Page 75 of Queen’s Gambit

Grabbing my hand, he kissed it and placed it over his pounding heart.

“I love you more,” I said in our usual exchange.

“Impossible.”

The ache trying to consume me was pushed aside for just a moment, and I smiled. Eddie could make me smile on the darkest of days, and I would need his light to escape Christov. My world would soon become pitch black and I needed Eddie waiting for me on the other side.

He grabbed the door handle but stopped and looked at me.

“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”

With the words from Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18 running through my mind, I gazed at the love of my life. This was not our ending. Together, Eddie and I would find our happiness.

Eddie wiped a single tear from his cheek.

“So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,” he said.

“So long lives this, and this gives life to thee,” I finished.

With that, he walked out the door, taking my heart with him.

Yulianna

Frida came into the room after Eddie left and pulled me into a hug. It was a good thing, too, because I was close to going nuclear or maybe a breakdown. Between the uncontrollable anger and throbbing pain in my chest, I was struggling to breathe, let alone stand.

I couldn’t cry now, maybe not ever. It was time to strategize. Our happily ever after wouldn’t come overnight, but one day, Eddie and I would be reunited.

“I need your help.”

Frida stepped back, gripping my shoulders.

“I’ll do whatever I can.”

I clung to my friend, hating to put her in this dangerous position, but Frida was the only person I trusted besides Eddie.

“Help me sneak out after the party.”

She glanced around the room before whispering, “Are you running away?”

I shook my head no.

“It’s not that simple. My father will hunt me down and most likely kill Eddie in front of me to make a point. I know Eddie would die for me, but I would scorch myself with a million suns before I let Father hurt him. It was stupid to dream and think that one day, we would be free. There was never an escape. Part of me always knew, but I didn’t want to believe it.”

“Your father had both of us fooled. I never thought he’d back out like that. Just tell me where you’re going, and I’ll make it happen.”

“We’ll talk more upstairs in my room. For now, I need to avoid my father while making sure he sees me. That way, he won’t come looking for me when I slip out. I’m hoping that he’ll leave me alone until tomorrow. Lord knows he will want to go another round about my behavior and tell me that I embarrassed him.”

“As far as I’m concerned, you held it together better than most. I’m not sure I would be as calm and composed as you were.”

“This is my father we’re talking about. He’ll want me to beg at his feet. I won’t do it. He betrayed me. My father looked me in the eyes, told me that he was happy that I was happy, and then tore out my heart. There is no forgiveness for that kind of betrayal.” I sighed. “I’d rather…I better not say that part out loud.” I nodded toward the door. “I don’t want to go out that way. Can you take us back through the service corridors?”

“Of course.”

The secret passages in this place were endless. I’d tried to learn them all, but if I’d been caught, then my father would have been informed.

Frida grabbed my hand and walked to the furthest corner of the room. She pulled on the candelabra on the wall, and a piece of the wall that looked perfectly smooth a moment ago, swung inward like a door.

“Wow. Is there one of these in every room?”