Chapter 30: Chapter 30

"Since there is nothing so well worth having as friends, never lose a chance to make them."

-Francesco Guicciardini-

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Clara had previously received Renee's address and she had to check twice because her house was not like what she had expected. It was relatively large, that was for sure, but the design itself looked like something that came out of fairy tale. From the front one could see two fountains with pouring mermaid statue in the middle, the front garden had a few sculpted trees shaped in animals such as giraffe and bears.

On the right side of the yard there was a half round fish pond with artificial waterfall in stones, and inside the pond was The house is in the middle of a garden. It was unbelievable. She wondered if she was still in Paris. It just looked like a completely different place. The house itself was located a little bit further away from the city area which might explain why there was even such a space.

To enter the place, she had to pass through a black gate in the front part which was guided by two securities. Clara exited the Taxi in front of the gate and she was stopped by the security guards, she was asked to state her business, which ended with her having to explain her intention there, which was through direct invitation. One of the security guard confirmed it to Renee through the phone and right when it was confirmed she was allowed inside the house.

Renee had been waiting for her in front door, she gave Clara a big hug and held her hand in a cheery manner as she dragged her inside. Clara had no idea if she was actually super bright like that or if she was just glad to see her. Whatever the reason might be, she could not help but smile back at her. The energy she had was simply contagious. Moreover, she was bewildered by the exotic interior design she had developed in her house.

The inside of it was exactly like what Clara had predicted from the outside, there were a lot of European styled carvings on the floor and ceilings, there were even paintings on the ceiling itself. Renaissance styled statues. Renee noticed Clara's particular interest in the interior design of the house.

"This house was built around five hundred years ago. As you can see a few part here are left to their original state. My father bought this house a few years ago when he found out they wanted to demolish it to build a new building. I am glad he did, isn't this place a real beauty?" Clara could not agree more with that. The atmosphere and vibe it had reminded her of her home in Bordeaux.

Though it did not possess as much artistic value as Renee's house, the vibe it gave was similar, a lot of the things there were still made out of wood, and it had a faint woody scent in the air, just like her home.

"Unfortunately my parents passed away a year after we moved here, car crash. None of them survived, it was a tragic day for us." Renee continued.

"I'm so sorry." She sympathized. Clara thought the conversation might be a bit too heavy for her but much to her surprise, Renee did not look sad at all. Her face remained flat as she stared forward to their direction, well, perhaps she had moved on. Clara would be able to know exactly how that felt, she lost her mother a long time ago, but it must have been worse for Renee as she lost both parents at the same time, at least Clara still had her father.

Before Renee could say anything there was a creaking sound coming from the stairs, the two turned their head. Clara saw another man that resembled a male version of Renee, but he looked a bit... odd. His fiery ginger hair was grown to his shoulder, his eyes were the same greenish blue eyes as Renee, yet his stares were cold and unwelcoming, his thin lips were kept shut, as he pressed them together roughly, it was obvious that he was not pleased with Clara's presence at all.

"Hello."  Clara greeted him, but did not seem to respond well as he went back upstairs.  Clara was left confused. She had wondered if she had done something wrong.

"That's my twin brother Rainier, he has some social and behavioral issues, please, don't mind him." Renee said calmly before grabbing Clara's hand and brought her away from where they were standing. At the first glance Clara could see the two were very different despite being twins. Renee was so kind and friendly, she had an air of a lady around her. Calm, composed, and well mannered, while Rainier on the other hand looked like he came from a rough place in life. As if they were raised by two different families.

Renee headed to the kitchen to make some tea, and Clara was left alone in the living room, when she heard someone asking in a rude demeanor.

"What are you doing here?" It was Rainier, he was glaring at her, his eyes radiated anger. The man had his back slightly slouched, he was as pale as a ghost, it seemed he had not been under the sun for some time, he was quite skinny as well, but not to the point where his bone was showing.

Of course, they would never allow a member of the family to starve. Clara thought he might be a bit crazy. She held firm to the armchair and pushed her back slightly, pressing the back cushion. It was not her intention, but she felt uncomfortable with Rainier standing there in the stairs with his arms grabbing the stair handle tightly.

"Your sister invited me over." Clara forced a smile, she tried to hide the fear which was visible in her eyes. He was silent for a moment before he opened up his mouth to speak. At first it sounded like a murmur but it got clearer as he repeated it once more.

"I don't like you, get out of here." His tone was low and dangerous, she could not tell if he was being serious or not, or if he had anger issues.

"Get out of here!" He half shouted, it was then when Renee entered the living room and put down the tray on the table hastily. She quickly ran toward Rainier and gave him a quick slap on the face. It surprised Clara who witnessed everything happening so fast. Renee called one of the maid to bring Rainier back to his room and handed over a bottle of prescribed medication to her for him to take later on. The maid did not even dare to touch him, he walked upstairs on his own, ignoring the red mark on his cheek.

When he was already out of sight, Renee approached Clara and took her hand to check if she was okay. Bringing Clara to her house with Rainier inside was really a bad idea. Renee did not expect her brother to act like that.  Everyone in her family knew Rainier was slightly disturbed, hence why he never showered up on family occasions, but what a nerve he had, he dared to shout to Clara who he barely knew.

"I am so sorry! I did not expect that to happen." Clara tried to collect herself, that was a real shock for her. Well, second most shocking thing she have ever seen.

"Why did you hit him?" Clara asked Renee and for a brief second, she could see coldness in Renee's eyes, but it was quickly replaced with a small smile.

"Let's just forget about him. You've come all the way here. You should at least see the best part of the house." She brought Clara to the other side of the house, where there was a brown door leading to the back garden.

When she thought the front yard of the house was beautiful she underestimated the beauty of the actual garden. After the patio there was a rather large piece of land filled with plants of all sort, each of them were arranged beautifully, complimenting each other, and she did not know there was such a piece of land available in Paris.

The best part which made the whole place looked like a garden from old European stories, The Secret Garden, was the open building in the middle of it, it was painted a pale beige shade with brown and warm ivory accent, there were hanging plants on the outer ceiling, one for each section which was divided by six pillars. There was a round table in the middle of it with three chairs surrounding.

The garden itself was shaped almost similar to a maze, with bushes shaped like walls in random pattern, the maze pattern started right behind the middle building. The scent of fresh floral was prominent in the air, perhaps it was blooming seasons. Clara could see butterflies fluttering around, resting themselves above the flower with their wings wide open. It was a delightful sight to behold.

There was also two fountains in there, and another small pond filled with water hyacinth covering the surface. From afar you could see a grog jumping inside the pond. Instead of a koi or any other pond fish, there were two slider turtles inside, one of them was basking on the layered flat rock in the middle of the pond.

Clara and Renee finally had time to enjoy some tea after what happened. The tea Renee previously made had gone cold so she asked a maid to make another one. It was such a shame on her part as she had wanted to give Clara the tea she put together herself.

"Clara, tell me more about yourself." She enthusiastically gleamed as she rested her elbow on the table, clasping her hand together.