~Nicholas Redding Mansion~
The following day.
The servants woke up early and performed their chores in Nicholas' Redding's Mansion.
The rest of the inhabitants woke up at 7:00 and went into the living room, the women were enjoying the morning breeze in the garden, while the men were relaxing on the veranda, sipping their coffee, discussing South Pond Town's rapid progress in the recent years.
At 8:00 in the morning, the servant announced that breakfast is ready.
They all gathered in the dining room, eating breakfast together.
After eating, they went to the living room to further discuss the wedding preparation.
Nicholas addressed everyone. "Guys, Sarah and I will be the in-charge when it comes to the wedding garden decoration, the menu, including the priest who will officiate the nuptials and everything. I already have contacts for that important aspect of the wedding. Rest assured that everything will be taken care of by me and Sara even up to the smallest detail," he said with a smile.
"Thank you so much, Father!" Laura and Graven spoke with gladness.
"Alright, now that everything is already settled, we can finally put our mind at ease," Nicholas stated while looking at his friend Simon.
"Thank you so much, Amigo for making things happens!" Simon replied.
"Don't mention it. I understand that you are going to prepare for your journey back home, if you need anything, let me know," Nicholas said.
The visitors went back upstairs to the guest room and packed their things for the journey home.
At 9:30 in the morning.
The visitors bid goodbye to the Redding's Family and boarded their carriage.
"Bye, Amigo, see you soon!" Simon waved goodbye to his friend.
"Visit more often! Have a safe trip home, guys!" Nicholas told everyone.
The carriages and their escorts moved towards the guardhouse and finally exited the gate.
The guard waved goodbye to the visitors and finally closed the gate.
The journey back home has started.
Half an hour later, they were already leaving South Pond Town.
Once again, the travelers were able to enjoy the breathtaking view of the countryside. Lush vegetation, towering trees, and a vibrant display of green scenery can be seen on every side of the road.
Graven planted a loving kiss on Laura's head. "Did you enjoy our one-day stay in my father's mansion?" he asked.
Laura looked at her husband and smiled radiantly. "Very much!" she gushes.
"I'm glad that you enjoyed it," Graven said. "I hope that your family also enjoyed our visit to South Pond Town. We don't have much time to roam around the town 'coz it requires a longer time. But before or after the wedding, we might go back there for another visit and next time we will stay there for two to three days. Is that okay with you?"
Laura nodded her head. "Great! I'm looking forward to such a delightful journey. It's nice to see the outside again after staying inside the manor for a long time. It's a welcome change that my family and I have enjoyed thoroughly. We're looking forward to more outings like this! It's so liberating and refreshing!" she gushes happily.
"No problem, wife. We will arrange such outings like this, but we have to bring a dozen escorts to ensure our safety. I hope that's okay with you," he said.
Laura smiled. "I don't mind, as long I can see the outside world more often!"
"Good! Let's make another journey to my family's house two weeks later for another visit and see the progress of the wedding preparation. How about that?" he asked.
"Sure! I would love to visit your father's mansion again. Sarah is a very nice woman, and the kids are amazing! I like Sarah! She and Cooper are a perfect match!" she observed.
"Yeah, they are!" Graven agreed.
Meanwhile, in the other carriage.
Sofia was chattering like a bee together with her mother, discussing the Redding's mansion and the impending wedding. Simon and Terros directed their gaze at the window, admiring the panoramic view outside.
Terros looks like he was enjoying the view outside. Graven had specifically put him in this carriage to safeguard his in-laws just in case they will encounter danger along the highway. He will automatically teleport these people back to the manor in just a matter of seconds. They already talked about this possibility before they proceed on their journey. They all know what to do just in case something bad happened along the way.
He wished that no such thing would occur during their trip back home because these people are enjoying seeing the outside world again, after being holed up in the house for so long the scenario outside feels like heaven to them.
Besides enjoying the scenery outside, he was also looking for any signs of dangers ahead, ready to act quickly if something comes up.
Two and half hours later, the travelers finally reached home safely to Graven and Terros' huge relief.
Their journey went well.
~~~0~~~
Two days later.
Rebecca was back in Corbin's manor. Her two-day stay in Corbin's family home went well. She seldom interacted with her father-in-law except only during meal times and a few occasional greetings to each other.
Her hatred for Zalvo lessened with each passing day since she already know that he will pass away soon! What's the point of hating someone when she already knows that he won't last a year in this world?
Well, life indeed is full of surprises!
