The rain finally stopped at the break of dawn, as the night gives way to the day. The sun was slowly peeking behind the clouds in the sky.


    Laura''s eyelids fluttered and opened wide, staring at the ceiling. Ah, she recalled their drinking sessionst night. It''s the first time that the four of them bonded and socialize with each other. It''s not bad at all!


    ??


    She finds their bonding fun and refreshing! She wants Cooper to be her good friend, not her husband to be. If only there''s something she can do to change the course of her destiny without hurting anyone in the process. She would do it. But how?


    Sighing, she rose from the bed and went inside the bathroom.


    A few minutester, she came out of the toilet with a refreshed mind. She picked up the brush andbed her hair while looking at the closed window. She walked towards it and opened it.


    She looked down below.


    She saw Reba walking on the path leading to the backyard. Hmm, she must be going to Graven''s house.


    She shifted her gaze to the tall iron gate in front of the house. The surrounding is damp. She can see puddles of water formed in the ground. It looks like it rained heavilyst night while she was sleeping soundly in bed.


    She left the window and went back to bed.


    Since there''s nothing to do inside the room, she will continue reading the book.


    ~


    At Graven''s house.


    Reba entered the house and nods at Horace, he was sitting on the chair. "Where is he?" she asked.


    "He is inside the bathroom taking a bath. He will get out shortly," Horace replied.


    Reba sat on the chair facing him. "Did Graven discuss with you about going on a trip to the cave to check the condition of his brother''s coffin?" she inquired.


    "Yep!" Horace nodded his head.


    "When is he nning on leaving?" asked Reba excitedly.


    "Not confirmed yet. The Lord still has to set a schedule - sometimes this week," Horace replied.


    "Good! I''lle with you, guys!" Reba eximed.


    "Ah, don''t be so excited, dear! The Lord didn''t mention bringing you along to the trip," Horace said.


    "Huh? But why? I''m also Luke''s friend! I deserved to know his condition right now," Reba insisted.


    Horace sighed. "The Lord said that you and Laura will get busy in making preparations for the wedding. Another reason for your stay here is to apany Laura and guard her against that mysterious spirit lurking in the mirror," he said.


    Reba pouted, not liking the idea of not able to go on the trip to the cave. "Laura and I can always prepare for the wedding after I came back from the cave," she insisted.


    Horace breathed deeply. "Reba, stop being stubborn. It''s the Lord''s order!''" he said.


    "I will talk to him. I will try to convince him to allow me toe with you guys on the trip to the cave," she spoke in a determined voice.


    Horace shrugged. "Good luck if you can change his mind," he said and left the house, going to the back yard.


    Reba was left alone in the living room, feeling upset with Graven''s decision. She already set her mind to visit the cave! She needs to find a way to convince Graven.


    A few minutester.


    Graven exited the bedroom wearing casual clothes. "What is that noise I heard earlier?" he asked.


    Reba pouted. "Horace told me that I''m not allowed to go with you to the cave, is it true?" she asked.


    "Yes, he''s telling the truth!" Graven confirmed.


    Reba pouted up a storm. "But why!?"


    "Just stay here and watch over Laura. Make sure that mysterious spirit lurking in the mirror can''t do something bad to Laura," he ordered.


    "Is there anything I can do to make you change your mind?" she asked.


    Graven shook his head. "I already made up my mind. There''s nothing you can say or do that can change my mind. Just stay here and help Laura make preparations for the wedding!" he ordered.


    Reba rolled her eyes. "Okay fine," she finally epted defeat.


    "Don''t worry, I will tell you what happens on our trip, including what we will discover inside the cave," he promised her.


    Reba finally smiled. "Alright, I''m heading back to the mansion," she said and stood up. "Have a safe trip!" she told him.


    "I will!" Graven replied.


    Reba exited the house and walked on the path - leading back to the mansion.


    Graven exited the house and went to find Horace in the backyard.


    ~


    A few hourster.


    The servants informed everyone that breakfast is ready.


    They gathered in the dining room and consumed breakfast infortable silence.


    After they finished eating, they went back to their respective rooms to carry on their daily routine.


    ~


    In Laura''s bedroom.


