There was a continuous knocking on the door... the mysterious guy quickly transformed into a thin light and flew out of the window.
Laura stirred in her sleep.
Then her eyelids opened and saw the rose on the pillow!
Her brows knitted together. The last thing she remembered, the rose was on the dresser table, not in her bed. Then who put the rose in the pillow? Who else can come into her room unannounced other than Luke's doppelganger?
Damn that mysterious being!
How dare he come and go inside her room as if he owned her!
She must do something about his intrusion of her privacy! She looked at the mirror - it is still fully covered! Which means he can enter her room anytime...with or without the mirror? This is getting troublesome! She's getting scared of what he's capable of doing to her. She thought she succeeded in getting rid of him. Although, he never tried hurting her physically. Just that he already kissed her before and she was powerless to evade his advances because he has supernatural power and she was just a mere weak human being.
That mysterious guy always pry on her!
She has a feeling that he can follow her everywhere she goes even if there's a mirror or not inside her room! But how about the other room, they also have mirrors in there, which means as long there is a mirror nearby he can enter her room anytime!
The knocking resumed.
"Miss Laura, are you awake now?" It was Neeza knocking on the door.
"Yes, I am. Wait for a second..." Laura replied and went to the door and opened it. "What is it?" she asked rubbing her eyes.
"It's lunchtime, do you want to go down to the dining hall or I will just bring your food here?" Neeza offered.
"Please bring my food here," she replied.
"Okay, I'll take my leave now, anything else?" Neeza asked.
Laura smiled. "Nothing, just my food," she responded.
"Hmm, Sir Nicholas asked me if you're okay?" Neeza said.
"Please tell him, I'm feeling better and I'm taking his medicine. I think I can join them tonight for dinner," Laura said.
Neeza smiled. "That's good to hear, Miss. I wish you a speedy recovery. I'll go downstairs now and bring your food here," she said cheerfully.
The maid left the room.
Laura went to the bathroom to take care of the call of nature.
A few minutes later.
Neeza returned with the tray filled with food. She placed the dishes on the table and set aside the tray. "Enjoy your meal, Miss," she said.
"Thank you, Neeza," Laura replied with a smile.
Neeza sauntered towards the door and left the room.
Laura looked at the dishes appreciatively, delicious aroma filled her room. The grilled pork barbecue and chicken soup look appetizing! She picked up the spoon and fork and began putting dishes on the plate, she began eating with gusto.
She will take medicine after eating. Her headache seems to fade away. By dinner time she's well enough to face her father, Sir Nicholas, and Cooper.
She paused eating for a moment and stared at the window.
She wants to spend some quality time with her father tonight because he will be going home tomorrow afternoon. She will be left alone to her devices starting tomorrow.
She released a deep sigh and resumed eating.
Twenty-five minutes later.
She finished eating liking the food especially the chicken soup.
A few minutes later.
Neeza returned to the room bringing with her a flower vase filled with beautiful red roses. She picked up the red rose from the dresser table and put it in the vase. "You're not alone anymore. You now have a place to belong to," she said with a smile admiring her flower arrangement.
Laura was smiling while looking at the maid. "Thank you for the beautiful flower and the vase, Neeza," she said.
"My pleasure, Miss. I just love flowers especially red roses," Neeza responded. She looked at the empty dishes. "Wow, I'm glad you finished all the food!" she beamed.
"Please tell the cook, that her dishes always taste delicious, and I greatly admire her excellent cooking skill," Laura said.
Neeza smiled. "Yes, I will tell the cook of your high praises! She will be delighted that the young Miss loves her cooking," she said and began putting the dirty cutlery back into the tray. After she was done with her task, she left the room quietly.
After lunch, Laura resumed sleeping in bed. She was not in the mood to venture outside. But she had full intention to join the men during dinner time later, so, she has to look and feel better before dinner time.
She was about to close her eyes when she heard a soft knocking on the door. "Who is it?" she asked.
"Laura, it's me," Simon said.
Laura got up from the bed and walked towards the door and opened it. "Father..." she said.
She let her father enter the room.
Simon lowered himself on the chair. "How are you feeling now? Does your headache persist?" he inquired.
Laura smiled. "I'm feeling better now, Father. I will join you in the dining room tonight," she replied.
"That's good!" Simon said, feeling relieved. "I'll leave some money for your personal use later," he said. "By the way, I've changed my mind, instead of traveling in the afternoon tomorrow, I will start traveling after breakfast," he informed her.
"Okay, Father. Please give my love to mother and sister," Laura said, feeling sad.
"I will," Simon responded. "Anyways, let's talk about you and Cooper. How're things going on between you and Cooper?" he inquired.
Laura breathed deeply. What can she possibly say to her father? If she's going to tell him about what Cooper has done to her last night, what he's going to say to her? But then he will also discover that she made an unauthorized entry into Graven's house. These types of things will enrage her father. No, she can't saddle her father with so many problems now especially that he's going home. She wants him to travel with peace of mind.
"Father, don't worry about Cooper and me. We're both adults already. And we're getting to know each other better every day," comes her sensible reply.
"Is Cooper hard to love?" Simon asked earnestly.
Laura sighed. Her father asked a certain joke. If only he knows that Cooper is capable of bad things. But she can't let him know. She would like to laugh right now, but she dared not, or else her father will get mad at her for laughing at such a serious question. But she wanted to be honest with herself as well. "Well... he's a piece of hard work. But not entirely hopeless. Let's leave it at that, Father. After Cooper and I got married...let see what the future will bring to our union," she concluded.
Simon released a deep sigh and closed his eyes for a moment. "Daughter, no matter what happens... just behave yourself, okay? Don't give my friend a headache. We're already here and no signs of the vampires coming after you. I think we made a good decision. I'm extremely relieved, I'm sure they won't come after you anymore. I just wish the wedding will take place soon! Try to be a good partner to Cooper," he said.
Laura nodded her head. "Yes, Father," she replied.
Simon rose to his feet. "I'm leaving now. Don't forget to take your medicine!" he reminded her.
"Yes, Father," Laura responded. She watched as her father exited the room. She went to the door and locked it, afraid that Cooper will barge into her room uninvited.
After locking the door, she returned to bed and resumed sleeping.
A few hours later.
Before dinner time, Laura was already wide awake. Since the headache was gone, she took a bath and dressed nicely. She wore a long floral red dress that reached past her ankle. She let her hair hung loosely at her back. She's feeling much better now that her headache was gone.
She waited for Neeza to inform her that dinner is ready.
Fifteen minutes later.
Neeza appeared in the hallway and knocked on the door. "Miss, dinner is ready," she said.
Laura opened the door. "Okay, I'm going downstairs now," she replied.
"I have good news for you!" said Neeza.
"What is it?"
"Sir Graven just arrive a while ago, he will be joining dinner with you guys," Neeza said.
Laura's eyes widened.
"Oh!" a word of surprise escaped her mouth. She masked the wild erratic beating of her heart. Graven is home! Awesome, such a wonderful surprise. "Ah, Neeza, I'll go to the bathroom, I need to take care of a call of nature first, you go ahead, don't wait for me," she said.
"Okay, Miss," Neeza said and walked on the hallways going downstairs.
Laura closed the door and went to sit on the edge of the bed, trying to calm the wild beating of her heart.
A few minutes later.
Laura stood up, going to the door, ready to face Graven again.