To the Love of My Life

Madeleine lifted her head, looking at Howard Coleman, “Howard, are you trying to fight me? I’ll call Jack over to help me right now.”

Two against one? How could he possibly win?

Howard gritted his teeth till they chattered, looking at the smug Ruby Gregory, he swallowed his anger again.

A game of Backgammon ended with Ruby winning, after countless bizarre reasons and threats served as excuses to remove Howard’s black pieces from the game.

Ruby busily tried to convince Howard to play another round, but Howard, who had been forced to recall every humiliating event from elementary school to university by Ruby, shook his head, absolutely refusing!

Although Steve Burton appeared to be immersed in the atmosphere of the birthday party, he had been watching Ruby all along.

Despite the distance, Steve’s good eyesight allowed him to clearly see Ruby, Howard, and Madeleine playing Backgammon.

It seemed like Ruby had won. Her radiant smile was as brilliant as the blazing sun, dazzlingly beautiful.

Soon, she and Howard started another round. Her expression was serious, sometimes frowning, sometimes pouting, and sometimes even biting her own finger, seemingly lost in thought.

She looked so animated and appealing with her myriad of expressions, more so than when she was always cautiously meticulous around him. He couldn’t help but be drawn to her.

It seemed like Ruby was about to lose to Howard, so she cheated by kicking the table and ruining the game.

This was just like the Ruby he first saw when he was four… if she couldn’t get something, she would just destroy it!

A faint smile curved at the corner of Steve’s lips, causing him to be penalized a drink for not paying attention to the game at hand.

After the game was wrecked, Ruby and Howard started another round. From a distance, he couldn’t tell what she was saying to Howard, but she kept removing the black pieces from the board. Howard’s face looked like he had eaten shit, getting uglier and uglier, becoming more despondent as each piece was removed. Towards the end, it looked as if Howard was about to cry.

Steve couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh, causing him to lose the game once again and was penalized another drink.

These games were child’s play for Steve, who had never lost in all these years.

Rusell Henris couldn’t help wondering why Steve was losing, only to realize that his gaze kept straying in Ruby’s direction.

The next time Steve was penalized a drink, Rusell finally asked, “Bro, should we go see what Madeleine and Howard are up to?”

Upon hearing this, Steve, who had been raising his glass, paused. His eyes became a bit dimmer, and a hint of dejection could be heard in his voice: “If I go over, she might get upset.”

Rusell was taken aback.

Steve lifted his glass, downing the drink with one gulp. His eyelashes cast a shadow on his cheeks as he squeezed the glass in his hand, speaking again:

“Let her be happy a little while longer.”

PS: That’s it for today, we’ll continue tomorrow.. The winners of yesterday’s calendar and autographed book are: Deceit&qu, please speak up if you see your name, and be sure to join group 67726183 (non-winners who want to join are also welcome, after all, you might be the winner tomorrow!)