Zenon's Game Chapter 263

"Thank you so much for lending me your clothes. I hope you got my note?" I asked, having left a thank you note in the bag I gave Charlotte.

"Yes, Char gave it to me," Nicole nodded, "Along with the clothes."

Suddenly, I felt the mood in the room change and anticipated Zenon's presence. Strong arms wrapped around my waist and I felt his body behind me. Finally.

"There you are, Candy," he whispered, his lips kissing my cheek.

How does he make a crowded room feel like it was just the two of us?

I turned around and stared up at Zenon. He looked incredibly handsome in a shirt and tie. The tie rested below his adam's apple and framed his incredible jaw line. I was so tempted to kiss him all over, but knowing his sister was behind me... I restrained myself.

She was watching us.

His blue eyes flickered up from mine and over to Charlotte and Nicole. He mentioned, "Thanks for helping out."

Nicole deflected the compliment. "Hey, it's all your sister. I'm just sitting here, looking pretty."

Charlotte glared back at him and flicked the oven mitt aggressively onto the counter.

Zenon didn't say anything, but he grabbed a brie bite from the tray beside her and then nodded his head at me towards the exit.

I didn't move. "I think your sister isn't happy with you."

Zenon sighed, realizing he wasn't going to get off easily.

"No, and you want to know why, Candace?" Charlotte asked me, though she was clearly speaking to her brother, "Because Zenon has decided to act like my father instead of my little brother and banned my boyfriend from coming today."

"We don't need to drag everyone down with this," Zenon commented, "you know why."

"You're a hypocrite," Charlotte insulted him, "You complain about how our family treats your girlfriend and you do the same to mine."

"It's not the same," Zenon replied, getting irritated now that she brought me into the mix. "You know why I don't like him. If you can't respect yourself, I'll respect you for you."

I tried to recap what this was about in my mind. I remembered her boyfriend yelling at her for cheating on him and then aggressively talking to Zenon and Jake...

Charlotte freaked out at that, "YOU'RE SUCH A F-"

"Stop!" Mrs Albert called out, walking into the kitchen just in time, "Whatever you're about to do, stop it right now! We have a house full of people here to celebrate Zenon's achievements and we are not going to derail that. Now both of you come to the living room right now. Your father is about to make an announcement."

We all traipsed into the living room like scorned children. The guests were already facing the fireplace, waiting for Zenon's father to speak. His son and daughter joined him and a polite applause accompanied them.

I stood next to the window and glanced at my house across the street. I couldn't see any flying pieces of wood, so I guess that's a good sign the gambler's work was going well.

From the front, Zenon's dad cracked a joke and the crowd politely laughed. He started his speech.

That's when I spotted Axel. He was eating appetizers by the buffet while his mom tried to swipe his hand away from the food. It looked like a fun game.

Roland Chadwick the Second was on a business call in the hallway, until Bryce convinced him to end it. They looked like a matching set in their expensive three-piece suits with pocket scarves.

The only person I couldn't see was Jake, until he found me.

"Hey," he said, brushing shoulders with me as he joined the audience.

"Shouldn't you be up front?" I asked, pointing at his charismatic family.

He laughed, "No. I think they'd prefer if I wasn't even in the room."

"I'm sure that's not true," I said.

Jake didn't reply. We stared at his family, smiling perfectly like they had been created for a movie.

My attention was on Zenon, like it always was. He was scratching the back of his neck, looking somewhat reluctant to be the center of attention today.

"No one can step out of his shadow," Jake said unexpectedly about Zenon.

I wondered if that was true. Was I in his shadow too? People only knew me now as Zenon's girlfriend.

The two of us watched Zenon get praised for his college acceptance and basketball scholarship. There was a cake with the Kentucky Wildcats logo on the coffee table in the middle of the room.

I couldn't help but think how Zenon's dream was going to take him very far away from here.

His father said, "I grew up watching basketball games from my couch and I never expected to have an NBA prospect as a son. Since he was a little boy, he's had an energy that shocked my wife and I. The kid has nerves of steel."

I was standing next to the window and the sound of a car on the street outside caught my attention. I thought it was a guest running late to the party, until I saw the car park outside my house. I turned my head to look at it properly.

The door opened and a woman stepped out.

Not just any woman. It was my mom.

There is a broken record in my bedroom that reflects the remnants of a home invasion. In a way, my family life has shattered in a similar way.

Maybe there is no perfect life out there, but mine is not even a contender right now.

I carry with me abandonment issues that hurt my current relationship. I know that now. My insecurities paralyze me sometimes. They've been put under a magnifying glass, especially after I started dating someone in the spotlight. Metaphorically, speaking.