Chapter 18

Maya’s P.O.V

“Nice try, grandma but I’m going to have to say checkmate!” I screeched a little too over joyously and moved my rook closer to Ms. Duke’s king on the chess board.

Of course, she wasn’t too pleased with my forwardness and exhaled in defeat. “Okay, so maybe you might be a tad bit better than me at chess,” she trailed off, miffed at the fact that she’d just lost to me. Aiden and Brianna were sprawled on the carpeted floor, playing what seemed to be a serious battle of the wits in poker.

I’m still quite flummoxed that they can play a casino game like pros. They probably learnt it from their grand-ma.

There was an unspoken truce between the three of us; we weren’t exactly on friendly terms but there wasn’t any heated exchange taking place either. The past week had been filled with pranks from the twins, with my own mixed into there until Ms. Duke had decided enough was enough and had ordered us to stop. They drew up a treaty which we all signed and from then onwards, there was certain degree of diplomacy going on. We had even resorted to playing together in the park and watching television together. I was the only one shocked by this, as even the other members of the household were sceptical about our so called ‘friendship’.

“Grammy, when can we see mummy again?” Brianna asked, her eyes solely fixated on her cards, which I could see was a good hand from my angle. It was a sunny afternoon on a Monday, but it had rained in the morning. We were reclining in one of the lounges.

Ms. Duke’s lips pursed grimly before she glanced at the window overlooking the front yard. “Soon, my darling. You know mummy is very busy and she and daddy aren’t together anymore,” she voiced calmly and Aiden pouted.

“B-but I miss her. She said she misses us too and that she wants to see us more often,” he quivered in a trembling voice, his cards now on full display for his sister to see. She took advantage of this and laid out her cards with a smirk. Aiden noticed this and threw his cards in the air in aggravation. “Hey, you cheated!” he spewed angrily and she chortled.

Brianna stuck her tongue out at him. “No, you lost loser! You’re a L-O-S-E-R!” she hollered and made a run for it when Aiden lunged towards her. I giggled at their childish antics. It was adorable to say the least.

I turned back to the chess board and began to reset the pieces. “I know this is none of my business-,” I had begun and Ms. Duke shot me a fierce glare.

“It’s not up to me to say, and by now you must know Theo’s still delicate about the matter. My poor son suffered so much after what happened with their mother that he decided to shut himself off and find hideous ways to cope with the grief. He’s even been neglecting his children for quite a while now, and look at him now; he’s been gone for more than a week and hasn’t even called to check up on us,” she ranted emotionally and wiped a lone tear from the side of her eye.

I really ought to hate this old hag after how badly she had treated me till now, but my heart really went out to her. This was one mother who really cared for her child and was hurting because of it. I stretched out my hand and placed it over hers. “Don’t cry, Ms. Duke. I’m Mr. Duke is alright wherever he is and he’ll be back in no time. He should be happy that he has kids who love him still and a mother’s unconditional love.” The stupid bastard had no idea how much I’d kill to have a parent who loves me like that. I haven’t felt the love of a parent in such a long time…

She nodded her head and much to my surprise, placed her hand on mine. “I know we’ve had our differences,” Understatement of the year, “But you’re not as bad as I thought you were. It feels nice to talk about this to someone, somebody who understands,” she told me with a smile of relief.

I found myself smiling before we both retracted our hands, and that’s when the awkwardness settled. I never thought I’d ever be in this position, actually be on friendly terms with her after all the awful things she’d said to me and also how lowly she’d made me feel. But I guess for now, I shall let bygones be bygones.

“What’s your story, Maya?” Ms Duke asked and moved one of her pawns two boxes forward. A frown etched on my face as I digested her words. What was my story?

“I’m quite lost as to what you mean by what is my story,” I replied truthfully, still contemplating how best I could quickly checkmate her by making minimal moves.

She smiled knowingly at me. “Let me guess; overachieving parents who pushed you too hard and when you didn’t meet their expectations, they more or less chucked you out of their lives?”

