Chapter 42

The Romano Villa wasn’t as intimidating as it seemed before. When I was in Venice previously, it felt scary, like I was a fish out of water. The landscape was reminiscent of an oil painting. Something that I’d never think to see in person.

I could even appreciate the grand architecture of the mansion itself. It was absolutely beautiful.

But something was missing.

I hadn’t seen much of Rowan since we landed a few days ago. Don’t get me wrong, Lorenzo was doing a great job showing us around, but I guess I was under the impression that Rowan would be the one to take me around.

I know that he had this “Ascension,” coming up. I still had no idea what that meant, but it sounded ominous as h*ll. Even on the flight here, Rowan was busy making phone calls and handling paperwork while the staff waited on him.

Unlike Claude, who seemed to gluttonously accept everything offered to him like life was one big party, Rowan immediately seemed much older.