His hazy consciousness gradually cleared. The warm, soft sensation against his body grew sharper. Noah kept his eyes closed and nuzzled gently into the woman's arms, the sweet, rich fragrance of roses drifting past his nose.
"Eve, Mom might find out."
"Mom and Aunt Lesly went out grocery shopping." Evelyn ruffled his hair gently. "If you don't get up soon, breakfast will get cold."
"I want to sleep a little longer. Eve, you smell so good."
"Get up first, Nate. Mom made breakfast today—we can't let it go to waste." Evelyn slipped her hand to his waist, sliding it slowly upward toward his armpit. "There are your favorites—hash browns and diced home fries. If you don't get up now, I'm going to start tickling you."
Before Noah could reply, her slender fingers began lightly scratching under his arms. His body reacted on instinct, laughter spilling uncontrollably from his lips as he squirmed.
"Stop—Eve, stop tickling! I'm up, I'm getting up!"
"That's better."
Evelyn had always taken his filial education seriously. Back in the days when their mother was swamped with work and rarely around, little Noah would constantly ask why Mom never stayed with them. Evelyn would patiently explain it to him again and again—that their mother's busyness was all for the sake of their family.
The one time Evelyn had beaten him the hardest as a child was when he had rudely talked back to Laura.
"Hurry up. I'll wait for you outside."
"Got it. I'm getting up right now."
Evelyn had already dressed and washed up before coming into the room. She climbed out of bed and left. Noah rubbed his sleepy eyes, sat up, pulled on his clothes, and shuffled out in his slippers, still half-asleep.
Breakfast consisted of oatmeal with some sides, plus warm biscuits and muffins from the breakfast shop downstairs, steaming in their plastic bag. After washing up, Noah sat at the table and ate without much care for manners.
"Today we're cleaning the house together to help Mom with the chores."
"Can we do it this afternoon? I want to sleep a little more."
"Sure. Then I'll keep you company."
"Eve." Noah took a sip of his oatmeal and looked up at her. "Aren't you worried Mom will see when she gets back?"
Evelyn blinked, gazing into his clear black-and-white eyes. The smile at the corner of her lips slowly faded, her tone turning serious. "Nate, we can't keep hiding this from Mom forever."
"But… let's wait a little longer. Sorry, Eve."
He was still keeping up the fake relationship with Lila Vale, exactly as Mr. Vale had said in the car yesterday. He could imagine how painful that must sound to Evelyn—when she was the one who truly had him.
Noah didn't know when the right time would be to come clean to their mother and everyone else.
But it felt good to enjoy a few more days of peaceful family life.
After all, Lila was the cherished daughter of the Vales. Before their relationship became public, he couldn't be sure how her family would react.
Evelyn didn't answer. She closed her eyes and remained silent for a few seconds before speaking softly, "Alright. Finish eating and go back to bed. I'll clean up."
"Then… I'm going?"
"Go ahead."
Noah finished the last of his oatmeal, returned to the room, and crawled back under the covers. But after lying there with his eyes closed for a while, sleep refused to come. He opened his eyes again and stared blankly at the old trees and buildings outside the window, his mind completely empty.
An old cardboard box sat on the windowsill, filled with things from his childhood—diaries, books, awards, class photos… On top was a dusty old chess set. A sudden impulse hit him and he sat up.
"Eve, let's play chess." Noah stood in front of Evelyn holding the old chess set, his eyes shining with a touch of childish excitement.
"Not sleeping anymore?"
"Can't fall asleep anyway, and there's nothing else to do. Come on, let's go."
Evelyn smiled helplessly. She had wanted him to help clean, but the timing wasn't urgent. The holiday was long and free anyway. She might as well indulge the little fool's whim.
Their neighborhood had a large sycamore tree with a full set of concrete round tables and chairs underneath. A standard chessboard was neatly carved right into the center of the tabletop. Elderly neighbors often brought their chess sets to play a few games there.
As a boy, Noah used to watch the old men play for hours. Eventually he got the itch, saved his pocket money for weeks to buy his own set, and pestered Evelyn and Lila Vale to play against him every day.
Later, he mostly only played with Lila.
Playing against Evelyn always ended the same way: either she let him win, or he lost.
Until the day he lost his board. Young Noah had to fight the old men for the concrete table downstairs. They teased him—if he won a game, they'd give him the spot.
After losing his fifth game, when one of the old men was about to let him win out of pity, Noah ran home angrily and dragged Evelyn out with him.
Seeing his sister win one back for him, the little boy was about to gloat when Evelyn lightly tapped the back of his head and told him to respect his elders and not be rude.
He only remembered that Evelyn played a best-of-three series with the old men that day and still lost in the end.
Even though the concrete table should have been his by the agreement, because Evelyn had seriously instructed him, he obediently listened and never asked the elders for the spot again.
Luckily, the concrete table was empty today. Noah and Evelyn sat across from each other and set up the pieces.
"You go first, Nate."
"Eve, we're not little kids anymore. You don't have to let me win."
"Are you sure? Then I'm making my move." Evelyn's lips curved, a gentle smile blooming in her beautiful eyes.
She opened aggressively in the center. Noah countered directly, and the position quickly turned sharp, pieces flying off the board in rapid exchanges.
He rarely played chess these days. The one thing he still remembered clearly was that he couldn't afford to drag things out against Evelyn—if he wanted any chance of winning, he had to finish fast.
"Check." Noah called it out first, looking a bit smug as he saw the enemy king under heavy pressure.
But Evelyn calmly pointed to her rook. The path to his king was now wide open.
"My mistake." Noah awkwardly retracted his last move.
"Always overthinking without seeing what's right in front of you, Nate."
"I got careless." He scratched his head. "Eve, did you actually study chess?"
"There was always that old chess book Dad left at home. You were just too lazy to ever open it." Evelyn made her next move, once again forcing his king into a corner. "When I had free time before, I looked through it and learned a little."
"Really just… a little?"
"What do you think?" She lifted her gaze and looked at him tenderly. "Retract the move, or start a new game?"
"New game."
They reset the board with all the pieces. Sitting on the cold, hard concrete chairs, they moved their pieces one by one.
A gentle breeze lifted strands of Evelyn's long hair. As they played, they chatted quietly about small, ordinary family things and old memories.
Winter back home felt different from Loane. Even at this time of year it didn't feel particularly cold, though the old tree branches stood completely bare, looking bleak and empty.