Substitute Wife for the Mafia King R18-Chapter 216: Games with a Prince

“There are no problems, Your Highness. Just because people think that there are problems doesn’t mean that there are any problems for me,” I corrected him patiently.

“Call me Desmond just as we agreed please,” the prince reminded me with a smile.

“Thank you for worrying about me, Desmond, but I assure you that I’m fine and there is no need for you to concern yourself with my matters,” I said politely.

In other words, please just leave me alone...

“That’s good to hear. Many things are changing and it may be possible that your father is getting more anxious regarding the uncertainties. So, if I were you, I would refrain from doing things that would further worry him,” the prince warned.

“Are you worried for my father?” I asked as I narrowed my eyes at him.

“Of course not. I’m worried for you and no one else,” he replied smoothly.

“You’re overestimating me. There is nothing that I can do to influence what my father has in mind or anything related to my family. I’m afraid that you’re talking to the wrong person. It is Diana whom you should be speaking to,” I said passively.

“I’m not talking to the wrong girl, in case that’s what you’re thinking,” the prince said before smiling at me again.

He was still just as much of a mystery as he was before even though we had started talking. The more he said, the less I understood him and what he wanted from me. I also didn’t think that I had done anything in particular to catch his attention or earn his sympathies enough for him to be worried about me.

“Have your body healed? I have many talented doctors working for the royal family that I can call on around the clock. If you’d like...” he offered while sounding too solemn for my liking.

This isn’t his fault and I haven’t done anything to warrant his sympathies. Just like the many people who saw that post of my bruised body, the prince seemed to side with those that pity me. I didn’t think that the prince was necessarily an evil person but I was still slightly surprised that he seemed to believe that I was a victim of harm rather than believing other groundless theories such as those speculating that I had hurt myself all for the sake of drawing everyone’s attention.

“There is no need. I’m fine now and...the culprit has been in better control of his violent urges so I’ve already gotten what I wanted. There is no need for you to worry,” I assured him firmly.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

“It’s not as bad as it looks. I’m all healed up now. If you’re not convinced, should I show you?” I asked before I smirked at him.

The prince wasn’t as shocked as I thought that he would be at my offer to show him my body. I wasn’t sure how much I was up to the task but those words had left my mouth before I could stop myself. He stared at me in silence before his lips curved into a smile and then he began laughing. I knew then that he was genuinely concerned for me and that he had no intentions of seeing my body.

“I’ll take your word for it. I’m not a big fan of seeing any kinds of wounds on a woman’s body. So, if you’re going to show me your body, better save it for later,” he said before grinning at me.

I ended up smiling a little at what I hoped was a joke. Unbelievably, I realized that it had gotten easier for me to talk to him. I reminded myself again that regardless of how easy he was going on me, the man sitting in front of me was a prince. Despite that, I suddenly felt bold and stupidly brave.

“What makes you believe that my father hit me and that I didn’t do this just to get people’s attention?” I asked to fulfill my curiosity.

“It doesn’t seem like you’re particularly enjoying my attention...” the prince replied before letting out a soft chuckle.

“Jokes aside please...” I muttered.

“I don’t know. A friend of mine told me so...” the prince replied before looking away from me.

A friend of his...?

It was clear that he did not wish to discuss the matter further and I didn’t want to press him. For me, it was good enough that he seemed to believe my version of the story and it was clear that he knew the politics that went on in the noble houses very well which didn’t come as a big surprise considering that he is the prince.

“Enough of that. For now, there’s something else that I want to do with you,” he said as he slowly stood up from his seat.

My eyes followed the graceful movements of his body as I wondered what it was that he wanted from me. Although he turned down my offer, he was merely just delaying it in an open-ended way.

Does this mean that he’s not totally uninterested?

Do I want him to be interested in me?

“What is this?” I asked.

Desmond returned to where we were and placed a wooden board on the table between us. It looked like a board used for some kind of game.

“It’s the game that we’re going to play,” he replied as he took his seat. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

“Is it chess?” I asked without any excitement.

“Do you know how to play chess?” he asked in return.

“A little. I’m not at all good at it and I don’t particularly enjoy it,” I replied honestly.

To be more honest, I hated the game and how everyone who wanted to appear sophisticated had to know how to play it. Learning the rules gave me a headache and pretending to enjoy the game while playing it gave me an even bigger headache.

“Well, this isn’t chess. This is a game called Gomoku,” the prince announced before beaming a bright smile my way.

–To be continued...