Nighttime, at the base of the mountain.

Inside the wooden house, the old woman with white hair was staring at the specific candle that has been dead for seven days. ​​

She can't look at it without tearing up, her heart was breaking into pieces. She was supposed to take the candle out and separate it from the rest because it's already a dead candle... but she can't bring herself to do it.

After a few minutes of staring at the candle, suddenly a miracle happened!

The candle starts to flicker and come to life again, the flame is tiny... but... it gives her a positive sign that the owner of the candle was fighting hard to come back to the land of the living!

She will continue monitoring the candle!

Hopefully... it will continue to grow stronger every day.

The small miracle that she witnessed tonight is more than enough to raise her hope high.

>>

At Luke's mansion.

It was already 8:00 in the evening. Grandma, the healer advised her to sleep early every night.

Laura was now preparing to sleep, she lies down in the bed caressing her tummy lovingly.

She's looking forward to seeing her baby after nine months of pregnancy! Suddenly her depressing world became a bed of roses due to the coming of her baby.

She's excited to be united with her husband, soon!

She closed her eyes ready to sleep, still wearing a bright smile on her face.

Twenty minutes later, she was already snoring softly.

Meanwhile...

Outside the house, Luke's carriage was fast approaching the gate of the mansion.

The guard opened the iron gate and the carriage entered.

A few minutes later, Luke exited the carriage, he was looking forward to seeing Laura, he missed her so much!

He entered the entrance of the mansion in big stride about to climb the stairs when he saw Adela in the living room.

"Good evening, my lord!" Adela greeted him.

Luke nods his head in reply to the maid's greetings. "Where is your Lady Laura?" he asked.

"She is in her room, I think she's already sleeping at this moment," Adela replied.

"Sleeping early? I'm going to her room," he said.

"My lord...wait... I have something important to tell you!" Adela said.

"What is it? say it now!" Luke said.

"Lady Laura has been ill since yesterday, she keeps vomiting," she explained.

"Did you send for the healer to check her condition?" he asked.

"Yes, I did, my lord..." answered Adela.

"And what the healer said?" he asked worriedly.

"The healer said that Lady Laura is not sick... she is pregnant!" Adela said.

Luke's eyes widened in shock. What the hell!?

He groaned in dismay and anger, they haven't had sex yet and she's pregnant already!?

He released a deep sigh and climbs the stairs heading straight towards his bedroom.

Inside his room.

Luke raked his fingers through his hair in anger and frustration.

Damn! His brother got his beloved woman pregnant!

Aargh! He kicked the chair hard... it flew into the wall and crashed on the floor with a heavy thud.

He finished his rounds of checking the plantations and his other business in other towns and went home looking forward to going home to see his beloved woman, only to be greeted with the bad news that she was pregnant with his brother's child!

She was pregnant with her husband's child!

And the baby inside her womb is his niece or nephew!

No! He can't accept this! He won't allow it!

This can't be! Laura should be pregnant with his child not with his brother's baby!

He kicked another chair hard, it hit the wall and fell to the floor.

Dammit! He was furious, he wants to burn the whole mansion down, his anger is now reaching the boiling point!

He disappeared from his room in split seconds and materialized inside Laura's room.

He looked at his beloved woman lying in the bed.

She was tucked comfortably beneath the blanket. Her face looks serene and beautiful, she wore a smile on her lips. She must be happy after learning that she's pregnant with her husband's child!

He took a deep breath, clenching his teeth in anger.

Then an idea popped up in his mind.

There are many ways how to abort the baby in her womb without informing her, make it accidental like the fetus is weak, or make her suffer a miscarriage due to her carelessness... something like that.

What a brilliant idea!

He grinned devilishly while staring at her pretty face.

'My dear Laura, I will let you enjoy your baby for a few days. Later, you will cry a river after you lose your little angel in your tummy. I will never allow you to give birth to my brother's son. You will only give birth to my son!' he murmured inwardly.

