A 100K reads? :') Thank you! 🖤

I was kinda planning on double update but I just cannot get enough time for the next chapter. So, until then, enjoy this! (:

Chapter 41 | Game on

"Even though we never said it to each other.

We knew."

Mallory was walking back from the bathroom, her makeup now fixed, courtesy to a polite girl who had a rather expensive looking eyeliner and equally exorbitant lipstick in her handbag. She considerately offered them both to her. And while Mallory wasn't very keen on sharing cosmetics with strangers, but she had little choice but to accept it. Her tiny purse had nothing but a small pocket perfume. The fact she would do well to remember before indulging in a make out session next time.

As she walked towards the hall, she saw Andrew walking towards her, "There you are. What took you so long?"

"Yet another ignorant male," Mallory groaned. "Fixing make up is an art, Andrew. And you don't rush art."

"I was waiting for you to come out."

"Good for you. Now let's go," she patted his cheek and started moving past him.

"You stop right there and complete the conversation first."

"There is no conversation." She said without stopping or turning back.

Andrew stormed towards her and nudged her towards the wall. His hand enclosed her arm pining it to the wall with force, "Quit playing, Mallory." He whispered.

There was momentary silence following which Mallory's eyes trailed his hand enclosed around her arm to his face, "This was a lot more intimidating a few months back. Now, you trying to get answers with this pin-to-the-wall strategy is just hot."

She pecked his lips.

Taken aback by the unexpected reaction, his grip relaxed whilst he felt her shrug it off. Still a little dumbfounded he heard her giggle. Then his eyes narrowed infinitesimally.

"Are you drunk?"

"The nice lady in the bathroom might have offered me a little something for my nerv--", she burped then covered her mouth with her palm, "Oops."

"Oh, God. Are you dumb? Why are you accepting drinks from strangers?"

She giggled yet again, "Because it's fun! Obviously, Andrew Bells. It's so much fun! Now let's go," she placed her arm around his shoulder which was still a bit higher for her even with her heels, "Let's go dance the night away and have some fun. And oooh PARTY!"

"We're not here for fun. Let's just go home. I knew this was going to be a bad night." He removed her arm from his shoulder and took her wrist.

"Ugh, with this attitude, I might just need a drink for real!"

"Excuse me?" He stopped in his tracks.

"It was a joke, Andrew. I was playing a joke on you. Normal people don't accept drinks from strangers in bathroom."

"You were acting drunk."

"Yeah, for now. But a couple of hours with you and I might actually have to drink."

"I don't even know what to do with you! It's like everything's a joke to you."

"There must be a compliment in there somewhere."

He rolled his eyes, "Now, let's go, unless you want to hang outside bathroom the whole night."

"Oh, yeah. But one last thing."

"Shoot."

"If you ever push me in the wall again, then drunk or not, I will kick you in your family jewels." She said nonchalantly and walked to the main room followed by Andrew treading behind.

Eva Millington sat down on the couch, sipping her cup of tea, eyes looking at but not watching some random movie she found. The noises drowned out her loud mind and she was grateful for it. After her conversation with her daughter, she wasn't sure about anything anymore. She wanted nothing more than to pack her stuff up and move to a place where she could protect her babies from everything. At the same time she knew how important it was for Mallory to fight this battle on her own. She wanted to support her, but how could she, knowing the dangers?

She sighed as she kept the cup and saucer on the coffee table, making a clunking sound. She picked up the remote and muted the channel. Next she picked up her phone and opened her phone book. After considering for a moment or two, she finally decided to call.

"Hey, mom. What's up?" She heard a cheery voice after a couple of rings.

"Hey, kiddo. How you doing?" She spoke trying to keep her emotions at bay.

"Mum, is everything okay?" Her son's voice immediately tinged with worry.

"Yeah, of course." Eva cleared her throat. "Why would you ask?"

"I don't know. I just...never mind." She could almost see him shrugging his shoulders. "Anyway, where's Mallory? It's been a while since she called."

"She is on a date."

"Mom, it's what almost midnight there?"

"Yeah, and it's probably three where you live, what's the point?"

"The point is, you are letting my little sister have a date till midnight when my curfew was ten when I was sixteen. So unfair!"

"Well, what can I say, girls attain maturity early." She smiled.

