After Jared had got a hold of his breath, he pointed into her room and asked, “Can I come in?” “Of course.” Ellen nodded hastily. Then, Jared entered the room while Ellen closed the door and followed suit.
Suddenly, he stopped and turned around abruptly, which made her bump into him. At that moment, she frantically backed away and tripped over the carpet.
“Ah!” Ellen fell backward and was going to hit her head when Jared quickly pulled her. Immediately, their bodies were pressed close to each other. Ellen was shocked by the sudden outcome.
Her face was pale, and she opened her lips to say something. At that moment, Jared cupped her cheeks and kissed her. In that split second, Ellen was dumbfounded. She stood there stiffly, allowing him to kiss her. After Jared pulled away, her pale face was flushed.
Jared cupped her cheeks as he pressed his forehead against hers. “How rude of you. You didn’t even inform me that you came back,” he said hoarsely.
Ellen blinked and explained awkwardly, “I’m here to participate in the tournament. I’m not here on a trip.” “Don’t you want to share with me after you have won the championship?” “I was afraid that you might be busy.” Ellen pursed her lips.
“Even if I’m busy, I can still find the time to celebrate with you,” Jared said exasperatedly. He could tell that she was making up an excuse, and the real reason was that she didn’t want to see him.
At this moment, there was a knock on the door. It must be the hotel staff, Ellen thought. Then, she said to Jared, “I’ll go and get the fruit.” After that, she opened the door and saw a young, elegant man standing there.
He was Hendrix O’rion, one of the chess players. Hendrix heard that Ellen was also staying at this hotel. Since he would be leaving by tomorrow, he wanted to greet her and talk about chess. Moreover, he liked her. “Hi!” Hendrix waved at her.
“Hello.” Ellen smiled. “I’m sorry to bother you at this hour, Miss Reiss. I really admire you and wish that we could play together sometime later. Is it okay if I get your number?’ asked Hendrix.
Before Ellen could say anything, a cold male voice replied, “No.”
When Hendrix heard the voice, he was startled. When he saw a handsome man come out of the room, he asked curiously, “Miss Reiss, who is this man?” Tm her boyfriend, Jared announced without hesitation.
Ellen was speechless. On the other hand, Hendrix was disappointed. / had asked her teammates, and none said she had a boyfriend. What’s going on?
“We will meet again at the next match, Mr.. O’rion, Ellen said politely. “I see. I’ll take my leave now.” Hendrix left awkwardly. As soon as the door was closed, Ellen heard Jared say sulkily. “As expected. You have more admirers after a year!”
Hearing his words, Ellen felt funny and looked at him. “What about you? I’m sure your admirers are more than mine, right?”
Jared didn’t answer her. No matter what, he was upset when he saw that other men were looking for Ellen. He even wondered if she would have invited Hendrix into her room and bonded their relationship if he hadn’t come..
“Since you are back now, are you going to leave again? As Jared spoke, he walked over to the trophy. When he saw it, he was happy for her. After all, he had never expected her to be able to bag a trophy.
“I’m not planning to leave anytime soon. I still have a television interview to attend,” Ellen replied truthfully.
“It looks like you were pursuing your dream in the past year.” Jared gave her a look of appraisal. “Yes, chess is indeed my dream. I found what I was looking for.” Ellen nodded.
“That’s good. Otherwise, I won’t be able to accept the fact that you will be leaving me again.” Jared looked at her with a darkened gaze. His eyes were filled with upset, sadness, and resignation.
‘I’m sorry.” Ellen apologized. She knew he was hurt by the way she bid goodbye. “It’s fine. I’m not a petty person. I’ll forgive you, but on one condition. My next ten meals are on you.”
