I hear him say, "Fine, come back soon," as he is walking away from me.

Do you fancy having a drink of anything?" I approach him after he continues to encourage me to do so. As soon as he opens the door, my eyes are drawn to the mostly gray and white color scheme within the room. The room is obscured by the heavy curtains that cover the window frames, which makes it gloomy. The fireplace, which was hidden away in one of the room's corners, was the only source of heat in the space.

The majority of the space in the center of the room was taken up by...