Page 57 of Blood and Thorns (Twisted Ever After #1)

Arabella

I needed a new hobby. Something other than reading because playing chess was not for me.

“Checkmate.” Chip grinned, dramatically flicking over my king.

Groaning, I mourned my chess playing skills. It was like I was getting worse, because Chip had won every single match for the last few days with an ease that was borderline embarrassing. Maybe knitting was my thing? Although I don’t think I’d have the patience to create anything more than a square.

“So, are you finally going to admit you’re my new shadow?” I glanced up to find he’d already reset the pieces and moved his first pawn. I’d agreed to a guard outside, not inside.

He was dressed casually, in a buttoned-up shirt and jeans rather than his typical uniform of a black suit. His gun was on the table beside us, but I pointedly ignored its existence.

“Don’t think I haven’t noticed that when Sebastian isn’t here, you are.” I mirrored his move, blocking in his pawn. If it wasn’t Chip, it was Lang, or sometimes the twins .

“Are you saying you don’t enjoy my company?” he asked with a raised brow. “You know Mr Devereaux’s feeling a little overprotective right now.”

“So that means you’re stuck babysitting me?”

He simply shrugged, playing his next move. “There are worse jobs.”

“Wow, I’m feeling a little offended,” I chuckled.

It had been almost a week since what happened at Thorn , and while I hadn’t returned to the club, I haven’t been left alone, either.

Sebastian was home early every day, choosing to work from the office here when possible.

I’d sometimes just watch him concentrate on the paperwork, using the reading pen to read aloud before he used a voice-to-text feature on his phone or computer.

Every time he’d sit with that bloody spider on his shoulder and had more than once tried to convince me to touch it. Which was a big nope.

“How’s your mum?” I asked Chip, still missing her baked goods. “You never speak about her.”

“That’s because she isn’t interesting.” Chip’s attention remained on the board. When I didn’t make a move, he looked up. “She’s fine. Taking some time off to travel, which is something she’s always wanted to do. Now are you going to concentrate on the game?”

“Fine,” I grumbled, not caring about the knight I moved.

“Checkmate.”

I blinked at the pieces, surprised that he won so fast. Yes, I wasn’t paying attention, but seriously, it had been under five minutes. “You’re cheating.”

“No,” Chip said. “But I can read every single expression on your face, so I can predict the move before you make them.” He watched me with flat, dark eyes.

Much colder than when he’d first came in this morning.

“Chess isn’t just about strategy; it’s about playing the player just as much as the game. ”

“So, you’re playing me?” I surmised.

“Your head’s not in it. You’re distracted.” A smile curved his lips, but the flatness never quite left his eyes. “I can tell you miss your dad. You say as such in your writing.”

I paused, the piece I held hanging above the board. “Wait, you found my notebook?”

Without dropping eye contact, Chip reached into his backpack, pulling out the exact notebook I’d been searching for. “You’ve got an interesting writing style,” he said, voice low but playful. “But pouring your emotions onto the page like that? Dangerous. Especially in the wrong hands.”

I reached for it instinctively, but Chip stood, lifting it just out of reach. “Seriously, Chip. Give it back.”

He raised a brow. “What’s the big deal, Ara? It’s just a notebook.”

“Then why did you take it?”

“I didn’t mean to,” he said, seemingly amused with my response. “It must’ve ended up in the paperwork I was sorting. I didn’t realise what it was until I got home. I didn’t mean to upset you, and I’ve already replaced it with a new one.”

He’d brought me a new notebook a few days ago, and I’d accepted that one of the cleaners must have tossed my old one. “I didn’t want anyone else to read it,” I mumbled.

“I can see why; your fixation over MrDevereaux is a little uncomfortable. You want to tell me why the character I assume is supposed to behim is coming across as the hero?” He waited eagerly for my answer, as if we were still playing chess and he couldn’t make his move until I made mine.

“I’m not writing about Sebastian,” I defended, even though it was completely a lie, one that felt sour on my tongue. “They’re entirely fictional characters. Now give it back.”

Chip snorted, holding the book higher. “I’m a little disappointed that I’m not mentioned. I thought we were friends?”

“Chip…”

“Even if you don’t want to admit it out loud, you miss your dad.” He threw me the book, and I scrambled to catch it. Some of the pages tore, and many became crumpled. “He misses you too, you know. He told me so yesterday.”

“You went to see him?” I touched my words on the page, my voice dropping to an irritated whisper. “Why?”

“You never told me to stop. You know I’ve been visiting him for weeks, making sure he’s eating and paying his bills.” Chip’s face sobered, his tone gentle. “I know how much you care for him, even if he doesn’t deserve it. But I think you should speak to him. Let him explain.”

“Explain what?” I was frustrated with the tears that threatened to spill. “You know what he tried to do.”

“I know.” Chip still stood, his height forcing me to look up. “He told me everything, how he became addicted to the high risk of gambling, the money on his big wins, and how he was a terrible father.”

I clenched my teeth, my breath seeming to get caught in my chest. Chip noticed, crossing around the table to pull me against him.

“He’s still your father, and he’s asking you for forgiveness,” he whispered against my hair, his arms wrapping around me in a hug. “To be the bigger person.”

“Why are you saying this?” I asked, blinking away those bloody tears.

“Because I think you’ll regret it if you don’t. ”

I nodded, more to buy myself time than anything else. Just one moment to think. Dad was like a sword hanging above me, a pendulum just waiting for the right time to strike. If I didn’t speak to him, there was a chance he would never stop.