Vengeful Matrimony | ✔️

Chapter 54

GISELLE

I loved the first place the moment I set my eyes on it.

It was a well-furnished seven-floor mansion, with nine bedrooms; six of them with spa-style en-suite bathrooms, three extra guest bathrooms, a sauna, a library, a panic room, a temperature control wine cellar, a well-equipped home gym, a luxurious indoor jacuzzi, a game room/home theater, a meeting room and a home office for Nicholas. There were two living rooms in the house; one for receiving guests downstairs, and another on the second floor for hanging out.

The kitchen was a chef's wet dream. Modern, high-end appliances, dark granite countertops and floorings, cabinets, a six-burner stovetop, and a pantry. Too bad I wasn't great in the kitchen. The mansion also housed two dining rooms; the formal dining sat twenty-five people, and the other one only sat six people. Marble floors carried across the rest of the entire house.

And the best part of the house? A freaking elevator! I never had to use the stairs if I didn't want to.

"Do you like it?" Nicholas asked as he stood in the bathroom doorway.

I bobbed my head in affirmation. "I love everything about this house. Whoever designed this house is a freaking genius."

"So, we're getting this one?" Nicholas asked with hope in his eyes.

Laughter bubbled out of me. I knew he didn't exactly care about what the house looked like. He just tagged along for company, and after the fear Adriano put in him this morning in the kitchen, I was sure Nicholas thought we were going to spend a whole day house hunting because 'chicks were particular about things like this'. Adriano's words, not mine.

"Before we decide, how much does it cost?"

He huffed, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Does it fucking matter?"

"It does!"

His lips twitched up in a smile. "How much do you think it would cost? It has all these things, a pool, a garden, and a fourteen-car garage. The list goes on. Wanna do an estimate real quick?"

My eyes bulged out of my head. The house was going to cost a lot. I'd gotten so lost in admiring the house that I hadn't thought of anything else.

He tugged me against his chest, shaking his head at me. "Don't stress over it, Giselle. If it makes you feel better, I'm not paying for the house."

"Huh?"

"It has always been mine. Remember what I said about smart business choices? My family invested in real estate, and this was my present for turning eighteen from my grandfather. It was a project he was working on before he died. I had it furnished and decorated because I was going to put it up for sale. The house was sitting duck, and there was no need to hold on to it if I wasn't ever going to move into it."

My mouth formed an 'o'. "I didn't know you had a grandfather. Well, everyone does, but I didn't think you knew him?"

"I knew him. He died the day I started senior year in high school."

"Oh, no. I'm so sorry. I'm assuming he wasn't anything like your father?" It was meant to be a statement, but it came out as a question. I hoped I was right. His father was enough evil in his life growing up. He didn't need another monster.

He shook his head. "No. He was kind. Different from all other Made Men."

"Was he good to your mother?" I asked quietly, hoping I hadn't overstepped a line.

"He did his best, but Father never listened. Grandpa was a good man."

The affection in his voice when he spoke about his grandfather made me happy. At least, all of his childhood wasn't horrible. "Good." I stood on my toes, pressing a soft kiss to his lips. "You don't need another monster in your story."