Chapter 48: Cast-Off, Part 1 

When you think of a house library, you picture bookshelves full of books, or an entire wall, tops. But this wasn't an ordinary house, and knowing already that "ordinary" couldn't describe Tristan's life in any way, the library shouldn't have been a surprise to my eyes.

Iron chandeliers hung from an arched ceiling, casting a dim golden light on towering walls of books. Buttoned leather couches and upholstered chairs (probably more expensive than my entire house) sat at the center of the vast room with a huge Persian carpet beneath. And the lamp tables, made of dark wood and metal, reminded me of architectural elements found in medallions, crown moldings and ceiling tiles throughout Europe.

I couldn't help but marvel at the beauty of this place. "It looks like the library of a castle," I said, moving my eyes around hundreds of ancient and contemporary books. It was like witnessing the fusion of past and present.