OFF LIMITS

“This is Master Hayden’s study. He uses it very often when he decides to work at home. Although, he’s

been going out every day since you came here,” Auntie explained.

I peeped my head into Hayden’s study and was no longer impressed at how overly large every single

room seemed to be in this mansion. Auntie didn’t step into the room and that made me feel like I

shouldn’t step a foot in there as well. Maybe Hayden didn’t like people going into his study while he

wasn’t there or without his permission.

“This is Master Hayden’s bedroom. He spends most of his nights here…” Auntie explained as she

stopped at a large pair of double doors.

Unlike his study, she didn’t even open the door for me to peek inside. Clearly, this room was

considered a very private space. I guessed that made sense since it’s his bedroom. He’s never brought

me here before either…

“What about the rooms that he brought me to before?” I asked curiously.

I thought of the first night that I arrived here and the rooms that he brought me to. Quickly, I forced my

thoughts to a stop before my mind would recall what happened later after I entered those rooms.

“Oh, he stays there sometimes too. He likes to complain that his wing is too large for him to occupy

alone so sometimes he would live in those rooms for convenience,” Auntie replied like it was the most

normal thing in the world.

We visited a few more rooms in Hayden’s wing that Auntie thought was important enough to point out.

Overall, Hayden’s wing was like another mansion in and of itself and was clearly too large for one

person. The boss was right in thinking that it was supposed to be for a family instead of for one man.

Although it probably would still be too big even for a family to live here.

“That’s it for Master Hayden’s wing of the mansion. Now, I’ll take you to see some of the common

facilities that you can use if you want. Master Hayden rarely uses it though, but it is well maintained.

We have the saunas, the outdoor pool and such…” Auntie continued with her briefing.

She led me back along the hallway where we came from, and I followed after her dutifully. This

mansion was so big that I wondered how many maids it took just to keep this place clean like this. It felt

like such a waste resources and money, but then again, who was I to judge?

We arrived back to the point where the path forked into separate paths. My eyes couldn’t help

wandering to the other path that Auntie hadn’t led me on. I wondered where that hallway led?

“That’s the way to Master Harvey’s wing…” Auntie stated sternly as she followed my line of sight.

Her words trailed off and it was clear that she wasn’t about to offer any more explanations. In addition,

she didn’t invite me to follow her to show me that wing of the mansion.

“Oh, I see…” I mumbled.

“It’s completely off limits. No one is allowed to enter that part of the mansion. Please do not even think

of entering Master Harvey’s wing. Is that clear?” Auntie asked and her eyes were dead serious as she

stared at my face.

“Yes…” I replied with a firm nod of my head.

The way Auntie spoke so strictly as her eyes stared at my face only made me more curious about

Harvey’s wing of the mansion. Although I guessed that there was probably nothing there that was worth

seeing. Since he was gone now, it probably made sense that Hayden didn’t want anyone entering his

brother’s rooms.

“Did Hayden prohibit people from entering this wing?” I asked curiously before I could stop myself.

It was off limits but was it based on Hayden’s orders or the boss’s orders?

“Yes. Master Hayden has ordered everyone to stay away from Master Harvey’s wing. Please forget that

you’ve been here,” Auntie said as she quickly walked back ahead of me.

With one last glance at the dark and long hallway, I followed after Auntie to enjoy the rest of the tour.

The remaining part of the tour was eye-opening enough for me to appreciate. It was also good to walk

around a little bit after being stuck in a chair for too long while I worked on the website. The mansion

was large, and I got plenty of walk during that tour. I had to admire Auntie for being in high spirits all

throughout the tour. Before I knew it, I had started to truly like Auntie and appreciate all her efforts.

When I returned to my room, I realized that I had received a text message from Hayden.

‘I’ll be back a little late today. Start dinner first.’

A depressing feeling of disappointment filled my heart when I realized that Hayden would be late for

dinner. He said that he’ll be late but that might mean that he might not join me for dinner at all. I always ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

looked forward to our private dinner together every evening like it was the highlight of my day. This

wasn’t good news to me at all. I wondered what Hayden was working on now and if the situation

outside had improved.

By the time that dinner was ready and served, Hayden was still no where in sight. I stared at the food

and decided to do as he had told me to. I picked up a fork and started eating the food. Auntie watched

me silently from the side. Honestly, I didn’t understand why Hayden was still worried about my diet. I’ve

been eating decently well for a while now.

Unconsciously, I was eating very slowly as if I wanted to drag my meal out. The food had gotten cold,

but I was still slowly eating at the dining table. Every once in a while, my eyes would glance over at the

closed door. Where is Hayden?

I was too full to eat anything else anymore and had resorted to playing around with the food in my

plate, pushing it around here and there with my fork. It was a dirty display of my lack of table manners;

however, there wasn’t anyone there to watch me anymore since Auntie had already left earlier. That

was when the door finally opened; however, Hayden didn’t walk in like he usually did…

--To be continued…