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“Please don’t hurt him. This was all my idea. We were friends once, but we haven’t spoken since... I just…” I trail off in defeat.
“He’s the son of my oldest friend, Ella, and he’s shaping up to be extremely effective for my organization. He would need to cross every line to make me put a bullet in his head.” He sweeps his hand across his jaw as he studies the board again. “I believe it’s your move.”
“I don’t think he’s attractive, if that’s what you’re implying,” I say, blushing again. “I’dneverbe interested in Edier that way. He’s just another man with a lot of explaining to do. That’s all.”
“I’m glad to hear it. As for him, he’s not permitted to think about you in any capacity.”
Gritting my teeth, I bring my queen into play, and he’s forced to retreat with a curse.
“Mija,” he murmurs in warning.
“May I offer you some advice in return?” I advance my queen one more square to the right, making his queen retreat even further and putting his knight at risk.
“I’ll listen, but there’s no guarantee I’ll act on it.”
“Damaged people still feel,Papá. They still love. They stilldeserve.” My vision blurs, and I know it’s not just Edier I’m talking about. “I’m asking you not to underestimate them, and to realize that they have their own reasons for doing what they do… And they often make sense in time.”
Ignoring his knight, I position my second bishop in front of his remaining pawns.
“I’d never underestimate you, Ella Santiago,” he says, flicking his dark gaze up to meet mine. “You’re my daughter, after all.”
“Then I have another birthday request, and this time it’s a big one.” I hold his gaze as the butterflies in my stomach explode into colonies.
I have a dream—an impossible dream that’s trapped on the other side of a high fence labelled ‘duty, health, and my father’s OTT overprotectiveness’. I can see beautiful colors through the cracks, but I’m going to need a sledgehammer to break through to the rainbow.
No time like the present.
“Tell me.”
He takes my bishop, just like I’d anticipated.
I suck in a sharp breath, and then I go for it.
“If I win this game, I’d like your permission to attend NYU and study journalism likeMamádid. I’d like to move to the city and have a little more freedom.”
My request hangs heavy in the air, and then he’s throwing his head back and laughing—his rich, scornful tenor filling the room far more than his presence. “I don’t bet my daughter’s future on a game of chess,mija. Not when she’s as sick as she is.”
“There are good doctors in New York, maybe even the best,” I argue, my heart beating like a drum. “Show me that you believe the thing you just said about not underestimating me. Because deep down you know you can’t keep me locked up forever, not when I finally have a chance to grow and to breathe.”
“And how are you magically going to conjure up a place at NYU?” His tone is low and dangerous, like a growl from a cornered animal.
“I submitted an application in secret.” I quail at the look in his eyes. “They already had my grades from my home tutor, and they wanted to see examples of my writing. I received an acceptance email six days ago.”
My father’s face goes very still. He’s been toying with one of my annexed pawns since I started speaking and now it’s being crushed in his clenched fist. “There’s just one fatal flaw to your plan,daughter. You’re assuming you’ll beat me at this game.”
“Does that mean you’ll think about it?”
He smiles coldly, and my hope waivers. “Your faith is beguiling when you know you can’t win. I already have your bishop, and your queen is more exposed than you think.”
My breath catches. “So, do I have your word?”
There’s a pause. “You always have my word.”
“Swear it?”
His massive jaw tics with irritation. “Just make your move, Ella, before I throw this fucking thing across the room.”
With the blood rushing in my ears, I glide my queen all the way to the left, in a move so exquisite he never sees it coming. Every black square I cross is another brick in the wall crumbling. Every white square is another glimpse of my freedom.
