Graven and Laura were having dinner in the dining room.

"How's the servant? Are they serving you well?" Graven asked his wife. He wants her to be well-taken care of by the servants, especially that she was carrying their first child. ​​

Laura nodded her head. "Yes, they are obedient and respectful to me. So far, I have no problem with them," she answered.

"That's good! How about the cook? Is she serving delicious and nutritious dishes to you?" he asked again.

"Yes, the cook is superb! She knows how to cook my favorite dishes," Laura replied.

"How about the money? Do you need more? I can give you more," he offered generously.

Laura shook her head. "No need for money, you have given me enough. I still have lots of them in stashed in my drawer securely," she replied.

"Good! You can instruct the servants to buy anything you want but don't leave this house because my brother Luke might spot you outside. We don't want another repeat of the first time he abducted you, okay?" Graven reminded her.

"Yes! I won't leave the house, I'll only stay in the garden in the backyard," Laura responded.

"It's for your good and the safety of our baby in your tummy," Graven said.

Laura sighed. "I know..." she said. The truth is, she doesn't like to be separated from her husband, but she also knows the danger involved. If Luke will know of her whereabouts after following his brother then the history will repeat. And she doesn't want that to happen ever again!

Graven noticed his wife's silence. "Wife, are you okay?" he asked worriedly.

Laura looked at him and smiled. "Yeah. Let's finish eating! Then continue talking in our bedroom," she said.

"Okay," Graven agreed.

They resumed eating their meals in comfortable silence.

Half an hour later.

After they finished eating, they retired to the master's bedroom.

The couple cuddled lovingly in bed.

Laura was resting her head comfortably on her husband's arms while he was busy caressing her tummy.

"What do you think is the gender of our baby? Boy or girl?" he asked.

"Take a guess!" Laura said.

Graven looked at the ceiling and smiled, remembering the old man's guess. "I think it's a boy!" he stated.

Laura giggled. "I think it's a girl!"

The couple looked at each other and smiled.

"It doesn't matter if it's a boy or a girl, as long the baby is growing healthy and born alive then I'm already satisfied," Graven said and gently planted a kiss on his wife's forehead.

"Me too!" Laura replied merrily.

"Your baby bump is growing bigger!" Graven observed.

"Yeah... I'm on my third month now," she spoke.

"Wow, six months to go and we will finally see our first child and hold him in our hands!" Graven said, his eyes sparkled with excitement.

"Soon!" Laura said happily.

Graven continues caressing his wife's baby bump affectionately. "Baby, can you hear me? Grandpa Terros is looking forward to seeing you! You will like him for sure!" he said softly.

"Speaking of your Grandpa, I haven't seen him before," Laura said.

"He's not my real Grandpa, just an old friend of mine who treated me like his own son," Graven explained.

"Ah, okay..."

"You will meet him soon. I'll bring him here so that he can erect an invisible barrier around this house to protect you from Luke and other intruders that are going to harm you while I'm away," he said.

Laura released a deep sighed. "Husband, I wish that you will no longer leave my side even for a minute!" she said in a fearful voice.

Graven breathed deeply. "I know your fears, wife. But I can't leave my duty and responsibility in South Pond Town. But don't worry, I will try to visit you here more often as long as I can," he said, feeling conflicted inside. How can he tell her about the cursed King and the black liquid lurking inside his body?

Laura saw the agony in Graven's face. "Husband, what's wrong? Are you having problems? What is it? You can tell me about it. I'll be your listening ears..." she offered.

Graven sighed. "I'm just thinking about my brother... how to make him stop following me?" he said in anguish.

"D-did he already starts following you?" she asked, alarmed.

"Yeah... he followed me starting from the headquarter and up to the forest at my friend Terros's place," he answered.

Laura's eyes widened in fear. "OMG! You mean to say... he's out there outside the house right now?" she asked, panicking.

