Upon entering, the scent of something keen to a wet old shoe wafted by Emily. She frowned and clamped a hand over her nose.

A look of annoyance spread over her face when she heard Oliver chuckle. "You'll get used to it. We had the same reaction when we first got here," he said as he continued to move forward. The main door opened to a narrow hallway. Its floors were visible only by the moonlight. It took a few seconds to navigate their way through it. Then, the hallway gave way to what Emily deemed the grand hall. She immediately tilted her head up. She was shown a painting of the ceiling by the owner of the company that hired her before she got to the manor. It was a testament to how grand the manor was before it had fallen into decay. Although she expected it, her heart still sank as her eyes landed on the artwork above her.

The ceiling that once was painted with the image of a lush forest was now a mere shadow of its former self. The once-beautiful mural had been destroyed, leaving behind a chaotic mess of broken plaster and faded paint.

The trees that had once towered overhead were now nothing more than jagged lines and smudges, their branches twisted and broken. The sky that had once been a brilliant blue was now a dull gray, marred by cracks and holes in the ceiling.

Despite the destruction, there was still a sense of haunting beauty in the ruined mural. The twisted branches and shattered leaves seemed to tell a story of their own, a tale of a once-beautiful forest that had been ravaged by time.

As the moonlight filtered through the broken ceiling, casting strange shadows across the ruined mural, it was as if the forest was coming to life, albeit in a twisted, distorted form.

Emily smiled. Though the ceiling was now a mere shell of its former self, the beauty that had once been captured in the mural still lingered and she felt confident that with her talent she'd be able to restore the ceiling to its former glory. She may not be able to recreate the artwork that it once held, but she'd find a way to at least reach its glory.

Satisfied with her thoughts and proud that she hadn't felt deterred by the amount of ruin she was presented with, her sight drifted toward the broken chandelier that hopelessly clung to the ceiling. It seemed to have once been gold in color but is now covered with brown hues everywhere. Half of it was missing and logic brought Emily's eyes down to the floor, there the missing piece of the Chandler lay over the dust-covered marble floor. Cracks and upturned marbles lay below the broken piece of the chandelier, making the expensive stone impossible to salvage. The impact when it fell must have been great, Emily mused as she kept eying the broken floor.

Emily let her gaze travel further, taking in the destruction of every corner of the humongous room. And then her eyes rested on the grand staircase. The thing was perhaps in ruins more than anything else in there. The banister was broken in places and it was missing half the number of its steps. How could a place so grand be left to fall into such ruins, Emily thought to herself. Then like a bolt of lightning, her mind saw the staircase all fixed and her imagination went rampant. She imagined laying a carpet on the steps, one that would complement the color of the mural she planned for the ceiling. Her thoughts were going from one color scheme to another, like a hungry lion her mind was voracious of things she wanted to put on those steps.

But her deep musing was disrupted when Oliver cleared his throat and murmured, "We better keep moving, we're barely out of light."

Despite the discomfort of having her thoughts disrupted again, Emily smiled at Oliver. She didn't respond with words but bobbed her head in agreement, fearing she might lash out at him if she so as opened her mouth. She wasn't the famed designer she once was. She had no right to yell at someone for disrupting her imaginings, she thought solemnly.

Soon, they were moving forward with Oliver a few steps ahead of her. They exited the grand hall through a narrow hallway and then proceeded to enter another room. It was small and looked like it had once been used as storage of some sort. There are cabinets wedged on the wall. All were broken and dust-filled like the other furniture they passed by. There were dust-covered bottles and wooden crates scattered on the floor. It looked like one of those rooms she saw in a documentary about an old asylum it made her heart skip a beat. She glanced around and saw nothing but dust and cobwebs. Thousands of questions bubbled behind her throat as she watched the man in front of her proceeded to walk forward, unhinged by their disgusting surroundings, stopping only upon reaching a door at the far right corner of the small room.

"Well, this is our exit," he said, smiling as he turned the knob.

Emily frowned. Exit, she questioned.

Oliver, not bothering to look at her struggled with the suitcases he had and answered, "Yup."

