Rule of a Kingdom

PAST

Those who bow down after defeat don’t know how to grab power by the throat.

They don’t know how to make their enemies fall and never get up again.

Power isn’t about winning. It’s about never losing. It’s about one win after the other to the point that suffering a loss becomes a foreign concept.

Power is snatching the first move in a chessboard so the opponent always follows your lead, not the other way around.

I lean back against the chair in my home office, my fingers cradling a glass of cognac. My friend, Ethan, stares at me through the laptop. His shoulders are tense under his English cut suit and his chestnut brows draw over cobalt blue eyes.

“Well played, Jonathan,” he grits out before taking a sip of his own drink.

I allow my lips to twitch in a smirk. “Crushing you is always a pleasure, Ethan.”

“Just because you won this bid doesn’t mean you crushed me. I’ll win the next.”

“Keep telling yourself that.”

Ethan and I have known each other since university days. If you ask me how we gravitated towards one another, I wouldn’t be able to pinpoint the exact moment. All I know is that we share the same tendencies, the same competitive streak, and we’re even attracted to the same types of women.

That’s why we ended up married to our respective wives. Or in my case, it’s one of the reasons.

My relationship with Ethan started as a camaraderie of sorts, a friendship, since we understood each other the best. However, it’s now some kind of a rivalry. Neither of us likes to lose and we don’t pull punches to make sure of that fact.

“Come to Birmingham.” He tilts his drink in my direction. “I’m setting up a poker table.”

“Pass.”

“You don’t want to win?”

“I only gamble when I can have a sure win.”

“When did you become such a bore, Jon?”

“Since I started beating you at your own games.”

“Fuck you.”

“Where’s your lap dog Agnus?” I pretend to search behind him. “Is today his appointment with the vet?”

Ethan sighs heavily and slides his glass of whiskey on the table with distaste. “For the thousandth time, I told you not to call him a dog or I’ll stop playing nice.”

That’s exactly why I do it. Ethan doesn’t like anyone badmouthing his childhood friend, Agnus, since we were in university. He barely shows any agitation unless it has to do with his family or Agnus.

A sound of the door opening comes from his side before Agnus appears into view, carrying a little girl with braided blonde hair. “Daddy!”

Ethan stands up and takes her from Agnus’ arms, a huge grin on his face. “How’s my princess today?”

Elsa, Ethan’s daughter, grins and waves a red chocolate packet. “Agnus bought me Maltesers!”

“He did?” Ethan stares at his second hand before focusing on his five-year-old girl. “You shouldn’t eat so much chocolate or it will rot your teeth.”

“It’s supposed to be our secret, Elsa,” Agnus whispers to her.

“Sorry,” she grins. “We won’t tell Daddy next time.”

“You’ll hide things from me, Princess?” Ethan tickles her tummy and she breaks out in giggles.

We’re supposed to talk about a project we’ve been envisioning with the Japanese, but if his daughter is in the picture, he’s out.

He turns so sappy when it comes to his wife, children, and Agnus.

I’m about to end the conference call when Agnus steps in front of the camera. His bland features greet me with no expression at all. Even his pale eyes are almost washed. I stare back with a smirk, knowing how much he gets offended on Ethan’s behalf whenever I ruin his plans.

Without saying a word, he ends the call, making the screen go black.

Fucker.

I continue staring at the laptop as I take another sip of my drink.

The way Ethan deals with his family is…strange. I suppose it’s because I can’t seem to wrap my mind around it. I don’t allow my family to get in the way of my business. Each has its own time and occasion.

Maybe that’s why he keeps losing to me.

There’s a small knock on the door that could only be a child’s. I stare at my watch — nine, which is way past Aiden’s bedtime. It couldn’t be Alicia because for once, she said she’ll take her meds. Whenever she does, she passes out for the entire night.

My nephew, Levi, is on a trip with my brother James to some exotic place in Asia. He wanted to take Aiden, too, but I disallowed him. I don’t trust James with my son. I don’t trust him with his own son either. That’s why I sent security to keep an eye on them from afar in case he got too engrossed in his sensory world and lost my nephew.

“Come in.”

The door slowly opens, and Aiden stands at the threshold, wearing his plain blue pyjamas and staring at me even though there’s doubt in his dark grey eyes. I taught him that — to never look down, to never bow his chin, to always walk with his head held high. He and Levi are the future of the King household and they’re not allowed to be weak.

