Unexpected Rendezvous

Infernum

The sky was getting darker and my father had moved our conversation to the dining area. My father sat on the head of the long table, it made me think that he looked like a reigning king in his perfectly built castle - especially from the way he sat under the giant chandelier and his expressions which was illuminated by the flickering fire from the fireplace across him. He insisted that Rowena sat on his right as they were involved in some discussions on the cryptocurrency' performance in the financial world. As for myself, I chose to sit across from Rowena, facing the big window glass in my silence.

Lucius had brought our dinner to the dining table, along with a bottle of Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon 1992. I mostly ate my dinner in a quiet manner, whereas Rowena and father were finishing their dinner with laughter and intense conversation, well that... until the tapping sound of the rain was getting louder and a thunder roared once.

I took out my phone and opened up the weather application and it looked like it was storming and a hurricane was approaching fastly. A warning had been issued by the local government that all citizens of Wiltshire should stay in their house for at least 2 days.
My eyes widened in horror and everyone around the dining table seemed to notice my sudden change of gesture.

"Is everything alright, Alexander?" My father asked with an arched eyebrow.
Rowena instantly slipped one of her hand on my thigh and looked at me with concern filled her eyes.
Somehow, I couldn't bring myself to looked at my father nor Rowena. My eyes were perfectly locked on my phone and my stomach felt like it was about to vomit all of my dinner out.
"Alex? Love? Are you alright?" Rowena asked while giving my thigh a squeeze.

Finally, I was able to broke my attention from my phone and looked at both my father's and Rowena's concerning face. I forced a smile and shook my head.
"Father, is it alright if we stay here for at least 2 days? Looks like a storm is coming and all citizens had been warned to stay inside."
"Well of course... it's your home anyway Alexander. And I would like to get to know Ms. Hart better, so please... make yourself comfortable."
"Lucius, could you be so kind and prepare Alex's room and please find something for them to wear for the night as well."

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Rowena and I had arrived in my old room. I stood in front of the door for what seemed like a long time. An odd feeling came washing over me. It was a spacious room with a clean broken white wallpaper. On one corner of the room, there was a king size bed made from oakwood and across from the door was a big window glass, which was covered by black curtains. On the other side of the room was a long dark brown desk along with a black chair - it used to be my study desk. From the high ceilling stood a big crystal chandelier with yellow bulbs, it gave the room a warm atmosphere.

Parallel to the entrance door, on the corner side of the room was a door which lead to the bathroom. On the other side of the room stood several wardrobes and shoe racks. Above my bed were small shelves which had different photographs and trophies, back from my childhood memories.

Eventually I entered the room and closed the door behind me. Rowena was already standing in front of the bed, looking at the photographs carefully. I stood behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist.
"You look so handsome ever since you were a kid."
"Why thank you, love... I believe I have good genes... why don't you freshen up and we head to bed? We've had a long day, don't you agree?"

Rowena didn't respond right away as her eyes were locked on one particular photograph. My eyes instantly followed hers and I swore I felt like I was choking.
"Is that... your mum?" She asked hesitantly while looking back at me.
The photograph was showing a beautiful blonde young woman hugging a little blonde boy. She was smiling in the picture and you could see her sharp jaws and beautiful eyes were focusing on her son. She had a dimple shown from laughing - probably from my silly action. I remembered the picture was taken by my father during my third birthday. I was practically smudging the cake to my face.