Chapter 11

We were flying above the American plains. I had no idea where Ranold Hamilton was; perhaps he was maintaining his excellent Japanese bike in the luggage compartment. I didn't know. He always made rash decisions that never applied to me in return, and this just infuriated me. I was seated at a window seat. We were the only passengers on the aircraft. Well, besides the pilots and flight attendants. I was looking through his Instagram page and still couldn't believe he had uploaded a photo of me there.

'As soon as I go home, I'll burn these clothes. Perhaps I might even fire his fucking flat,' I thought as Ranold Hamilton appeared in front of me, sitting on the opposite side of the table.

He changed into his customary outfit of dark green pants and a light blue shirt, and now he seemed as usual.

"Are you good at chess?" He set the chessmen down on the white wood board after placing the lovely wooden chessboard there.

I looked at him and shook my head, "No. At school, there were chess classes, but I never went. Chess irritates me. It provokes a lot of thought in me. My strategic skills are lacking."

Since I hadn't anticipated talking to him in such length, I was both shocked and perplexed as I spoke a lot. But he irritated me for being such a fucking...bad person! Terrible! Disgusting! So all I wanted was for him to feel how fierce I was. And yes, I spoke with him in order to convince him that I wouldn't make a good chess opponent and that he should abandon his plans to challenge me to a game.

He answered calmly, "That's not good. You'd better get learning."

I snorted as if it were somehow related to me and once again glanced at my phone's display.

"Let's make an agreement. A wish is made for the winner by the loser after each defeat."

I looked in his direction. I was curious about his suggestion. A bit.

"Exceptions include the impossibilities of divorce, murder, and other such acts. You are welcome to ask me any question, and I will be honest in my response," He explained.

I had several questions for my hubby. About Jane, the mafia, his prior lover and boyfriend, New York, the nightclub, the man he killed, the night I was careless, the shooting, the mansion, the people, the mafia, the Family, the children from South Korea, and lastly... his gender. I was still wondering how I could have lived with Alpha and not even noticed. I suddenly had all of these thoughts and turned my entire body toward the table.

I said, glancing at the chessboard and saying, "I'm on it.

He said calmly and carefully, as if he wanted me to remember every word he said, "Well, let's start from the beginning. There are 64 squares on the chessboard. The squares are black and white. Ensure that both you and your opponent have the white square in the corner to the right when the game begins."

After correctly positioning the chessboard, he started arranging the pieces on the board.

My husband explained that the chess pieces have the colors white and black and are referred to as White and Black, respectively. "There are sixteen chessmen for each player. We refer to these as pawns."

He showed me the entire row of white pawns on the second line.

He clenched his hands together, said, "Now, your turn," and looked intently at me.

I thought, "That's simple," and started the second line from my side with the pawns.

As soon as I was done, he gave me a "Very good" compliment, which made me feel good on the inside. "Let's now turn our attention to the other chessmen. They each have a specific location on the chessboard, unlike the pawns. The King and Queen are placed first." As he was describing to me the positions of the chessmen, his hand moved to set them. "The Queen is always positioned on the square that matches its hue. The King is then positioned next to his Queen. Kings and Queens always face each other in the opposite direction. Place yours on the chessboard."

I followed his instructions. The game's overall image started to emerge.

"Two rooks are then placed at the end of the line. Both of these figures are the same," I followed his instructions. "Only bishops and knights remain. The first ones always remain very close to the King and the Queen because they are there to defend them. There are now only two empty squares remaining – for knights. Do you keep track of everything?"

I nodded.

"Now," he said, sweeping his palm across the chessboard to remove every chess piece. "Try to position both sides on your own."

He got up from his chair and grabbed his phone. He called Jane, and I heard it. I was placing the chessmen on the chessboard as they spoke on the phone about something. He gave me very clear instructions, so it was rather simple. Even though I was a little shocked by his choice to teach me how to play chess, I didn't object until I had the chance to ask him a question. The board was ready when he came back. Then he started to explain the moves and captures to me. He was speaking about the chess pieces as if they were real people with words and actions.

Ranold Hamilton concluded by stating that "chess is the game that represents life." "Once you know who is who, taking the top spot on the leaderboard will be simple for you. Your label as a brat by Jane was accurate. You are merely a small pawn right now, but who knows, you might grow into something more in the future," taking the initiative, he moved the white pawn forward.

I lost the first game as expected, even not tasting it. Ranold Hamilton was given the first wish. I braced myself for the worst, yet all I got was "okay" from him. Thus, the wish belonged to the winner until it was time to put it into action.

***

'Hello, Olivier [smiles]'

'I'm sorry I left you so quickly. It was urgent for me.'

'You know there's a party for freshman this Monday, are you coming?'

Ethan had sent these messages. I checked my phone as we drove through the twilight streets of North Dakota.

'A freshman party?'

