The Queen of Gambit

“I now pronounce you husband and wife.”

These words were what sealed my fate as I took the biggest and worst decision of my life.

“You may kiss the bride.” 

The applause and the cheers that followed thwarted every worry I had before marrying Abel Hastings. 

I was officially Mrs Kathleen Hastings and married to the love of my life.

If only I had known that I would regret that day for the rest of my life.

“Thank you for introducing us. If it were not for you, I would not be here married to the love of my life today.” A sheepish smile broke on my face as I drank my wine and let my Sister Julia rearrange my hair and makeup.

Julia was my step-sister, and we only became family when her dad and my mum got married about five years ago.

We barely knew each other, but from the little time we had spent together she had become more than my step-sister. It felt like I had known her for years and she became my best friend.

Julia was the main reason I stood at the altar with Abel that day.

She introduced us at the bar and pushed me out to go on a date with him, and the rest they say is history.

But I would be going back to that history to get answers to the questions and misfortunes that plagued me later on.

“Oh Kath, you and Abel are soulmates and are both destined to be together. With or without me, this union would have come to pass” she said, still fixated on arranging my hair.

The dedication and attention she gave to fixing the loose strands made me smile. Ever since she became family, she has been my biggest help and support, apart from my mum.

“I’m glad you came into my life as my sister” I told her, and her hands paused their work.

She looked into the mirror to meet my eyes with a smile.

“Hmm. I’m glad you’re glad I’m your sister” she said. 

"That's why you have to get ready to tell me the details for tonight. I want to hear how good Abel would make you scream tonight. Again" 

“Julia!” I swatted her arm lightly and we both burst out laughing, the alcohol giving me a buzz already.

She had stumbled in on us having sex once, and I have not lived it down ever since.

“You are all fixed" she said and took my hand as we went outside again to mingle with the guests of the party.

"I see mum and dad. I need to check on them”, Julia said.

“Alright, don’t take too long. I need you back with me”, I told her as I let go of her hand.

“Sure. I'll make sure to bring more alcohol as I come back" she said before leaving, and I chuckled as I watched her walk away.

“Hello Kathleen". I turned and came face to face with the handsome Liam Hemsworth version of the new family. I now have "congratulations” 

“Hey Ashe, I didn’t think you could make it”, I smiled at him as he gave me a brief hug and stepped back almost immediately.

“If I knew any better I would say my brother didn’t want me to be here” he said with a chuckle, something I found sexy.

Ashe was the half brother of Abel, with both having different fathers and the same mother, and for some reason, they had never gotten along.

I had only come across Ashe a few times and those times Abel was always around to hover around me and our conversations never got far.

There was a hatred Abel had for Ashe that he made evident whenever they were close.

I was a little on edge as I knew Abel would have an outburst anytime soon if he knew I was talking to his brother.

“Thank God you don’t know any better” I said lowly, with a smile.

We both chuckled, and I caught a glimpse of his dimples.

I was marrying Abel, but I could not help but be struck by Ashe whenever I saw him. His sharp jawline, plump lips and captivating green eyes were the perfect features that always drew me in.

He was tall and lean and earned the most handsome man in town for his looks, and somehow he never reacted or lived up to his reputation.

I could call him nerdy because he rarely talked and was always seen with books or brooding in a corner when he was in a gathering.

“You look beautiful” he said, and I nearly choked on air all of a sudden.

“Thank you” I said as I fiddled with my fingers.

“As a married woman, of course," he added quickly. 

"Don’t get me wrong, you look beautiful as a lady, even when you were single" He sighed and stuttered

“My God my words are not coming out the way I want them to” I grinned at his discomfort, glad he felt the way I sometimes felt when he was around.

“I understand, I nearly messed up my vows at the altar too” I said, and as soon as our eyes met again we started laughing. At that moment, I almost forgot I had just gotten married to his brother.

“I’m glad you got me, Mrs Hastings" 

“I like the sound of that” I said and we both chuckled while he sipped his wine and I saw his Adam's apple bob up and down his throat.

“Are you going to be around for Thanksgiving?” I unknowingly assessed him as I watched his smile grace his full lips, his eyes closeyd for a brief moment as his fingers ran through his hair.

“Uh, yes. I …”

“I thought I told you not to come here!" 

My admiration haze quickly vanished, I was back to being the bride of the day with guests around me. 

We both turned to the owner of the voice.

My husband, Abel Hastings.

My smile grew quickly as I saw him advance towards us quickly.

I was so in love and every time I saw him I felt a new rush of emotion. It was no wonder we were eager to get married after a year of seeing each other.

But he was not smiling, and his wine flute was thrown aside as he reached us.

“Hello Brother nice…” Ashe started as soon as the glass shattered.

“Step away Ashton, I need to speak to my wife.”

