CH 98
Marilyn
“Whose house is this?” Anabella had asked after they’d been driven to the house and were getting out of the
car.
“Ours.” Both her boys had stated as they’d run off across the front lawn, it was well–manicured and had plenty of room for them, and from the photos, a magnificent view of the lake itself. Heath was standing there looking about the front of the house as well. They’d come in through the top entry gate and were parked up near the garage with full view of the front yard.
She gave Heath one of the sets of keys, and he nodded to her and stated “I’ll start assessing the property, no need to rush in your own wandering about. I’ll take a good look today and while you’re off sightseeing tomorrow, I’ll spend a few hours here sorting out a proper security plan for the place.”
She’d nodded at him and watched him walk off towards the main house, while she and Anabell followed the twins over to the lawns fencing, to look at that expansive view. She smiled as she leaned on the railing. It was stunning in the afternoon sun.
The railing stood above a massive natural rock–built retaining wall that had pine trees directly below them and there was the other part of the driveway that led to the house down there from the lower gate access to the property. It came to a grassed area to the north and a paved walkway that led up to the house itself.
“Now, when the boys say ‘ours‘, what exactly does that mean?” Anabell turned to look at her as the boys ran
off to look about.
“It’s part of a family trust I’ve had set up, it will be theirs one day. When they turn 18, I’ll sign it completely into their names, and they can pull it from the trust at 25 to do with as they please. It’s currently under all three of our names. But I’ll eventually give it to them as their own.”
“You were planning on moving here. I’m guessing if you didn’t get your memories back, and couldn’t contain Calvin,” Anabell murmured.
“I was, needed a back–up plan for getting away from the crazy man.” She admitted “This was it. A long way from anywhere and it’s perfect, it’s got mountains and a lake. Everything I need and room for Lisa when she comes to do the editing. Got rooms for not only a live–in driver and housekeeper, but security men as well. All the things I thought I was going to need,” She admitted.
“How big is this place?” Anabell asked, sounding curious.
“It’s got nine bedrooms, three guest houses,” she stated simply.
“Do you still think you need all of that, Marilyn?” Anabell asked as she leaned on that fence and really took in the house. “You know it kind of looks like Cliffside… Somewhere deep down inside of you, Marrin still existed when you purchased this place. You also bought something similar to what Calvin bought for you.” she
chuckled a little.
Marilyn looked at the house. She’d not really thought about that thing until now, looking at this place and comparing it to what she knew Cliffside to look like. Anabell was not wrong; both homes had hexagonal style rooms at the front which gave the roof a similar design. They both had lovely manicured lawns and a water view, though here was a lake and there was the ocean, it was all open and expansive.
III
O
1/3
< CH 98
The two homes were both grand as well, she thought, “I bought a bigger house than Cliffside and for half the price.” She chuckled softly as she pushed off the railing. “Come on lets go and look around inside the house, which I think I got the better deal on.” she chuckled herself now.
They walked about the empty house looking at the rooms, and the boys were excited about it having an elevator to go up to the top floor, and a fully built–out basement, which had a sign on the door Games Room. They were running about in there, they liked how much room there was, talking about all the things that they
were going to want to go in here.
“You know Marilyn, if they say stuff like that around Calvin, he’s likely to buy them everything they talk about,
they’ll want for nothing.” She smiled. “He’s going to spoll them rotten, I imagine.”
his is my
“If Net him come here,” Marilyn smiled right back at her as they headed back up to the main flo
home, not his.” She stated “A place that is quiet and away from the hustle and bustle. A place where I can just sit at my desk and write, or stroll about in the woods off the back of the house. Sit and have coffee and
look at the lake view. My retreat is what this place will be.”
“You’ll get lonely all by yourself,” Anabell commented as they headed up to the first floor to the bedrooms.
“Not really,” she shook her head. “I was always on my own, even as a child I was separated and singled out. It’s why I turned to computers and learned programming. I didn’t need anyone else for that, and it kind of came easy to me. An added bonus.
