CHAPTER TWO_The Vale Mansion
1220 Words
CHAPTER TWO
The Vale Mansion
LILY POV
I spent three days pretending I wasn’t nervous.
Which, apparently, is very different from actually not being nervous.
By the morning we were supposed to leave the apartment, my stomach felt so tight I could barely finish half a cup of tea.
Mom noticed immediately.
She always notices.
“You don’t have to force yourself to be okay all the time, you know,” she said gently while taping another box shut.
I sat cross-legged on the floor beside the couch, hugging a pillow against my chest. “I am okay.”
She gave me a look over the top of the cardboard box.
“That face says otherwise.”
I frowned a little. “What face?”
“The one your father used to make whenever he was worried but trying not to show it.”
That caught me off guard enough to make me quiet.
Mom’s expression softened immediately after she said it, probably because she realized it affected me more than she intended.
Sometimes grief sneaks into conversations before people can stop it.
I looked around the apartment slowly while she continued packing.
It suddenly felt strange seeing everything half-empty.
The walls looked too bare.
The rooms echoed more.
Even the couch looked smaller somehow.
This place had held every version of me after Dad died.
Middle school breakdowns.
Late-night movies with Mom.
Crying quietly in the bathroom when I missed him too much.
Burning pancakes at two in the morning because I thought I could cook.
It wasn’t glamorous.
It wasn’t luxurious.
But it was ours.
And now I was leaving it behind for a mansion that belonged in magazines.
That thought still didn’t feel real.
---
The drive to the Vale estate was so long that the city slowly stopped looking familiar.
Buildings became larger.
Roads became quieter.
Everything started looking expensive in the kind of effortless way that made me hyperaware of my own existence.
I sat beside Mom in silence most of the ride, staring out the window while my thoughts spiraled uselessly.
Mom reached over suddenly and squeezed my hand.
“You’re going to be okay.”
I looked at her.
She sounded like she was trying to convince herself too.
“I know,” I whispered.
I just wasn’t sure what okay was supposed to look like anymore.
---
The gates alone were bigger than our apartment building.
I’m serious.
Huge black iron gates slowly opened as the car approached, revealing a long driveway lined with trees and carefully trimmed hedges that looked too perfect to be real.
I blinked slowly.
“Oh my God.”
Mom laughed softly beside me.
“That was my reaction too.”
The mansion appeared gradually through the trees, and I genuinely forgot how to breathe for a second.
It didn’t even look like a house.
It looked like the kind of place people got married in.
Tall windows.
Cream stone walls.
Massive balconies.
Gardens so beautiful they almost looked painted.
I suddenly became painfully aware of the fact that I owned exactly one pair of decent shoes.
“Mom,” I whispered weakly, “rich people are terrifying.”
She burst into laughter so suddenly that even I smiled a little.
That helped.
At least until the car stopped.
Then the nervousness came rushing back immediately.
A man opened the car door before I could touch the handle myself.
That almost sent me into cardiac arrest.
I thanked him way too quickly and nearly tripped stepping out of the car.
Great start.
The air smelled different here.
Cleaner somehow.
Softer.
I stood beside Mom awkwardly while trying not to stare at the mansion too openly.
Which failed almost immediately.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?”
The voice startled me enough that I turned too quickly.
A tall man stood near the entrance steps wearing a dark suit, his expression calm and warm in a way I hadn’t expected from someone like Elias Vale.
He didn’t look cold or arrogant.
If anything, he looked strangely approachable.
Mom smiled immediately beside me, and I saw it again—that softness in her expression that still felt unfamiliar after years of sadness.
Elias walked toward us slowly before stopping in front of me.
“You must be Lily.”
His voice was gentle.
That surprised me too.
I nodded quickly. “Yes, sir.”
His mouth twitched slightly like he was trying not to smile.
“You don’t have to call me sir.”
That only made me more nervous somehow.
“Sorry.”
Now he actually smiled a little.
Mom touched my shoulder lightly. “Honey, breathe.”
I hadn’t even realized I stopped.
Embarrassing.
Elias looked at me carefully then—not critically, just attentively.
“I know this is a huge adjustment,” he said. “But I want you to know something from the beginning.”
I looked up at him quietly.
“You are welcome here.”
Something about the sincerity in his voice caught me off guard.
No hesitation.
No politeness for appearance’s sake.
He genuinely meant it.
And weirdly enough, that made something emotional tighten painfully in my chest.
Because part of me felt guilty for liking him already.
---
Inside, the mansion somehow looked even more intimidating.
Everything was bright and elegant and ridiculously beautiful.
There were fresh flowers everywhere.
A staircase curved through the center of the entrance hall like something out of a movie.
The floors practically reflected light.
I felt like I should apologize before touching anything.
Mom was distracted talking quietly with Elias while a housekeeper showed me upstairs to my room.
My room.
The words still sounded strange.
I expected something guest-like and temporary.
Instead, when the door opened, I froze completely.
The room was beautiful.
Soft cream walls.
Large windows overlooking the gardens.
Bookshelves.
A huge bed with soft blankets.
Fresh flowers near the balcony doors.
It looked warm.
Not cold or staged.
Warm.
“You can decorate anything you dislike,” the housekeeper said kindly.
I barely heard her.
My throat felt tight for some reason.
Because someone had prepared this room for me.
Someone expected me to stay.
The thought felt strangely emotional.
After she left, I slowly walked further inside and placed my bag near the bed.
Then I noticed the framed photograph on the bedside table.
It was Mom and Elias smiling together.
My chest tightened unexpectedly.
I picked it up quietly.
Mom looked happy.
Really happy.
And suddenly I felt selfish for struggling so much with this.
A soft knock interrupted my thoughts.
I looked up quickly.
One of the staff members stood near the doorway.
“Mr. Vale asked me to let you know dinner will be ready soon.”
I nodded quickly. “Thank you.”
Then, after a brief hesitation, I asked quietly,
“Um… is his son home?”
The woman paused very slightly.
Which immediately made me nervous.
“Yes,” she answered carefully.
That did not help at all.
After she left, I stared at the closed door for a long moment.
Nineteen.
I tried imagining him again.
Arrogant maybe.
Spoiled probably.
Definitely intimidating.
The son of Elias Vale had to be terrifying.
I didn’t know yet that terrifying wasn’t the right word.
Not even close.
- Writer
