Chapter 198
Chapter 198:
Elias, standing behind her, listened to the tapping. He knew Morse code. He had learned it as a boy, a secret language with his brother.
He decoded the pattern: Y-A-W-N.
Elias suppressed a laugh. He coughed into his hand to cover it. She was mocking a Grandmaster in code.
Brenda, frustrated and feeling the eyes of the crowd, decided to end it. She saw an opening. She made a bold move—Knight takes e5. A sacrifice.
The crowd gasped. It looked like a killing blow. If Aurora took the Knight, her defensive line would crumble.
Vivian clapped. “Bravo! Finish her p>
Aurora stared at the board. She didn’t move for a long minute. The crowd thought she was stumped. They thought the trap had snapped shut.
“Tick tock, Cinderella,” Brenda sneered. “The carriage is turning back into a pumpkin p>
Aurora finally reached out. Her hand hovered over her Queen.
She didn’t take the Knight. She didn’t defend.
She slid her Queen all the way to the edge of the board. h4. It looked like a blunder. It left her King exposed. It looked like suicide.
Brenda blinked. She looked at the Queen. Then at the King.
“Check?” Brenda asked, confused.
“No,” Aurora said softly. “Bait p>
A murmur of confusion rippled through the onlookers.
“That’s an illegal move!” someone shouted incorrectly from the back.
“No,” Brenda corrected, her voice shaking slightly. “It’s valid. But… it’s stupid. You left your flank wide open p>
Lᴀt𝑒st chαptєrs in
Brenda grabbed Aurora’s Rook with her Bishop. “I’ll take that. Thank you p>
Aurora didn’t react to the loss of the piece. She moved her Bishop. A sacrifice.
Vivian laughed out loud. “She’s throwing the game! She doesn’t know what she’s doing p>
Sebastian shook his head, looking embarrassed for his cousin. “This is painful to watch p>
Elias leaned down. His lips brushed the shell of Aurora’s ear. The crowd couldn’t hear him, but they saw the intimacy. They interpreted it as consolation for a loser.
“You’re cruel,” Elias whispered.
Aurora smirked, her eyes never leaving the board. “I’m teaching p>
Brenda got greedy. She saw a path to Checkmate in three moves. She just needed to clear the pawns.
She committed her Queen deep into Aurora’s territory.
“Check,” Brenda announced triumphantly.
Aurora moved her King one step to the left. “Forced p>
“Check again,” Brenda pressed, moving a Rook.
Aurora moved again. To the right.
It looked like she was running away. But she wasn’t running away. She was luring. She was drawing Brenda’s Queen into a box.
Vivian raised her champagne glass. “To the winner, Brenda Jones! And to the departure of our guest p>