บท 27: Really unbelievable

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."

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บท 28: Elegance and grandeur

Alexander moved closer to her, so close that their noses were almost touching.

"So what if it's the first day of the month, huh, Abigail?" he asked, staring deeply into her eyes.

"I-It's easier to count the days. To complete the month," she blurted out and Alex laughed.

"Little lamb…" He sighed, still looking amused. "I really have no words left for you."

Blushing, Abi looked around.

"Is your family not home?" she asked innocently, and Alexander gently lifted her chin with his fingers, redirecting her gaze back to him.

"I live alone, Abigail," he answered. "But it looks like this house now welcomes its new guest."

Abigail's eyes turned wide. W-what? He lives alone in this massive mansion?!

"A-alone?!"

"Oh, well, the butler is here and maids as well. They do count as people living here, too, I guess…" he smiled wryly before his gaze fell on her luggage.

"You didn't run away from your house, did you?" His brow lifted at her.

She shook her head. "I talked to my dad properly last night."

"But I bet that you didn't tell him the whole truth, did you?"

Abi pressed her lips tightly, causing Alex's lips to curve up again.

"Let me see… You told him that you're going to stay with that friend of yours, right?" he continued and Abigail flushed.

"Well, well, well. This good little lamb actually lied to her family. What a gutsy little lamb," he murmured.

"Didn't you sleep well last night?" She abruptly tried to change the topic.

Alexander leaned in, their foreheads coming close to touching.

"I just got home, Abigail. Actually, right now, I very much want to punish you for disturbing my sleep." He smirked playfully and straightened up. "But I'll let you off the hook for now," he added before calling out a name.

The butler immediately appeared as if he was in the corridor this whole time, just waiting for his name to be called.

"Yes, master."

"I'll leave her to you," Alex ordered before he glanced at Abi again and whispered in her ear.

"I'll go to sleep first, Abigail. You rest, too. We'll talk later."

Abi felt her face grow hot, and her heart raced as a shiver ran down her spine from the touch of his warm breath against her ear. Before she could even utter the words 'Rest well' or 'Goodnight,' he was already ascending the stairs.

While she watched Alexander's retreating figures, the butler cleared his throat, diverting her attention. He then proceeded to introduce himself.

"My name is Charles. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Abigail."

"Likewise, Charles."

"Allow me to accompany you to your room. Please don't concern yourself with your luggage; I'll arrange for a maid to bring it up," he said with a tone of utmost respect.

The butler led her towards the grand staircase which led to the second floor.

As expected, it was even more breathtaking than the ground floor. What she saw was another large, and fancy open space. Velvet curtains were tied back to let the sunshine through the windows and she saw antique looking, brass candelabras which hung on the walls in between the windows. Abi immediately thought that if it were back in time, this room would be where grand balls were held.

She also noticed two doors on the far wall and wondered where they led to. She imagined that these would perhaps be the rooms where the men in the past went to play cards or drink or talk business while their wives gossiped in the main ballroom - at least that was what often happen in books and movies.

No words in the English language could adequately capture the essence of this place. It was undeniably a situation where seeing it in person was the only way to truly appreciate it. Once again, curiosity overwhelmed Abi. Why did Alexander choose to live in such a place, and why was he residing here alone? Her curiosity was escalating with each passing moment.

They continued up the stairs and up the third floor. Again, she was met with a large open area in the middle, but this was smaller than the second floor. It seemed to be the lounge area as there were couches and coffee tables neatly arranged by the big window overlooking the garden area. This seemed to be where the living quarters were located because she saw doors on either side, which she presumed, led to the bedrooms.

Charles stopped in front of tall, heavy looking double doors and pushed it open. The room she walked into was so beautiful.

But as she looked around at the cavernous room that was in front of her, she didn't know why but even with all this beauty and display of elegance and grandeur, it felt kind of lifeless and sad.

She could tell since the moment she stepped inside this house that this was a whole different life but what she wondered about the most was if Alexander Qinn had been happy living in this huge and majestic place.