A few days later.

Graven's carriage arrived at his father's mansion. ​​

Sir Nicholas's waited outside the door to welcome his son.

Graven exited the carriage and went to his father's side. "Father! I'm back!"

"It's nice to see you again, son!" Sir Nicholas's said.

Graven smiled. "How's everything here?"

"Good so far!" Sir Nicholas's replied. "Let's go to the terrace," he said.

The men walked towards the direction of the terrace.

They settled on the chairs.

"How's my friend Simon and his family? Did Laura had a safe and comfortable trip back home?"

Graven nodded his head. "Yeah, she did. I made sure she is comfortable and safe during the whole journey," he answered.

"So - did you give my letter to my friend?" Sir Nicholas's asked.

"Yes, Father," Graven answered.

"Did Simon got angry that Cooper and Laura's wedding didn't push through because your brother had a family already?"

Graven shook his head. "No, Father. Sir Simon understood Cooper's condition, he was not upset at all," he said.

Sir Nicholas smiled, feeling relieved. "That's good to hear. I no longer feel guilty that the wedding didn't push through. How about Laura? I hope she didn't take it to heart that Cooper already had a family, I was worried that the poor girl's heart is broken after she discovered your brother's hidden family."

"No. Laura is not upset about the whole thing, she understood Cooper's situation and pity the children - she left without harboring grievances towards my brother and our family," Graven replied.

"I'm glad to hear that, son. Would you like to stay for lunch and dinner today?" Sir Nicholas asked.

"Yes, I will, Father!" Graven responded with a bright smile.

"I want to inform you that Sarah and the children are now living with me here in the mansion. This is a convenient setup for all of us so that Cooper and I can be closer with the children and watched them grow up properly in front of our eyes," Sir Nicholas said.

"That's a good decision, Father!" Graven spoke, agreeing wholeheartedly to his father's decision.

"Alright, you may go now to your house so that you can rest," Sir Nicholas said.

"Okay, thanks, Father!" Graven said and stood up. He left the terrace and walked on the path leading to the back of the mansion going to his house.

When he passed by the mini-park, he saw his brother Cooper, Sarah, and the children having fun in the swing.

They looked picture perfect as a happy family, the only good thing that happens after Laura left the mansion.

He can't even inform his father that he married Laura, the wedding was one of the happiest days of his life, yet with the current situation, after his twin abducted his wife, it's no longer worth mentioning to his father because he will surely ask why he didn't bring Laura with him after the wedding. How can he explain the recent happenings to his father?

As much as possible he wants to hide everything from him because he will only worry especially if he will tell him about his recent encounter with the 1000 years old cursed King.

Sigh, so many things happened in just a short period.

He proceeds to his house and went inside.

He went to the bedroom and lay on the bed thinking about his dilemma.

If the healer can't create a cure then it will be his ending including his men who were exposed to the black liquid. Even if he will find his beloved wife, he will never surrender Laura to the cursed King. He would rather let his brother hide Laura and bring her to a faraway place so that the cursed King won't be able to get hold of Laura preventing him from escaping his prison chamber.

If he has to die saving Laura and the people from danger, then he won't have any regrets.

He will try to find Laura and his brother in other places but even if he will find them he won't show himself to them, it's enough for him to know that his wife is safe under his brother's care, just in case something bad happens to him, Laura has Luke to keep her safe.

Maybe it's for the best...

It's more than enough that he was able to marry his beloved woman, she becomes his beloved wife for a short time, their happy and sweet memories will last forever in his heart.

He needs to solve his problem first with the cursed King before he will try finding his wife again. Right now that he was under the King's threat, he can't put Laura in danger. She needs to be safe somewhere in a faraway place and Luke can protect her on his behalf.

For the moment, he will stay in the mansion until evening to accompany his father. He knew that his father loves his company. He should make him happy while he still can, once he's dead he can no longer do these simple things that can bring a smile to his father's lips.

He closed his eyes for a short rest.

>>

Three days later.

