BXBX NOVEL Chapter 35 - Peaceful Journey
She woke up to a bright morning.
She opened her eyes slowly. Her gaze landed on the open window. A frown appeared on her forehead. Did she close the window last night? Did she-? or she had forgotten?
She closed her eyes and sighed. She recalled closing it before lying in bed, but now she no longer remembers. Anyways, it was just a window. What\'s a big deal about an open window?
She stretched her body and got up from the bed. She slid her feet on the slippers on the floor. Then out of the corner of her eyes, she saw the garment that she uses to cover the mirror - lying on the floor!
Hmm, the wind must have entered her room last night and blew the garment away from the mirror. Well, that\'s the only explanation she can give on why the garment was already fallen on the floor. She picked up the garment and put it in the mirror again. Done, she went inside the bathroom to do her morning ritual and changed into clean clothes.
After exiting the bathroom, she combs her long wavy hair for a few minutes, then exited the room to look for her father outside.
She found him sitting on the chair, facing the table while drinking coffee on the veranda of the inn. She lowered herself on the vacant chair. "Good morning, Father!" she greeted him cheerfully. She eyed the breakfast dishes displayed on the table.
"Good morning, daughter!" Simon replied. "Eat your breakfast. After you\'re done with your coffee, we will continue our journey," he said.
"Okay, Father," Laura said. She picked up the spoon and fork and began putting food on the plate.
"How\'s your sleep?" he asked.
"Good, I sleep like a log," she responded cheerfully.
Simon sighed. He was not able to sleep right away last night after his back hit the bed. He\'s deeply worried about his daughter\'s situation. He didn\'t interrogate her any longer about her ordeal last night because it\'s already late, and she needs to have a rest.
But now, he will interrogate her about what happened last night. "Daughter, we need to talk," he said.
Laura looked at her father. "What is it, father?" she asked while munching on her food.
"D-did those filthy scum bandits hurt you?" he asked fearfully.
Laura released a deep sigh. "The bandits ordered me to discard my clothes and dance naked in front of them..." she said in a sad voice.
Simon\'s eyes widened in horror. "Those sonsofbitches!" he hissed, his eyes were blazing with rage. His hands form into a fist in anger.
"Father clam down! They did not succeed with their evil intention towards me because that was also the time that the mysterious men appeared in front of the bandits and killed them all. I was able to flee from the scene, but the mysterious guy came after me and allowed me to ride with him in his carriage. I swear to you that nothing bad happens to me out there. It\'s over now, Father. The bandits\' souls were already being roasted in hell right now. They can no longer harm anyone," she said.
"I\'m sorry, daughter. I was not able to do anything to help you," Simon said in a distraught voice, feeling guilty for not able to rescue her daughter on time.
"It\'s okay, Father. If you fought those bandits last night, they won\'t hesitate to shoot you with their guns. Maybe I was just lucky, it was not yet my time to die," she explained calmly.
Simon sighed heavily. "Okay, continue eating so that we can start our journey as soon as possible. I can only lay my worries to rest if we finally arrived at my friend\'s house," he said.
"Okay, Father," Laura said. Even though her father ordered her to hurry in eating her breakfast, she took her time, enjoying the delicious dishes in front of her.
Half an hour later.
Laura finished eating. She and her father left the veranda. She went back to her room to take a quick bath and get herself ready for their journey.
Simon went to the cashier of the inn to settle their bill.
When Laura entered her room, she was shocked to see a single red rose on the dresser table! Oh, no! The garment has fallen again!
A chill run down her spine. OMG! He\'s here! She stared at the mirror in horror.
Then it dawned on her that Luke\'s doppelganger was the one responsible for the open window this morning and the garment! The single rose was the evidence! The same thing that was happening in her bedroom in their mansion was also happening now!
So, Luke\'s doppelganger has been staying inside her bedroom the whole night? Damn! Why she wasn\'t able to wake up and sense his presence? Why she slept like a log the whole night? Did he put her to sleep again?
Her heart was beating frantically inside her rib cage.
No, she can\'t stay in the room any longer! She feared that he will appear in front of her at any moment!
She grabbed her things quickly and dumped them inside the luggage bag. She bolted towards the door.
That was also the time she heard knocking on the door.
"Miss Laura, we are here to get your luggage and put them back in the carriage," one of the servants said.
Laura rushed to the exit, grabbed the door handle, and opened it. "You can take my luggage now!" she ordered them hurriedly. She exited the room and waited for them outside.
The servants went inside the room and picked up Laura\'s bags. They closed the door behind them.
Laura smiled triumphantly. Good! She was able to evade Luke\'s doppelganger!
The servants and Laura walked into the hallway. They exited the entrance of the inn and walked to the carriage that was already parked outside the establishment.
Laura and Simon boarded the carriage.
The drivers prompted the horses to move forward.
Fifteen minutes later.
The carriage was now moving steadily on the road.
Inside the carriage.
Simon dozes off in just a few minutes due to lack of sleep last night, while Laura resumed reading the book in her lap.
Several hours went by.
Their morning journey was smooth and pleasant.
During lunchtime, they made a stopover at one of the eateries lining up in the road. The servants feed the horses with hay and water.
One hour later, after they finished resting, they resumed their journey.