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One of the main reasons why I proposed. I would have waited to get a ring if I could, but I needed her to know she was important to me before noon.
Because she’s going to be shown, in explicit detail, that she doesn’t matter at all in very short order.
81
SARAH
My stomach drops as we approach the hills of Thorn Falls. On my hikes, I explored the other side of the hills, but from a distance, I could see the houses we now approach. They were breathtaking from far away, but up close? They’re colossal and intimidating.
As Marius’s car drives farther up, the stately homes morph into mansions, surrounded by acres of groomed greenery. I’ve always found the landscape gorgeous, but it’s even more breathtaking on this side of the hills—which is likely why the wealthiest people have chosen to establish themselves here.
We slow, and turn into the long driveway leading up to one of the highest and largest houses.
The building is a palace. There’s no other word for the white, Palladian edifice beyond the paved courtyard.
It’s made to intimidate, and in that, it definitely succeeds.
“I don’t get why we have to arrive so early,” I murmur.
Myappointmentwith Marius’s father is at noon, but he insisted we should come now, although it’s barely ten thirty.
He smiles at me as he stops the car in front of the house, not bothering to park.
I wonder why, until a man dressed in a dark uniform with golden lapels rushes from the sides.
“Your house has a valet.”
Of course it does.
“Kinda,” he replies. “Technically, there’s a transport team. Drivers, mechanics, a few pilots…”
“Pilots,” I echo flatly.
“For our cousin’s jet. He has a few on standby, working odd jobs all over the country until he needs them. It’s proven helpful a time or two. Hey, Jimmy!” he says, tossing the uniformed man the keys.
Jimmy waves back. “How’s the Escalade?”
“Could use a tune up—I used her a fair bit over the last few weeks. But I won’t have time today.”
“Drop her off when you can, then,” he says, hopping behind the wheel to drive the car out of sight.
“Jimmy’s a mechanic,” I glean as we walk the steps leading up to the double doors.
“No, he’s a driver. His dad’s a mechanic.”
“And they work full time in your house. If you need an oil change, you just drop it off here.”
Marius shrugs. “Might as well. Personally, I wouldn’t mind just going to the garage, but my father’s a busy man. He likes to have everything he needs accessible in House Gold.”
“You guys live in a different universe.”
Any and all attempt at forming a more detailed response dies on my lips when he opens the door into the luxurious, modern, luminous hall.
The polished marble gleams, surrounded by dark walls. In the middle of the vast space supported by columns, a large stairway leads up to another floor, bathed in light under an atrium.
Pale and dark marbles, gold accents, and light—so much light. The house seemed traditional from the front, but all other walls leading outside have been replaced by one-way windows.
Are we in a museum?
