Page 14

Maybe this job isn’t for me.

If Lucien is that adamant that he doesn’t need help, maybe he doesn’t.

Kyrin steps out and waves me inside, and tentatively I reach over and shut off the car’s engine before stepping back onto the crunch of gravel in my knee-high leather boots.

I hand him the keys I grabbed from the cup holder when I step inside, and he closes the door behind me before pocketing them.

My eyes dance around the room, and as if Kyrin knows I need a moment to take it all in, he’s silent.

The grand staircase alone is enough to make a girl weep at its beauty. The estate’s interior starkly contrasts with its exterior. Other than the white sheets covering all the furniture, it’s well-maintained and in pristine condition.

The home somehow feels colder inside than it did outside, and a shiver runs down my neck and splashes through my spine as if someone touched me. I rub at the spot, stepping closer to Kyrin as he heads up the staircase.

“This place feels haunted,” I whisper, rushing to keep up with him as his massive strides leave me feeling exposed two stairs beneath him.

“Oh yeah. It always creeped me out as a kid.”

“I couldn’t imagine living here as a child.”

He grunts in reply and leads me down a hall filled with aged wallpaper, spider webs, and more covered furniture.

I don’t pry any further into Kyrin’s business, thinking it inappropriate, given that he’s my boss. I also sensed he didn’t want me to with his last grunt of a reply, so silence washes over us as we turn down another hall, this one darker than the previous.

“This will be your wing, though you’ll only occupy one room. I thought it would be nice for you to know you’re alone here.”

That is not comforting, actually, but I keep that thought to myself.

“This was my mother’s room. I kept it pristine, so it’ll be ready for you. Stanley will bring anything else you might require; you need only ask. He’ll comply now.”

I don’t want to know what that means, and I’m still stuck on the fact of this being his dead mother’s room.

“Are you sure you want me here? I don’t want to impose.”

Even though he owes me a room, our contract doesn’t say I need the nicest one in the house.

“I have a feeling she would’ve liked you. Her room will be perfect. Plus, it’ll be nice to see some life inside it again.”

That warms me, and also makes me feel… strange.

“Is your brother alright with me staying here now?” I ask.

“He doesn’t get a say anymore. You’re safe in here; he doesn’t set foot on this side of the estate.”

Safe?

Why would my safety be questioned?

While the estate is eerie, I never once wondered if my safety would be an issue.

Now, I am.

“I don’t want to step on any toes, Kyrin. That’s all.”

He opens the door, seeming too lost in whatever ghostly vision only he can see as he scans the room to answer me.

I take in the room. Pristine, just like he said.

“Sorry.” He drops to sit on a plush ottoman before a chair in the corner, surrounded by towering bookshelves filled with disordered books stacked chaotically. “This room makes me… sad.”