After their 'exciting' exchange, Elara and Terrence became very eager to begin the game.
Keeping aside the needless pleasantries Terrence set up the chessboard. It was a beautifully crafted wooden chessboard with delicate carvings accompanied by polished ivory chess pieces that gleamed prettily under the soft lights.
A small exquisite clock was also placed on the table for timing.
They were set up on a sleek, black glass-topped table with two high-backed leather chairs placed opposite to each other for players to sit on.
"First to 3 wins?" Elara asked, shifting to a more comfortable position on her chair.
"Winner gets bragging rights and the bet award?" Terrence said with a cheeky smirk.
"Why not?"
""Am in."
Elara made the first move signaling the beginning of the game. Soft ticks and clinks rang dully through the room with the former representing the running of their time and the other a switch to alternate between their times.
The first match was won by Terrence, followed by the second; however, there was no jubilation. Rather, a bad feeling arose within him.
He had been observing Elara's movements and with his instinct honed from years of playing chess, he could tell she had a sneaky plan she was forming.
Something about the way she deeply observed his moves unnerved him. It reminded him of a crocodile patiently lying in wait for the perfect time to strike its prey, no matter how long it took.
The next two matches ended with draws; however, this left Terrence astonished. Just as he had suspected, Elara was tricky; she played like a green snake in green grass, making sneaky and crafty moves at the least expected time.
Just when victory was guaranteed, she would pull off a shocking and unconventional move that would maintain the balance, causing a draw between the two.
He became extremely cautious after that; after all, this slimy fella could strike him from anywhere, even the most unexpected angle.
Despite his cautiousness, Elara managed to win the fifth and sixth matches, leaving them in a tie with both having 2 wins.
This was the straw that broke the back; gloves off, war began. Both decided to switch up the game from a fun game to a highly competitive, battle-to-death game.
Terrence's gaze sharpened as he concentrated fully with laser-like focus; meanwhile, Elara donned a neutral smile as her cold eyes heavily scrutinized every move of Terrence to capitalize on any single flaw if caught.
A heavy atmosphere besieged the two as every move they made became precise and lethal, aiming to demolish the opponent.
Seventh match… Eight matches… Ninth… Tenth… Fifteenth…. Seventeenth until the twentieth match, after they checkmated each other for the nth time, they finally compromised.
"Well, that was something," Elara said lightly, stretching her sore fingers as she sat on the sofa that Terrence had earlier lay on.
Terrence neatly arranged the chessboard, pieces, and timer, placing them at their designated positions before facing Elara with a chuckle, "Yes, it was more fun than I thought it'd be."
"Walking up to the wet room, he grabbed a bottle of wine and two wine glasses, placing it before Elara.
"Do you drink alcohol?"
"Is it sweet?"
"Yes."
"Then I'll have a couple of shots."
Flashing a brief smile at Elara, Terrence poured the wine into the cups, leaving it half filled.
"I didn't know you were this good at chess, I thought you said you knew only a bit?" Terrence asked as he sat beside Elara picking up a glass of wine.
"I was messing with you, haha," Elara said with a chuckle, winking at Terrence, who squinted at her in playful anger.
"Well, it was fun but how did you get so good? Do you play it consistently or what?" Terrence asked while sipping a bit of his wine.
Seeing this, Elara brought the box of cupcakes closer and, taking a cupcake, said while handing it to Terrence, "You should eat these as well."
The cupcake had a soft and fluffy texture with a pale brown color and a chocolate frosting whipped above it.
It was simple, yet its sweet smell and squishiness made it quite tantalizing. Taking a bite of the chocolate cupcake, Terrence was struck by its deliciousness.
It wasn't the crème de la crème of cupcakes; however, for a simple homemade cupcake, it was very good.
Taking a sip from his drink he was blown away by how perfectly it matched with the cupcake!
The cupcake's light chocolate, vanilla, and caramel flavors blended perfectly with the wine's fruity taste, creating a distinct synchrony.
It held a subtle sweetness to it that lingered after every taste of the pair, leaving one in good spirits.
