Chapter 229 - Borrowed Time

Elva appeared in the garden of her house located in the backyard.

Veronica, Terros, and Graven are enjoying the beautiful view. The whole place was surrounded by stunning flowers and a sea of clouds.​​

Such a spectacular view up above the mountain!

Elva approaches the visitors wearing a smile on her face.

Terros looked at the clothing that the goddess was wearing. Was she wearing a maternity dress worn by pregnant women? Who got the deity pregnant?

"Enjoying the view, guys?" Elva asked them.

"Yes, we are!" the men replied in chorus.

"Good!" Elva said and sat on the chair facing Graven and Terros. She looked at the men, projecting a friendly smile on her face. "And who are they?" she pretended that she only meet them the first time.

Veronica smiled. "They are my friends, I will introduce them to you. Please meet... Grandpa Terros and Graven!" she said. "And this is my good friend Elva, she lives here at the top of the mountain!" she said.

"Hello, Elva, nice meeting you! Thank you very much for allowing us to visit your home," Graven said.

Elva smiled sweetly at Graven. "Nice meeting you too, my pleasure!" she said.

Terros cleared his throat. "It's our honor to meet you, Elva! And I will take this chance to apologize for our rude behavior earlier. We're deeply sorry that we almost destroy your beautiful home," he apologizes sadly.

"Me, too! I would like to offer my apology! It's our mistake that we didn't investigate thoroughly if that old woman's claims are real or false. We're a fool to rush here and wage war against you. We're truly ashamed of our stupidness! I hope you will forgive is Elva," Graven apologize sincerely.

Elva smiled at the two men. "You're all forgiven now. And by the way, nice meeting you two! Hope this will be the start of our friendship!" she declared while looking at Graven appreciatively. She can't take her eyes off him.

Terros and Veronica looked at each other.

Veronica cleared her throat. "I will get more juice in the kitchen," she said and stood up.

Terros followed Veronica inside the marble house.

Back in the garden.

Graven and Elva were having a staring match for a few minutes.

Graven coughed. "Um... did I have dirt in my face?" he asked her.

Elva smiled. "No. You might be wondering why I keep staring at you... you want to know why?"

Graven smiled. "Why?" he finally asked.

"Because you and my ex- have a great likeness to each other. You two are exactly alike! More like twins!" she gushes while giving him a hint.

"I do have a twin, his name is Luke," he revealed.

"Really-?" she asked. "He looks exactly like you?"

"Yeah... and he's single and I'm the married one with a baby on the way. My wife is already three months pregnant and I'm so excited to see my firstborn!" he said proudly.

Elva smiled sadly.

"So, where is your 'ex' now?" he asked.

"He left me after he got me pregnant," Elva said dejectedly.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," he spoke.

"It's okay, we separated amicably, we don't have bad blood between us," she lied straight-faced.

"That's good to know. Maybe he will return one day, then he will stay by your side for good and you will have a happy family," he said.

"Really? Are you going to wish me that?" she asked.

"Yeah! I wish you will have a happy family one day," he said thoughtfully.

"Thank you for your good wishes!" Elva gushes and smiled radiantly.

After a while, her bright smile turned gloomy. She's now looking at the guy who is the father of her unborn child. Previously, she was determined to leave Graven alone, but now that he's here in front of her, her old feelings for him rekindled and coming back strong in her system. Every tender moment that they shared in that hut come back in her mind in full force.

She reminiscences about their borrowed time together that was filled with sweetness, love, and steamy moments. She yearned to be imprisoned in his loving arms again and feel his hot kisses all over her body. Damn, her mind is getting naughty!

She sighed inwardly.

He's so close yet so far!

Elva and Graven smiled at each other and enjoyed the comfortable silence between them.

Meanwhile...

In the kitchen.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, is your friend pregnant?" he inquired.

"Yes!" Veronica replied.

Terros brows furrowed. "And who is the father?" he asked again.

"Take a wild guess..." Veronica replied.

"Oh, my! You mean to say... Graven successfully impregnated Elva?" Terros asked in a stunned voice.

"Yeah, you got it right!" Veronica said and poured the Nooree juice into the pitcher.

"Holy guacamole!" Terros shook his head in disbelief.

Veronica grinned. "You told me that Laura and Graven were reunited again. That means You will have two grandchildren soon! So, how's Laura's pregnancy?" she asked.

