Leashed

Chapter 13: The Marriage Game

"Check."

Though furious, she moved her king to a green square.

He then repositioned his knight.

She looked at her opponent, and it appeared that he was now targeting her queen--her strongest piece and the only one left of her officials. If he managed to take it, she'll be left with mere pawns--apparently not that much of a force to win with. On the other hand, her opponent still had both of his rooks, his queen and one of his knights; the bishops were the only ones she could overpower. Chess, to her, wasn't just a board game anymore-especially at that point-- it turned out to be a battlefield--a pivotal match against her father.

"Checkmate," her father cheekily announced as he leaned to the backrest of the rattan chair he's sitting on. "Neoma hija. When will you ever win against me?"

Utterly appalled, she could only look at how just a single pawn of his ended the game. Her king was cornered and couldn't move with his rooks pinned to block its prospective paths. The afternoon glowed, and it felt warm; however, it couldn't illuminate her gloom over her fresh defeat.

She was still eleven years old, but at that point, she already hated losing, especially against her father. Irritated by this one along with his many other victories against her, she pettily toppled the board from the glass table and threw some of the chess pieces towards her father. Gello rushed to shield his boss, and another bodyguard tried to calm her down.

"Young Miss, it's just a game. No need to be upset about it."

"Oh, shut up!" She lashed at the bodyguard and glared at Wile. "You cheated! Just like always, Father! You always win. I hate you."

Wile grinned at her. "Don't be silly, hija. You just have to try harder if you want to beat me in a game."

She clenched her teeth, and her tears of frustration welled. "You'll see. You'll definitely see in the future that I'll beat you at any game!"

First of January of 2021

Blasts of fireworks were in the distance along with the screams of the past lover she left behind. Though limping, Neoma walked self-assured while headed towards the car prepared for her escape. Sol held her by the waist while gingerly eyeing their surroundings. They were still in the vicinity of the hospital, and the other Consunji men present had been alerted to look for them, following what befell Ohm. It appeared, furthermore, that they won't have to look for them farther.

"Over here! I found Miss Neoma!"

"Stop right there, you dog!" They caught up with them at the spacious parking lot. Trapping them in an imperfect circle, they aimed their guns at Sol.

"Miss Neoma, we're taking you back!"

Sol decided to freeze, but, of course, no one, especially a mere bodyguard, can order a Neoma Belmonte around. She finally got to the car and opened the door to the backseat; nevertheless, someone fired his gun and pierced a bullet to it.

"Miss Neoma, stop, please! Boss Ohm is seriously injured. You need to go back to him."

She halted, and then everything around them became quiet, even the crickets' chirping seemed to fade along with the dormancy of the night sky. There was this eerieness that unnerved them; it was as if the calm before a storm. Some of them heard themselves gulp, most particularly the guy who released a shot towards her direction.

The sound of something smashed was heard. A solar street lamp had been busted like something hard and solid had been accurately thrown to break it. It was then followed by another, then another, and another, until all the lamps over them had been broken, now enveloping them in hazardous darkness.

"What was that?!" Panicked someone.

Their attention was now set in different directions, trying to figure out the cause of their bafflement.

Kssssssh! Booosh!

Kssssssh! Booosh!

Kssssssh! Booosh!

As if on cue, fireworks decorated the sky again.

The Consunjis' men turned their eyes back to whom they were aiming their guns at. Sol pulled out his pair of silver Walthers and vanished in the dark only to appear again in sync with the flashes of light.

Gunshots filled the air, but they couldn't spot him, even carelessly shooting their comrades.

"f**k! Who shot me?!"

"Celso's dead!"

"Everyone, calm the f**k down!"

Sol was adroitly toying with them.

Neoma mentally lauded him and smiled--pleased to behold the c*****e before her. Her dog was committing a m******e, laughing as he broke limbs and planted bullets to their heads.

"Hey, hey, weren't you the one who shot towards Neoma?" Sol whispered to that guy's ear, before he made a hole on his temple.

The one remaining of the Consunjis' men there diverted his attention to the woman who caused all of this. Irate, he grabbed her hair. "You filthy w***e! You b***h!"

Sol furiously watched as he took Neoma hostage, yet he didn't budge, in order not to compromise her safety.

To Sol, he shouted, "You beast! If you dare come near me, I swear I'll--"

He couldn't finish his undaunted statement. A knife, out of nowhere, had been stabbed to his hand, making him drop his gun.

"Aaaaaaah! f**k!"

Neoma proceeded to elbow his gut and tore away from him, as a menacing figure stood before him. She grinned at the newcomer.

"Run, before I slit your throat."

Desperate for his life, he scrammed while screaming for help, but he couldn't get that far since he fell on the ground with a nasty hole at the back of his head.

"Was it really necessary to kill him?" There was apparently irk in his tone.

Sol then assisted his mistress and looked back at him. "How nice of you to finally show up. I'm also wondering why you didn't even join the fray earlier."

"It didn't seem like you needed my help."

The newcomer then turned to Neoma, a little bit of the fireworks lighting up her visage.

She smirked at him. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you AGAIN in person, 'Owel Balasik.' Though it's a bit late, I'd like to reintroduce myself. My name is Neoma Belmonte."

