Page 56 of Fated Love with You
“The colored photo in the corner.” The words fall from my lips before I can bite my tongue.
“Thank you for your honesty.” He steps over the rope and readjusts it before returning to me. “Mr. Rochester would’ve noticed that for sure…”
“He comes down here?”
He blinks a few times, and I brace for more vagueness and a “get the fuck out,” but he lets out a sigh instead.
“Mr. Rochester comes down here quite often,” he says. “It’s one of few places that he considers a private refuge.”
“What really happened to his family?” I press.
“They perished.” He nods toward the picture. “Obviously.”
I hold back a sigh and nod; I’ll accept what he gave.
“Miss Jane?” Gunnar looks at me.
“Yes?”
“Get the fuck out.”
Days later,I’m tuning one of Adeline’s violins in the hallway, all while watching Ryder’s men roll crate after crate down the hall.
He’s still not back home…
Before I test out the strings, my phone sounds with a video call request.
Kylie.
Setting down the violin, I immediately rush down the hall, searching for a room without any decor, a place where she won’t be able to get curious about my location.
Slipping into an old staff bathroom, I shut the door before answering.
“Hey there, stranger.” She smiles at me from inside her car. “How are you feeling today?”
“Better.”
“Good, good. Sorry our call got cut off last time. Service out here is pretty shitty.”
“No worries. I um—” I pause. “Things have changed since we last spoke, so everything is better now.”
“Well, then that’s great! What did he say when you broke up with him?”
Huh? “I didn’t break up with him… I just—I’m starting to understand him and his ways a bit better now.”
“His ways?” She tilts her head. “Has he finally told you everything he really does or something?”
“No,” I say. “I don’t want to know the details.”
“Then what’s changed?”
“He’s taking me to a masquerade ball next weekend,” I say. “The dress I ordered is amazing.”
“I see… Did he pay for it?”
“Of course he did. I mean, yes, he did.”
“Did he buy you some shoes, too?”
