As the taxi she was in pulled to a halt in front of a massive mansion, her jaw dropped at the sight. The scale of the place left her nearly speechless. "House" didn't quite capture it—this was beyond a mere house. It was so huge that Abi speculated her entire village could fit inside.
With measured steps, she approached the mansion while taking in her surroundings. The garden that sprawled across the capacious front yard was not an explosion of colors; rather, it exuded a subdued simplicity. Its design seemed intentionally crafted to avoid drawing people's attention.
And when she was closer, she noticed the exquisite white marble steps to the front door, which dwarfed her, and slowly took it all in. She could now see that everything, from the walls to the window to the glass, all looked like a magnificent work of art. What on Earth would the inside look like?!
After pressing the bell, Abi held her breath as she stood by the bronze and glass double door.
The door creaked open and an old man in a butler suit stood before her with a smile.
"Good morning, Miss. Are you Miss Abigail Lee?" he greeted and Abi nodded.
"Please follow me," he then said and the moment Abi stepped inside, she was awestruck. She never thought that the interior would actually look like this.
Beneath her feet, the expanse of white marble floor seemed to stretch for miles, and an enormous, exquisite chandelier elegantly dangled from the ceiling to greet her. The hallway boasted sizable, beautifully crafted molded panels that exuded luxury, yet remained tastefully elegant.
As she walked through, she also saw small receiving rooms that must have been rooms where people waited when they came to visit. She was sure that this interior was definitely like those old chateaus, the kind of dwelling one expected to see in Europe. She could even bet that this house might be built in the 1800's or possibly even earlier than that.
The hallway opened up to a larger space, with a large staircase in the center of it. The white marble steps, the bronze handrails on either side as it swept grandly towards the upper floor, made Abi gape. She even started envisioning men in tailcoats and women in evening gowns walking up and down those stairs.
But it didn't stop there. There was another gigantic chandelier of an incredibly vast scale, far prettier and breathtaking than the first one she saw. There was also a gigantic fireplace on one side with exquisite marble mantles and mirrored panels.
Abigail had never seen extravagance like this. This place was built with money and prestige and the fact that everything was still in a magnificent state, despite its age, was testimony to how rich Alexander Qinn was. She couldn't even imagine the cost of maintaining everything in this place!
She had read about places like this but she thought that these places didn't exist anymore in this millennia. So she felt like she was suddenly transported back to hundreds of years ago.
"Please wait here, Miss. I'll tell the master that you're here." The butler led her to a sofa and Abi quietly sat there. She was still looking around with great curiosity.
Abigail thought about what Kelly had told her; that Alexander Qinn was ultra-rich and ultra-mysterious. It appeared she was right. She couldn't even imagine what was on the next two floors. This place was absolutely fit for royalty. But for some reason, Abi felt a mysterious sensation the moment she entered the house.
A few minutes passed and Abi finally heard some noise coming from the grand staircase.
And then, Alexander appeared. He was wearing dark toned trousers and a simple white shirt. His dark hair was tousled and he obviously looked like he just woke up and had rushed down to see her.
His eyes were wide open, obviously in shocked surprise, as he gazed down at her.
Abi's heart raced wildly the instant she saw him. He wasn't wearing a tailcoat or a suit but he was still so breathtaking as always, so breathtaking that Abi thought that she would believe him if he told her he wasn't human but a god of some description. He had this aura about him that made him so incredibly mesmerizing that she was afraid he would pop out and disappear from Earth to whatever heaven he came from.
Alexander ran his fingers through his hair before putting his hands inside his pockets.
"Abigail… you're really unbelievable, do you know that?" he said as he walked elegantly towards her. "Did you even take the time to think about all the things I said to you last night? Are you in such a rush? Huh? Abigail?"
"I-I did think about it and I'm not in a rush." Abi replied. "It's just that… today is the first day of the month."