Chapter 114 Christmas
"White pieces then."
After the pieces were set up, she made the first move.
At first, both of them played very quickly, but gradually, Daisy's pace slowed down first, becoming more careful with each move.
Soon after, Vincent's pace also slowed down. He held the black piece in his hand, his gaze fixed intently on the board.
As the saying goes, experts see the strategy while amateurs just watch the excitement. The servants couldn't understand the game, but from their expressions, they could tell the two were evenly matched, locked in an intense battle.
Vanessa stood to the side, her breathing growing heavier. Her gaze toward Daisy carried more weight and surprise.
She hadn't expected that Daisy could actually play chess, and play it so well.
What was this? A tactic to attract Vincent and save the marriage?
Daisy's eyes remained fixed on the board. Despite the cold weather, she broke into a sweat from her intense concentration.
Right now, black and white were evenly matched. Every move had to be made carefully—one wrong step and the whole game would be lost.
Her hand held a piece, lightly tapping it on the board.
Vincent didn't rush her, but his fingers tapping on the board noticeably sped up.
Daisy pressed her lips together, moved the piece, and set it down.
Just as she pulled her hand back, she suddenly thought, "Oh no!" Looking up, she saw Vincent's lips curve into a smile as he delivered a "check."
She lost.
Daisy felt crushed. If only she'd been more careful just now—she was so close to winning.
Sam watched from the side, eyes wide. "Mrs. Black, you're amazing! Nobody's ever lasted more than ten minutes playing chess with my brother, but you just played him for almost an hour!"
Daisy smiled. "A loss is a loss. Nothing amazing about it."
"One more game!" Sam urged. "Play again and you might win!"
Vincent twirled the black piece in his hand, looking at her, his lips curving slightly. "Another round?"
Daisy glanced at him, then at Vanessa, whose expression didn't look too good, and shook her head with a smile. "Better not. If we play again, your fiancée might tear me apart."
Vincent froze, instinctively looking at Vanessa. Vanessa said nothing, but forced a smile when Vincent looked her way.
Daisy didn't wait to see his reaction. She stood up directly, picked up the paper bag, and nodded at Richard.
"Grandpa, I'm leaving now."
Richard seemed to sigh. "Go ahead, drive carefully."
Sam jumped in. "I'll walk you out!"
He followed Daisy out, walking while turning back to wink at Vincent.
But Vincent didn't look at him. He remained seated in front of the board, still twirling that black piece, lost in thought.
In the garden, fallen leaves covered the ground. Normally at this time of year, the trees should be bare, but the Blacks' garden seemed to stay green year-round with flowers in bloom—as if the gardeners had worked some kind of magic.
The leaves rustled underfoot.
Sam walked beside Daisy, hands in his pockets, grinning.
"Mrs. Black, I never would have guessed—you're not just good at research, you know music, and you're even great at chess! How come I never noticed before?"
Daisy smiled. "How many times had we even met before, anyway?"
"True enough." Sam thought for a moment, then suddenly lowered his voice. "Mrs. Black, you and my brother... is there really no chance?"
"We're already divorced. What chance could there be? And stop calling me Mrs. Black—it sounds weird."
Sam sighed. "Actually, my brother really..."
"Sam, don't talk about him." Daisy cut him off. "He and I lost our feelings for each other long ago."
Sam opened his mouth, then swallowed back his words.
They reached the entrance. Daisy opened the car door and got in.
"Mrs. Black—I mean, Daisy, I'm having a party in a few days. Want to come?" Sam leaned on the car window, grinning.
Daisy started the car. "I don't have time."
"Just one evening! Lots of friends will be there, you know some of them. Think of it as a chance to relax."
Daisy glanced at him and sighed. "We'll see."
Time flew by, and soon it was Christmas.
Daisy didn't have much feeling for these holidays. When she was at the Blacks before, Christmas was the biggest celebration.
Luna especially loved Christmas. Every year on this day, the house would bring in over a dozen neatly trimmed small pine trees and plant them in the yard.
Then she would hang all her received gifts on the trees, decorating them beautifully.
All these tasks, of course, fell to Daisy.
This year she wasn't at the Blacks anymore. She wondered whether there would still be a dozen Christmas trees and enough wrapped gifts beneath them all.
The busiest time in previous years, but this year she was completely free. Daisy actually felt a bit unaccustomed to it.
She didn't stay cooped up at home though. She told Shawn and went out.
The Black Villa.
In the center of the living room stood a tall Christmas tree, covered with colorful lights and ornaments, with gift boxes of all sizes piled underneath.
Luna wore a red Christmas dress with a reindeer antler headband, crouching under the tree sorting through presents.
"Daddy, this one's mine! This one too! And this..." She flipped through them, then looked up. "This one's for Auntie Vanessa."
Vanessa sat on the sofa, smiling and nodding. "Thank you, Luna."
Luna kept sorting through, going through all the gift boxes. The smile on her face slowly faded.
"There are so few gifts this year. Before, I could pick for ages."
She thought for a moment, then stood up and ran to Vincent. "Daddy, doesn't Mommy have any gifts?"
Vincent was helping her hang colored lights on the tree. At her words, his hands paused.
"Mommy's not home. We'll save her gifts for when she comes."
Luna pouted. "But when will Mommy come? She hasn't been here in so long."
Vincent didn't answer. He hung the lights on the branch and dusted off his hands.
"Luna, call Mommy and wish her Merry Christmas."
Luna nodded and ran to get the tablet, making a video call to Daisy.
It rang for a long time with no answer. Not giving up, she tried again. Still no answer.
"Daddy, Mommy won't even answer my calls..."
Vincent walked over and patted her head, comforting her. "Mommy might be busy. Try again tonight."
Luna nodded, but the smile never returned to her face.
She sat under the Christmas tree, hugging her knees, looking at all those colorful gift boxes, feeling empty inside.
In previous years at Christmas, Mommy would help her decorate the tree, tell her Santa Claus stories, and secretly tuck gifts into her stocking after she fell asleep.
Now Mommy was gone. The tree was decorated by Daddy and the servants, the gifts were bought by Daddy and Auntie Vanessa, and no one even told Santa Claus stories anymore.
Vincent couldn't bear to see his daughter so down. He immediately said, "Luna, get changed. Daddy will take you out."
Luna, still a child after all, brightened up immediately. "Where to?"
"Downtown. There's a Christmas market there—it's really lively."
Luna jumped up excitedly and ran to change clothes. Vanessa also changed into a white coat with a red scarf around her neck, her hair down, wearing light makeup. She looked especially gentle.
"Do I look good?" She twirled in front of Vincent.
"Good."
Vanessa smiled and took his arm. Just as she was about to rise on tiptoe to kiss Vincent, Luna came running downstairs in a red fuzzy coat, still wearing the reindeer antler headband, holding a candy cane.
"Let's go, let's go! I want to see Santa Claus!"