Let Us Play A Game Of Chess

Joanne couldn't understand what was happening to her husband, Richard. He had completely changed. She used to be able to control him, but now he stood up for himself and wouldn't tolerate her mean and selfish behavior. He would quickly shut her down when she tried to bully him.

Joanne felt like she was losing her power over him. Richard couldn't stop thinking about the night he spent with Loretta and Flower. He was lost in his own thoughts, remembering the fun they had together and how their bodies synched in pleasure. But Joanne's voice snapped him back to reality.

"Why are you treating me like this? Why do you treat me like I mean nothing to you? We have a son together; will you treat him like this too? How can you possibly treat the mother of your child like this?" she asked, trying to guilt trip and emotionally manipulate him.

Richard wasn't having it. He was not in the mood for her shenanigans,

"Lots of married couples have kids together, Joanne. That doesn't mean wives should treat their husbands badly and get away with it. I've never been mean to you, and I never will. I do not understand why you always accuse me, but then, I do not care anymore." He walked away, leaving Joanne feeling confused and frustrated.

Just then, there was a knock at the door. Joanne got up to answer it, but when she saw it was Victoria, she quickly locked the door and refused to let her in.

"What do you want?" Joanne asked gruffly.

"The last time I came to you, you turned me away like a beggar looking for food." Victoria apologized and explained that her problems were even bigger now. Joanne scoffed,

"You think you have problems? My husband has changed completely. I have no hold on him anymore. He went missing for one night and came back a different person. That's a real problem." Victoria was insistent. She took Joanne's arm and led her away from the door, speaking in a soft, urgent tone.

"There is a bigger problem, Joanne. Lady Emily wants Daemon to remarry, and she's chosen Lilian Catwright as the bride. I don't know what to do. She has ordered me to take my son and leave the house. I do not wish to go back to the pleasure house. I have bragged to my peers that Daemon and I will be married soon. Please, help me."

She pleaded. Joanne's eyes widened in shock seeing how worried Victoria was, she realized the gravity of the situation.

"I don't understand. Eleanor is still legally married to Daemon, isn't she? It is against the law for someone to remarry while still married to another. What changed?" Victoria chucked and shook her head.

"Oh, Joanne, you do not know, do you? House Windsor is the law. They can manipulate the law in their favor anytime. The marriage can be annulled without Eleanor's presence." Joanne was still confused and curious. Why was Lady Emily suddenly acting like this? Victoria was just as baffled but terrified.

Lady Emily isolated herself after disowning Daemon, but now she has risen like a phoenix. She seemed to be controlling the entire household like a puppet master. The two women whispered to each other, trying to make sense of it all. Just then, Richard came out of the house, leading his horse.

"I'm going for a stroll. Wife, do not wait for me." He said, bidding them goodbye. Joanne watched him go, looking lost and feeling defeated. Victoria raised an eyebrow.

"A stroll? Since when does he do that?"

Joanne sighed.

"All the time. That's the problem I was telling you about. He's changed, Victoria. He's not the same man I married." Victoria's eyes sparkled with curiosity.

"Maybe there's another woman. Do not be offended, my friend, but I think your husband is seeing someone else." She suggested. But Joanne laughed.

"Richard? Never. He's not like that. He is not the type to be tempted by another woman. If that was happening, I would have known because he wouldn't be able to hide his guilt." Victoria nodded, but her eyes lingered on Joanne's face, as if she wasn't entirely convinced.

Joanne didn't notice, too caught up in her own worried about her husband's strange behavior and secretly pandering on Victoria's words. After a long horseback ride, Richard arrived at the pleasure house where Loretta was waiting for him. She ran to him, hugged him tightly and kissed his cheeks.

"How are you?" She asked softly. Richard smiled widely.

"I'm great, thanks." Loretta told him they wouldn't be staying in the pleasure house tonight. She wanted to surprise him and make their time together more exciting. They mounted their horse and rose off in a new direction, unaware that Francis was following them. Francis trailed behind them for hours, his anger growing with each step.

Finally, they arrived at a cozy hut far from town. Loretta had built it especially for Richard, decorating it with his favorite things.

"Do you like it?" she asked, her eyes shining with excitement. Richard was speechless. He saw the hut as a gesture of love, something he had never experienced before, not even from his own wife. He walked back to Loretta and kissed her deeply.

"Thank you," he whispered.

"This means so much to me. Thank you." Their romantic moment was shattered when Francis emerged from behind a tree with a gun in his hand.

"Who are you? We do not have any money." Richard said, thinking Francis was a robber. But Francis' face twisted with rage.

"I'm that whore's husband, the whore you keep fucking like your life depends on it." He snarled.

"Ex-husband!" Loretta corrected him. Francis's anger boiled over as he saw Richard trying to protect Loretta by standing in front of her with his hands up in surrender. He shot Richard in the arm, making Loretta scream.

"See what you made me do, you whore." He laughed hysterically. Loretta rushed to Richard's side, begging Francis to stop. Francis was beyond reason; he was out for blood. He pulled Loretta by her hair, away from Richard. He pointed the gun at Richard's head.

"You don't fuck another man's wife, brother…" he growled. Just as he was about to pull the trigger, Loretta hit him in the head with a heavy wood beam as hard as she could, saving Richard's life. Francis stumbled back, clutching his head in pain. Loretta tried to run to Richard but he grabbed her neck, trying to strangle her.

As Francis choked Loretta, she started to lose consciousness. Richard hit Francis on the head again with the heavy wood beam and he quickly grabbed the gun and aimed it at Francis, forcing him to release his grip on Loretta. Loretta and Francis fell on the ground, with Loretta quickly rolling away from him.

Richard warned Francis to leave while pointing the gun at him, but Francis refused to back down. He glared at Richard fearlessly, his eyes became fixed on Loretta.

"That whore needs to die." He snarled.

Loretta's eyes flashed with rage. She grabbed the gun from Richard and shot Francis, killing him instantly. She looked at Richard who stood stunned at her action. Then, she walked over to Francis's lifeless body and shot him three more times.

"What have you done?" Richard asked, shaking and clutching his wounded arm.

"I have known that man all my life, he would have killed us both," Loretta replied, her voice devoid of guilt.

"He made my life a living hell, and today, I sent him to the devil for judgement."

After tending to Richard's wound, they sat together, holding each other.

"What do we do with the body?" Richard asked. Loretta smiled, a plan already forming in her mind.

"We dump his body by the roadside. He is known for gambling, and fighting. No one will suspect us. No one will miss him." Richard nodded in agreement. They carried out their plan, leaving his body by the road. Loretta returned home, careful not to wake Eleanor and Linda.

She burned her bloodied dress outside, watching the flames with a sense of freedom. She was finally free from Francis. As she turned to go back inside, she saw Linda standing behind her.

"What happened to your neck?" Linda asked, eyeing the burning dress.

"Why are you burning your dress?" Loretta smiled and went inside, feeling a sense of peace wash over her. For the first time in years, she slept soundly. Linda walked closer to the burning dress and noticed the blood stain.

"Is it her time of the month, or did she hurt someone?" She thought to herself. But Loretta was known to be meek and kind, there was no way she would hurt anyone. Meanwhile, Richard rode back to the pleasure house and demanded for Flower. He drank and danced with Flower.

He felt no gift over the death of Francis. Instead, he felt brave like he had actually done something a man would do. With this thought, he drank more wine and kissed Flower passionately.