"You have always loved her more than me," he said with pseudo hurt voice. "I'm adopted, ain't I?"

Eva rolled her eyes, "Who let you in Yale?"

"Ridiculing my academic intelligence? Ouch," he remarked. "Anyway, who is she out with? Andrew?"

"Yeah..."

"Please tell her that she should use precaution and that I wouldn't want to be an uncle yet. And oh God, you are too young to be a grandmother!"

"I'm doing no such thing. It was awkward enough to have the talk with you, now you guys figure the rest of it on your own."

"Figure it out on your own? Some excellent parenting skills you have there, mother."

"I try," she tried to suppress a smile.

"So, now, are you going to tell me why you disturbed my studying at this ungodly hour?"

"You picked up on the second ring, you definitely weren't studying," she rolled her eyes yet again.

"I was. I was...erm...watching educational videos."

"Let's just hope that's not code for something dirty. But since I have three unread messages from six minutes ago, you were probably scrolling through your Instagram feed."

"I knew DMing you memes was a mistake!" She heard a groan.

"Now, go to sleep, kid. Instagram would still be there when you wake up."

"Not before you tell me what's wrong because I'm not buying what you are selling. Is Mallory okay?"

"Everything is okay, son."

"Mom, either you tell me what's going on or God help me I will take the next flight out of here and I will upgrade to business and I will put it on your credit card. You know, I will."

"Sometimes, you scare me."

"I can sense something's bothering you, mum. Come on, please? It's already killing me that I cannot be with you guys, now don't keep me out of the loop too? Don't you think I deserve to know if there's anything wrong with my little sister?"

Eva sighed. When did her kids become so perceptive? "I don't know, Jake. I honestly don't," she decided to tell him anyway. "Sometimes it feels that she is okay, but then something happens and it's just she doesn't even talk, which makes it more difficult. She is hiding things too and while I understand why she would do that but I don't know..." She could feel her voice breaking.

"Hey, hey, mom. It's okay," he consoled. "You know she has always been need-to-know when it comes to things about her. That's just our Melly. Don't sweat it. She'll bounce back eventually. She always does."

If only you knew. She thought. "I guess."

"And mum, it's not your fault, okay?"

She nodded then whispered a timid "Yes."

"Ask her to call me, it's been a while. Let's see if she'll talk to me."

"Hmm, I think it's a good idea. She has always been a lot more comfortable with you."

"I'll talk to her, okay? Don't worry. And I'll visit soon."

"Right back at you, son. Don't worry. Focus on your studi--"

"Stay in school and don't do drugs? Yeah I know," he mocked trying to lighten the mood.

Eva laughed, "Yeah that too. Also, remember what you said about me being too young to be a grandma."

"Yeah, turn a blind eye towards your teenage daughter, but impose restrictions on your adult son in mid twenties. Third wave feminists, I tell you," he retorted sarcastically.

Just when she was about to reply, the doorbell rang.

"Someone's at the door. Hold on for a second."

"At this time of night? Who is it?" He sounded a lot more vigilant now.

"It's probably your sister," she spoke mindlessly as she went on towards the door rather cautiously. She wasn't expecting Mallory back until later that night. Carefully treading through the living room she lifted the blinds. The porch light illuminated the back of a man. She released a breath she didn't realize she was holding.

"It's just Will," she informed her son who was waiting in anticipation.

"Oh," his voice audibly relaxed followed by a cocky, "So, you are home alone and you decide to invite your boyfriend over?"

Eva rolled her eyes as she unlocked the door. "Hey, Will. Come on inside."

"Hi," he muttered.

She looked at him puzzled. There was certain stiffness about his posture which signaled that something was bothering him.

"Jake, I'll talk you later?"

"Yeah, mum. Goodnight," he said smugly, "Also, I'm too old for a little brother or sister. So, ask your boyfriend to keep it PG."

"He's not my boyfriend, son. We're just dating," she face palmed.

"Po-tay-to, po-tah-to."

"Yeah okay, champ. Now, off to bed. I don't need anymore DMs. You better sleep now."

"Your wish, my command, mother," he said dramatically and disconnected the call.

Eva turned around to look at her childhood friend standing in the middle of living room looking at her in anticipation. He unconsciously bit his nails, a nasty habit he has had since childhood which still resurfaced occasionally when he was nervous.

