Chess Piece [On-Hold]

Man-to-Man's Talk

Ming's POV

"Hi, N'Ming, looking for Pha?" P'Cho asks me.

"Yes." I reply with a nod of my head.

He warns, "He is inside, but I feel obligated to tell you that he is not in a very good mood recently, and I don't think he will be happy to see you right now."

"Is it because of N'Yo??" I ask.

"I will be lying if I say 'no'. If I were you, I won't show up in front of him at this point of time."

"I have no choice. *Sigh* I'm working..." I sigh miserably.

"Ah... I see... Good luck to you and happy working, N'Ming." He smiles.

I wish I can wipe that gleeful smile off his face.

"Oh! By the way, N'Ming, you can trust her, you know. She can be a little weird sometimes, I know, but everything she does, there is a reason behind it. Pha is her brother-in-law even though she likes to pick on him now and then, and she truly cares about N'Wayo. She won't hurt them. She will do anything and everything to help them. You can trust her." He states.

"Did she call you and tell you that I don't trusted her?" I ask with an unhappy frown.

He explains, "No, but I know you and I know her. I know how ridiculous her request can be and I know you will keep questioning her about those requests, and I know, how pissed she will be if you keep questioning her. I just make to assure you that she means no harm and you can trust her. I just want to make things easier for both of you."

I snort, "P, she is not just a little weird, she is extremely weird. The things she said, I don't know which one is real and which one is fake. But I understand what P is trying to tell me. I will try to trust her and tolerate her ridiculous requests and endless teasing, for Pha and N'Yo."

He chuckles, "I wonder what her reaction will be if she hears this."

I cringe at his comment and the thought of how she will 'torture' me if she knows what I had said about her.

I swallow the lump in my throat, "I guess... I better go in now and do my job."

He nods his head in response.

I move away from him and head towards the door.

Before my hand touches the door bell, I turn to P'Cho and say sternly, "P, if I didn't check in with you after an hour, please do me a favour. Call the ambulance for me. I most probably lying unconscious on the floor, waiting for help."

"Hahaha... I will, and I will send the medical bill to her on your behalf." He laughs and walks away after his last comment.

Smiling foolishly at myself, I have to give myself an applause for being able to joke in this situation where I'm going to face the 'demon' myself and alone.

I let out a deep heavy breath before I ring the bell. The door opens after the second time I ring.

The moment I see Pha's expression, I start thinking to myself that maybe P'Cho was right, I shouldn't be here at this point of time. Bad timing, especially for someone who is the indirect source of his 'misery'.

"What are you doing here?" He asks coldly.

"I need to talk to you. About N'Yo." I reply, trying to keep my voice steady.

He stares at me in silence for I don't know how long before saying 'come in'. Then he walks inside, leaving the door open.

I blow out a breath of relief.

At least he didn't slam the door at my face. It means there are rooms for conversation.

He is sitting on a couch and in front of him is a coffee table with a chess set on it when I walk into the house.

One of his habits. Whenever he feels perplexed, he will take out his favourite set of chess and play. Alone.

Sometimes he makes me feel that he rather talks to the chess than to human beings.

"Pha, I need to talk to you."

"Talk." He says without looking up.

"Pha, I want to know what's your feelings for N'Yo." I demand.

"It's none of your business and I don't have any obligation to tell you." Still focusing on his chess, he replies in a flat monotone voice.

Never glance at me, not even once since I was in this room. He is sending me a message telling me that he doesn't want me to be here, he wants me to leave.

But too bad, I don't have a choice in this matter, I need to be here. I need to finish what I came here for, a man-to-man's talk.

"It is. You know I have confessed to him, and I like him."

"Great! Perfect! Congratulations! I have received your message, loud and clear. You can leave now!" I can hear how he forces the words out through his gritted teeth.

Finally, he looks at me with fire burning in his eyes.

Ok. This is what I predicted will happen before coming here.

"Wait! I haven't done talking. I didn't come here to gloat or to warn you to stay away from N'Yo."

Without saying a word, he stares at me with annoyance on his face.

"Pha, I'm coming here to tell you that N'Yo likes you. It's very obvious to me. Even though he hasn't rejected me, but I know he will. He likes you. There's no way he will accept me when you are the one in his heart."

No retort?

No response?

I shrug and continue my speech, "I'm not a saint, Pha, but I respect his decision. Want to know why? Because I know you are a good man. I know you will really take good care of him, and the most important thing is, I know you like him too. Pha, don't think of lying to me. I know you well enough."

He scoffs, "What makes you think that I will take good care of him? Don't you remember why I was here in the first place? I was coming here, HERE to hurt him, and his brother. What makes you think he will be safe with me?"

I answer, "You. I believe in you. I believe the man I grew up with. Pha, you have lost the one you love once. Don't make it twice. Mia's death teaches me one thing. You know what? Life is too short and unpredictable. Treasure the one you love before you lose him."

I heave a sigh of satisfaction.

As a matter of fact, I have been expecting him to throw me out of his apartment in the middle of my 'speech', but he didn't. It means deep inside him, agrees on what I have said.

"What if... I let you down? What if... he ends up getting hurt because of me?" He whispers.

"Pha, if you are so afraid of him getting hurt, the best way of preventing it from happening is to protect him yourself with everything you have." I suggest.

"Ming... I...I like him... but I need time..."

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Another chapter of Chess Piece is here... 😄😄

Thank you for the votes, comments and for reading this story. Thank you. 🙇🙇

I'm not very used in writing sad ending, but somehow I feel like challenging myself to write one. Not on this story, of course. 😅😅

I have been thinking of writing a short story with sad ending. This idea has been circling around in my head for quite a while.

But still, I need to find time for it so I guess, right now I just concentrate on this story. 😊😊

Once again, Thank you for reading. Have a nice day, everyone! 😄