She thinks she knows.
She thinks she has an idea of who I am.
Truth is, she’s so fucking clueless I’d pity her if I knew how to pity people.
Elsa Steel won’t truly see me until the truth hits her in the face.
“Do you want to play?” Jonathan motions at the board.
It’s four in the morning.
Jonathan tries to blame his lack of sleep on being a workaholic.
Lifting a shoulder, I rearrange the board so the black glass pieces are in front of me. Jonathan always plays in white because he’s a control freak who likes to make the first move.
He pushes his first paw
n forward. “Why aren’t you asleep?”
“I’ve been thinking about Alicia,” I say with fake care.
“Cut it, Aiden.” He pinches the bridge of his nose.
“Cut what?”
“You haven’t been thinking about Alicia.”
“I was trying to remember what Alicia looked like. She’s becoming a blur.”
“That’s because she’s been dead for a decade.” He pushes another pawn forward.
He lives by the belief that a king can’t rule without sacrificing a few pawns — or all of them.
I watch him closely. He’s speaking about his dead wife, but he shows no emotions whatsoever.
Not that he does most days.
I don’t remember the last time I saw Jonathan smile. The showtime laughs for business don’t count.
He doesn’t show emotions either. Not even when he talks about Alicia.
It’s like she’s an inconvenience.
A nothingness.
But would he have started all of this if he really didn’t care?
I tilt my head to the side. It’s still impossible to figure out his exact angle.
The challenge of going against Jonathan used to excite me.
Now, it’s a nuisance.
Now, it’s dangerous.
“Where were you tonight?” he asks with a low tenor.
I push my knight forward. “Out.”