Chapter 16 Chapter 16
I gasped in disbelief. "Stupid! You're a person, okay? A person. A person shouldn’t be made into a world."
"Well, you're right, that’s why I won't leave this planet for you. I can't leave. There's no fun when you're not around the companies trying to break you down, underestimating you, and in the end, being broken down because you outsmart them. The competition makes my life more exciting, especially now that finally, I have something to lose." I saw a smile peek from his lips, and fire in his eyes as if he was delighted.
I couldn’t understand what he meant, so I frowned. "What do you mean?"
"They probably think that they finally found something to use against me."
"Okay? And what is that?"
He looked at me, but he didn’t respond. Tsk. Fine, why would he even tell me? He probably thinks I’ll use it against him. Okay, fair play.
"So you're saying you’ve already thought of what they’re thinking? Is that how you play that’s why you outsmart them all?" I shifted the topic and tried to forget the question I asked him earlier.
He shook his head. "Nope, I made them think how I think they think. That's not how I play, that's how I win."
And that hit me hard. I watched him walk ahead of me while I remained standing in place. I felt like a statue struck by realization.
Maybe that’s how he won me over. I was wrong to ever think I outsmarted him because it feels like he was the one who actually outsmarted me.
He approached me in the bar. He sat beside me like bait, and I took it. He heard my agonies and used them against me so I would purposely think I was the one most in need, when he might be the one who really needed me. Yes, that’s what I found odd—why would someone like him agree to a marriage without gaining a big benefit? He can take every woman he wants. He can have sex without bringing it into legalities. With the amount of money he has, that’s possible.
So why would he agree to this?
Why me?
Why would he approach me?
He said he doesn't know that I'm a doctor, so what does he know about me that pushed him to say yes to my offer?
Was it my body? No, there are a lot of women who are sexier than me.
Was it my face? Of course, there are more beautiful women than me.
With all my questions, I just noticed that Hendeix was walking back toward me. He held my arm as he pulled my hand into his.
"I apologize for those three seconds that I did not notice you're not walking with me. I promise I will be better."
I clenched my teeth and breathed out my frustration. I gazed at him like I was so eager to hear his reality. And I know he noticed it because his smile faded away.
"Are you upset?" he asked with worry.
"No."
"Then why are you showing me your game face?"
I smirked as I kissed his cheek. I brought my mouth close to his ear before whispering.
I realized I might be a pawn, just a useless piece he can sacrifice.
He might be talking about me when he said he finally has something to lose now.
Something he can choose to lose.
But I won't let myself be discarded. I will definitely be a queen—the most powerful piece, more than a king.
"Because I’m officially taking this game of yours seriously, my love."
“Checkmate,” I uttered as I clapped my hands to celebrate my win.
We are currently playing Daddy’s and my favorite board game here on the terrace, because we’re both waiting for Mommy’s arrival. Mommy said she’s meeting with her doctor friends because there’s a reshuffling happening in the hospital.
“Not yet, Jadey, I still have something left, sweetie. Look.”
He blocked his king with his rook. Since I didn’t see that, I grimaced and went back to my seat so Daddy and I could continue the game. I moved my queen to find a way to check his king again, but because of that meddling rook, I couldn’t do it. And because I was too focused on checking his king, I didn’t notice his pawn had already reached my base.
“Alright, queenless no more! It’s time to pay back, sweetheart,” Daddy teased as he replaced his pawn with a queen.
“Ah ah, Daddy! Is that allowed?” I complained.
“Yes, my dear. That’s why you shouldn’t get too confident thinking a pawn is just a pawn. Because it isn’t that weak.”
He raised the pawn piece he had replaced earlier with a queen. I stared at it in the air.
“It has the power to become a queen the moment it reaches your opponent’s base. And then you can turn the whole situation around—the win can be yours. Checkmate, my love.”
Daddy cornered my king, which was trapped because of the castling I did earlier. Now, I completely lost because he outsmarted me.
“Daddy! You’re not letting me win! You’re not so much of a gentleman! I’m going to tell mommy!”
He stroked my hair and pinched my cheek.
“You’ll meet more assholes than me, Jadey, and so I’m teaching you well how to play this because life is a chess game.”
He raised the queen of my team as he spoke every quote that settled too deeply in my heart.
“This game is not about protecting the king but about how well you use your people—your queen.
The queen is the most powerful piece in chess, just like yourself, Jade Maurice.
A queen like you is precious but often told by society to move only for a man, as if your worth lies in how well you support them.
But that’s not your purpose. The truth is, you hold the power to follow your own heart, to choose your own path.
You are not meant to serve any man, but to lead.
You don’t need to win every battle to prove your strength because you are already strong.
What matters is that you never forget your worth, that you keep standing even when the world tries to bring you down.”
He knocked down one by one the remaining pieces, including my king… and only one remained aside from my queen.
“Don’t waste yourself on a lifeless king who does nothing while you give everything.
Don’t choose someone who watches in silence as you sacrifice your soul.
Choose someone who moves when you’re tired, who fights when you’re hurting.
Choose the kind of love that protects you back—the kind that never lets you stand alone.
A powerful knight.”