They drove for a while towards the less crowded areas of the city, and then diverted to a route that passed by a lake.
"Wow, it's beautiful. I'm sure it would look even better at sunrise, or sunset." She said.
"I knew you'd prefer to live in a more quiet area instead of living right in the city. We will always drive by here when we leave our property, so you can see as many sunrises and sunsets as you please."
A few minutes later, they drove up to a massive gate.
"Umm… Alrik, I think our driver may have taken a wrong turn. This looks like private property." She said warily as she noticed the armed guards at the gate.
One of them approached the car, and Alrik rolled down the window.
"Identify yourself." The guard spoke as a light was shone on their faces.
His picture and Eliza's had already been sent ahead of time to the guard teams, but for the sake of security, he still needed the code.
"Two birds returning to the nest." Alrik spoke, and Eliza stared at him in confusion.
"And where are the eggs?" The guards asked.
"Never in one basket. But in a lake that shines."
"Welcome home Sir, Ma'am." The guard said finally, and waved for the car to be allowed to pass through.
"Alrik, oh my god. What was that? Seems so clandestine. Like something you'd watch in a spy movie." She said and he just chuckled.
They drove for a few more minutes before the mansion came into view. It was massive. Way bigger than the main house in her family's compound.
"Alrik! What are we doing here?" She gasped as he held the door for her to step out.
"This is our new home."
"But how? Places like these cost a fortune." She said..
"It's not as expensive as you might think. Remodelling and security renovations probably cost more all together than the actual cost of the house. Right now, this property is the safest place in the entire nation, not just in the kingdom of Velmorra.
"Wow. Are you secretly a drug lord?" She asked and he laughed as he led her inside.
"No I'm not. But we do have to talk. I have some explaining to do. I can't tell you everything now because I'm preparing a surprise for you, but I can at least start at the very beginning."
"You mean you have another surprise? I don't think I can take any more of those. You came back to me, gave me so much shares in the company, now you bought this big house as our home. What more could I possibly need?" She smiled and he wrapped his arms around her waist while they stood in the hallway.
"My real name isn't Alrik Gren. It's Alrik Zerdon."
She frowned as he said that, silent for several seconds before speaking again.
"Don't tell me you mean Zerdon, as in the top military family in the nation? Whose family company was also number one in the nation for years until the Crestview Group surpassed them and became number one?" She asked incredulously and he nodded.
"We might need to sit for these next parts so I can explain properly." He said as he led her inside the house.
The blueprints had been sent to his phone, so he easily located the living room.
"This sofa is so soft." She hummed as she sat, and one of the house staff walked in. She looked to be in her fifties or sixties, with a grandmotherly vibe around her
"Welcome Ma'am, Welcome Sir. I am Amaya, the head housekeeper and staff manager. Are you ready for introductions to the rest of the staff?" She asked politely with her hands behind her back.
"Not yet. There will be time for that later. Just get my wife something to drink, and maybe some pastries." He said to Amaya and then turned to face Eliza.
"What would you like darling? Any cuisine you'd like, anything you want baked, it can be provided. If they don't have ingredients for what you want, it can be easily gotten. Drinks as well. Anything not currently available can be easily ordered."
"Wow, okay. Amaya, is there anything already prepared?" Eliza asked and Amaya nodded.
"The baker made some cupcakes, and cookies. The chef is currently making preparations for a two course meal for lunch, and a three course meal for dinner. But if you want food delivered now, he can set that aside and quickly prepare what you need."
"Just get me pineapple juice, and some cookies. Enough for the both of us."
"Okay Ma'am. What type of cookies would you prefer? The options currently available are chocolate chip, peanut butter, snickerdoodle, and plain cookies." Amaya said.
"Snickerdoodle and chocolate chip for me. Which would you prefer, Alrik?"
"Same as what she's having, but with grape juice." He said and Amaya nodded.
"I will serve you in a few minutes. Would you prefer to eat here, or in the snack room?" She asked, and Eliza faced Alrik.
"Snack room? Doesn't she mean dining room?"
"Nope. There's a snack room for times like these. Snacking and conversation. The dining rooms are more formal."
"Rooms, plural? How many dining rooms could we possibly need?"
He just chuckled.
"The mansion has seven dining rooms. The smallest can only host the both of us, the next hosts a group of five, next hosts twenty, then fifty, then 200, then 500, then the grand banquet hall that can host up to 5000 and can be converted to a dining room as seating is required. We'll have time for a tour when we're done talking, or if you're too tired, we'll have the tour tomorrow."
"Wow. I guess we'll use the snack room then."
While they waited, he began to explain.
"I had a fiancee once, and for her sake I went to join the war camp to serve in her brother's place."
"Sorry to interrupt at the very beginning, but you're a military family. Shouldn't you already have joined war camp by then?" She asked and he shook his head.
"Because of my family's high ranking status, Zerdon's usually don't join the war camp and fight from the bottom ranks. Usually, a Zerdon name comes with an immediate command position of some sort. I started at the very bottom. It didn't matter to me because I assumed I was doing it for love, instead, it was a plot to get me out of the way so she could marry my cousin."
Eliza gasped. "I hope I don't cross paths with this bitch. I feel like clawing her eyes out, but I don't think she's worth going to jail for."
"I was framed for a crime I didn't commit and discharged, branded a traitor. Then I was disowned when I got back home, and that's when I took the surname Gren to hide among the masses and escape my family. But they found me. They're the ones who kidnapped me on our wedding night and forced me to fight by threatening your life."
"And I thought I had the worst family. Yours might actually be more despicable." She shook her head in disgust.
"I was almost assassinated by an ambush and that's how I became retarded. As for how I ended up on the streets where you found me, I have no idea. But I started Crestview while in warcamp the first time. By the time we got married, I was going to reveal the truth to you, but I was kidnapped before I could. The rest is history."
"Wait, wait, wait!!! You're the CEO of Crestview Group?"