7:00 in the morning.

Laura released a deep sigh while looking through the window. The house is indeed a mansion, it's huge just like the size of Sir Nichols's mansion in South Town Pond.

She can see servants attending to the blooming flowers in the garden below.

The window is not something that she can easily pass through as her means of escape, it has metal bars!

Damn!

Luke made sure that the window in her room has iron grills to prevent her from escaping!

She pouted, the beautiful flowers below the window failed to improve her bad mood.

Luke has not visited her room for three days which is good for her.

Servants come and go inside the room serving her food. She asked them once if she's allowed to leave her room and they replied to her with a polite 'no' because the Lord has not given permission yet.

She was tempted once to bolt outside the door but saw a burly guy waiting outside the door. Damn! Her room has a guard waiting outside!

Indeed, Luke has no plan to release her.

She let out a troubled sigh and bit her lip. She's anxious to escape the place and returned to her husband, she missed him so much!

Did Graven and his men already rescue Rebecca? She hopes so!

She continues staring at the window, watching the maid watering the plants.

She admired the pink roses growing abundantly in the garden, she will ask the servant for a flower vase and some pink roses for her room when they bring the food later.

At 7:30, the door opened and the maid brought a tray of food inside the room.

"My Lady here is your breakfast," the maid said, arranging the dishes into the table.

"Thank you!" Laura replied. "Hmm... where is the Lord?" she asked.

"He's inside his bedroom," the maid replied. "Anything else, My Lady?"

"Can you please find a flower vase and put some pink roses on it and bring it to my room later?" Laura requested.

"Sure, My Lady," the maid replied with a smile. "I'll take my leave now..."

The maid walked to the door and exited quietly.

Laura picked up the fork and spoon and began eating her meal with gusto.

In fairness, the cook of the mansion prepared delicious dishes that cater to her taste buds. So far, she likes the dishes that were being served to her.

One hour later, she finished eating her meal.

The maid returned and brought what she requested, a flower vase filled with pretty pink roses. The maid placed the flower vase on the dresser.

"I hope you like the flowers, My Lady," the maid said.

"I like it so much, thank you!" she told the maid.

"You're welcome, My Lady," the maid replied and began putting back the dirty dishes into the tray. "Anything else? If no more, I'll take my leave now..."

"No more, you may leave now," Laura replied.

The maid carried the tray in her hands and exited the room.

Laura picked up the flower vase from the dresser and put it on the side table of the bed.

She stared at the pretty flowers for a long time trying to immerse herself in their beauty so that she can forget her worries and problems.

A few minutes later, the door opened.

Luke entered the room and went to the bed and sat on the edge beside her.

Laura stood up, avoiding him.

Luke looked at her face. "The maid told me that you're asking for my whereabouts. Why? Did you miss me already?" he asked, smirking.

Laura rolled her eyes.

"What now? I'm here already in front of you. Do you want to ask something? Tell me, what do you want, I will try to give you everything as long I can afford it," he said.

"Set me free! I want to return to my husband!" she demanded angrily.

Luke was shaking his head. "I'm sorry, Laura. You can ask me anything but not your freedom. The only time you can leave my side is the day I will die. In short, if my brother finds us, he will have to fight me first. We will fight to the death and whoever lives will win your heart. So don't expect that I will set you free on my own free will," he said. The grim expression on his face tells her that he will never let her go.

Laura sighed. She's wanting to slap Luke's handsome face that looks so much like his husband.

"Can you please get out of my room? You just ruin my mood!" she ordered vehemently.

Luke breathed deeply. He didn't see her for a few days thinking that the next time they saw each other, she will miss him! But the opposite happens, she was looking like a tigress right now, a beautiful alluring tigress!

He groaned, his hands are aching to caress her beautiful face but it's not the right time yet. Not when she's mad like this!

He rose to his feet and left the room quietly.

Laura bit her lip in frustration.

She lay down on the bed and buried her tear-stained face on the pillow, sobbing silently.