"What's wrong, Will?" She turned her complete attention to him.

He paused for a second as if contemplating something then he solemnly spoke, "Turn on the local news."

Mallory was propped up on the stool near the bar, humming random songs to herself. As she sipped at her minty drink, she decided that jazz was only good for old movies and definitely not for parties, especially where she did not know anyone. The soft lilting tunes were just making her drowsy. She had stifled more than a few yawns before heading to the bar area for something to cure her boredom.

"What are you doing?" Andrew said taking the seat next to her.

Her head which almost rested on the table was immediately lifted. "What do you mean?" She turned to her right, glass in hand, taking another sip.

"Why are you drinking?"

"Last time I checked, I did not need your permission to drink something when I'm thirsty."

"Is this your third mojito?" He glanced with crinkled nose at the tall glass adorned with mint leaves and lemon.

"Fifth, actually."

"Have you lost it? Alcohol makes you slow and impairs judgement."

"Two words, And--"

"Edward," he hissed looking around.

"Yeah, yeah. Two words, Eddy. Virgin Mojito," she smacked her lips.

His eyes widened in realization, "You weren't drinking alcohol?"

"First of all, please stop calling it alcohol, I feel like I'm trying to poison myself in chemistry lab. Second, this control freak attitude is going to end our marriage. And third," she turned towards the bartender, "Can you please get my man something to calm his nerves? Thank you."

Andrew politely smiled at the woman tending the bar, "Just a glass of water would do."

Mallory rolled her eyes, "Such a waste of open bar."

"What are you so happy about, today? Don't you think you are acting a little out of character?"

"Acting out of character?" She picked up a napkin and lightly dabbed her wet lips. "Excuse me, sir. You were the one who decided to bring me to some elite party, that too because it's a convenient alias. I've been sitting here, bored out of my mind while you have been God knows where and the moment you come back you decide to ridicule me--"

"Okay, okay, fine," he raised his hands in universal gesture of surrender, "Come on."

She slipped down the stool and took his outstretched hand, following him outside.

It was almost a full moon night with stars shining against the pitch black sky. The garden outside was decorated with fairy-lights on the trees and bushes. The pavement was clearly visible among the dark green neatly trimmed bushes lining it. The faint music from inside the hall could be heard every time the door opened and someone rushed inside. The only ones outside were those who had to take phone calls or a random couple here and there enjoying the light breeze on the starry night.

"What did you expect it was going to be like, Mallory? Dancing and food?" Andrew asked after walking for a couple of minutes.

"Honestly, I have no idea what I was expecting. And now that I think about it, I was being childish and immature."

"That was a rather quick realization," he smiled and tilted his head to look at her.

"What can I say? My self retrospective tendencies are to die for."

"Indeed."

"So anyway, about earlier in the car," she ran a hand through her hair.

"I knew this was coming,"

"Obviously, it was coming." She stopped and turned around, the two facing each other in the middle of the pavement. "Unless you want to pretend that it didn't happen," she added the last part rather dejectedly.

"It's not like that, Mallory, you know it's not like that."

"Yeah," she said looking down at her feet, "I want to ask you something."

"Anything," he muttered, timidly taking one of her hands at her side.

"I know it's probably too soon but if one day all of this is over, would you like to give us a chance at a real relationship?" Her eyes still glued to the floor.

There was a short pause where all they could hear was each other's breathing.

"You know what? Never mind, let's just go inside," she said moving past him towards the direction they came from eyes never meeting her partner's.

Andrew stopped her, their hands still interlaced, "When."

"What?" She looked at him.

"You said, if one day. It's when one day all this is over."

"Andrew Bells, is this you correcting the semantics or is this an answer?" She gave a small lopsided grin.

"Mallory Millington, it's an answer."

"And is the answer, 'Yes, yes, a thousand times yes'?"

He rolled his eyes and then smiled, "It's a one time yes,"

"For now," She muttered and grinning like a Cheshire cat she started moving back inside.

He whispered, a faint inaudible, "For now," following her closely with a small smile of his own wondering yet again what did he ever do to deserve the girl.

