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F r i d a y, 22/3/19

Dear Diary,

RRAAPP. RRAAPP.

Spencer tapped her knuckles against the polished wood of the oak door leading into my dad's office.

"Oi Lane, get your ass out here!" she yelled.

"Hold your horses! I'm coming!" returned a gravelly, masculine voice from within the room.

As I shifted nervously from one foot to the other, my eyes trailed over the gold sign tacked to the middle of the door.

E a r n e s t M a r s d e n J r.

CREAK.

The door swung open and a man, who looked to be in his late forties, sporting a balding ring of hair and a dress-suit, stood framed in the doorway.

His piercing grey eyes travelled from Spencer to me and a wide smile lit up his features.

"Jo!" he exclaimed as he threw open his arms. "Jo! My dear! You're here!"

Turns out, Dad hadn't changed that much since I had last seen him. He still had that friendly personality and warm smile but his hair was diminishing and wrinkles of anxiety and worry lined his face.

He and Spencer had a close uncle-niece relationship and were constantly bickering and calling each other names. If I wasn't so tired and apprehensive about the whole situation, I would have found it amusing. But all I wanted to do was go to my room, flop face-first into the pillows and go to sleep.

Dad must've caught a 'I'm-exhausted-and couldn't-give-a-crap' vibe from me because, after he had finished showing me around the lower level of the house, chattering his heart away, he rang for one of his staff to show me up to my room.

"See you at dinner?" he queried hopefully, eyebrows raised.

I shrugged and nodded. "Yeah. Okay."

"See ya then, girlie!" Spencer chirped up from beside my dad. Giving me a wave, she bounced around as she continued, "I've gotta do some shopping. My summer wardrobe needs a reboot but I'll pop by later this evening."

"Whatever you say, Caesar," Dad drawled, unimpressed.

"Goodbye, Lane," she rolled her eyes at him before sweeping gracefully out of the room.

I was led up a circle of white-carpeted steps leading into one of the most lavish and well-decorated apartments that I had ever seen. If I thought downstairs was magnificent, I was completely unprepared for what my own bedroom suite looked like!

A pastel blue paint, lined with curly gold stickers, covered the bedroom walls, leading up to a double set of glass doors that opened up onto a mini balcony. A white table, set with a vase of sweet-smelling flowers, had been placed by my raised bedstead which was covered with a huge, double-set of matching blue and white doonas. A pile of freshly starched linen along with a bottle of vanilla perfume and a few lavender soaps were sitting on the end of my bed.

"The bathroom is through that door over there," the maid told me with great gusto. "And your sitting room is right through this one here. If you need anything, just ring this bell, and I'll send up one of the staff to attend to you."

"Thank you - er -..."

"Luna," she bowed her head at me.

"Luna," I cracked a small smile. "Thank you, Luna. I'm good for now."

"Dinner will be served at seven," she replied as she stepped out of the room. "I'll come up to fetch you when its ready."

I gave her a grateful nod as the door clicked shut behind her.

Slowly, I turned around, flinging out my arms and staring at the place in wonderment.

"Oh my god. How did I end up here?"

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