same time as the man beside her took out a ring from a box.

"This is way overdue and...I always knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. I just don’t know if I deserve it yet but—"

She cut him off by throwing herself into his arms so hard he almost fell back.

"Of course I’ll marry you. You finally asked, you idiot. I was wondering if I’d have to drag you into a ring store."

He grinned. "So you don’t mind having me as your boy-toy? I retired, remember?"

She rolled her eyes. Leave it to Devonte to make a ridiculous joke at what was supposed to be a romantic moment.

"Hey, let’s take a trip to Vegas. I can’t wait a day longer to make you Mrs. Lemaigre." He was only half joking. He had viewed Natalie as his life partner for so long that he didn’t realize they were not married. But now that he had proposed, he couldn’t wait to belong to her in every way, and for her to belong to him.

______

Despite Devonte’s idea to go to Vegas for a quick wedding, they didn’t end up doing that. Natalie deserved to have the kind of wedding she wanted, one filled with her friends and family and wearing the gown she had always envisioned. He had seen it on one of the pictures on her phone once, even though she didn’t know he had noticed. It was how he knew she was finally ready for marriage—when she started picturing a wedding with him.

He could still picture her reaction when the dress was shipped over to their house. She was shocked speechless for a full minute before she screeched like an excited little girl and threw herself into his arms.

Now, it was their wedding day and although Natalie had slept at a room in the hotel where they were having their wedding, he had just snuck into her room.

Her eyes widened. "You’re not supposed to see the bride in her gown before the wedding."

He inched closer to her. "I don’t just want to see the bride. I want to boink her as well."

She laughed. "Excuse me, boink? That’s crass."

"Okay." He shoved his hand into his suit pocket. "I want to fuck my wife before the wedding. That better?"

She thought he was joking but he was staring at her so intensely. She swallowed when he took several steps towards her and grabbed her by the waist.

He wanted nothing more than to shred the beautiful, lace gown from her body but that would have to wait. Instead, he lifted the material up her hips and groaned in satisfaction when he caught sight of the blue lace thong she was wearing.

"You need to find something else for your something blue." He whispered.

"My bra is blue." She muttered.

He didn’t need to be told twice. He dragged the thong off her body, no matter how much he wanted to rip it as well. He knew if he let himself succumb to his need, he would not be able to stop himself from being rough. He needed to be gentle this time. She had spent a king’s ransom on her makeup and insisted on paying for it herself.

Besides, he wasn’t about to do anything that would make his bride feel less beautiful than she wanted on her wedding day. So he bent her over the bed and, unbuckling his belt and dragging down his pants and boxers, gently sunk into her.

______

Devonte stood in front of the blue ribbon connecting two pillars of the building that belonged to Jupiter Studios. Construction had completed earlier this year and after months of planning, Jupiter Studios was finally coming alive.

After his retirement, he’d decided to remain in the film industry even though he wouldn’t be acting anymore. So he chose to launch his own studio. He knew it would take years for him to get on his feet—well, that was what would have happened if he didn’t have the two magicians on his side to help him with marketing.

Zaria and Natalie had spent a hefty amount of time and were now some of the people waiting for him to cut the ribbon.

"Why is the ribbon blue?" Natalie asked mischievously, making Devonte grunt. Of course it was his new favorite color after seeing how she looked on their wedding night, naked aside from the blue lace bra she was wearing.

Finally, Jupiter Studios was live, and he couldn’t be any happier.

He pulled Natalie to his side. "Are you impressed, CEO Nat?"

She smiled. She was the new CEO of Twilight after Lucy decided to retire early. The latter was only a few feet away from them amid the swarm of people, but she was probably leaving soon to spend time with Theodore and their grandchildren. That was what she’d been up to lately.

Well, she’d accumulated enough money for generations of her descendants to afford a lifetime of luxury anyway. Work had only been a pass time to her.

Natalie’s grin was ear to ear. "Yes. I certainly am impressed, CEO Lemaigre. And I have a gift to show you later."

"Can’t wait."

The opening ceremony went on without a hitch and he was on auto-pilot through most of it. Most of his focus was on Natalie, who had said she had a gift for him.

When he finally finished schmoozing with the big shots of the industry, he grabbed the first chance to high-tail it home with his wife in tow.

Yet nothing could have prepared him for the gift she showed him.

A pregnancy test. With a plus sign.

His eyes widened. They weren’t even trying anymore.

She flushed, still holding up the pregnancy test. "I checked with the gynecologist while you were out planning the ceremony, we’re having twins."

He picked her up and twirled around with her in his arms, only setting her down when he feared she might be out of breath.

"I love you so much Natalie. I was already the happiest man in the world before you broke this news and now..." he trailed off, speechless.

She tiptoed and kissed him. "I love you too, Devonte."