"...In a press conference organized earlier this evening, Ms. Angela Travers, the official spokesperson of company affirmed the return of Mr. Antonio Sanders after almost four years. Incidentally, Mr. Sanders went on a hiatus following the controversial arrest of some prominent members of The Beasts including the then Founder President, Mr. Sanders Senior..."

Dumbfounded, Eva watched the news anchor dump the information, her mind could not quite process what was happening.

"Apparently, he paid off the judge who thought that going to jail may tarnish his 'impeccable reputation' for life and so everyone involved with the case was legally forbidden to disclose the arrest," Will helpfully supplied.

"How is that even possible?" Eva whispered her eyes still glued to the television screen.

"...His return, when his multi national empire, The Beasts is almost at the brink of collapse, couldn't be more well-timed. Business speculators predict revival of the company. Evidently, it has been less than six hours since the announcement and the share value of the company has already increased by more than fifty percent touching highest value of past four years..."

"Eva, they have been running underground drug cartel and illegal arms deals using shell companies for years now. Everyone suspects it, but there is not an inch of evidence ever found. They have people high up in government offices and law enforcement. Antonio is like godfather of business world, almost everyone owes him some favor."

"...On being asked when he will make his first public appearance, Ms. Travers said that he will be officiating his return at an exclusive charity gala in Sacramento. While the news has already caused ripples in the business world, it would be interesting to note the actual implications of The Beast's return. So, that's it for now. Don't forget to tune into our Primetime special, 'The Beasts: From rags to riches' only at channel 9, where news is served hot."

"I need to call, Mallory," Eva said suddenly, whilst switching the television off with the remote.

"What happened? Where's Mallory?"

"Oh no no, this is bad. So bad." Eva muttered picking up her cellphone with shaky hands.

"Eva, where's Mallory?"

"In Sacramento."

"DID YOU FIND VICTOR YET?" Mallory screamed over the loud sound of music as Andrew joined her. Apparently, someone had decided that the jazz was a bit too monotonous and the next best thing they had was not only cringe worthy but making her ears bleed. In minutes, the elite gala felt like 80's hard metal concert and somehow the people actually seemed to enjoy it!

"WHAT? I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" Andrew pointed towards his ear and shook his palm.

"I SAID DID YOU FIND VICTOR?" She leaned into his ear and yelled.

Andrew pulled her into a corner, where the music was comparatively faded but loud nonetheless, "No. I don't think he has arrived. Typical of him, really."

"Did you decide if you are going to tell him or not?"

He shrugged, "I was hoping I'll get some clarity once I start a conversation with him."

"Fair enough," she agreed.

Just then, she felt her phone vibrate in her tiny purse. It was a miracle really that she actually felt it over the thumping music. One look at her screen told her who was calling.

"It's my mom. I'll take this outside."

Andrew nodded, "I'll wait for Victor for another half an hour and then we leave."

"Sounds good to me."

By the time she made it outside, her phone had stopped ringing. She sighed and dialed back. Her mother picked up at the first ring.

"Mallory, Mallo..."

"Hello? Hello? Mom? I can't hear you." There was a lot of static.

"News...back... Sacramento..."

"What?"

"Come...Antonio..."

That got her attention perked up, "Antonio? What about Antonio?" Her eyes narrowed infinitesimally. "Mom? Mom! What about Antonio?"

The line went dead.

"Did someone say my name?"

Mallory froze, her body suddenly cold. Hair on her arm rose painfully as she heard a voice she was not expecting to hear any time soon. Not in reality at least. As she turned around, the man of her nightmares stood in front of her with an incessant smirk plastered on his face.

And the only thing she could do was clench her fist and whisper, "Antonio."

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Grüß dich, lesen!🌈 (Hello there, reader!)

Nothing much to say today. Just busy juggling graduation and prospective career options.

Life tip you probably already know: If your parents ever told you, "Just study well for now, then you get to enjoy life.", it's A LIE. (Yes, Brown kids, I'm looking at you.👀)

**Sigh**

So how has this year been for you so far, guys? Anything good happen? Gimme some positive vibes.🖤

Until next time,

Ridhima

P.S. Can anyone from USA explain why the news channels are named Channel 1, 2 etc. and how does this system work? Is it same across the nation or different for states? I tried to understand, but it's kinda complicated because here in India we have different names for all channels, local/national news channels included.