    She was reading a book when she heard gentle knocking on the door. "Who is it?" she asked.


    "It''s me, yours truly!" Reba''s cheerful voice rang in the air.


    "Come inside! I left the door open for you," she replied.


    Reba pushed the door open and closed it behind her. She smiled brightly at Laura. "Good morning!" she said in greetings.


    Laura smiled. "Same to you! How''s your sleep?" she asked.


    "I sleep like a log," Reba answered and sat on the chair. "How about you? How''s your sleep?"


    "I sleep like a baby!" Laura responded with a smile. She put the book on the center table. "Do you want to learn how to write and read the alphabet now?" she asked.


    Reba shook her head. "Ah, not now. Let''s do it this afternoon. This morning, I want to discuss with you the reparation for your wedding. Let''s discuss the wedding gowns, the church, the wedding party venue, the foods, and everything," she spoke animatedly. "Graven has invited me to five different wedding parties through the years, and I can assure you the degree of the preparations those couples made is super tiring!" she said.


    Laura released a deep sigh.


    Reba looked at her closely. "What''s with the sigh? We are talking about your wedding preparations, and here you are, looking sad and dejected. I guess you are not in the mood," she observed. "You know what - the wedding in our demon n is simple. The high demon priest would initiate the offering on our demon ancestors and blessed the couple, and it''s over within half an hour. No extravagant wedding gowns and fancy party venue needed!" she said.


    Laura smiled a little. Honestly... she doesn''t like discussing wedding preparations right now. She would rather continue reading the interesting book she set aside at the center table.


    But she has no choice and goes along with the wedding preparations. Sooner orter, the wedding will take ce, and her family will attend the wedding. She should prepare everything perfectly, to make a spectacr wedding, for her family''s benefit and Sir Nichs.


    "Okay, let''s start nning the wedding!" Laura finally said. She rose to her feet and went to the drawer, and grabbed the pen and paper. She went to the table and began writing the title: Wedding Preparations.


    "Let''s start with the venue of the wedding party," Reba suggested. "Where do you want the wedding party to be held?" she asked.


    "I will suggest to father that the wedding party will be held in the backyard. If I get tired of entertaining the guest, I''ll just go upstairs straight to my room and sleep," Laura said.


    Reba smiled. "Okay, the wedding party is here in this mansion," she paused for a minute. "What about the church - where the wedding ceremony would take ce?"


    "In St. Peter Parish Church," Laura answered. She chose that church since it''s the nearest one here. She wrote down the name of the church.


    "How many guests will attend the wedding?" Reba asked.


    "I have no idea. I will ask fatherter so that we will have an idea how many chairs and tables are needed for the wedding party," Laura said.


    "Okay...next... let''s discuss the menu...the food... the wine as well the cake!" Reba said.


    Laura wrote down the menu. "I will suggest to father to hire a caterer to take care of the foods for the wedding party," she said.


    "How about the decorations of the wedding venue?" Reba asked.


    "We can hire people who will do the decorations. As long we have money to spend, we can always find the right people to do the jobs at the right price," Laura responded.


    Reba smiled. "I guess you are right. In the human world, money is power. The more money you have, the better your life will be. Just my humble observation, though."


    Laura smiled. "You are correct!"


    "How about the wedding gown?" Reba asked.


    "That''s not a problem! We can visit some of the wedding store selling wedding gowns in town. Or we can hire a tailor shop to make all the wedding gowns for the wedding entourage," Laura said.


    "That would be nice! Less worry for you. We only need to go to the tailor shop, chose the designs of the gowns, then have our body measurements taken, and wait for the tailors to finish the gowns," Reba suggested.


    "That''s right!" Laura agreed.


    Reba muses. "So far... we already discuss everything. Did we miss anything?"


    "Hmm... let me review my checklist that we already discussed earlier," Laura said. She read the list aloud. "Church venue...food catering...wedding party venue and decorations...wedding gowns. What else?"


    "Oh, my! We have almost forgotten the wedding ring!" Reba eximed.


    "Okay, I''ll add the wedding ring to my list," Laura said.


    A few hourster.


    The servant knocked on the door and informed them that lunch is ready.


    The women left the bedroom to join the men in the dining room.