Filed to story: Loving You In My Final Days
“I will, don’t worry. I’ll call you lots and actually, I still would go to work and am planning on going back home on weekends.”
“As you should!”
“Mm. I’ll come visit you in the morning before I go to work.”
“Oh, my Abi… I… just take care, that’s all I can say.”
“I will. But can you do me another favor? Can you please not tell anyone about me being sick? I don’t want anyone else to know, okay? Promise me.”
Kelly agreed and after a long hugging and coaxing session, the two finally parted.
Of course, the first thing Kelly did once the taxi left was to call the damned prince to make sure that Alexander Qin was not going to harm her best friend while she lived in his house.
Abigail looked out the window as a taxi cab stopped in front of a huge mansion. Her jaw immediately dropped as soon as she saw it. She didn’t know what to call it, but a house it was not! It was way bigger than that! It was so huge that Abi thought her whole village could actually fit in there.
She slowly walked towards it as she looked around. The garden in the spacious front yard wasn’t that colorful; it was quite simple and the design looked like it was purposely made that way not to attract people’s attention.
As she walked closer to the entrance, Abi felt that the huge house wasn’t as simple as it looked outside. Now that 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 as it creaked open.
An old man in a butler suit stood before her with a smile. The butler had been told by his master when he came home this dawn that a lady named Abigail Chen might arrive in the mansion in the future. But the lady actually came just hours afterwards? His master shouldn’t have used the word future… it should be later, sigh.
“Good morning, Miss. Are you Miss Abigail Chen?” he immediately greeted and Abi nodded.
“Please follow me,” he then said and the moment she stepped inside, she was awed. She never thought that the interior would actually look like this.
The white, marble floor beneath her feet that seemed to stretch out for miles and the enormous, beautiful chandelier that welcomed her dangled elegantly from the high ceiling. The hallway had large and beautiful molded panels which looked very expensive but tasteful.
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 small ancient 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.
As the butler led her further inside, 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. The party that Alexander took her too didn’t even compare to the scale of this place! It was like comparing a mouse to an elephant. 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 Qin was. Just 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 millenia. She felt like she was suddenly transported back to hundreds of years ago.
She was utterly impressed. She thought she would only see a place as beautiful as this in her imagination.
“Please wait here, Miss Chen. 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. ‘Why is Alexander Qin living in a place like this? How many of them were living here? Did his entire clan live here?’
Abigail thought about what Kelly had told her; that Alexander Qin was ultra-rich and ultra-mysterious. It seemed 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 an odd, eerie sensation the moment she entered the house.
Time passed and Abi finally heard some noise coming from the grand staircase.
And then, Alex 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 looked 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.
The man’s shoulders dropped as he ran his fingers through his hair before putting his hands inside his pockets. He walked elegantly towards her.
“Abigail… you’re really unbelievable, do you know that?” he said as he approached her. He looked like he couldn’t believe that she was there. It was obvious he never expected her to come the very next day!
She told him just last night that she would think about it and she actually showed up at his house in less than 24 hours?! He was damn speechless. That was some damned fast thinking on her behalf!
“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. It’s just that… today is the first day of the month.”
“. . .”
Alexander moved closer to her, so close that their noses were almost touching. Abi tried her best not to close her eyes or look away. She didn’t want him to think she was scared and she was sure he was only doing it to try and get a reaction from her. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of looking away.
“So what if it’s the first day of the month, huh, Abigail?” he asked, looking down deeply into her eyes.
“I-It’s easier to count the days. To complete the month,” she blurted out, a little dazed and Alex laughed. His pleasant laughter echoed inside the luxurious place.
But then, he sighed.