“Writing is much the same. I sit on my own in the quiet and work by myself. I don’t really get lonely, I have got all my characters inside my mind all the time,” she shrugged. “I also learned as an adult that loneliness and
being alone are two different things. I was a lonely child that craved love and family.
“But as an adult at university, I made friends and learned that it was okay to still be alone, that being alone didn’t mean I was lonely. Because I had people I could call and talk to, hang out with and study alongside, we created that company and, though Loften sat and worked alone, I wasn’t lonely. Was content in my life by
then.”
She smiled as they walked about looking at the bedrooms. “I actually don’t mind being on my own, never really did, I guess. Not even having no memory did it bother me. I kind of just accepted it and moved on like I was always supposed to be alone… Now I understand that, it was actually safer for me sometimes as a child in a new and unpredictable foster home environment. Out of sight sometimes meant out of the line of fire.”
She heard Anabell sigh heavily. “Not a nice thing though. For anyone to grow up like that.”
“Mm, I dare say many more out there had it worse than I did.” Marilyn nodded. “I also dealt with it a long time ago. Before meeting Calvin. He’d probably not have gotten me to agree to that contract marriage if I’d not dealt with it. I’d likely have just thought it was a way to be controlled by him.
“I didn’t really have family attachments and didn’t really understand them properly. That’s why I thought I could be in that marriage. I wasn’t concerned about what it meant or that I would get attached to him. Liked my friends and enjoyed working with them. I figured it was going to be just like that,” she shrugged.
It was also the truth, as she now knew it, she recalled why she’d gone into that marriage. It was just convenient for her was all. She’d needed a place to live, and that contract had done that for her, and she already worked for Calvin. Nothing there would change for her. She’d agreed to it, expecting absolutely
nothing to come from it, and had not been trying to attach herself to Calvin in any way.
She also now knew that Calvin had never once harmed her, pretty much always just gave her what it was she
III
O
2/3
wanted, if she asked for something, it was provided to her without hesitation. He’d been generous with her. Hed also left her alone to her own devices inside that marriage 80% of the time.
He’d not even been concerned when she’d stopped going into the office and had opted to start working from Cliffside. He’d just nodded at her and told her if she could work remotely with her team, then she was allowed to. But he’d always kept her office for her inside C.R. Technology for when she wanted to come into the head
office. Or had to for certain things.
“Mum?” Cal interrupted her thoughts.
“Yes Callum.” She answered him.
“There’s no pool,” he stated.
“We don’t have a pool now, what’s the big deal?” she asked in return.
“I thought we’d get one here,” he murmured.
“You’ve got a whole lake just minutes away. I bet that there are plenty of places to go swimming down on the
lake. She told him simply.
“That cliff house had a pool.” Vin stated looking up at her, and she knew it did. She’d seen the photos as had
they.
“It does.” Anabell chimed in. “Your dad still owns that place. Maybe one day he’ll take you there and you can
swim in it. If your mother allows it, of course.”
“Mm, it is possible.” Marilyn nodded as both boys looked at Anabell now.
“Does dad’s house have a pool?” Callum asked right back.
She smiled at Anabell. “And now they’re yours,” she chuckled. “Boys, why don’t you ask Anabell all those questions you have? She actually knows Calvin Reeves.”
Although she herself could likely answer all their questions now, she opted to still not tell them she recalled Calvin. She didn’t think they’d be able to sit still if they knew she recalled him. She also knew that Calvin still lived in the very same apartment he had when they’d been married, and heard from Anabell that he’d nearly
sold Cliffside once.
Then had refused to when an offer had come in, that he’d yelled at Wil himself about selling it something along the lines of ‘Where will Marrin live when she comes back to me?”
He was holding on to the house he’d bought her and considered to be her home. The man, it seemed, was completely crazy, loved her and hated her at the same time. He’d kept everything that was hers out at the house still, is what Anabell had told her. It all just sat there waiting for the day she came home and back to
him.
Comments