Aiden is a replica of me, looks-wise. We share the same eyes, though his are bigger like the shape of his mother’s. Our black hair is similar, though mine is thicker. His fair skin tone is a mixture between me and Alicia.

The similarities don’t stop there, though.

We both are silent but aren’t calm. Behind the façade, a whole world lurks inside — a world we keep exclusively to ourselves. I have a picture from when I was his age and I had that same look in my eyes — the doubt about everything.

Aiden is so different from Levi. While my nephew is constantly encouraged by his father to be chaotic and say everything on his mind, Aiden prefers to not speak unless he absolutely has to.

Pushing back in my chair, I fix him with my signature blank stare. “You should be in your bed.”

“I can’t sleep.”

“Go to bed, close your eyes, and you’ll sleep.”

He’s silent for a beat then whispers, “Mum sings or reads for me when I can’t sleep.”

“Your mum is tired today. She had to go to bed early. I’ll call Margot so she can read to you.”

Aiden and Levi like our housekeeper because she cooks their favourite food and spoils them in every way possible.

He shakes his head. “I don’t want Margot.”

“Then what do you want?”

He stares at me, swallows, and although he’s almost the same age as Ethan’s daughter, I can’t help noticing how lonely he appears right now compared to her.

My son rarely laughs or smiles but when he does, it’s either with Alicia or James. Forget about giggling like other children. That’s foreign to him.

“Can you do it, Dad?” His voice is so quiet, I can only hear him because the room is eerily silent.

Aiden doesn’t come to me when he can’t sleep. He goes to either Alicia, James or Margot.

This is a first.

I consider sending him back to his room with the housekeeper, but the desperate look in his little eyes stops me. I know it took him a lot of courage to come and ask that, and he deserves to be rewarded.

Standing up, I head to the lounge area, “Come here.”

A small smile grazes his lips as he slowly closes the door and quickens his pace towards me. I sit on the sofa opposite the glass chessboard on the table. Aiden hops beside me, his feet dangling on the high sofa, but he keeps a distance between us.

“Do you know what this is, Aiden?”

“A war board.”

“You can call it that. How did you come up with that name?”

“Because you and Uncle James go to war when you sit around this.”

“That we do. How about I teach you how to win a war?”

He snuggles to my side, so his thigh touches mine and looks up at me with wide grey eyes. I see myself in the awe of those eyes, and it’s the best way to ever see oneself. “Yes, please.”

I take a piece. “This is the king, and you need to protect it at all costs.”

“Like our last name?”

“Exactly. The king takes one step in all directions.”

“Why only one step?”

“Because winning wars takes patience.”

“Really?”

I nod and place the king piece in his tiny hands. He continues staring at it, his eyes doubling in size and his lips parting. It’s his special way of processing things. Despite being a highly intelligent kid, he’s still learning how to store information for later use.

After giving him some time to study the kind, I take another piece. “This is the queen, and you also have to protect it.”

“Why?”

“Because she can move in all directions.”

“That’s so cool.”

“It is. However, if you can win, you can sacrifice her.”

His brows crease. “But wouldn’t the king feel lonely?”

“It doesn’t matter if he’s lonely as long as he wins.”

I go on to explain the other pieces, and Aiden’s awe-filled eyes follow my every move like he’s caught in a trance.

Lifting him up, I sit him on my lap, so he can have a better view of the simulation game I’m setting up. He grins up at me, his little features breaking in joy.

I didn’t know he could smile like that, and not in front of Alicia or James or Levi, but in front of me.

That’s a first.

Who knew my son and I would be able to bond over chess? I will teach him to be the striker, to defend not only his name but also himself and anyone he holds dear.

I might not be the best father out there. I’m not as affectionate as Ethan or as good in expressing emotion, but I have one point over him.

I will not sugarcoat life for my son. He’ll learn early on that he needs to be a wolf so he won’t be eaten by wolves.

He’ll be the king everyone bends the knee for.

That’s my legacy.

Somewhere along the way, Aiden falls asleep in my arms, his long lashes fluttering over his chubby cheeks. His lips are open and his tiny fingers clutch my shirt as a safety net.

I brush my lips against his forehead.

Aiden will grow up to be the son I’m proud of.