Page 20 of The Queen's Denial

“As I said, your father is still meeting with the heads of the eligible families in Japan as we speak, but there should be at least five or six suitable choices.”

As always, the more information I’m given, the calmer I get. I take a deep, centering breath and continue. “How long does he expect the process to take?”

Daiki considers the question for just a moment before he answers. “About four months. You will meet with each suitor over the course of two weeks’ time. You will be able to meet with them once more after that if you choose, and then you will pick one. You will become engaged and date for about two months while you set up the wedding.”

My father and Daiki have put an extraordinary amount of thought into this process. It is so different from what I have always expected it would be as a child, and from what I’ve read. It’s like my father took the ideas and catered them especially to what I would be able to handle — what would be best specifically for me. If I was someone prone to bouts of emotion, I might tear up right now. But as it is, I keep my composure so that I can ask more questions.

“What if I don’t find any of the men suitable?” Daiki’s easy answers to my questions thus far have made me bold. This is not a question I would typically ask of an elder. It’s almost disrespectful. But Daiki understands me well enough to know that I truly want the answer. I think I see a hint of a smirk before he gives it to me.

“You must choose one, Chichi-chan. You know at your level of society, there are few acceptable choices to be made. Your father is spending an extraordinary amount of time finding suitable matches that you can be happy with. He is finding young bachelors instead of old widowers, making sure that the family name is a good one, and there is no history of deceit or rumors of domestic abuse in the household. Your chosen husband will honor you as you honor him, Chichi.”

I nod and smile. I’m aware that this is very out of the norm for Japanese elders to say to their charges, but one thing I love about Daiki is that he’s sort of like what my father would be if he were able to be a little softer to me. They have the same mind, but I suppose since Daiki is the man behind the scenes, he can speak with less urgency.

Still, I know it was my father who must have set things up the way Daiki is describing. It would be very atypical to have a guard, even if they are your most trusted advisor, make decisions about your daughter’s betrothal process. He knows me, at least, and knows I’ll be extraordinarily uncomfortable without enough time to become accustomed to someone and make an informed decision on my future.

“Thank you for honoring me with your answers, Daiki-san. Do you have any knowledge about who the first suitor will be?”

“Your father has not shared his final choices with me yet, Chichi. Rest assured, they will be the finest and most honorable that Japan has to offer. You will have everything you need to make a satisfying choice.”

As always, Daiki’s words give me infinite comfort. “Thank you, Daiki. Is that all?”

“No, of course not,” he says in English, with a smile. He points to my untouched tea pot. “Now, you must enjoy your tea.”

Chapter 10

Andy

After library sex with Chi, I deposit her into her bed and take care of security on the grounds of the mansion for a few hours. I need to check in on our most recent intelligence about the ongoing war. Everything seems quiet right now, but there is always more to look out for, especially in times like these. I’m not naïve enough to think there aren’t enemies slinking around in the shadows, making plans about how to take us down, along with all of our allies.

The lines are all mostly quiet, but I do get a note from Oxy about an attempted breach of Akio’s security. Apparently, an unknown user tried to hack into his servers.

“Yes. And thanks for asking, Andy. It’s really good to know that you could totally do my job. You wanna take over here?” Oxy asks crabbily. It’s her typical grumpy response, but I’m in an extra good mood today, so I rib her even more than I usually do.

“No problem, Oksana. I think you’re doing a satisfactory job, and I have things to see, people to do.”

I can practically hear the steam coming out of her ears through the phone. “Fuck your satisfactory. You better learn some respect, little man, or you might actually find yourself without your tech wizard one of these days. Then what would you do, huh? Shit yourself from fright, I’d imagine, considering that your boss would probably rip your head off your body if I quit because of you.”

She’s definitely grumpier than usual, so I decide to let her off easy. “I’m kidding, Oxy. You know we can’t live without you and all that shit.”

She opts to hang up on me instead of speaking more, which I actually see as a good thing, because it means that my last response was sufficient reason not to chew my head off some more.

I head over to the library soon after I make my rounds and talk to the men in the main house. It’s taken me a good chunk of the day, and it's now past lunch time. I’m starving, but Chi and I have a scheduled… meeting that I don’t want to miss. And when I see what she’s wearing, sitting at the chess table, I second-guess the source of my hunger, anyway.

She waits for me with an eyebrow raised and her skinny, toned legs crossed over one another. She wears fishnet stockings and a miniskirt with a white collared shirt that should be buttoned down but is instead tied together low underneath her chest. Her red with pink polka-dotted bra is on full display, and her eyes are rimmed with extra dark black liner. Her hair is in a high ponytail with her bouncy black bangs popping out in front. It is the perfect mix of badass and adorable, all in one.

She quirks her brow up at me as I enter the room. “You’re late, Professor.”

She wants to be a sassy girl today. Sounds good to me.

I take out my horn-rimmed glasses and slip them on, sitting down at the chess table to make my first move. I choose a modest one, which seems to work best when playing against Chi. She beat me a lot when we first started playing, but now I know her game. She gets too excited and moves too quickly. She wants to beat me in as few moves as possible, but it causes her to get sloppy when it takes too long.

“Sorry, Ms. Yan. I’m a busy man.”

She begins laying out Evan’s Gambit, an aggressive opening move that she has used often. “Mmm. Well, I have other places I need to be, old man. So you better know how to make it the fuck up to me and do it quick.”

“You kiss your parents with that mouth, Ms. Yan?” I ask, tsking her with a shake of my head. I move my piece to play d6 like I often do against her. It’s been such a short time, but we already know each other's moves, and she makes her next one quickly, barely glancing at the board.

“I kiss a lot of things with it, sir.” She looks up at me as she slides her piece across the board, collecting mine with it.

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