Cameron brought some breakfast to the living room, then came back to the dining table and glanced at me. “The Stovalls called this morning and invited us for dinner. Everyone knows that you’re back and they’re all asking for a gathering.”
I stuffed a pastry into my mouth and spoke in a garbled voice, “Mm, I need to pay Uncle Louis a visit anyway.”
When she saw the way I was wolfing down the food, she placed a glass of milk in front of me and said in fond exasperation, “Slow down. What’s the rush? No one’s going to take your food. Now, be honest with me. What’s going on between you and Ashton?”
I took a sip of milk and feigned cluelessness. “What do you mean what’s going on?”
She clucked her tongue and chided, “Do you take us for blind fools? If there’s nothing wrong, why did you ignore him completely and come in here on your own? You two weren’t like this before!”
I pursed my lips and countered, “Oh? How were we before?”
She sighed. “It’s normal for couples to quarrel, but Mr. Fuller treats you well in every way possible and we can all see that. Don’t do anything foolish. Live a peaceful life with him and stop kicking up a fuss!”
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 Ashton 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. Fuller 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 Ashton 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, Ashton’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 Ashton 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. Fuller. 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 Ashton had deliberately allowed this to happen.
Ashton 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 Ashton’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.