"Shh... wife... please calm down... Luke can't follow me here. The reason why I went to Terros place first is that the old man erected an invisible shield around his place, and no one can enter that place, except me. And from there I teleported here. Therefore, right at this moment... my twin brother is still there in that place trying to find me in that forest," he explained quickly to erase her anxiety.

Huge relief washed over Laura after hearing her husband's explanation. "Thanks, God!" she finally said.

"Well, let's just stop talking about my brother since he upsets you," Graven said.

"Okay, let's talk about something else..." Laura agreed.

Graven looked at his wife and smiled brightly. "I have good news for you!" he said, beaming.

Laura noticed her husband's eyes shone with happiness. "What is it?" she asked eagerly.

"It's about Rebecca!" he told her.

Laura's eyes widened. "Tell me that she's back now! Bring Rebecca here! I wanna see her!" she squealed in delight.

"Well... she's indeed back... but not in my place. She sent a message in the bottle delivered by a butterfly, informing me that she escaped from the vampire couple's clutches and is currently in hiding in the place of her old friend Melinda. She told me that she is safe and alive, but she will keep her distance in the meantime to avoid the enemies tracking your whereabouts. She said that she will visit us when the right time comes and it's already safe for her to do so," he explained.

A feeling of sadness and gladness filled Laura's heart. She's sad because Rebecca has to suffer hardship because of her, but she was also happy that her friend was able to escape the vampire couple safely. Her life is always chaotic and surrounded by danger all the time, pursued by Luke and that vampire couple.

She's not liking her situation even a tiny bit. She's damn tired of hiding! After giving birth to her child, she will face her problem bravely and find a long-lasting solution to end her dilemma once and for all. "I'm glad that Rebecca is back safe and alive!" she finally said, very much pleased with the good news.

"Don't worry, if she will come to visit us I'll bring Rebecca here so that you can talk to each other," Graven said.

"Okay, I'm looking forward to that day to come!" Laura said excitedly.

The couple stayed awake until 8:00 and finally went to sleep at 9:00 in the evening.

Meanwhile...

Back in the forest.

Luke was doing a vigil in the forest. He made a bonfire to ward off the insects from coming close to him. He won't leave this place until he can detect his brother's scent coming out of the place. He knew that there's an invisible barrier protecting the old man's place and no one can enter it unless he will give his permission.

He already tried penetrating the barrier but all his attacks bounce back at him. His power is useless against the old man's formidable barrier!

Furious, he settled under the shade of the tree to rest for the night.

Unknown to him...

Terros was shaking his head, sighing, while looking at Graven's twin brother above the tree. Such a stubborn guy!

He had seen how Luke bombarded his invisible shield with fire and flames, but all the attack he throws at the barrier comes back to him in full force and he has to avoid getting hit by his weapon.

It's entertaining to look at.

Finally, the stubborn guy rested under the shade of the tree due to exhaustion.

Time to leave!

He disappeared from the area and went back to his place.

Luke was starting to doze off until he finally drifted into a deep slumber.

>>

The following day.

Graven and Laura have breakfast together.

After eating breakfast, they retired into the master's bedroom. Graven bid goodbye to his wife, telling her that he will come back later in the afternoon or at night.

Graven disappeared in front of Laura.

After her husband is gone, Laura went inside the bathroom to take a bath.

Meanwhile...

Back in the forest.

Terros was boiling six pieces of eggs for breakfast.

Twenty minutes later, he put the boiled egg along with a pinch of salt and put them in the bowl. Then he brought the breakfast to Luke outside the barrier.

Luke was still sleeping soundly when Terros put the bowl above the trunk of the tree, then he went back to his house.

Half an hour later.

Luke woke up and roamed his eyes at his surroundings. The blazing sun is already up in the sky.

He still can't detect his brother's scent around the area. Maybe the old man told him the truth? That his brother already left yesterday? Could be! But he refused to believe him!

Damn! He's barking on the wrong tree!

His eyes landed on the bowl. He's getting hungry!

He grabbed the egg, and ate them, then drink the water afterward.

Done eating, he finally decided to go back to his brother's headquarters, dying to confront him.