Her accuracy shook me to the core. Okay, was she really good at analysing people or had she done a background check on me? I’m guessing the latter since she did have the necessary funds at her disposal to do so. Her son had done the same, so why wouldn’t she do so too? The mere thought of it made my blood simmer.

I narrowed my eyes at her. “Either you’re a prophetess or you did a background check on me. So, which is it you nosy old gal?” I catechised in a hard tenor but she didn’t seem phased at all. I finally moved one of my lateral pawns forward, to which she slid her bishop anteriorly.

“Child, I didn’t much care for you to do a background check but you do certainly walk around with a chip on your shoulder. And since I too have once been ostracized by my own family, I can easily recognise anyone bearing such a weight from a mile away.”

I paused in my movements, and exhaled. I’m not sure whatever came over me but I proceeded to narrate the most painful elements of my life, to which she was much attentive. I’ll admit that it felt therapeutic to let it all out; I’d never told anyone about this side of me, well someone who would understand where I was coming from.

“And that’s basically my life’s story,” I finished off, my head propped on my hand that wasn’t about to take Ms. Duke’s knight.

She didn’t say much for a few seconds, her eyes still on the board. The next piece that she slid across the board had me in check. “Dear, your parents are insufferable,” she commented and I laughed.

“Don’t I know it.”

“You’re not a complete failure. You’ve managed to keep yourself afloat for this long, and it shows how resilient you are. I think you still have quite some time to make something of your life,” she added, trying so instil hope in me but she had no idea that I had since lost hope in ever getting out of the abyss I’d fallen into.

And now, her son had only made it worse because he’d been M.I.A for a week now and my dumb ass was missing him. What the actual hell is wrong with me?

We wrapped up our chess match some minutes later; and of course, I’d won yet again. She wasn’t too chaffed and decided to retire to her room to do whatever it is old women do these days. I went to check up on the twins and found them watching Trolls in the screening room. Choosing not to disturb them, I made my way outside and began to explore the spacious yard.

I’d made it past the pool area and into the woodsy part of the back space when I heard a twig break behind me. I froze in my spot at the unusual sound. As far as I knew, all the outside workers were in the front yard making sure to trim the luscious bushes to perfection. I hadn’t spotted anyone this side so where the hell did that sound come from.

I felt a hand grab my shoulder, and I immediately jerked backward just about ready to punch the crap out of the culprit but stilled in my stance when I came face to face with Leslie. “You foolish raccoon, why would you do that?” I wheezed out in panic and fear. Much to my indignation, he just chuckled and eyed my fist that was halfway air borne.

“Boy am I glad that you didn’t follow through with that right hook. My face is too handsome to be disfigured,” he quipped haughtily and I rolled my eyes before dropping my fist.

I crossed my arms on my chest. “I thought I told you to stay away from me, you freak!” I bellowed angrily but the douche actually stepped forward into my personal space.

“And I thought I told you that you’re gorgeous and I’d like to take you out,” he countered huskily, his minty breath hitting my face.

I tsked. “In what universe would I ever give you the time of day, Leslie?” I sniffed passive-aggressively. At what point would this boy leave me alone?

“Come on! The boss isn’t home and we could have a lot of fun. I can show you all the cool spots in the city and take you to a really great restaurant I know. What do you have to lose?” he aired with an arrogant smile, trying so desperately to persuade. But he was right, what did I have to lose?

I huffed in annoyance. “Fine! Just this once, but after we go out, I don’t want you to bother me anymore. You got that?” I spat at him and he grinned at me.

“Great. You better go get ready ‘cause we leave in an hour.”

What did I just get myself into?

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Hi people! So, I've been very busy with studying and upcoming exams... but as usual, I always find time to write an update.

I know our leading man is missing in this one. Don't worry, he'll be back pretty soon. (Evil laugh 😈)

What did you think about Ms. Duke's change in attitude?

Do you think it's a good idea for Maya to go on a date with Leslie?

What could possibly be go wrong? 🤣🤦

Anywho, next update is on Monday!

Enjoy your weekend.

Cheers 🥂,

Deetronite.