'Ye, ye. The cool boys will all be there. We have a chance to make history!'

'No, Ethan, this is your chance to become famous. Do you mean the second- and third-year alphas when you say "cool guys"?'

'Well, you got me.'

'But, listen, Olivier, I really don't want to be there by myself.'

'If you like, you can bring your lover along.'

'That hottie on the bike from the parking lot, am I right?'

I cast a quick peek across to Ranold Hamilton, who was on his phone and seated next to me. I cynically thought, 'Yeah, 'hottie' in all its splendor,' and turned back to my phone.

'I'm coming.'

I typed.

'Wow'

'Great'

'Cool'

'I like it'

'Waiting for you!'

He also wrote me other things at the time, but I didn't even bother to read them as we started ascending the mountain serpentine. It was starry night, and the sky was clear. Being so far from the city, you could see more stars than you could from the top floor of a building in New Orleans. We arrived at the modern-styled residence. It was asymmetrical and had an intriguing angular design. The lights were on, and I could see the servers and other employees walking there through the large windows.

When we got into the house, Ranold Hamilton said, "Jane."

She gave my husband two cheek kisses while hugging him and calling him "Darling." "I'm glad you're finally here. I was concerned that you wouldn't make it in time because we have other guests arriving shortly."

My husband said, "Everything is OK. Care for Olivier, please."

She finally approached me and lovingly hugged me by the shoulders after quietly nodding to him, "Sure." "How did you like the flight? Everything okay?"

"Yes," I said.

"That's okay. Let's go change your clothing. You should look well today because it's a big day, my love."

We entered the big bedroom after ascending the stairs. Compared to our apartment, that bedroom was larger. That was considerably, much larger and more spacious. It included a bed, a couch, a big TV, a bathroom, and huge windows with a panoramic view. I noticed that there were already some automobiles on the street and people in the garden below. Jane gave me one of the dresses after taking two. I was quite astonished.

She said, avoiding my questioning, "That was Ranold's decision, not mine. You must wear it because you have no other option."

'Is there anything in my life that he doesn't pick for me?' Sighing, I made my way to the restroom.

Jane did not leave the room. She didn't feel ashamed to get dressed in front of a crowded garden. You could still see something if you wanted to even though it was on the second floor. I didn't want anybody to observe me. To put it gently, the dress was too revealing. No, it had sleeves, long, wide sleeves that reached my wrists, but the fabric was nearly transparent. It was quite sheer and had a pale white color with a silvery sheen. I could see nothing but my bare skin through it, and there was no extra padding. There was also supposed to be lingerie on me.

"Are you ready?" Without waiting for my response, Jane rapped on the door and then opened it.

She was clad in a black, sparkly dress with feathered shoulders. The dress was long, but there was a slit on the right side that reached almost to the top of the thigh. High-heeled, open-toed black shoes were on her feet. Her feet looked wonderful thanks to a beautiful pedicure.

"What is it?" I questioned, pointing out to Jane the lingerie hanging.

As if I had posed a silly question, she said, "A lingerie."

I muttered, "I don't want to wear it."

She replied, taking it from me, "Then don't wear it. Go nude. Ranold will enjoy it."

"That's not what I meant, no!" Seeing Jane's bare back, I yelled to the door as it closed. "Fuck..." I muttered, bringing my palm to my face as if realizing my mistake.

When Jane returned with her bare hands, I swore to myself, 'I'll never utter something like that.'

She turned on the curling iron and started doing her hair. Her curls looked nice. I was observing her without knowing what to do next. In a few minutes, she was done, and she motioned for me with her hand. As I got closer, she started to slightly curl my short quads. She then pulled back two curls from the front and fastened them together. Next came the makeup phase.

My brows, eyelashes, and eyes are all quite emphatic thanks to her. Even though the hues were dark and sparkled with silver, they were flawless. After making makeup for herself, the most intriguing part started. She wrapped me in the corset made of silver mesh with silver insets. At once, I noticed a change in my body's size. I could now see how the corset was clearly defining my chest and pelvis as she tightened it with Velcro from behind.

'Oh my God... And I'm going to the people dressed like that?' At that point, I thought. 'Ranold Hamilton has a very perverted sense of style.'

I don't want to imply that it didn't look good on me. Although everything appeared to be quite good, I couldn't help but feel ashamed. Furthermore, Jane had taken all of my underpants, so I had none. My naked body was visible through the clothing. We were finally ready after she added some bracelets, earrings, and necklaces. We exited the space. Voices and soft music could be heard below. I crossed my hands over my chest in embarrassment because it was freezing outside and I felt my nipples were cold as well.

We made our way downstairs. There were many people wearing evening attire. Young and old, middle-aged and even some seniors. They all appeared to be extremely solid people and wore expensive clothing.

Jane handed me off to my husband and gently pushed me by my shoulder before saying, "Ranold, your husband."