Chapter 53: A Bored Man
Anna stood on the balcony of her room, cradling a fresh cup of coffee as her eyes wandered over the expansive garden below.
It had been nearly two weeks since their return, yet the surroundings still felt foreign to her.
Though Anna had grown up in a large house, and Hyde’s mansion had also been one of the more impressive properties in the city, it was only after moving into Mrs. Garrel’s home that she had begun to think she’d never again find herself in a house so grand.
Apparently, she had been wrong.
William’s mansion was nearly twice the size, and the vast land surrounding it made her feel as though she were living on an isolated island, cut off from the rest of the world. Yet, paradoxically, the sheer spaciousness of the place also made Anna feel profoundly lonely, even somewhat adrift.
The more she wandered its endless halls and explored the countless rooms, the more she found herself wondering how truly lost William must feel in this empty place—especially when neither she nor Gabriel were around.
Though, he’s hardly even here... Anna sighed, setting the cup back onto the table as she closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair.
It was true—despite being back in the country for some time now, William was almost always absent, buried in work at his new office.
The nature of that work troubled Anna. Or rather, it was the fact that she still had no clear idea of what, exactly, William was doing that bothered her most.
William left the country shortly after his mother passed away, and Anna tried to recall everything she could about that time.
It was also around then that Robert’s project won the competition and attracted several investors. She didn’t remember anything particularly notable from that period, but the rumors all pointed to one thing: the death of William’s mother had caused a bitter rift between him and his father, which was why William had been sent to his grandmother in Paris.