He stoically stared at her. "I know."

Morning, 9 A.M.

On that same day, people of the Philippines were astonished with the interruption on all of the local channels at the same time. Most of them thought that it was just a New Year greeting; some even thought that it was a technical glitch. However, they were to know that it couldn't be either.

"We interrupt this program with a special broadcast," a voice over announced. "This is an urgent announcement of Mr. Wile Belmonte."

He appeared with a dignified demeanor. There wasn't a single wrinkle on his golden suit, and he smiled in all bogusness in front of the camera.

"To everyone who is watching this, first, I would like to greet you a Happy New Year. At least, I want you to be happy, since I am not."

He switched his face to a sullen expression.

"Last night, my unica hija, my one and only lovely daughter...."

Neoma's face appeared on the screen.

"Has run away from me again. She did that during her wedding, and last night, she escaped from the hospital. She has always been difficult to handle, but I can't fathom why she's like that towards me; nonetheless, I've always loved her still. Fear not, for my sake, however, because I have come up with a way to bring her back. That is why I need your help. Knowing her nature, she will be most welcoming of this, since she loves anything tremendously challenging. This is what I call the 'Marriage Game.'"

Different audiences chattered with each other.

"Whoa, that sounds serious."

"Her daughter's too beautiful!"

"Wow, I wonder what it would be like to be the daughter of the richest tycoon in the country."

"Her daughter's got daddy issues."

"His father must be lewd to her that's why she ran away again."

"What happened to her groom though?"

Wile continued. "You are qualified to join the game if you are a bachelor 18 years old and above. I will welcome you as the victor if you find her and bring her back home to me within 90 days. If you manage to be the one who does that, no matter who you are, no matter what nationality you have, you will gain the right to marry my daughter and inherit my entire wealth down to the last coin.

"The game starts today."

And with that, the airing of the special broadcast ended. This, nevertheless, certainly caught the attention of all the money-hungry males residing in the country. One such male was someone who was sinisterly beating up his creditor inside his apartment in Zamboanga del Norte.

"Sto-Stop this, Lucien, please." The creditor pleaded, for his lips have burst and three of his teeth have fallen out.

He laughed so loud, but his voice couldn't level that of how high the volume of his television was. He intended that in order to hide the cries of his victim.

"W-What was that?" He sarcastically mimicked his voice. "You know that I told you last week that I'll pay you if I have the money to pay you, but you're just so damn annoying. You never learn."

The creditor looked at the man atop him. It was a mistake to have lent him over ten thousand. He was already warned that Lucien was as baleful as his face. He has a vertical scar on his prominent nose bridge, verifying the tale that he got into a fight with fourteen men but overpowered them. As a result, he got the infamous scar. His blonde highlights even added to his tenacity.

"I will welcome you as the victor if you find her and bring her back home to me within 90 days...."

He heard Wile Belmonte spoke, so he looked at the T.V. screen intently.

Lucien then grinned. "Isn't that just a wonderful opportunity?" He turned back to his victim and slapped him. "Don't you think so too?"

December 29th of the 2020

Neoma lied immobile on her bed while impassively gazing beyond the balcony. Ohm, his men there, and even Gello still thought that she was depressed over Sol's early death. They thought she had given up even her sanity because of that. On the contrary, there was one person who knows her too well: her father.

"Just how do you think you can fool me?" Wile slyly stated, seated at her right. He had dismissed his underlings to be alone with her.

"There must be a limit to this pretention, hija."

The television ahead was still the only thing making noise, since his daughter was unresponsive.

So, he then told her, "Sol visited you, didn't he?"

She simpered before she turned to him. "What if he did? What will you do about it?"

He grinned. "Nothing, really, and I have no intention of telling Ohm too."

Her brow rose. "Oh, really, Papa? Are you trying to be reassuring?"

"Maybe."

"It sounds to me that you want something in return for me to prevent you from doing otherwise. I'm sorry, but one of these days, I'll get out of here and you'll never see me ever again."

"I really won't; trust me. I even want you to succeed in getting away from Ohm's security."

At that moment, she couldn't believe that her father would actually say those words. She thought that it's a trap, so she would be caught off guard. Yet, she also realized that he is always stark in his intentions and didn't beat around the bush.

"What are you trying to say?"

"Let's play a game where your freedom depends on the line."

"And what's the name of this game?"

"It's called the 'Marriage Game.'"

"Sounds pretty lame."

"The mechanics are simple. Within 90 days, you have to escape from all of those who will pursue you. In that time frame, if someone brings you back home, it will be your loss; whereas, if no one does, you will be free to live your life the way you want to."

Neoma grinned at the headrest monitor as soon as Wile finished detailing about the so-called 'Marriage Game.'

"So that is how it's supposed to be. I gladly accept, Papa."

"Sol, Owel," she called from behind them; the former was at the driver's seat, and the latter was beside him. "I trust that you will accompany me until the end of this game."

"Of course, Neoma. I'll follow you even in hell," Sol giddily replied.

Yet Owel was another story. He scoffed. "Don't get the wrong idea; I only agreed to get you out of there since this guy said you'd tell me where you're hiding my parents. I don't intend to be your chaperone, missy."

Neoma grinned at him. "Well, why don't we head over to where they are now?"