chapter 22: Passion For Games

Usually, Blaze liked his nights to be quiet and peaceful, no matter how chaotic his day was, but today was a different scenario.
Blaze pressed the pillow hard against his ears to block out the noises that were coming from his right side. The booming sound of the mobile game and yelling of Diva, both were making him unable to sleep.
For the last twenty minutes, Blaze had been trying to catch a glimpse of sleep because he had an office in the morning, but that seemed impossible with Diva in the room.
She was playing an interesting mobile game in the middle of the night with full volume, sitting on the sofa, with no care in the world for Blaze, who was dying to let his brain rest for the night.
"Diva, keep it down, will you?" Blaze hollered, pulling the duvet over him to cover his ears.
"What's the fun in there?" Diva hollered back and continued playing the game.
"Ugh!" Blaze let out and sat up. He shot a glare at Diva's direction, which she didn't even notice. Putting on his slippers, he stormed out of the room.
Since he was already done with the work he had left, he decided to read a book. He loved reading books. It filled him with the knowledge that he had no idea of. It was the great books that guided him to where he was today. So whenever he had free time, he would invest that time into reading books, learning something new, and implementing it in real life.
As he neared his personal library, he noticed the lights were on. The thought of a thief did cross his mind, but that was impossible. No one could enter his mansion with such a high-tech security system that he developed himself.
As soon as he entered the library, Blaze was surprised to see Emerald sitting on one of the chairs, reading a book.
"Mrs. Alder?" he called her out to grab her attention.
Emerald looked up to meet his eyes. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "What brings you here so late at night?" she asked.
"Don't ask," he breathed out and went to look for a book on the shelves.
"Why? What happened?" Emerald asked with full curiosity. Blaze seemed like a very chilled, composed type of person. She wondered what could annoy him so late at night.
"Diva happened," he replied.
Of course, it's her, Emerald sighed. "What did she do?"
"She is playing games. Can you believe it? It's so late at night," he complained and sat on the chair across her with a book in his hand.
"What? She's playing games again?" Emerald asked in a surprised tone.
"Yes. Why do you ask?"
"Stupid games!" she mumbled under her breath.
Blaze arched an eyebrow. "Why do I feel like you hate games?"
Emerald lowered her gaze and said, "Her parents died in a game inauguration ceremony."
"How?"
"Since the two of them were game developers, they created a new game, and everything was going smoothly until the game malfunctioned technically causing the venue to catch fire."
"When did it happen?"
"When Diva was only seven-years-old," she answered.
A gush of emotions hit Blaze. He didn't understand what it was, but his chest felt heavy. Did he just feel sorry for her? Or was it something more?
Seeing Blaze silent, a thoughtful expression on his face, Emerald inquired, "Did you not know about all of it before?"
Blaze shook his head.
"Diva never told you?" she asked again.
"Diva never tells me about such things," he responded.
"She should. If she doesn't, you should ask her yourself. You're her husband, after all," Emerald encouraged.
"I guess."
Blaze opened the book he brought and started reading from the first page. As he was starting to get lost into the book, a question occurred to Blaze. He understood Emerald's reasoning behind her hatred towards technology, but he couldn't understand then why Diva loved it so much. He had noticed the way Diva's eyes sparkled when she played any video game or talked about her game experiences on the breakfast table.
"Mrs. Adler, why doesn't Diva hate games?" he asked.
"You can call me Grandma," said Emerald and further spoke, "God knows why. She just says she loves it. She hated books but I wanted her to take literature as a major. However, she ended up taking Computer Science."
That was news to Blaze. She's that into computers? he wondered in awe.
"She also wasted her time winning several gaming tournaments." Emerald huffed.
The more she told about Diva, the more intrigued Blaze got. He found Diva fascinating. There was so much more to her than that met the eye.
"If only she invested that time into reading some good books and culture, she would have reached so much higher in life."
When grandma said that, it somehow pissed off Blaze. He felt the need to protest.
"I don't think what Diva does is a waste of time, rather I find it amazing that someone can find happiness in just a game. There are so many people out there who are craving for a drop of happiness in everything, but Diva is different. She can be happy with just about anything. However, games make her the happiest. I don't see anything wrong with that."
Even though the invention of a game killed her parents, she was still able to point out the good in it and enjoy it. She didn't look down on it based on some accident, rather she gave it a try��a chance.
On the other hand, Emerald was in awe. She felt happy that the person who Diva chose was an honest and reliable person, someone who wouldn't bitch about her behind her back. Blaze was someone who would protect her behind her back. He was a supportive husband.
"You know," Emerald glanced at the book he was reading and continued, "I would've liked you much better if you weren't the CEO of a software company."
"Sorry?" Blaze was confused.
She sighed. "You have everything I wanted in Diva's life partner, except you work with the latest technologies."
Blaze chuckled bemusedly.
"Why weren't you into literature instead?" Emerald wished willfully.
"Well, good news for you. I am a fan of literature, but my major is computer-related," Blaze jostled.
"I knew I would get along well with you." Emerald cracked a small smile. "You love reading books?" When he nodded, she asked, "Who is your favorite author?"
"I have tons of favorites. Some of them are, Napoleon Hill, Robert Kiyosaki, Benjamin Graham, Peter Thiel, Emerald Relish, Ayn Rand, Chris Guillebeau, Tony Robbins, and many more."
Emerald is amazed by his knowledge of most of the good authors. "I noticed most of those authors wrote classic or business books, but one of the names seems unusual," Emerald said.
"Yes, Emerald Relish, right?" he inquired and she nodded. "She is one of my all-time favorites because I like the way her books express how to keep you disciplined and in order, which really plays a big role in my life."
"Did you know Emerald Relish's real name?"
"No, actually. I heard it was her pen name before she got married," Blaze stopped midway as he glanced at Emerald's amused expression. He connected the dots immediately. "Don't tell me you're Emerald Relish."
She smiled. "Well."
"That's a surprise. Can I get an autograph?" Blaze was excited like a little child.
Emerald laughed and said, "You're the last person I expected to want an autograph, Blaze."
"What can I do? I'm a big fan of yours."
The two of them talked a little bit about books and other authors, and how Emerald came to be an author, much more about Diva's childhood.
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After having a nice chat with Emerald, Blaze returned to his bedroom at three in the morning, only to find Diva still playing games on her phone.
"Do you not intend to sleep?" he asked, shooting daggers at her way.
"If you want to sleep, go, and sleep. Don't bother me," Diva told him, her eyes glued to the screen as she was in the final stage of the game.
She really has no consciousness of me when she's into games. She should have married the game, he inhaled and got into the bed.
As Blaze was about to reach out for the lamp, a cry of victory from Diva grabbed his attention as he transferred his gaze to her once again. His breath hitched slightly as his eyes lingered on her.
The smile on her lips was breathtaking. The giddy, satisfactory expression on her face was worth watching. It reminded him of the time when his first developed software was launched, the satisfaction and joy he felt.
It didn't take him long to understand that it was more than just a hobby. Diva was passionate about it. She was dedicated to it. She loved it more than her sleep.
Even though her dedication impressed him, that didn't mean he was going to be able to sleep through the noise. Therefore, that night, Blaze Hudson didn't catch a glimpse of sleep as all he heard was Diva screaming in victories and talking to her gaming friends.
He couldn't comprehend. Was her passion a curse or a good thing for him?