Find me in your labyrinth (Stella and Jonathan) novel Chapter 2602

C City

That night, Gabriel sat with Old Mr. Jarvis, playing chess in the quiet parlor.

It was late spring, and the Jarvis family’s estate had burst back to life. The fragrant aroma of flowers filled the courtyard, a lush expanse of green. A gentle evening breeze drifted in, causing a few slender bamboo stalks outside the window to sway, their faint, dancing shadows cast upon the sheer curtains, creating a scene of timeless, tranquil beauty.

The game reached its end, and as expected, Gabriel had lost again.

Old Mr. Jarvis slowly cleared the board, shaking his head with a sigh and a smile. “You’ve slipped more than a little.”

Gabriel had no rebuttal; he just quietly began gathering the pieces one by one.

Old Mr. Jarvis glanced at him. “You were gone for two days and came right back. Did she refuse to see you?”

Gabriel’s lips, set in a sharp, defined line, remained pressed together. He waited until all the pieces were collected before speaking. “Grandpa, I came back too late.”

Old Mr. Jarvis placed a piece on the board for a new game. “When a chess player is cornered, they often resort to a strategy of tactical retreat to advance later.”

Gabriel looked up at his grandfather.

“What looks like a dead end is often filled with hidden opportunities,” Old Mr. Jarvis continued. “It all depends on whether you can seize that single sliver of hope and turn defeat into victory.”

The old man chuckled and shook his head. “Of course, retreating back home doesn’t count.”

Gabriel placed a piece on the board. “I’m not running away. I just need to think things through.”

Back in J City, the thought of her and that other man together at any moment ignited a fury and a restlessness he feared he couldn’t control. So he had returned, come back to the one place that could calm him.

“Fine, think it through,” Old Mr. Jarvis said with a cheerful nod, placing another piece. “Let’s just hope she hasn’t married someone else by the time you figure things out.”

Gabriel’s hand, holding a chess piece, tightened instantly. A dark, menacing energy settled over his features.

...

Dora’s hands were dirty, so she smiled and said, “Could you please put it in her room for me, Ms. Jarvis?”

Sylvia nodded and went to Grandma Winters’s room. The furniture was old and the decor was simple, but the room was immaculately clean, with light streaming through the windows.

She draped the shawl over a mahogany coat rack and noticed two pieces of folded laundry on the bed. She walked over to put them away properly and saw a photograph tucked under the pillow.

She carefully pulled it out. It was an old, faded picture of a young man and woman huddled close, their faces alight with happiness. She could see a faint resemblance to Grandma Winters in the woman’s features; the man, she assumed, must be Eugene’s grandfather.

Turning the photo over, she saw their names written on the back, along with a date.

It was fifty years old.

So, they had been in love once.

A sudden, deep sense of sorrow washed over Sylvia.