"Wait, I'm confused. Why are we exiting the manor? Aren't we supposed to..." "We need to keep moving," Oliver whispered, cutting her off midsentence. The man then thrust the door in front of him open and once again, there was a narrow corridor.

Utterly confused, Emily kept to where she stood and watched as he proceeded to exit the room they were in. "If you expected that we'd stay in this manor then you're out of your mind. The place is near collapse. There's a smaller manor at the back and it is connected to this one by this corridor. That's where we're staying." Oliver yelled. However, Emily remained rooted in her spot. Confusion was written all over her face.

When her companion noticed the statue-like state he finally glanced back at her and added, "Miss Hudson, it's getting really dark, and believe me, you wouldn't want yourself roaming the ground of the main manor when the moonlight seeps in every corner. Remember, the corridors bend."

Those words were enough to have Emily's feet scurrying out of the room and following the man in front of her. As she fell to a step behind him, she heard him chuckle and murmur, "You're a bit of a scardy cat, aren't you?"

Emily didn't respond but narrowed her eyes, shooting invisible daggers at the back of his head. He was obviously making fun of her.

The corridor they were currently in was illuminated faintly by flickering light bulbs, wedged and scattered across the walls. The floorboards beneath her feet creaked with every step she made. It unnerved her, but the place smelled better than any of those they previously walked through, so she managed to relax. It had the scent of mixed vanilla and cookies. Emily looked at the walls and then a smile tugged at her lips, lacquer, she thought as she continued to take one tentative step after another.

It wasn't long before they reached a door and the glow emanating from it told Emily that the room that the door opened to, was fully lit.

Oliver released a sigh as he dropped Emily's suitcases on the floor. She had the mind to yell at him and demand that he be careful. But once again, she kept her mouth shut, reminding herself that she didn't have the luxury to act like she had when she was famous.

After three knocks on the door, it opened. Light washed over her and her companion's visage which had her shutting her eyes.

A high-pitched voice that said, "Oh, Emily is here," forced her eyes open. She wasn't given time to fully just to the light before she felt a set of hands wrap around her body. Keeping her in a tight embrace. The action shocked Emily, enough to have her standing rigid, unmoving as the arms around her kept their octopus-like grip.

"Better release her Jamilla before she files a sexual misconduct case against you," Emily heard a man say.

The words were enough to dislodge the weird woman's arm around her. As soon as she was released, Emily took a step back. The woman in front of her was smiling. She was perhaps in her early twenties. She had brown curly hair that cascaded down to her shoulders. Her eyes were big with fake eyelashes that to Emily, made her look like a doll.

Unsure how to respond to the still-smiling woman in front of her, Emily settled with, "Hi."

"You don't remember me, do you?" the woman questioned. But before Emily could respond, she took her wrist and pulled her inside the room. By then Oliver was already inside too, seated on a wooden chair and drinking a glass of juice. Emily's suitcases were scattered beside his seat.

"Well don't just stand there, take a seat," the woman who still caged her wrist in her hand said to her.

Emily could only smile.

"Jamilla, you're scaring her. Release Miss Hudson and let her take a seat. I believe an introduction of who we are would benefit this situation rather than you clinging to her like an octopus. And stop fangirling!" A rough voice yelled.

Emily threw a glance at the man who reprimanded Jamilla. He was seated near Oliver and was holding a cup with steam rising from it. He looked older than she was. The man was probably in his late forties or early fifties. He wore eyeglasses and had visible wrinkles on his forehead. His black hair was probably long because it was tied into a bun. When their eyes met, he smiled and said, "I'm Jasper, assistant project manager." He then got to his feet, pointed at a woman standing near a window, and said, "That's Aida, she's the cook hired by the company.

Emily smiled at the woman and she smiled back.

Jasper then pointed his finger to another person, a male perhaps in his early twenties, and introduced him as Lucas. Jasper said he was the head of the engineers. That got Emily's eyebrow-raising. But if she found it odd to see a young man given such a high position, she said nothing. She was only twenty-two when she was named the most sought-after interior designer in the country.

"There are others but you will meet them tomorrow," Jasper said as he sat back in his chair. "No need to introduce those two. You already know Oliver. Be wary of him though, this lad can be a bit of a trickster."

