Maroon Walls

Dearest diary,

So I managed to guilt the truth out of the bunch of them and to say that I was pleased with result would be a lie.

The mad man got me a house and David helped him! Honestly I don't know how to take it. I feel like it is too extravagant a gift and it's hard for me to accept it.

Bla bla bla...Hate me all you want, but this me and my decision to make. Not yours.

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"How's the new house?" the question is asked and I frown back at the face etched on the screen before me.

"Did everyone know about that apart from me?"

The face cracks into a wide grin, uncharacteristic of it owner.

"Your sister told me when we spoke yesterday."

"Figures." I reply remembering how surprised I was at Troy's Christmas gift to me. "I am not sure if I want to accept it."

"Why not?" my father asks, a concerned look marring his features.

"It's...too much?"

"Attara, a sign of humility is having the grace to accept gifts. Whatever is stopping you is just pride and you can't take that with you where you're going."

"Where am I going?"

"You don't know?" he asks with lifted eyebrows.

"I know." I reply, my mind going back to the my dreams that I have for a long time and that I am planning to put in action.

"Your star is huge and with it attracts alot of favour. I know that you are used to things going wrong in your life, but you shouldn't let that stop you. Fear and Pride can cripple you and in the few years to come, you will be very mad at yourself for the opportunies that you let go by, because of them. I for one know that by receiving that gift you will save a lot of money in rent and you also owe it to Briella. If you detest him that much you can always pass it on to her."

My mind registers his words and I perceive the truth in them. I store them away should I ever need them, but a small part tags at my conscience and I turn to back to adress it.

"Dad...I don't detest him."

"I know." my father says grinning back at me. "Even though you like keeping secrets, I can read you like an open book."

"Yes?"

"Yea. You two got back together. That explains his need to compliment you with such an outlandish gift."

My jaw drops at his observations and he lets out another chuckle.

"By that expression I assume I am right?"

I nod.

"Good. I am glad you came back to your senses and stopped torturing the poor guy. He's been pining over you for the last three years and at one point it git to watch."

At that I grin. It's a sick thing to do when one is describing the pain of another human but my father does it in such a comical way that I can't help it.

"I didn't know that you noticed."

"Pft!" my dad says in such an unflattering manner that I can't help the laugh that follows." One would have to be blind and deaf not to notice the tension around you and your mother, all because of him. So, will you take my advice and take it? Rejection can be very wounding to a man's ego especially after he's put so much thought into trying to please you."

"Okay! I'll take it." I reply, still laughing.

"Good, so how are the apartments coming?"

"They're great. I'll rake in the first income sometime mid- January and I am already thinking of investing in more property with my next big pay check that is sure come in around that same time."

"What's that?" he asks. It sounds vague but I know him well enough to know what he is asking

"The combined ebook sales and the rest of the money from the retailers."

"That's good." my father nods back. "And how is the rest of the buisness going?"

"My partner is handling most of it but it's coming. We have made some contacts and I planning to have Dom look through the contracts before we can start doing buisness come next year."

"I am proud of you. Just don't forget what I taught you and learn from my mistakes. You are young, so you have time. If you do that, you will go far."

I nod my agreement and since I still have to go and talk to Troy, we say our goodbyes and I log off my computer before leaving to find my boyfriend.

I find Troy seated on a bench in my backyard garden and when I seat next to him; he turns to face me and smiles.

My father's words replay in my head and a wave of guilt washes over me as I take in his warm smile. Considering the way things played out, one would have expected him to angry or irritable, but that's not Troy. He is the epitome of goodness, which is still a wonder considering that his mother is Monica.

"Sorry." I tell him twisting my hands in my lap.

"Don't be." he replies softly, reaching out to stop my nervous habit. "I understand, considering you don't like surprises."

"No, I don't. They make me feel all anxious and nervous." I respond truthfully and he nods in understanding.

"Okay. So, are you ready to see the house now?"

All of a sudden, a feeling of excitement floods me as several scenarios present themselves un my mind. However, nothing prepares me for the sight that greets me, once David arrives and drives us to the location.

The house is situated in a high end area called Kitisuru and the first thing I notice about it are its the high walls and an impressive gate that a guard draws open for us.

The open gates reveal a driveway thet leads to the front yard of what they call an ambassadorial home or atleast that's what David tells me. 

It's a huge mansion with three floors, a beautifully plastered exterior that is painted yellow with the colour that blending magnificently with the sorrounding garden. I spot several balconies, and two more buildings in its background which David tells me are guest houses.

David parks Bridget in the garage and imagine my surprise  when I find Troy's trademark Porsche cayenne parked inside.

"You can name it if you want." The man tells me grinning widely and I smirk back at him.

"How about Albert?"

His eyes widen with surprise and he lets out a chuckle.

"A boy?"

I nod.

"It looks like a boy to me." I reply, taking in the Porsche's dark interior and white body. "But if it were a girl I would call it Camilla."

"I like Camilla." he says running a hand over its body work.

"Yea, I guess it sounds cooler."

"So, do you like the place?" he asks and I stare back at him.

"It's the size of a manor!"

"Sweetheart, this is too small to be called a manor. Maybe a townhouse but not a manor." Troy corrects me and my lower lip pulls into a pout.

"Fine, whatever you say Sir Whitemore."

"Lord."

"Argh! Fine, Lord Whitemore." I reply stomping out of the garage and into the front yard.

"Hey, don't me mad at me Lady Whitmore." he laughs following me out. I hear David's laugh in the background, but tune it out.

