Chapter 232 - Oh, No!
Graven was hovering above the town plaza of Moraderry Town in his invisible form.
He's scanned the whole area and other neighboring surroundings.
It would be easy to spot a teenage girl who's going to be 18 years old, two months from now, as long she didn't wear any disguise to hide her identity he can spot her easily.
Last night there was heavy rain when Sofia run away. She must be soaked wet in the rain shivering in the cold while escaping. Poor girl! Where could she be hiding right now?
Did somebody help her?
Or she was abducted by someone with bad intentions? Considering that she can be seen walking alone without any companion.
He had to consider all the possibilities bad or good, anything can happen to a teenage girl who runs away from home.
There's also a possibility that somebody took pity on her and welcome her into somebody's home. If that is the case, hopefully, those who help her are good people.
The thing he feared the most that she's going to meet a psycho on the road to nowhere.
That would be a scary thing for a teenage girl to handle.
His mind recalled that his newly acquired property has neighboring large estate as well. Is there a possibility that Sofia asked for help from one of those manors?
Maybe, that's a big possibility!
Right now, since he and his sister-in-law only lives in the same house just recently, it will be hard to track her down using his senses. He can only develop effective scent tracking of someone if he frequently sees that person daily, for several months or years.
He released a deep sigh.
Was it just yesterday when he was trying to find his missing wife and Rebecca?
Now it's the missing Sofia that he has to deal with again!
Finding a missing person seems to be his latest fate.
He released a deep sigh.
Done, searching the whole area, he failed to find his sister-in-law anywhere. He will try finding her in the public market including the stores lining up in the town's main business district.
Graven hovered towards those areas that he was thinking in his mind.
Meanwhile...
Back in the manor.
Laura was done consoling her mother who keeps crying all morning. Now she's back in her room. Thankfully, her mother was now resting in the bedroom.
Although she pretended that she's tough and tried her best not to worry about her stupid sister, but she can't help it. She's grieving and worrying for her sister, but she can't show it because her mother was already doing it for her.
Her father handled his grieving well inside. He no longer mentions Sofia's name. But she knows better. All their hearts were breaking apart due to Sofia's stupid decision. They all suffered badly because of her!
She and his father chose to bury their worries and pain silently inside, but her mother is always been an emotional and transparent person, she cries easily.
Starting from now, she would be seeing her mother crying now and then and the only thing that can stop her from crying is Sofia's safe return to the manor.
If only she's not pregnant right now, she would be out there somewhere finding her missing sister.
She took a deep breath. The only thing she can do right now is to pray for Sofia's safety and her safe return to the manor.
She rose to her feet and went inside the bathroom to take a bath.
Six hours later.
Laura was brushing her hair in front of the mirror on the dresser table when Graven appeared inside the master's bedroom.
Laura smiled after seeing her husband. "Hubby... you're home! How's it's going?" she was asking about Sofia.
Graven went to her side and planted a kiss on her cheeks. "Negative. I'm sorry, wife," he replied.
"No need to apologize it's not your fault. If only that sister of mine didn't leave! We won't be experiencing this kind of stress right now," she said in an irate tone.
"Shh...calm down. We'll find her for sure!" Graven said reassuringly, he went to bed and lay down.
"Are you staying for dinner?" she asked.
"Yeah, I will continue looking for your sister after dinner. I'll just rest for one hour," he said and shut his eyes.
Laura looked at her husband and breathed deeply. She was thankful that Graven was fully supportive in helping her with her family problems, she never heard him complain even once.
She slowly exited the room going downstairs for her afternoon exercise in the garden and inform the cook what dishes to prepare for dinner.
~~~0~~~
Rebecca was sitting on the wooden bench, watching Granny tending to her flowers.
After Menedelia finished removing the dried leaves from the flowers, she went to sit beside the pregnant woman.
"What are you thinking?" Menedelia asked.
Rebecca sighed and shook her head. "Nothing..." she said.
"Tomorrow, you will go with me to the town for my palm reading business. We need to earn money so that we can buy you decent maternity dresses and also baby clothes, and milk as well to nourish your body and the babies inside your tummy. I can't wait to see the twins soon!" Menedelia said excitedly.
