38 Goodnight!

Laura was about to doze off when she heard a soft knocking on the door. She rose from the bed and opened the door.

Standing outside the door was a smiling servant girl. She has the same age as Laura.

"Hello Miss Laura, my name is Neeza, I'm chosen by Sir Nicholas to serve you. I'll be your personal maid starting today," she said.

Laura smiled, liking the bubbly demeanor of the girl standing in front of her. "Nice meeting you, Neeza!" she said.

"Sir Nicholas wants your presence in the dining room," Neeza said.

"How about my father?" Laura asked.

"Sir Simon is already in the dining room together with Sir Nicholas," answered Neeza.

"Okay, let's go," Laura said and exited the bedroom closing the door behind her.

The girls walked towards the stairs, they descended and proceed to the location of the dining room.

Neeze smiled at Laura. "Please enter the dining room and enjoy your meal, Miss," she said.

Laura nods her head and enters the room.

The dining room was equipped with an oval table and twelve chairs surrounding it. A nice chandelier was hanging on the ceiling, lighting the whole room.

She saw her father and father-in-law sitting beside each other. She lowered herself on the chair across the table, facing the two men.

Nicholas looked at Laura. "I apologize if my son Cooper is not around to welcome you, dear. He has some business to attend to in the next town. He will be back anytime soon," he said apologetically.

Laura smiled at the gentle old man. "No need to apologize, Father. I understand," she said, feeling relieved and grateful that she won't be able to meet her future husband very soon, that would give her enough time to get acquainted with her surroundings and get to know the people and the servants living in this huge mansion.

"Okay, let's eat!" Nicholas said, smiling politely at his visitors.

They ate dinner in silence.

A few minutes later.

Simon looked at his friend. "Is your elder son not here today?" he asked out of curiosity. He was expecting the other son to join them at dinner.

Nicholas nodded his head. "Yes, he's not here today. He already moved out. He's no longer living with Cooper and me in this house. He had his place. But he visits me here more often. He was here last week. I have already informed him about you and Laura since last month. He was looking forward to meeting his sister-in-law. I will send him a message tomorrow so that he can drop a visit here to meet the newest addition to our family," he said, looking at Laura with a smile on his face.

"Okay," Simon said.

They resumed eating while occasionally discussing family and business matters.

Laura was silent the whole time, just listening to the old folks' conversation while enjoying the delicious food in front of her. The good thing about her body and metabolism, she can eat as many foods as she wants without getting fat.

One hour later.

They finished eating their meals.

"Let's go to the living room... or in the veranda and breath some fresh air while our stomach digested the food that we had ingested during dinner..." Nicholas suggested to his visitors.

"Okay, after you, amigo," Simon replied.

Nicholas took his visitors to the veranda. They lowered themselves on the sofa and enjoyed the gentle breeze of the wind.

The two old folks continue discussing their businesses, while Laura gazed at the beautiful fountain nearby. She looked heavenward and stared at the full moon above - accompanied by the multitude of stars flickering in the sky.

'The moon is simply beautiful and breathtaking tonight!' she told herself. Her thoughts carried her to Luke. It would be amazing if she can watch the beautiful moon and stars while being imprisoned in Luke's arms. Oh, how she misses him so!

Where is Luke right now? Was he thinking of her?

Just thinking about him makes her heart bleed with deep longing. She refused Luke's offer of marriage because she was afraid that the vampires will know about it, and they will get mad. They will surely kill Luke and his family. She doesn't want that to happen to him.

She could not continue to love him, enjoy a few days of happiness beside him, only to lose him afterward. That would be foolish on her part. She would only be thinking of her happiness for a short time, but stupidly put Luke's life in the line in the name of love.

Her affection and love for him are not strong enough to see him dead one day. She wished him well.

Her lips released a soft sigh. She should stop thinking about him, now that she's already here in her future husband's home. She bit her lower lip, feeling guilty. Cooper might own her body, but her heart always belongs to Luke. He is one guy she could never have in this lifetime.

"I want you to stay here with us for one week, amigo," Nicholas told Simon. "This will give us enough time to discuss the wedding details," he said.

Simon nodded his head. "Okay, no problem, amigo!" he replied, wearing a pleasant smile on his face.

Laura looked at the swing nearby. She glanced at Nicholas. "Father, can I used the swing?" he asked.

"Yes, you can! Go ahead," Nicholas replied.

Laura walked towards the swing and sat on the metal seat, which is suspended by chains. She swings back and forth and enjoyed the experience. She raised her head and looked at the roof of the mansion.

OMG! She saw a floating figure up on the roof of the mansion! It's a figure of a man wearing a hooded cloak. Dang! He was staring at her!

Laura froze!

Her eyes widened in shock.

Oh, no! Is that a vampire up there? What if that figure hovering in the air was her supposed to be vampire husband looking for her? And if indeed he was, then he finally found her!

"This is not good!" she told herself.

She musters the courage to stand up and left the swing going to her father's location to inform him of what she saw on the roof of the mansion.

When she saw her father, he was sitting alone on the sofa. "Father, where is Sir Nicholas?" she asked.

"He went inside the house to use the bathroom. Why?" Simon asked, alarmed at his daughter's frightened face. "What's wrong?"

"Father, come with me to the swing! I saw a figure wearing a hooded cloak floating on the roof of the mansion!" she said.

Simon rose to his feet in a hurry, they walked towards the swing.

The father and daughter duo raised their heads, looking above the roof.

Simon's brows furrowed. "Where is the figure you are talking about-? I saw nothing..." he said.

Laura blinked twice, indeed, the figure was gone! But that would be impossible!

Simon looked at his daughter worriedly. "Stop thinking about those vampires, Laura! You are just imagining things!" he said. "Let's go back inside the house now and retire for the night," he said.

Laura followed her father inside the house, feeling confused.

They meet Nicholas in the living room.

"Guys, if you want to rest in your rooms, you can do so. I still need to do something in my study room," Nicholas said.

"Okay, amigo. Laura wants to rest now, and I'm also feeling sleepy," Simon said.

"Goodnight," Nicholas told them.

"Goodnight, amigo!" Simon replied.

"Goodnight, Father!" Laura responded.

The three of them climbed the stairs and went their separate ways to retire for the night.