Page 5 of Secret Confession
He must spend all his time in the West wing, as I’ve not seen him even once since I moved in. I know the place is massive, but there are a lot of communal rooms in the main part of the house, so I expected our paths to cross at least on occasion. But nothing.
More than once I’ve wondered if he’s deliberately keeping out of my way, but if that’s the case, why? This is his house, he shouldn’t feel like he has to avoid parts of his own home just because I’m here. I’d tell him as much if I ever saw him.
Normally, when I reach the West wing boundary, I turn back straight away, but tonight, for some reason, I find myself lingering. My brain isn’t functioning at normal capacity, as I’m seriously sleep deprived, but that’s the only excuse I can come up with for why I’m teetering on the line.
I’ve always been inquisitive—or nosey, as Miles would say—and having a whole wing of the house that’s off-limits is driving me crazy. I’m constantly wondering what he has in his wing that warrants me not being allowed to even get close.
I think of the mafia world that Maximus is part of, and then my imagination runs wild. I picture torture chambers and dungeons, where Maximus keeps his enemies as he proves to them how powerful he truly is.
I meant what I said to Maximus on the first say—I’m a good girl, a rule follower—which is why I’m so shocked when I find myself willingly crossing the boundary line, fuelled by my crazy need to find out what it is that Maximus Morelli is trying to hide from me.
The ground floor is decorated the same as the rest of the house, with dark wooden flooring and neutral beige tones on the walls, with just the odd pop of dark green and silver to add some colour. There’s a dark feeling to all of the Mansion, but there’s also a strange sense of warmth and calm that’s grown on me the longer I’ve been here.
The rooms are what I expected to find; mostly sitting rooms, meeting rooms, and spare office spaces. There’s a massive room at the far end of the wing that looks like it would be used as a ballroom, but is sitting empty at the moment.
There’s a door with Maximus’ name on a plaque in the centre, which is clearly his home office, and I breathe a sigh of relief when I try the handle, only to find it locked. I don’t know what I would have done if it had been open.
Whilst snooping around the wing doesn’t seem too bad, and I might be able to talk my way out of whatever trouble I’ll be in if I’m found, I’m almost certain there will be no explanation I can give if I’m found rifling through Maximus’ private office. I’ll be out on my arse before I can blink.
As I make my way up to the next floor, I can’t help but note the lack of personal items all around me. I thought it was strange that there was none in the main partof the house, but I told myself they were probably all in Maximus’ wing, out of the way of prying eyes.
Although neither Maximus or Marcus seem the sentimental type, I still expected to find at least some family pictures. Maybe a baby photo of Marcus, or proof that a child once grew up here.
I think back to the doorframe in my childhood bedroom that’s covered with markings from where Miles would record my height every birthday. There’s nothing like that here, and it strikes me as odd.
With each step I take, edging closer to the floor above, my heart races faster. The adrenaline is doing a great job of chasing away the exhaustion, and so I keep pressing forward once I reach the long corridor that runs the length of the wing.
I’m a little disappointed when I find that most of the doors are locked, and all I can do is speculate as to what might be behind them. Since I don’t hear any screams, or people, and there’s no signs of any blood or torture devices, I rule out my earlier crazy theory. Instead, I settle for thinking they may just be spare bedrooms, which is not as exciting.
When I reach the large room at the end of the corridor, which is directly above the ballroom, as I wrap my hand around the doorknob, I send out a silent plea that this one opens, as I desperately want to see what’s in here.
As the knob turns and the lock clicks open, I let out a muted squeal of excitement whilst pushing the double doors open slowly, making sure to be as quiet as I can. Once they’re open, the lights overhead come on automatically, and I gasp as I take in the large room.
It’s another large gym, but this one is very different to the one in the main part of the house. Taking up most of the space, in the middle of the room, is a full-size boxing ring, and there are different styles of punching bags all around the outside of the open-plan space.
There’s a treadmill and some other cardio machines, along with a whole row of different weights. This explains how Maximus stays in shape, and why I haven’t seen him in the main gym. He’s got too many muscles not to be exercising in some way, and I’ve been in that gym at all times of the day and night, yet I’ve never seen him—now I know why.
There are a couple of doors leading off the gym, and as I move to investigate, I’m shocked to find a sauna, a steam room, and what looks to be some other pamper-type rooms. Despite knowing they are off-limits, I really want to find a way to use them. Combined with the pool and hot tub in the main house, this place isn’t far off being its own spa.
Reluctantly, I back away from the spa-like rooms, and head out of the gym, closing the doors behind me.
As I make my way back down the corridor, there’s a door on the left-hand side that’s slightly ajar, and I can’t resist pushing it open and poking my head inside. It’s a large, comfortable-looking sitting room, and it’s probably one of the only rooms I’ve been in that looks used.
There’s a mug on the table beside the sofa, and an old newspaper on the coffeetable in front of it. The cushions on the sofa look wrinkled, like they’ve been moulded to the shape of someone’s body. I also notice a book laying on the middle of the sofa, with a ratty bookmark sticking out of the top, and a pair of glasses laying on top of the cover.
A row of bookshelves line one wall, and I find myself edging closer, so I can see what books have made it into this private collection, instead of remaining in the main library. Obviously, this is Maximus’ personal sitting room, where he spends a lot of his time, which means these are the books that he chooses to keep close to him.
I’ve often said that the books on a person’s shelf can tell you a lot about them, and I can’t wait to get a small insight into Maximus. I don’t know why my need to learn more about him has grown over the past week, but it has. He’s an enigma, wrapped up in beautiful packaging, and I just want to learn everything there is to know about him—which is probably why I’m stalking around a section of the house he specifically banned me from.
I could stay in this room for ages, perusing the bookshelves, whilst trying to learn as much as I can about Maximus, but I’ve been wandering through the house for much longer than I should have been, and I’m already at an increased risk of getting caught. Besides, there’s another floor left to explore, so I head up there.
When I reach the final step, taking me onto the top floor, I hesitate. This is clearly the floor that houses Maximus’ bedroom, which means he’s asleep in one of the rooms nearby. All it will take is a creaky floorboard, and I could be discovered.
Despite knowing this, and the heightened nervousness that’s thrumming through my veins, my legs carry me forward, almost like they’re moving of their own accord.
Looking down the long corridor, I notice there’s significantly less doors, which means the rooms on this floor must be large. It’s the same in my wing. My bedroom is bigger than Miles’ entire flat. So it’s no surprise that Maximus’ rooms are even larger than mine.
Unlike when I was wandering through the previous floors, I don’t try the closed doors to see if they’re unlocked. Maximus won’t have locked himself in his own bedroom, and I don’t want to risk walking in on him.
