April's POV

We finally reached the place and I jumped out the car, stretching my limbs from the cramps that ached my legs and back from sitting in the car for so long. 

I looked up and realized where we were. I was daydreaming on the ride here so I hadn't noticed the bushes, the winding mosaic tiles leading here, the fountain spitting out blue water and the sunlight that cast everything into an illusory, buttery golden paradise. 

Looking ahead was a huge house. I heard Daniel chuckling from somewhere on my left but my eyes were still roaming the house, my trusty glasses placed on my face so I could notice every single detail. 

"Wow," I breathed, the rest of my compliments hitching in my throat. "This is - amazing."

"This is Aiden's childhood home." Emma explained, a smile colouring her voice. "Come on, they must be waiting for us."

On the walk towards the house I felt my feet dragging against the ground a little. Were they rich? God damn it, Aiden's family are rich?

Daniel let out a laugh. "I've never seen someone look so reluctant to go here before." 

When I walked into the house, immediately my eyes were drawn towards the ceiling. It looked like something out of the Palace of Versailles; following a thin swirl of paint beginning from one corner of the ceiling, I found myself retracing the boundaries of an infinite galaxy. A cough broke me out of my reverie and my eyes snapped forward, momentarily absorbing the scene at hand. Two staircases wound around into the upper floor like a snake and several heavy set portraits of serious looking figures adorned the walls.

"Come on, I'll take you to your room," Emma smiled, taking my hand and dragging me towards the stairs. I'd only gone up the first two stairs, babbling incoherently at the beauty of the place, when a person came out of the shadows.

Aiden was wearing all black. He looked so out of place – like a demon in the midst of a heaven. I instantly felt bad about the comparison after recalling Emma's tragic retelling of his childhood, and tore my eyes away from him.

He looked tired – the dark markings under his eyes spoke for themselves. He seemed too tired to even insult me. I gazed worriedly at him – he wouldn't want my sympathy – I know I wouldn't. So I'll just act normally like Emma never told me anything.

"I'll take her to her room, Em." Aiden said, glancing at Emma, his voice softer than usual. It was strange how his demeanour changed for people – he looked at Emma as a sister, protected her, respected her. If he could do that much, maybe he wasn't that bad a person. "She has some things she needs to know, so it's best if I explain it to her now."

Emma touched his shoulder lightly, giving him a look as though to say are you okay. And he nodded back tiredly, treating her to a small smile. 

Then, he glanced at me irately – my first sign of acknowledgment - and started walking up the stairs. I followed slowly, taking the chance to look down at the house from above, struggling to imagine a mini Aiden running around amongst these rooms. 

He led me down a corridor, its corners dark with shadows. He stopped abruptly and I walked into him – cursing him silently, I rubbed my forehead and glared. He didn't notice and opened the door of the room on his right. It was as I expected. Rich and luxurious – something I'd never experienced before. Sunlight enveloped the room and blue roses sat on one table. I frowned at its uniqueness – blue roses existed?

"Look, in case they haven't already explained it this is my father's house, not mine. So don't think that I'm rich or whatever. I'm not."

I nodded.

"You need to meet my father. He returns home tomorrow and I've arranged dinner with him and his... wife." I nodded again apprehensively. Aiden scared me when he was angry. He was even more unpredictable than usual and I would hate to be the one who interrupted his rage.

But then realisation hit me a few moments too late. Aiden's dad had moved on with another woman – that explains Aiden's anger. 

"The corridor on your right is my corridor. The only room down there is my room – I don't live here, but when I stay over, I use that area. So stay out of there, okay?" I muttered a word of agreement. "Stick to your own room, explore if you want but please do not talk to anyone – I can't afford you screwing my plan up by blabbing about something you shouldn't."

"Okay, first of all, why the hell would I want to go to your room?"

"Because you love me," he smirked.

"As if!" I spluttered. 

"What? You clearly do. I always catch you staring at me."

"Attraction and love are two very different things, twat." I snapped. "And I don't stare at you! Far from it. In face, I'm probably just thinking about how to kill you."

He pretended to act hurt. "Ouch. Now get out." He suddenly said, seemingly bored . He rubbed his neck tiredly and the bottom of his top rose slightly, revealing the bottom of his torso. I caught the words Luna Mater in italics etched into this skin. Doesn't Luna mean moon? What does 'mater' mean?

"You could say please." I muttered.

"No."

"Twat."

"Nerd."

I chose to ignore him, making my way to the door, not glancing back at him once. I frowned to myself, trying to work out what his tattoo meant, but it was lost on me. As soon as this is done you are out of here April, I assured myself. But is it going to be that easy? Are they actually going to let me go, no string attached? No. Probably not. Great. Just great.