"Technically speaking I am not. I am just a common peasant girl that the earl of Whitemore happens to fancy." I retort rounding up on him.

"Darling, if I had my way we would be married by now. For now, I'll just stick around until you are ready to say yes."

My eyes narrow at him and I let out an exasperated groan.

"Troy..."

"If you're sure you are going to say 'Yes', I can always propose now?"

"Stop making fun of me!"

He lets out another laugh and pulls my hand towards the main house.

"Come let us go and see the house." He tells me handing back the keys that I had so ungraciously returned to him. I take a step towards the massive front doors and the gilded key turns in my hand.

Where I had thought the exterior beautiful, it's interior is stunning as evidenced by the gasp that leaves my mouth. In front of me lies a beautifully finished front hall with brown marble pillars rising all the way to the second floor.

A huge crystal chandeliar hangs from a glass ceiling with its golden lights reflecting off the soft white walls with gold skirting boards.

A wide double arched stairway seats at the back of the hall and is covered by brown marble tiles. Black metal grills rise up from both its edges and each line of grills us covered by a gilded mahogany rail which also archs upwards, following the shape of the stairway that leads up to a wide landing on the second floor.

I feel a hand of my arm and I turn to find Troy pointing towards a wide doorway on our left.

He pushes the door open and the double doors swing back to reveal a large living room with my trademark white leather sofas.

There is a shaggy beige carpet covering the brown marble floors below us and I realise that the carpet, combined with the colourful pillows on the sofas and the cream, shimmering silk curtains decorated with lovely golden embroidery,  that closely resembles the colour of the carpet, compliment the Peach Melba walls well.

Delighted, I turn to take in the rest of the room which includes an electric fire place with a huge television screen mounted on top. There is also a magnificent glass coffee table and potted plants that look so alive it's hard to tell they are fake.

During my inspection, I notice something that I had not seen before.

On the wall beside the fireplace and the television screen are two huge windows that are too close together.

A closer inspection reveals to me that they are actually doors that lead out to a patio, which contains orange cushioned whicker seats that face a fountain contained within an enclosed garden.

Palm trees, green lawns and flower bushes make up this private garden that is walled off from the rest of the compound by a medium sized duranta hedge and it is so pretty that I can't help but stop to appreciate the efforts that went into creating it.

Troy draws my attention back into the living room before leading me deeper into the house and at the far end of the living room I notice a wide archway that is the entrance to a raised dining area.

We take the set of three stairs into the massive dining room and I immediately notice the two walls adjacent to each other, that are made entirely from reinforced glass.

The same creamed coloured, shimmering silk curtains that I saw in th living room are here slightly concealing the view of the patio and the private garden on one side, and a backyard pool and Sauna on the other end.

"This is surreal." I mumble taking in the crystal chandeliar that is a smaller replica of the one in the front hall. My mind is boggled by all the attention to details and I can't help but wonder how much Troy paid for this place.

The man in question does not respond to my comment. Instead, he takes my hand and leads me through a doorway that is hidden in the paint of the soft yellow right wall. My jaw slacks and a gasp escapes me at the view sitting in front of me.

What lies before me is probably every chef's and girl's dream, that is, if the girl knows how to cook.

Before me is an expansive kitchen with the walls painted lime green. All around us light mahogany storage cupboards line every wall, with counters made with a smooth brown marble finish.  What's even more impressive is the kitchen island, it's massive with storage units tacked in on the ends and some modern looking stools tacked beneath it.

"Troy, this is..."

"Overwhelming?" He finishes for me and I nod turning back to face him. His hands slip around my waist and he pulls me closer leaning his forehead on mine. My hands wrap around his neck and I lean my head on his chest overwhelmed by the emotions bursting out all over my chest.

"You haven't even seen the rest of the house." He tells me softly.

"If it's anything like this, I am not sure that my heart can handle it."

His chest rumbles with laughter and he takes my hand again before pulling me through a hallway tacked beside the pantry.

There's a laundry room on our left, a bathroom and a gym at the extreme end. The hallway then curves and turns towards the front of the house and at the very end stands another door.

Just like the living room, this room has high walls and windows and is mostly empty apart from some shelves lining one of the walls filled with books.

"David tells me that the last owner used this as a library, but I am not sure what you would want to do with it."

"Honestly, right now I can't think of anything."

"Well, that's no problem. I am sure it will come to you with time."

I nod taking in the maroon walls and dark woods for future referencing.

Next, we take another door at the end of the room which surprisingly takes us to the front hall. Back to tha starting point, Troy points out another door tacked in behind the stairs.

Apparently it's a direct way of getting into the ground floor hallways. me up the wide winding stairs to the second floor.

After I take in that little detail and the hooks and closets that sorround that door, Troy and I trudge up the stairs to view the two stories above.

As I had expected, the second floor is mostly bedrooms. Six ensuite bedrooms including a master bedroom with a walk in closet. Four of them with balconies, with the largest being the one in the master bedroom.

All in all the house has eight bedrooms since there are two more on the third floor, nine bathrooms and two, two bedroomed guesthouses.

There is also the pool, the sauna, a borehole, an ecotank, solar water heating system, a garage, carport and servant's quarters.

Only the living room, gym and half the kitchen are furnished, which I don't mind considering that I already have furniture at my present house.

"So, you like?"

I nod.

"I am sure Shea and Bri are happy that they won't have to share a room anymore."

Troy laughs at that and takes my hand to lead me out into the garage where David has been waiting.

"Am I now forgiven?"  David asks and I nod shaking with excitement.

"Good. Lets go pack you up and get the girls down here."