Rebecca's face showed a faint smile. "Granny, it's hard being pregnant! I'm always feeling weak and lethargic. I want to sleep always!" she whined.
"Pregnant women suffered different symptoms, so just bear it. You only need to suffer from the discomfort for 9 months and after that, you'll be back on your old self," Menedelia said.
Rebecca released a deep sigh. "What time we will be leaving for town tomorrow?" she asked.
"After breakfast, we will start our journey. I only conduct palm reading every Friday, from 9:00 in the morning until 5:00 in the evening," Menedelia replied.
"Is there a place there that I can sleep while you are reading people's palms?" she asked.
"Yes, there is, it's a stall that I rented every Friday. There's a bed there at the back that you can sleep in while I'm conducting my palm reading business. Or you can look around the neighboring stores that sell dresses and clothes if you don't want to get bored," Menedelia offered.
Rebecca smiled. She would rather help the old woman with her business so that they can earn more money to buy food. "Okay, I'm excited to go with you to the town!" she finally said.
"That's good! After dinner, let's retire early so that we can wake up early tomorrow morning," Menedelia said.
Rebecca stood up. "I'm going back to the house to start cooking the rice..."
Menedelia watched Rebecca entered the door and disappeared inside the house. Although she feels that the girl finally accepted her fate, she still can't let her guard down. That is why she can't leave her alone for a long time. She needs to be at Rebecca's side all the time to protect her and the babies.
One hour later... early evening.
Rebecca and Menedelia sat at the table eating dinner together.
"Granny, I have a question... when I give birth to the twins... who will deliver the baby into this world?" she asked curiously.
"Me!" Menedelia answered. "I helped my mother deliver babies in our hometown when I was younger and eventually that becomes my profession for a few years until I migrated her and become a palm reader. You have nothing to worry about regarding that matter, when it comes to delivering the baby, I got your back covered. The only thing you need to do is take care of your body so that the twins will arrive into this world healthy, okay?"
Rebecca smiled feeling relieved. "Thanks, Granny! My worries are finally laid to rest!"
"Alright, let's continue eating our supper - the vegetable soup is getting cold," Menedelia spoke.
The two women resumed eating their meals.
After dinner, Rebecca washed the dirty dishes in the sink.
Half an hour later, she finished her chores in the kitchen and retired to her room.
She rummaged on her stuff and found the jewelry box containing her wedding ring. She opened the box and took out the Onyx wedding ring and put it on her finger, she stared at it for a long time.
All the sweet memories she shared with her husband, came flooding back to her mind. A faint smile appeared on her lips. Will she ever see Corbin again in this lifetime?
She knows that he's always waiting for her return.
He would be elated if he knows that she was pregnant with their twins. He's always been very vocal in wanting to raise a family with her and now that she's pregnant with their children, Corbin's dream is just one step away from reality! That if she returns to her side!
But she can never forget and forgive Corbin's parents for throwing her into the furnace that nearly killed her!
Argh! She and Corbin can never be together under one roof!
Never!
Rebecca removed the wedding ring and put it back inside the jewelry box and hide it away in the cabinet.
She went back to bed and settled herself comfortably, she stared at the ceiling, lost in her thoughts. The lamp was flickering... throwing shadows inside the whole room.
Rebecca succumbed to slumber at 9:00 in the evening.
Meanwhile...
Somewhere in the Moraderry Town.
Sofia finally awakens and opened her eyes wide... she was inside a room. She saw the lamp hanging on the ceiling!
She roamed her eyes around her, she's alone.
The room was bare, with zero furniture, not even a bed. But there was a door in the corner, it looks like a bathroom. She was sprawled on the floor, good thing it was clean and dry. She saw her knapsack in the corner, she stood up and grabbed it.
Then suddenly, she heard footsteps outside and the sound of the door opening...
She looked at the door, frightened to the core. She finally recalled that she passed out after seeing that frightening creature that comes down from the tree!
Oh, no!
She went to the corner and hugged the knapsack tightly, pressing it to her body. She's scared and hungry! Not a perfect combination.
Her body shaking in fright.
What she's going to do now?
What kind of creature abducted her?
She's 100% sure it's not human!
And now she's going to see that terrifying creature again!