"This is so good," Elara moaned in satisfaction as the tasteful flavors melted into her mouth.
"Mhhm, it's very yummy…" Terrence trailed off watching Elara puff her cheeks in delight as she happily munched on the cupcakes while sipping wine.
Reaching out boldly, he pinched Elara's cheeks causing her to yelp in pain.
"Ouch! What was that for?!"
"You were stuffing your face up like a squirrel, so I had to remind you that the cupcakes were originally mine," Terrence replied cheekily, making Elara roll her eyes in exhilaration.
"I never said that…" Elara muttered with a pout.
"Yes, you did," Terrence insisted, reaching out for the cupcakes to keep to himself.
Elara swiftly stopped him, exclaiming relentlessly, "Sharing is caring you know!"
"Well, I don't wanna share…."
"Come on!"
After their playful bantering, both lounged comfortably, chatting about random things while eating cupcakes and drinking wine.
"I played with a chess grandmaster for a while, and despite only ever failing without ever winning, I learned a few moves from her," Elara said before sighing lightly, noticing the now empty box of cupcakes. Maybe she should have made more….
"I see how you got so good; what's her name? I might know her; I am very recent with any news related to chess," Terrence asked, pouring out wine again into their now empty wine glass.
"You wouldn't know her; she doesn't compete officially," Elara replied, taking a sip from her wine, letting the sweetness of the wine linger on her tongue.
"I see, maybe one day you should introduce me to her. I'd like to play against her."
"No problem! But I doubt you'll be able to defeat her! You couldn't even defeat me, and I've never won a game against her."
"Oh, that's because I was going easy on you. Next time we have a rematch, I'll show you my true level."
"Haha, you sure know how to brag…"
***
After downing his nth cup of wine, Terrence's blurry eyes wandered to the sleeping lady on his lap. While discussing and drinking wine, they had both gotten drunk, with Elara dozing off while his consciousness kept drifting in and out.
Placing down the empty wine cup, he took a deep breath, trying to clear his mind, only to fail miserably; eventually, his head hung backward on the sofa's headrest due to his height, and he too dozed off.
Only the soft snores of Terrence and the soft breathing of Elara permeated through the now quiet room.
Just then, a figure silently walked into the room with ease and, fishing out a phone from their pocket, sneakily took a picture of the sleeping duo before placing his phone back.
Stepping out of the room he once again fished out his vibrating phone to answer a call.
"Yes, master. However, the young master claims she is nothing but an acquaintance, but their closeness says otherwise. She has a clean background, but her meeting with the young master is riddled with holes," the voice paused then continued, "Yes, I guarantee to keep an eye on her and keep you updated on any suspicious action of hers."
With a click, the figure turned off his phone before stuffing it back into his pocket.
Walking out of the villa, his movement stalled when he came across a clean-shaven young man with deadly blue eyes glaring glaciers at him.
Merlin stared condescendingly at the suited-up middle-aged man who stood before him without a change in expression as if he had expected his presence.
"I've always known you were fucking suspicious old man; you have a lot of explaining to do, Julian," Merlin said with a cold glare.
Julian stared at the enraged man before him, and slowly, a smile crept up his face as he indifferently said, "I guess there were more hidden cameras, interesting. Master would also want to know this."
Merlin's eyes hardened as his aura darkened, "You'll regret this old man."
"Well then, guess we'll see about that."
"
.
.
.
.
Mini theatre:
There was something Elara would never tell Terrence he helped her with.
After telling him he could call her as early as 6 am since she'd be awake by then to exercise.
Fearing she might not keep her promise to Terrence, no matter how lazy she felt that day, she'd make sure to wake up to exercise early.
Eventually, she overcame her laziness and never missed her exercise again. This was with the help of Terrence, but of course, he'd never know.
No one would ever know as she'd carry this secret to the grave….. Except she ended up spilling it when she got drunk with Terrence after their chess game, and now he wouldn't stop teasing her with it!
What was she going to do to escape this predicament?! QAQ!