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Itmade sense why the grand staircasesJayandIhad initially taken to enterAxel’shome were so steep.Itwas because they accounted for the three floors underneath the main ballroom area.
Floorone was the underground garage.Floorstwo and three were for staff use only—basement, kitchen, pantry, and staff quarters with separate entrances.Floorfour was the foyer and ballroom whereAxelheld his parties.Floorfive was our current location.
Wepassed numerous rooms to wherever our destination was whileAxeldivulged the purpose behind each.Theywere mostly empty guest rooms.Oncewe reached the end of the hallway,Axelled me to a set of staircases that only went up.Eitherthe stairs to the bottom floors were masterfully hidden or they didn’t exist.
AccordingtoAxel, the sixth floor was comprised of the “necessary” rooms to function.Library.Sunroom.Hometheater.Gym.Thatsort of stuff.
Ididn’t say a word as he continued the tour, leading me to the final floor through another set of one-way stairs.Floorseven was forAxel’suse only.Noone was allowed access without his permission, sans a maid who cleaned it twice a week.
Irealized the doors for each room thus far had been left purposefully open to allow sneak peeks.IfIwasn’t mistaken,Axelwas either showing off or he wanted my approval over his home.Bothseemed at odds with his character.Axelnever struck me as the show-off type, and he certainly needed nobody’s approval.So, why the diligent effort ensuring my endorsement of his decorating abilities?
Thethought preoccupied me as we reached the end of the hallway.Axelushered me into a room that appeared to be a music room from the threshold.
“Afteryou.”Heheld out his arm, waiting for me to step inside.
Itwas the first room he had encouraged me to physically enter.Ibobbed my head past the doorframe without walking inside, checking for booby trapsAxelmight have set in place.
“IfIwanted to kill you,Iwould have done so already,” he mentioned a little too casually.
Iinspected him with narrowed eyes and finally stepped inside.Theroom was immaculately tidy and much bigger than visible from the doorway.Itwas disciplined and orderly likeAxel.
Theeggshell walls were beautifully decorated with musical implements.Numerousinstruments, such as collector’s edition guitars and violins in expensive cases, lined the walls.Amahogany table sat in the middle, with two office chairs on each side.Thefew orchids spread around gave the room life.Thesetting made it clear that this wasn’t just a showroom for musical instruments; it was whereAxelcreated music.
Aguitar was off to one side with a stand for notes.Aturntable was nearby with an open laptop beside it.Theitems were strategically placed adjacent to a bay window.Ifollowed the view overlooking a beautiful beach and blue water.Adim, green light at the beach dock was barely visible in the distance.Itcalled to me like a siren, as ifIhad seen it before, and made me envious ofAxelfor having the opportunity to create music here.Theserene room was a muse in itself.
Withoutargument, the most impressive item here was a gorgeous ivory piano.Itsat on a riser at the very corner, magnificently displayed as the pride and joy of the room.Thematching bench only added to its charm.Itlooked absurdly expensive, and it wasn’t untilIgot closer thatIrealized my assessment was correct.Iknew without a shadow of a doubt that this was an absurdly expensive piece becauseIrecognized the piano.
Thispiano was less of an instrument and more of a collector’s item.Itwas a piece of art that cost millions of dollars.Ihad mentioned it toAxelyears ago during our adventures around the raunchiest parts ofQueens.
Ispun in place, mouth dry. “Whatis this?”
“It’sthe piano you talked about.”Hetilted his head as if confused by my reaction.
Myheart slammed against my ribcage.Jaytried buying this very piano for my thirtieth birthday but was disappointed to find out the collector had sold it to an anonymous buyer.Thatwas four years ago.
Axelbought this piano years ago, not knowing if he’d see me again.Why?
“Whywould you buy this piano?”
Heshrugged. “Becauseyou wanted it.”
Ididn’t know what to think and stepped toward the desk, setting my purse down.Ihadn’t realized tears had seeped out my eyes until the moisture cooled my heated skin.Axelmoved with me, brushing away a single droplet with a thumb swipe.Hestared dispassionately at his thumb, where the moisture was drying against his skin.
“Thisdoesn’t make you happy,” he assessed.
Icouldn’t breathe and turned away from him, furtively dabbing at the corner of my eye.
“Piya?” he pressed.Hislow voice sent a shiver down my spine.Iswallowed several times whenIfelt his presence at my back, stalking me.Iscooted forward, hitting my hipbone against the edge of his mahogany office desk.Whenthere was no more space left, he grabbed my elbow and turned me to face him.
“Ineed a minute.”Itried to remove my arm from his hold, forI’dfall apart if he said one more thing right now.
Heexamined me thoughtfully without releasing his grasp. “Tellme why you’re crying.”
“BecauseI’mtouched,”Iwhispered, unable to hold back.Itried forgetting about our night together, chalking it off as a beautiful dream.Butthe truth was thatIhad often thought aboutAxelthroughout the years.Untilwe ran into each other at the party,Iassumed he had forgotten all about me.Inever expected to have the same profound effect on him or for him to remember the pianoImentioned eons ago.
However, it was too late for us.
Ishook my head. “Whateveris happening here, it’s wrong.Weare both married,”Iannounced the reminder to no one in particular.Itneeded to be said out loud and repeatedly.
