Hard Choices

One hour later.

Rosa and Simon knocked at their daughter's door. "Laura, open the door! We need to talk!"

Laura rose from the bed, opened the door, and allowed her parents to enter her bedroom.

Simon released a deep sigh. "Daughter, I have a solid plan for you. I will marry you to the son of the most powerful family in South Pond Town. It's the only way to secure your future. I can't allow you to marry a vampire. I don't want our family to be associated with those monsters. I'm confident that after you marry Cooper, the vampire couple will no longer pursue you because you are already tainted," he said.

Laura's brows furrowed. "W-who is this Cooper, Father?" she asked, frowning.

"He was the son of my old acquaintance, a friend in that city. His name is Thomas. We used to do business together in the past. Last two months ago, we met again, and we talked about our children. He has two sons, and I have two daughters. He liked your photo and wanted his second son to marry you. His name is Cooper," Simon explained.

"B-but... Father... I can't marry someone I haven't met before!" Laura protested. But she realized how difficult her situation is nowadays, she can't be choosy. "Tell me more about this guy!" she demanded.

Simon sighed. He was sure that the moment her daughter will hear about Cooper's bad habits she will not marry him. But she has the right to know everything about the man she was going to marry. "Child, your future husband is chubby, lazy, and always frequented in brothels. He is a womanizer. His father thought that once he settles down with a good wife, he will change for the better. I'm sorry about this..." he apologized.

Laura's face contorted into a grimace. Sigh. Goodbye to her wish of marrying someone she loves. Right now, the important thing is her safety. She would rather marry a chubby human than a bloodsucker. She used to think that vampires were just folklore because she'd never seen one before. She never imagined that they are real creatures and still existing today! Worst, she was destined to marry one of their kind.

"Father, can I see Cooper's photo?" she asked.

"Sure, I'll get it from my study," Simon replied and left the room to get the photo.

Rosa hugged her daughter. "I'm sorry, daughter. If only there's another way to secure your safety, we will do it. But no matter where we go, I feared that those bloodsuckers will continue finding us. Only by marrying you to another guy, you will be spared. You just have to bear it, okay?" she said.

Laura nodded her head and sighed heavily. "I understand, Mother. No need to worry about my feelings. I will marry anyone, just not a vampire," she replied sadly. "But Mother, how about my sister Sofia? What's going to happen to her?" she asked worriedly.

"Your Father will pay the vampires money to free your sister," Rosa said.

"B-but Mother...I think vampires don't need money. They need a wife for their son!" she reminded her.

Rosa sighed. "Yeah. But we can only try this time..." she said in a sad tone.

"What I'm worried about is the possibility that they will kill my father and my sister when they returned here and discovered that I'm already gone! I'm afraid that they will get angry and will hurt Father again. I'm terrified of that possibility, Mother," Laura voiced out her concerns.

Tears shimmered in Rosa's eyes. "That is also my worry, daughter. But what can we do now?" she mumbled in desperation.

Laura breathed deeply.

A few minutes later.

Simon returned to the room, holding a photo in his right hand, he gave it to his daughter. "Here is the photo of your future husband," he said.

Laura accepted the photo and looked at it. She stared at the profile of the guy in the photo.

Rosa and Simon left the room quietly.

Her father is right, her future husband is chubby but not ugly.

Laura released a deep sigh. He will do fine, she told herself. She put the photo on the bedside table and stared at the ceiling, weighing her options.

A few minutes later, she left her room, wanting to talk to her father regarding their plan to leave their house. Before ten days is over, they should be gone by then, or else it will be hard for them to escape.

She found her brooding father in the study room. She sat on the chair, facing him. "Father, I'm sure the vampire couple stationed someone to watch over this house. They are not that stupid. If they'll see me leaving the house, they will get angry, and they might kill us!"

"You are right, daughter. I was thinking about that possibility. The best thing to do is to hide you in a chest or a coffin-like box so that we can get you out of the house undetected. That way, they can't see you leaving our house. I already sent one of our servants to bring the message to my friend in South Pond Town asking for his protection," he explained.

"How about you? and mother?" asked Laura.

"We can't be seen leaving together. The plan is to send you first inside a chest. You will be accompanied by one of the servants in a horse-drawn carriage going to South Pond Town. On the way there, my friend's servants will meet you to escort you to his home. Then after you successfully arrived there, your mother will come next..." explained Simon.

