"En passant."
Aries took out a pawn on the chessboard, placing it on the side, along with a few pawns. Her lips curled up, gazing up at the person across the round table.
"Come on, Abel. You're not even trying." She leaned back while Abel grinned playfully.
"I am trying," he argued and shrugged. "It's just you're good at it."
"Not as good as you."
"Well… I doubt." He laughed, studying the expression plastered on her face. Her eyes flickered triumphantly, yet she kept her demure in check.
How sexy.
"So? Didn't you say you will give him mercy?" His brows rose, batting his eyes ever so tenderly. "The banished prince. I thought you had forgiven him."
"You didn't seriously think of that, did you?"
"Well, don't mind me. I'm just the type of person who voices out my thoughts when I'm watching something and I always leave room for all possibilities."
Aries chuckled weakly as she watched him move a piece on the chessboard. "That's my mercy," she remarked, waiting for Abel to look back at her. "If they execute him via guillotine, Joaquin will order someone to replace the blade with a blunt one. It'll take a few tries before his head will roll over."
"My, my... how scary!" he intoned with a clap. "I wonder what he'll do to you if he figures out your disguise."
"He'll kill me, obviously."
"Goodness..." he gasped with his hand on his chest. "Will he kill you too if he knew about this affair?"
Aries cast him a quick look. "He'll butcher you in front of me and then torment me."
"Darling... are you perhaps the crown prince in disguise?" he humored. "You speak with so much certainty."
"Because I know my husband more than anyone." She shrugged. "They said a man's wife knows their husband so well as if the wires in their brains were connected to each other. Maybe that's why."
"Right… I'm not your husband."
"Yes, you're not. You are my matchmaker," she teased and winked. "Have you forgotten you set up this marriage?"
Abel frowned as he leaned back, arms on the armrest, legs resting over the other. His eyes scanned his enchanting lover across from him in silence.
"Darling, I believed this is the time we're supposed to be ripping each other's clothes instead of playing chess," he remarked as he raised his chin up. "Let me covet someone's wife for the thrill of it."
Aries laughed as he seemed a little pissed by her constant teasing. Oh, how she missed playing around with him instead of sneaking like rats, but well… this was still thrilling in a way. They were like role-playing — what a sinful thought. But since her husband was Joaquin, she felt no remorse for committing adultery. It was not like their marriage was out of love or pure intention.
"What?" Abel urged, blinking almost innocently. "Should we have sex, darling?"
"You sound like you're simply asking for a treat." She humored and laughed when he rolled his eyes.
"Well, because I am, darling!" he intoned. "What's the difference? I eat both."
"It's been a while since I got to touch your face, but if I do, I will kiss it and bite your cheek and then lick it like a dog." Abel licked his lips and bit them, gazing at her from head to her bosom. "Unless I bite too hard and gnaw off your skin."
She burst out in laughter despite knowing she shouldn't be laughing at the dark joke. "Really? And then what? Have you had enough in committing adultery that you're shifting to cannibalism now?"
"Darling, Morro will be sad for making that sound like it's a bad thing!"
"Because it is… for a human, of course. Morro is a raven, so I don't blame him if he devours dead bodies."
"Well, surprise, surprise, I'm not a human."
"Haha! If you're not a human, then what are you?"
Aries kept her grin until it slowly faded when Abel kept quiet. Her brows rose under his odd gaze.
"An ancient creature who inherited the devil's blood, which made me a blood-sucking monster clad in human skin," he answered after a moment with an air of nonchalance around him. "I don't die too and I know witchcraft."
There was a long silence between them as Aries knitted her brows before she laughed. Although Abel's demeanor was almost the same, there was something odd about the look in his eyes. It was as if… he wasn't joking, she thought.
"Goodness, Abel. Just what sort of book are you reading to kill time?" she chuckled weakly, tossing whatever thought in her mind out of her head. "Well, anyway, although it disheartens me, I've been gone for quite a long time. People will start looking for me if they didn't see me soon."
Aries pushed herself up and smiled genuinely at him. Aside from Curtis, she could only smile like this in front of him and be Aries — be herself.
"Behave, alright?" she warned with a raised finger, narrowing her eyes. When he saw him shrug without speaking a word, Aries smacked her lips and pivoted on her heel. But as she marched towards the door, she halted and looked back, only to see him staring at her in silence.
A shallow breath slipped past her lips. Parting with him was always tough, making her a bit anxious and sad at the same time. So, without thinking twice, Aries walked back to him. He simply arched a brow as he watched her approach.
"Why aren't you saying anything?" she asked, standing on the side of his chair. "It makes me wonder what is going on inside your mind."
Abel slowly raised his head and his lips slowly parted. "Stay with me… is what I want to ask," he confessed in a lazy voice. "Will you? If I asked? Without having a more rational explanation other than the three words I missed you?"
Aries pursed her lips and, without a second hesitation, she sat down on his lap, her legs over the armrest. Her eyes fluttered, resting her arms over his shoulder.
"All you need to do is ask — you don't need an explanation or a reason. You know that." Her hand crawled through his hair, massaging his scalp. "Just ask, Abel. That's all you need to do."
"Then, stay." His eyes glinted, pulling her waist closer. "Stay with me."
Her lips curled up subtly. "Happily."
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