He looked at her pretty face one last time before she vanished from the room.

>>

The following day.

Laura woke up early at 7:00 in the morning. She went to the bathroom and exited a few minutes later. She went to the window and looked at the garden below, she placed her hands on her abdomen, lovingly caressing her small baby bump.

Half an hour later.

Adela entered the room carrying a tray of food. "Good morning, my lady!" she greeted her cheerfully.

"Good morning, Adela! Does the Lord returned home already?" Laura asked.

"Yes, he arrived last night," Adela replied.

Laura's face showed a mixture of apprehension and dread. "After I eat my breakfast, please tell the Lord that I want to talk to him regarding my pregnancy," she said.

"Yes, I will, my lady. Enjoy your meal," Adela replied and exited the room.

Laura took her time eating her meal which consisted of hard-boiled egg, rice, vegetable stew, and ginger tea.

One hour later, she finished devouring her meal without vomiting, the ginger tea is indeed effective in preventing her from vomiting.

Adela returned to the room to take away the dishes.

Laura looked at her. "Did you tell the Lord about my request? Did he already know that I am pregnant?" she asked.

"Yes, my lady. He will come to your room anytime soon," Adela replied.

"Okay, thank you," Laura said.

"You're welcome, my lady," Adela replied and left the room.

Two hours later.

Luke entered the room through the door.

Laura was sitting on the bed when he entered the door. She met his gaze bravely. He already knows her pregnancy yet she can't see an ounce of anger in his eyes. Maybe, he already accepted her condition reluctantly.

"The servant told me that you want to talk to me," Luke said.

"Yes. You already know that I'm pregnant with your brother's child." She paused for a few seconds to catch her breath. "So... when are you going to return me to my husband?" she asked.

Luke smirked. "Who says that if you get pregnant with my brother's child I will set you free?" he said coldly.

Laura's hope was crushed instantly.

Damn! He's not bothered by her pregnancy at all.

"You're still determined to keep me in your side even if I'm already pregnant with my husband's child? Is that what you mean?" she asked in disbelief. Last night before she falls asleep, she was confident that Luke will finally release her after learning of her pregnancy. What is the use of keeping a woman who is pregnant with another man's child? She thought that the pregnancy will end his obsession with her.

But today after seeing Luke's unyielding face as hard as granite she was wrong with her assumption!

"Yes... so stop dreaming that I'm going to set you free! You're not going anywhere! You will stay by my side and you will give birth inside my house!" he concluded.

"B-but... I can't stay here! You need to bring me back to my husband! Your brother needs to know that I'm carrying his child!" she demanded fiercely. She's desperate to convince him to set her free.

"No way, I will never inform him! Why should I?" Luke glared at her. "That is my final decision! End of discussion!" he said and left the room without saying goodbye.

Fresh tears emerged in Laura's eyes.

She began sobbing hard embracing her pillow. Her happiness yesterday evaporated into thin air today!

Why is it hard for Luke to accept that they can never be together again!

Why!?

Why he was making her life difficult and complicated?

She continues weeping... her heart was breaking inside. She doesn't want to raise her child in this environment! She doesn't want to grow her child in captivity, she felt like she is a prisoner inside this room.

She hated Luke for making her life difficult! She's trying to understand his hatred and jealousy towards her and Graven, but now that she's pregnant, he's getting too far!

How can she continue living like this?

Pregnant with another man's child and living in another man's house? Her situation is making her crazy!

Within the next few minutes, she continues lamenting and whining about her difficult situation... when she suddenly remembered what the healer told her about... that if she is emotionally stressed, the baby will be affected inside her womb.

No! She can't let her situation affect her baby! She must be emotionally strong for the two of them!

She immediately wiped the tears from her eyes with her hand.

There is no use crying when it comes to Luke's stubbornness!

He will never listen to reason!

She will just wait for the time that her husband Graven will come to rescue her.

For now, she must strive to be physically, emotionally, and mentally strong for her baby's well-being.