Anxiety still grates across my nerves as I think of him and everything he’s gone through, most of which is still a mystery to me. But I do understand from the little I know that his childhood was unhappy. I hate that he’s shut me off again. Perhaps I should have hunted him down in this monstrous mansion and demanded an explanation for why he’s left me alone to my own devices for most of the day. But I didn’t because I wanted to give him space to come to terms with whatever has upset him regarding that music room and the violin.

Exhaling a frustrated breath, I look up and my eyes meet Damien’s. He’s standing at the door, rubbing his nape, a wrinkle painted on his forehead. Tight grooves indent his cheeks and shadows surround his eyes. His hair is ruffled like he has run his hands a hundred times through it. He’s discarded his jacket somewhere and the top two buttons of his shirt are undone, the sleeves carelessly folded.

He steps further inside the room and we stare at each other.

“I heard that you haven’t stepped out of the library since afternoon,” he says.

I give him a half shrug. “I was afraid to lose my way if I ventured out, not to mention I was vastly overwhelmed.”

After Mrs. Wells informed me that this stately home had a hundred and thirty rooms and was set on more than ten thousand acres of prime forestland, I just wanted to curl up and cry at the enormity and absurdity of it all. And unknown to everyone, my son is the heir to all this fortune.

Rising up, I walk towards him. “I spent the day catching up on work and talking to my family back home.”

I needed to check on Rian. I had to hear his voice and see his sweet face. That was the only way I could calm down enough to think and accept the bizarreness of everything I’m experiencing.

Damien comes closer to me, interrupting my thoughts.

“I don’t want you to feel confined here,” he tells me. “Just ring for any of the staff and they will happily guide you to where you want to go.”

“Perhaps I’ll do that henceforth.”

Our conversation is stiff and formal and I hate it. I hate the distance between us caused by some unknown factor in his past that affects him till today. I take a step closer to him and wrap my arms around him, breathing him in. His arms go around me and he hugs me back.

“I’m sorry for today, Aaliya,” he whispers into my hair. “It was never my intention to leave you alone for so long. It’s just that I got caught up with work and...”

I raise my head to meet his eyes. “And?”