Those last words by Jasper did not surprise Emily. The short time she had already spent with Oliver proved that he liked teasing people.

"What about me!" An earsplitting voice cried.

Startled, Emily threw a wide-eyed glance at the woman who had remained by her side that whole time.

Loud laughter from Jasper and Oliver drowned the room. "That's Jamilla, she's a fan of yours, " both men said in unison. Pointing their finger at the woman beside Emily.

"We've met before you know. I was there at one of the talk shows you attended years ago. I was the one with the orange jacket and..."

"For the love of God Jamilla, enough. Let Miss Hudson take a seat and have dinner. I'm sorry, she's been blabbering nonstop since she found out that you were hired and would be staying with us," Jasper apologized.

Emily smiled. As her eyes met Jamilla's smiling face she couldn't help but feel happy and crushed at the same time. Some people still loved and believed in her despite the stupidity she had done to herself. She was also glad that none of them spoke or even asked about her alcohol addiction which she was inclined to believe her companions would speak about once she got to the manor.

Emily was given a hefty meal for dinner and she was more than happy about it. There weren't a lot of talks thrown during dinner and Jamilla had also stopped pestering her. However, the woman was determined to stay by her side. Emily never met a person that seemed to adore her that much and after everything that had happened to her life, Jamilla's attention was all but welcomed gratefully.

After dinner, Oliver took her suitcases and said that he would bring them up to her room. Emily motioned to follow him but was stopped by Jasper who said that there were things he wanted to discuss with her first before she retires for the night.

He led her to a room adjacent to the kitchen. It was almost empty except for the single mahogany table and two chairs that sat in the right corner of the room.

"Take a seat, Miss Hudson, Jasper said as he pointed to one of the chairs. Emily obediently took a seat.

Jasper did not join her and opted to walk toward a window. "There are rules in this place Miss Hudson and I will tell you those right now. I give this briefing to everyone that the company sends here. As you already know we started the renovation two months ago."

Emily wasn't a person who liked to pass judgment on people. However, two months of work and the place still being in ruins didn't impress her.

Whether her thoughts were readable in her face or she somehow said them out loud without noticing she couldn't tell. But Jasper answered her snide remark, albeit, believed to be silent - by saying, "This small manor we're currently at was in the same state as the main manor when we got here. As you can see, the place is almost livable now. We started our work here and we plan on working on the main manor in a few weeks. Some things still need to be done here."

A red blush appeared on the pale make-up less cheeks of Emily. Were her thoughts that transparent? She couldn't help but chide herself mentally.

Jasper was silent for a full ten seconds before he continued to say, "We haven't had any trouble here Miss Hudson and I want things to remain that way. Do your job and don't let anything hinder you from doing so. If you feel like you can't control yourself, let me know. Better to leave than drag others down with you."

The way he said it hit a nerve. And when he turned to look at Emily with a scrutinizing, almost judging stare, she understood what he meant.

"I have no desire to drink again. If that's what you're worried about," she answered indignantly.

Jasper smiled at her retort. "That's all I needed to hear, Miss Hudson. Now let me escort you to your chamber," he answered as he made his way out of the room.

Emily followed him silently. Her thoughts were raising between slapping the man in front of her and leaving the following day. Her pride was scathed at what he said to her. She thought her alcohol addiction was forgotten when they welcomed her warmly. Apparently, it was not. She was seething inside, she barely noticed how they got to the second floor of the manor. She only managed to be aware of her surroundings when Jasper stopped and pointed at a door.

"That's your room, Miss Hudson. Have a good rest." He said to her and then turned on his heel.

Emily didn't respond and immediately grabbed the knob of the door, but before she got it ajar, she heard Jasper say, "Oh, and one more thing. Never roam the manor or its grounds at night. The corridors can be a bit tricky."

Those words froze Emily's hands on the door knob. Every time the words were said it made her heart skip a beat. It was perhaps caused by the scary implication behind it. But it just felt weird. She wasn't a superstitious scary or a scardy cat as Oliver mentioned earlier, but there was something, just something off about those words and how they said them.

She turned to look at Jasper but found that he was no longer there. Too tired to even think of anything else. Emily shook her head and entered her room.