"So far so good! I went to their manor and created an invisible shield to protect Laura and her family..." Terros replied.

"Why?"

"Because the vampire couple who are after Laura went to their hometown wanting to kill everyone on the farm. Good thing, Graven was there and save them all. But despite all his good effort, five farmworkers were killed during the bloodbath..."

"Oh, that's sad and horrific!" exclaimed Veronica.

"Yeah... innocent lives are lost and more to come," Terros said.

"Huh? Why did you say that?"

"I think the vampire couple will stop at nothing to get Laura to marry their vampire son! That's always been the reason why that couple was after her because the deal was made when she was still a baby. It's something that bothered me deeply... why can't they just find another woman to replace Laura? Why go through all the hassle to chase after her and kill innocent people?"

"Why indeed?" Veronica scratches her head, confused as well. "But maybe there's more to the story that we don't know about," she said.

"Maybe..." Terros murmured.

Veronica poured the juice into the glass and drink it. "You want more?" she offered.

"No thanks, I have enough already," he said. "So... how are your eyes? Any discomfort?"

Veronica smiled. "So far so good! It's healing well and I feel no discomfort at all!"

"How did it happened?"

"What you mean?"

"Are you awake when Elva operated on your eyes?" he asked.

"No." Veronica shook her head. "She put me to sleep for two weeks. When I wake up, I noticed that my third eye was gone and I have one set of eyes already! I'm blown away! I couldn't believe that the day would come that I will live a normal life again. I can finally go anywhere without wearing a veil on my face!" she beamed. "Currently, I'm applying herbal root liquid every morning and evening to my new eyes to make it heal faster and avoid infections," she added.

"Amazing! Congratulation on the new eyes! I'm so happy for you!" Terros raved.

"Thank you! I owe it all to Elva, she's the best! She said that she found the third eye ugly and want to gift me a new pair of eyes and she did! I was touched by her humble gesture to go a long way to do the impossible thing for me and make my life better," Veronica said, her eyes sparkled with a sense of gratitude for her benefactor.

"Wow! I never expected that all these turn out well in the end. I can still remember when that old hag brought me to the clearing and I saw your decomposing body in that shallow grave. My heart was broken into tiny pieces. I thought that you have died for real! Graven and I nearly destroyed the deity's house. What a great disaster it could have been!" he said, while shaking his head in outrage.

"Let's forget it! Everything is well now. We should just focus more on the good things of life and not think much of the bad things," Veronica said.

"Yeah. But I would love to go back to the forest and teach that old hag a lesson!" Terros said angrily.

"And may I ask what you're going to do to her?" she asked, smiling.

"I'll turn her into a frog!" Terros answered.

"Seriously?"

"I swear!" Terros said between gritted teeth.

Veronica smiled. "Don't worry, I'll ask Elva to turn her cousin into a frog even for just one month," she said.

"No! I'm not satisfied with one month, try to make it one year!" he blurted.

"Alright, I'll tell her that," she said, laughing.

"That is to ensure that the old hag will learn her lesson well," Terros insisted.

"Okay, as you wish!" Veronica said. "Let's go back to the garden!"

They went back to the garden only to find an empty table.

Veronica's brows furrowed. "Where are they?" she asked.

"Where did the couple go?" asked Terros.

"I dunno. Just stay here, relax and enjoy the view. I'll go around the house and find them," Veronica said.

"Okay, take your time," Terros replied and settled comfortably on the rattan chair. "This place is pure heaven, the view is magnificent at the top of the mountain!" he murmured.

Veronica entered the house to find Graven and Elva.

She searched the whole house, but she can't find them! Where did they go?

She went to the front yard, still, she can't find them there!

Where the hell they are right now?

She entered the house again and went to the backyard thinking they already returned. But when she arrived there... Terros was the only one there and the poor man had fallen asleep on the rattan chair.

She lowered herself on the chair and looked at the horizon. Should she be worried about the missing couple? No need, two powerful people, what could happen to them?

She erased the worry in her mind and enjoyed the heavenly view in front of her.

She loves her new eyes, they looked good on her just like her real eyes, no difference whatsoever. In her mind, she already thanked the girl who is the owner of the eyes.

Her brand news eyes are a great help to her. She feels like she's reborn.

She feels good inside and out!