Chapter 17

Tessa’s POV

Saturday arrived quickly.

Joseph had emailed everybody in the class, or everybody going to the dinner party, his address. I was shaking at the very thought of returning to his Villa, but I was also excited at the same time.

I finished dressing and stared at myself in the mirror. I wore a black dress that rested just under my knees and kept my hair tied back. I wasn’t used to going to dinner parties and I wasn’t sure what to wear for the occasion.

Thankfully, Ruby picked this outfit out for me, along with a light pink cardigan that I wore over the dress and a cute and stylish scarf.

As we got to the house, I noticed the same familiar setting. Though, I didn’t notice the roses blooming every which way around the building and the numerous plants that made the house seem secluded.

I also noticed that even though it was nearing dusk, his curtains were all drawn as if it was daylight.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Ruby asked as we stood outside the door of Joseph’s home. “It’s not too late to turn back.”

I shook my head.

“I can’t avoid him forever,” I said in return. “I’d like to be able to participate in class stuff like this.”

Ruby draped her arm through mine and together we made our way into the Villa. The other students had already arrived and were admiring the big house.

“This house is amazing!” One of the students gasped.

“How could you afford such a thing?”

“You must be really rich!”

“Does writing really get you that rich?”

“Most of my wealth comes from early investments,” Joseph answered.

It was the same answer he had given me when I asked him. Staring around at his face, even from a distance, I could see how young he was. He’s said to be in his forties, but he almost looks much younger than that.

How could someone who looks so young be this rich?

A knot formed in my stomach as I grew more nervous.

“Tessa,” he said, greeting me from across the room and causing my face to grow warm. “And Ruby. Thank you, ladies, for joining us.”

“Thank you for the invite, Professor,” Ruby said as she walked toward the group.

I realized that the last time I was here, I didn’t get a good chance to look around at my surroundings. I wasn’t able to take in the pretty scenery around me. All his furniture looked incredibly old and most of the decorations looked like something out of a museum.

On one of the shelves, there was a picture of a young boy that I knew had to be Joseph. Behind him stood a man that also kind of looked like Joseph, I’m assuming was his father, and then a pretty woman that stood on the other side of him, whom I knew to be his mother.

The photo was in black and white and looked incredibly old. I wondered what year this picture was taken.

As far as I knew, there have never been any pictures of him released to the public. That’s part of what made him such a mysterious writer.

Come to think of it, there have never been any pictures of Christopher Moore either.

Joseph didn’t show everybody around his house. The most he showed us was the front living room, and then he took us directly to his study.

He walked enthusiastically toward his study, and everybody followed closely behind him. I wondered what kind of secrets were hidden behind the doors that remained closed.

Joseph Evergreen was a mysterious one and I knew he was hiding a secret.

I was stunned by the number of books that Joseph had in his study, as was everyone else. It also seems as if he’s a very organized person. Not one book was out of place, and everything seemed to be accounted for.

“Such an amazing collection, Professor!” Someone said excitedly.

“These books are rare treasures that have been well-preserved,” Joseph explained. “I only brought a portion of them over from my old home so there use to be a lot more.”

Everyone stared at him in awe, including me.

He was even richer than any of us could ever imagine.

It was like he was some kind of hidden rich man.

Staring around his study, I gazed up at the gorgeous crystal chandelier that hung above our heads. Like the rest of his windows, he had the curtains closed tightly, shielding any natural light. Not that there was any natural light at this hour.

Many of these books appeared to be manuscripts and as Joseph had said, “well-preserved.”

I gazed up at one of the bookshelves while the other students started asking more questions. The kind of bookshelf where a ladder would be needed. On top of the shelf, there looked to be some very old books with even older papers.

Those were the only things that didn’t fit in with the seemingly perfect study.

Joseph had gone over the many categories that he has in his collection. However, he failed to mention anything about those random stray books and papers.

Nobody else seemed to notice them as I did, but I couldn’t help but keep my eyes on them, wondering what kind of secrets lay beneath them and why they were hidden on top of the shelf.

“Tessa?” I heard my voice coming from Joseph. I realized all the students were now looking at me curiously. “What are you staring at?”

When I didn’t answer, he followed my gaze up to the books and papers on the top shelf and his brows furrowed together. The other students were also now noticing them as well and started to ask him questions about what they were and why they weren’t with the others.

“Just old books that were forgotten there,” was all he said. “How about everyone takes a collection of books and chat together in the living room.”

Everyone expressed their excitement as they took a bunch of books and dispersed from the study.

I stayed behind with Joseph staring directly at me.

“Everything here has a home and is seemingly perfect, except for those manuscripts on the top shelf,” I began to say to him. “Why is that?”

“Some things are meant to be kept a secret,” he said, turning away from me.

It was the same old line he always seemed to use when he didn’t want to answer a question.

I swallowed the lump that formed in my throat and grabbed a few books of my own. He was gone before I had the chance to say anything more.

I joined everyone in the living room, and they were silently reading some of the books they had collected. As I sat on one of the couches and started reading one of the books, I still couldn’t get those manuscripts out of my mind.

He admitted that they contained secrets, and I had a feeling they would answer all the questions I had.

Whatever those manuscripts contained, he didn't want anyone to see them.

“I never thought I would ever get to read this book. Its existence was always just a rumor. How did you get your hands on these?” The girl who sat beside me asked him. I knew her name was Morgan.

She sat in front of me in class and was always the first to raise her hand.

“I have a broad range of connections around the world,” Joseph answered vaguely without looking up from a book he was reading.

“Wow…” Morgan breathed. “I have chills…”

She revealed her arm to show off the goosebumps that occupied her skin.

“Here,” I said, taking off my cardigan. “I’m warm anyways. You can borrow this.”

“Are you sure?” She asked, taking the cardigan from me. “Thanks, Tessa.”

Everyone was engrossed in their stories and periodically asked Joseph questions. While they were preoccupied, I suddenly remembered that his bathroom was down the hall and to the right. I also remembered that the bathroom door had a connected door that led into his study.

“Excuse me for a moment, I need to use the bathroom,” I said as I stood to my feet.

I began to casually walk in the direction of the bathroom, but the feeling of a bunch of eyes on the back of my head caused me to freeze.

I turned to see everybody staring at me with wide eyes.

“How do you know where the bathroom is?” Somebody asked, raising their brows.

“Have you been here before?”

Their questions made my heart sink into my stomach.

“Wasn’t she the one that the professor handed her a mysterious bag of stuff the other night?” Somebody asked.

“Oh, yes, she was!” Another agreed.

At this point, they turned their attention back to me and asked, “Did you know one another before?”

“….”