“It was always more about interaction than the game,” she finally said.

“That one game? Or all of them?”

Emil had caught on to something Coleen had not allowed herself to ever think about. She had liked to win. She had loved to win. Until the end, she had always wanted things to go her way. Even when everything fell apart. As things unravelled, as she would do was decide she wanted something else so she could still win.

Perhaps every game had been about Coleen trying to figure out something about her opponent. Her opponent: herself.

“It’s just a game.”

Emil didn’t look like he believed it. But it was true.