My brows furrowed, and I prayed to God, so Abel would not start a fight there.

Ashe raised his hands in the air in a surrender gesture and stepped back.

"I'm sorry" I mouthed as Abel grabbed my wrist and pulled me away.

“That was rude”, I started once we were outside earshot.

“What were you doing with Ashton?” Abel started, ignoring his rash behavior that I had just pointed out.

“He’s your brother, he was giving me his congratulations…” I didn't finish before Abel interrupted me.

“Half brother” he said, gritting his teeth the same time as his fingers dug into my skin and his hold tightened.

“Abel, you’re hurting me” I said in a low voice, hoping nobody was seeing this side of him.

I didn't want anybody to catch on to us and see how Abel acts whenever he was angry.

But he was angry so I let him do those things, like when he hit me for leaving him at the bar for too long.

“I just want to make sure I get my message passed across” his grip tightened, and his nails dug even deeper into my skin. I was sure they would leave a nasty bruise.

“Abel, it’s still our wedding. What are you doing?” I said in alarm as I tried to pry his hand off my wrist.

His eyes snapped, he looked around, his hand let go of my wrist and he stepped back.

“Oh" he breathed. "Kathleen".  He said my name in a soft whisper and at the same time his grip loosened, I snatched my hand away quickly.

I tried to nurse my bruised hand and rubbed the throbbing pain gently.

"You know how I feel about Ashe. His father was a drug addict and that bastard is a riffraff. I don't want him coming close to you and causing problems for us. I get agitated when he gets close to you. I just want you to be safe and away from him, he’s bad company”, Abel rapped, seemingly ignoring my hurting hand.

"Doesn't mean you have to hurt me" I muttered as I examined the angry red bruise on my hand.

"Julia would give you ice for that. Come, we need to say hi to the Newman's and the Fuller's, it's best for my reputation among the ton now" he said as he looked towards his people of interest while I stood nursing my wrist and my ego.

Once again, Abel had an outburst because of Ashe.

One thing I failed to realize that day was he never apologized.

After the wedding, it took two weeks before another outburst.

It was the longest he had gone without me having to be at the receiving end of his anger.

Maybe because we were on honeymoon, but couples do fight and I consoled myself with the fact that he was always sweet to me after his anger bouts.

Funny thing was, I had never seen him angry in public. But we both showed our weaknesses to the ones we loved most and the love we both had was the driving force I needed to keep loving him and being his wife.

“The food is cold” Abel muttered after taking a spoon of his dinner and scrunching his face in disgust.

I smiled and turned to continue the dishes. "It's warm baby, I think you should eat it." 

“I married you because I love you and you. In turn, you treat me like a dog” he said, and my hands froze in their action.

I left the plates I was washing and went to him, quickly tasting the food and trying to find out what was wrong.

"Baby, there's nothing wrong...." I was grabbing my cheek in surprise and shock and I didn't finish my talk. 

“Don’t interrupt me when I’m talking, Kat, you’re insulting and emasculating me”, he said. 

"I was busy all day, I made this food earlier on and I..." I looked for a way to explain why I had served my husband warm food. The surprise I had for him was ruined.

"You're doing it again and that's insulting". It was a warning and I knew it the moment he stood up.

“Insul… I wanted to tell you I’m pregnant” I said quickly.

"What?" He stopped, and his face scrunched in an emotion I couldn't read.

I held my burning cheek wishing he would apologize for once.

“Oh God baby, you should have said that” he said, and I could not help but sigh of relief because I knew he would not hit me again.

“I was too tired to microwave the food properly” I muttered as I took up the plate and got set to make his food hot.

“You should have said that", he pulled me back to him by the waist and kissed me. "My bad", he whispered, and took the plate away from me.

"That's why I always say you should be truthful with me. You know what, I'll take you upstairs and make up for this whole misunderstanding, okay" he said, and I nodded slowly, taking it in that he was angry again and that was why this happened.

But it was not. 

The hits continued after that and each time he never apologized.

Even when I lost my baby.

“I think Abel is cheating on me”, I announced to Julia on the phone.

“Wha… how can you be so sure? It’s just ten months into your marriage” she said.

“I know, that’s why I’m trying hard not to believe it” I said as my mind reflected on what had been happening here the past few days.

“Do you know the woman, or did you see something?” Julia asked slowly.

“Uh no, like I said, I’m not too sure. He came home the other night with an earring stuck in his breast pocket”, I told her.

“An earring? How come?” Her voice went up an octave, probably from disbelief.

“No idea. You know the type I got for you for your last birthday. Those shiny ones” I said.

“Uh yeah, those” she said with a chuckle. "What if it's a man?" 

“This is not funny Julia, stop laughing.” I didn't want those jokes right now, my marriage was shaking.

“I’m sorry, you’re just paranoid because of an earring. It’s