Veils Of Secrets

ck's

d ominous energy that soaked into your flesh. The hallways were a subdued shade of gray

till felt wrong to say those things. This is not what I requested. As part of a calculated move to increase power and influence,

g under the pressure of this household and its demands, there was s

d me. "Come in," I called, my

as a man who could command a room with a single glance. As usual, his outfit

ng in," he said, the word "

eclined in my chair. "S

l of malice as he took a step closer. "That girl lacks

" I said in a chilly ton

is marriage will last? That she'll be able to

"She doesn't have to handle anything.

t kind of woman-quiet, unassuming-will break down the moment things

er had left the room, his remar

that night when the butler cam

you, sir," he sa

have. My name was written in rough, crooked handwritin

him and opened the envelope. There

ret bringing her into your hom

ords were striking. Anger and uneasiness swirled in my chest as m

. Initially, I wanted to face Nadia. But what would

and I wasn't going to allow it t

note's word

gure dwarfed by the towering plants around her. She knelt besi

," I c

e looked up. She brushed her hands

ping a few feet away. "Has anyone appro

rowed as she

't let her see the tension that coiled inside me. "I

movements with her hand

meant. She nodded curtly, her lips squeezed into a

hadn't handled that well as I was leaving

came later t

where I left her. When I got back, my father was standing

liced through the room like a dagger. "You can't speak, can bare

as her hands shook a little. She kept he

e in a menacing

face me. "I'm just telling her the truth.

e, I moved between t

. As he exited the room, he mutter

ayed her, gripping the notepad so hard that her

all right

ed looking at me. Without saying anythi

oughts kept racing with the note, my fat

shadows on the walls. The mansion was silent, save for the dista

where I didn't often visit. The air felt

a long time. I felt a slight coolness as I cra

tered, and replete with artifacts from a past I had tried to c

t creak of foot

Still, as I walked back to my room, I couldn't

ia'

oth fascinating and frightening. For me, it had turned into an odd sort of haven

had barged into the greenhouse with his cryptic question

ght me there. Here, the air seemed different-colder, heavier, as i

e wood with my fingers as I moved around the w

a little entrance half hidde

estry away, exposing the aged surface of the door.

ownward. The icy air brushed against my skin like

Photographs with dust-caked frames adorned the walls. Wit

, peered back at me. But, I noticed a big,

es were ragged and irate. But, His eyes were eer

k, feeling the weight of the

d this part of the ma

the storm raged outside, the shadows whi