Chapter 25 : Wandering

Today Leonard is not at home. Cornelius and Noura also didn't eat together. Giovani is reportedly currently studying. So it was just Fiona alone who had lunch. Better so. Fiona could let her mind calm down a bit. After eating in the dining room, Fiona did not immediately go up to her room. After a while, she got sick of being in that room, so after asking Yulia if she could be taken for a walk around the house, Yulia said yes.

The mansion had many public rooms that were constantly being cleaned by several busy servants. Yulia took Fiona to the main room, living room, gallery, gym, swimming pool, and finally the library. Without realizing it, they had been spinning for almost half an hour. Architecturally, this house is actually minimalist, but several details give it a bit of a classic 18th-era touch.

Seeing several paintings in the gallery, she remembered her own house. There she also collected several old paintings from the 18-19 era. Fiona likes many forms of art, especially paintings and books. Besides classical paintings, there are several photographs and drawings of buildings on blue paper that are framed and displayed. It was as if the picture was a form of pride for Cornelius as the designer of the building.

“This one is Mr. Harrington’s work. Mr. Harrington rarely posts renderings or original photos of finished buildings. He prefers to display the construction process—aka sketches of the building construction plans. He said that displaying the construction process made him remember that a beautiful building requires a lot of hard work. So instead of displaying the results, he wanted to display the process of his hard work," explained Yulia when Fiona stood for too long in front of Cornelius' blue paper sketch which looked worn but charming. For Fiona, the results of her hard work on display are like priceless works of art.

Fiona smiled slightly in response. Then Yulia continued, "Mr. Leonard said that you are also a writer."

“Ehm. Hm, yes, you could say that.”

Yulia smiled happily. "Sorry, I'm not being presumptuous. But because I rarely read books, I don't have much insight into Miss Fiona's work."

"Nothing. It's not something to be proud of either."

"Why?" Yulia asked seriously. Stopping the bad memories that flashed slowly through Fiona's mind.

“You're just selling erotica! No art can be judged by anything erotic other than lust. You claim to be a writer, but actually, you never understand what literature and art are in a written work. You are a disgrace to the history of European writers!”

Those words somehow peaked in her mind. Fiona brushed it off quickly and then turned to leave the Gallery.

"Where is the library?" Fiona asked as she strolled casually in the middle of the corridor. Avoiding Yulia’s question. Sunlight occasionally enters the window. Once they arrive at the end of the corridor, they have to cross an open corridor that divides a large garden to the right and left of the building. Fiona just realized how big this house is and how great it is that she can live in a place like this.

Unfortunately, no matter how magnificent the place is, if we never want to be there, then there will be no impression that will last forever.

They arrived at the library in the right-wing building. To be precise, on the second floor, in front of the dramatic circular staircase in the center of the room. The right-wing building looks more classic. With wooden floors and white polished walls, the wall lamps are all classically decorated, making Fiona feel familiar for a long time.

Yulia opened the door in front of the stairs, and then a large room with high ceilings greeted Fiona. The library had tall cupboards full of books. Fiona felt like she was in a strange place. The glass window on the right side allows sunlight to illuminate half of the library room. On the front side, there are tables and chairs as well as a long circular sofa which is comfortable for reading.

Immediately, Fiona remembered the library books she had borrowed from Kian's campus. She had to return the book. Maybe now Kian has taken it home himself. Fiona took a deep breath. She really missed playing with Kian. How's the boy? Does Kian know that she has joined Leonard?

"Miss Finoa," Yulia called for a moment before Fiona stepped in.

"Yes?" Fiona turned to the woman.

"Even though I don't know what Miss Fiona wrote in your novel, I think you should be proud of your hard work. Because if not you, who else can?”

Yulia's words froze Fiona for a few seconds. The editor's voice came back to her; Sky G, on the day she decided to take leave.

“You have a lot of fans. You have talent. Why feel defeated by a big-mouthed literary writer like her? I just hope you don't put off this project too much longer. Don't let your precious self be oppressed by other people's bullshit. If you're not proud of yourself, then who will?”

Fiona's nose twitched, and without realizing it, she immediately looked away and muttered vaguely, "Thanks, Yulia. You can wait for me another hour. I want to spend some time here by myself."

Without waiting for an answer, Fiona immediately erased the feeling that almost made her hurt again, then went to one of the nearest cupboards and devoured all the book titles displayed there.

*

After a few minutes of reviewing, it turned out that this library was like a library passed down from generation to generation. There are lots of old books that are yellow and the covers are slightly peeling. It contains many different types of books. From philosophy books, history, old magazines, novels, and various essays. Fiona found three large cupboards containing classic novels by Jane Austen, William Shakespeare, Jack London, and various other old authors lined up among the shelves.

She read and stacked books while smiling to herself. This activity reminded her of when she was still in Paris. Every day she felt proud of herself because she was able to publish her work and become known, attracting many new readers, especially young adults.

Fiona's movements stopped when she reached the third shelf. Fiona's hand touched a pile of rough documents in an old folder. Fiona took the document and then sat down to peek at the contents of the folder. The document looked interesting because the paper had turned yellow and it looked like there was a little secret kept there.

When Fiona opened the contents, she found several tattered papers whose ink had faded. Under minimal lighting, she read a paper containing a letter written by someone. Fiona read it slowly, then realized that it was a letter written by Cornelius.

Her brow furrowed slightly, but before she could find out why the letters were there, her attention was first caught by a touching letter.

***