I put my glass down and nodded. After wiping my mouth, I declared, “I’m done eating.”
She released another soft sigh, wanting to persuade me but had no idea how to even begin.
I went to the living room and saw Anthony playing a game of chess with Zachary. Hence, I decided to go upstairs to wake Summer. Before I could, however, I was unexpectedly stopped by Zachary. “Letty, I heard Mr. Featherstone said that you’re quite skilled at chess. Come here and help me out. I’ve already lost several games.”
I stood next to them and studied the chessboard. Zachary was White, while Anthony was Black. Zachary’s queen had already been taken and he only had one miserable knight left. Even his two bishops were captured. Right then, Anthony’s chess pieces were positioned so that Zachary was caught at a crossroads.
It was clear who the winner was, but Zachary’s ego wouldn’t allow him to admit defeat. Hence, he called me over to diffuse the awkward situation. Seeing as there was no way to turn things around, I shifted my gaze to Anthony but didn’t speak.
After a few days of not seeing him, his face was slightly haggard, but he still looked as handsome as ever.
Sensing my gaze on him, he raised his brows at me but didn’t speak either. Instead, he looked at Zachary and stated, “It’s your turn, Mr. Moore.”
Zachary was at a dead-end. Regardless of what move he makes, he was doomed to lose. Thus, he simply stood up and glanced at me. “Letty, help me continue the game. I’m going to go see what your mother’s prepared for breakfast.”
With that, he turned and left, rendering me speechless. It was obvious that he was asking me to clean up his mess.
I sat down, but instead of moving a chess piece, I propped my chin on a hand and asked, “Why did you come here?”
A small frown appeared between his brows as he answered my question with a question. “Why didn’t you tell me that you were coming back to K City?”
I looked down at the chessboard and moved one of his chess pieces away before glancing at him with a helpless expression. “You’re an extremely busy man. I didn’t want to disturb you.”
He pursed his lips, his gaze landing on the chess piece I just moved away. Sighing softly, he compromised and removed another chess piece, clearly retreating voluntarily.
“What happened that night was a misunderstanding. Joe was there too. You can ask him if you don’t believe me.”
Is this his idea of an explanation?
I pressed my lips together and moved my last pawn across the chessboard, saying blandly, “That won’t be necessary. You’re a prominent and powerful man. Having several women at the same time is completely understandable.”
His frown deepened and he took my pawn in one move.
I got up, unwilling to continue. “Enjoy your game, Mr. Featherstone. I’ll be excusing myself now.”
His hand shot out to pull me back down. Massaging his nose bridge, he put the white pawn he had captured on the chessboard again and placed his black rook diagonal to it. Then, he trained his eyes on me and asked, “Shall we?”
I cocked a brow at him, but nodded and captured his rook with my pawn. He touched his forehead, slightly exasperated, but there was nothing he could do.
Zachary walked over just then. Glancing at the chessboard, he clucked his tongue and remarked, “It was clearly a dead-end just now. How did it become a draw? My dear, you have some amazing chess skills, huh!”
My mouth tightened because I was well aware that Anthony had deliberately allowed this to happen.
Anthony arched his eyebrows at me in a teasing manner. “Shall we continue?”
I looked at his remaining chess pieces, then at mine. Although I was at a disadvantage, I nodded curtly and agreed, “Sure.”
With that, he made his move and lifted a brow at me. “Your turn.”
Cameron came over and placed a plate of fruits on the table. Emery, who was sleeping in my room, made her way downstairs right then. When she saw us playing chess, she scuttled over to join in the hype. I greeted her briefly before making my move, seizing the opening he had deliberately given me.
Catching the intentional slip on Anthony’s part, Zachary shook his head in exasperation before walking away while grumbling, “What kind of chess game is this? If everyone were to play like this, the chess world would be a disaster.”
Emery shoved a piece of fruit into her mouth and curled her lip at him. “What do you know, Zach? Can’t you see that this isn’t chess, but a married couple settling their differences? And you call yourself a love expert? Hah, I think you’re just a-”
Zachary glared daggers at his sister, effectively shutting her up before she could say the last word.
On the chessboard, Anthony was down to his last few pieces. Gazing at me, he asked in a gentle tone, “What are your plans for this afternoon?”
“I don’t have any plans,” I replied. Then, I attacked his knight.
He didn’t seem to mind and openly surrendered to me.
Emery walked away, probably tired of witnessing Anthony’s obvious submission. Meanwhile, Cameron stood by the side and rebuked, “Didn’t I tell you both to visit the aquarium in the North District today? Summer has been going on about it for a long time.”
“That’s a good idea. The weather today is suitable for an outing,” Anthony answered with a nod.
I refused flatly, “I can’t. I’m busy.”
Both Cameron and Anthony looked at me, and the former asked quizzically, “Busy with what?”
My eyes stayed focused on the board and I only lifted my gaze after taking Anthony’s king. “Didn’t I tell you I’ll be visiting Uncle Louis today? I haven’t seen Hannah for a long time too. I wanna see her baby.”
Cameron was momentarily taken aback, but she managed to squeeze out a smile. “But Mr. Featherstone is here. It’s a good time to take Summer out to play.”
“Oh.” I paused, then countered, “But I’ve already called my brother and made dinner plans with him tonight.”
Trying hard to patch things up between Anthony and me, Cameron proposed, “Well, that’s great too. You can all go together. Summer has never seen Hannah’s baby. Since Summer likes babies, I think it’s a good idea to-”
“Let Summer stay at home and play with Xavier. He’s a baby too and she likes him. It might be troublesome to bring her along. It’s better if I go alone.” I stood up and was about to go upstairs.
Right then, Summer bounded down the stairs barefooted and ran toward me. “Mommy, Uncle John is calling!”
Speak of the devil…
As soon as I answered the call, his voice drifted across the phone. “You’re back in K City?”
“I see you’re well-informed,” I replied.
He clucked his tongue in a playful manner. “Of course. Let’s have dinner together tonight. I haven’t seen you in such a long time. I miss you.”
I hummed in response. “Sure. I was coincidently planning to see Hannah and the baby, then visit Uncle Louis.”
John fell silent for a while before clarifying, “I meant just us.”
I pursed my lips, slightly stunned. “Why?”
When he didn’t respond, I speculated, “Did you and Hannah fight?”
“Can’t dinner just be the two of us?” From his grumpy tone, my guess was probably right.
I sighed softly and concurred, “Fine. You pick the place and time, then.”
He agreed and hung up after that.
Summer wrapped her short arms around me and I noticed that she was still in her pajamas. Hence, I told her to go upstairs and change, but she wanted me to help her. Seeing as she wasn’t a baby anymore, I turned her down. To my chagrin, she ran to Anthony, hugged him, and started acting all cute.
Mentally throwing my hands up in defeat, I went back to my room and prepared to unpack my things since I probably had to stay here for the next few days.
After Independence Day, I would need to go back to A City and continue working on the Lavelian Village project. I didn’t bring much of my own belongings back with me and the large suitcase was actually for all the cute toys I bought for Summer.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
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