"How about you, Father?" Laura asked.

"Don't worry about me. I will be the next one to flee. But I have to be here when the vampires returned so that I can save your sister," Simon said.

Laura was frowning. "B-but...how are you going to do it, Father? You're no match with their powers. They're powerful beings. They can appear and disappear anytime! They can also levitate in the air. You're just an ordinary human being. You have no idea what else they can do to you. But based on what I have seen with my two eyes, I'm convinced that they're not the type of creatures that anyone wants to mess around with," she concluded.

Simon took a deep breath. He was reeling from the heavy burden that he was carrying on his shoulder right now. "You're right, daughter. I'm also scared, but there's no other way. We either ignore the existence of your sister and save ourselves or save her? But there's no guarantee that Sofia and I will stand a chance of surviving once the vampire couple knows that you already fled with your mother. What I'm going to do is...is ... suicide," he said sadly.

Tears shimmered in Laura's eyes. She felt terrified of what lay ahead. "What we're going to do now, Father?" she asked, feeling miserable. "I'm feeling guilty saving myself while you and my sister's life are hanging by a thread. It's not right!" she argued.

Simon was shaking his head. "No matter how I look at our situation at every angle, it's impossible not to have any casualty when all this finally comes to an end," he said in a foreboding tone.

Laura agreed. She can still remember how that vampire guy kicked his father without mercy. Those bloodsuckers won't hesitate to kill anyone that angers them. Sometimes, she thinks that it's better that she's dead and wasn't resurrected back to life. This way, her family won't undergo this extreme misery right now.

She looked at her father. "You shouldn't have allowed that vampire couple to resurrect me, Father. Is it worth it? Is my existence worth it?" she asked him.

Simon smiled fondly at his daughter. "Child, you give us so much happiness. I never regretted your existence. My only regret is that I made a deal with the vampires. But if I didn't do it, you're not here with us today. If only they're not vampires, I won't mind marrying you to their son. But as soon as I have known their identity, I know I can't allow you to marry a vampire, because they are not humans! They are monsters!" he said vehemently.

"Father, why do the vampires still existed today? I thought their existence was already eradicated in the current times?" she asked in confusion.

Simon sighed.

"Nowadays, there are only a few sightings of them. The majority of them live in faraway places and don't mingle anymore with humans. Hundred years ago, mysterious beings existed in our midsts, such as vampires, demons, goblins, elves, and many others. In the current times, only a few of them existed. I was shocked that those vampire couples were still alive. I thought they were already annihilated by the vigilantes a long time ago. I guess I'm wrong," Simon elaborated further.

Laura stared at the window. "How about we hired vigilantes to fight the vampires?" she suggested.

"I already considered that. But there are no more vigilantes left nowadays. I'm afraid that we can no longer find anyone powerful enough to kill vampires," Simon replied.

Laura sighed, they reached the dead end. "I'm going back to my room, Father. While I'm there, I'll try to think of another solution to our problem," she said and left the room quietly.

Inside her room.

Laura was weighing the options in her mind. It's still not too late to decide. Either she made up her mind to marry the vampire's son and be done with it or just go away and escape?

If she will honor the deal willingly, no one will get hurt in the process. She will just suffer alone and live the rest of her life with vampires 'coz it's her destiny. It's a bitter pill to swallow but not entirely impossible to do so.

Or...she will marry Cooper...sacrifice her father and sister's life? But what if the vampires will never let go of her and are still able to find her new location? Then they will massacre Cooper's entire family? That would be awful.

The scenario would be bloody... both her father and sister were killed, Cooper's family slaughtered, along with all the servants of the two families. Damn! She was trembling with horror, just thinking about those sickening thoughts made her want to vomit. Sigh...such useless bloodshed for just one person! Not making sense to her at all!

Her life... compared to the life of many?

How's it's gonna be?

How selfish she can be?

She was torn between hard choices.

Ugh! What she's going to do?

She was feeling confused as hell.

She felt a pounding headache hammering her head. Tears welled in her eyes. She was at a crossroads in her life, trying to decide between the life and death of her loved ones and her safety. Which is more important to her?

She has to decide on which path to take.

Hours went by.

Laura's agony and misery persisted throughout the night.

It's only after midnight that her body finally succumbed to a deep slumber, unable to come up with a practical solution to her dilemma.