She no longer has to worry about revenge 'coz time will take care of that for her. She only has one desire now and that is to try her best to make her marriage with Corbin harmonious and a successful one. She's looking forward to delivering healthy babies into this world and becoming a good mother to them, and of course, being a good wife to her husband.
After she finished her musings...
She picked up her floral embroidered shawl and wrapped it around her shoulder. She needs to go somewhere and deliver the good news!
She exited the bedroom and went downstairs to find Ebony.
She found the woman in the living room sitting on the couch beside Grandma Sitas.
"Ebony, I will go to Laura's place for a few minutes. I'll return quickly," Rebecca said.
"And what if Lord Corbin suddenly come and found you gone? What I'm going to tell him?" Ebony asked.
"Tell him the truth that I went to Laura's place for a quick visit and I'll return right away," Rebecca answered.
"Okay, no problem. Take care of yourself," Ebony said.
Rebecca nods her head and returned to her room upstairs to get something.
A few minutes later, she vanished from the room and landed in the living room of Graven's manor.
That was also the time the couple descended the stairs about to go to the garden for Laura's afternoon exercise.
Rebecca smiled at the couple. "Hello, guys! Good afternoon!" she conveyed her greetings.
Laura smiled at Rebecca. "Good afternoon! How are you?" she asked.
Rebecca looked at the couple wearing a smile on her face. "I come here to bring you good news!" she said cheerfully.
"What good news?" Graven asked curiously.
"No need to send your men to kill my father-in-law! He will die sooner or later!" Rebecca blurted.
A frown appeared on Graven's face. "Huh? What do you mean?"
"How would he die and when-?" Laura asked directly in utter confusion.
"The three of us have a serious talk when I stayed in the vampire couple's manor for two days. Zalvo told Corbin and me that he will follow his wife to the netherworld after I give birth to the twins. He wants to see his grandchildren first before going away…" Rebecca explained.
"So…?" Graven said.
"What I'm trying to say is that no need to send your men to kill my father-in-law. He will leave this world after I deliver my babies," Rebecca repeated.
"I got it! But what if Zalvo will send men to abduct my wife?" Graven asked.
"That's not going to happen anymore!" Rebecca insisted.
"How can you be sure?" Graven asked.
"Because during one of our conversation, my husband asked his father if he was still sending men to hunt for Laura's whereabouts, but Zalvo replied that no need because his wife is already gone from this world and they can't find their grandfather's soul, so what's the point of finding Laura? He told us that after Sylvia failed to return to her mortal body, he already instructed his men to stop finding Laura because it's already a useless endeavor," Rebecca concluded her narration.
The couple looked at each other.
"That's too good to be true!" Laura said excitedly.
"Indeed, it's a good news! Only if it's true!" Graven said, still in doubt.
Rebecca released a deep sigh. It's hard to convince her friends that Zalvo was telling the truth. She can't blame them though. "I already told you the truth, guys. It's up to you to believe me or not," she said sadly.
"It's okay, Rebecca. Thank you very much for telling us all these things. But be careful though, your husband might find out that you are supplying us information on regular basis and he might get mad at you," Graven warned her.
Rebecca sighed deeply. "I know, I'm just trying to stay in the middle and negotiate peace between the two parties so that war and chaos can be prevented. My husband said that as long your men don't attack the property and its residents they won't retaliate. So as long both parties stay away from each other, future conflict can be prevented, so I'm trying my best to iron things out. I hope my efforts are not wasted," she said earnestly.
Graven cleared his throat. "As long your husband's family won't attempt to abduct my wife again, then all is well between us. I can live with that and I'm willing to forget previous grudges for your sake and the twins as long peace can be attained by both parties. There are so many things to enjoy in this world other than starting a war and sowing enmity towards each other, tell your husband about that! As long they respect peace then all is good!" he said.
"Okay, I'll tell my husband about your demands," Rebecca said, feeling relieved at last. She stood up. "I'm going home now. I'll visit again if I have something new to report," she said.
"Thank you, Rebecca!" Laura said.
Rebecca smiled, she went to Laura's side and gave her a quick hug. "Peace for our children is more important than anything else. Gotta go!" she said.
Rebecca vanished from the living room in the blink of an eye.
The couple looked at each other, they both sighed deeply.
Should they believe in what Zalvo has said to Rebecca? Or not?
But if there's one thing that Graven has learned from his recent ordeals, is that he can't afford to let his guard down, and they must be alert at all times.