Three days later.
Irene was back in the ancestral house for the quick renovation of the second floor.
Large sections of the roof need to be replaced and holes in the walls need to be fixed. If she can hire many construction workers to speed up the process, then she will do it.
This time money is not the problem. She sold more golden nuggets in the city before she left and opened more bank accounts to accommodate her ever-growing wealth.
Right now, she has all the money in the world and there are still more golden nuggets waiting to be sold.
She smiled brightly. "I'm rich!" she said in a sing song voice, loving her current status.
She left the bed, grabbed some clothes from the closet, and entered the bathroom to take a short shower.
A few minutes later, she emerged from the bathroom already wearing brown denim pants and a long sleeve floral blouse.
She brushed her hair in front of the mirror and applied lotion to her skin. She didn't bother to apply lipstick on her lips, just lip gloss.
Satisfied with her appearance, she grabbed her shoulder bag and exited the room.
She will visit a neighbor's house, Aunt Zell, a friend of her mother, whose husband is a carpenter. She will hire more carpenters to do the house repairs. She wants a speedy repair on the second floor.
A few minutes later.
Irene exited the house and the iron gate, walking on the path leading to their nearest neighbor.
It was a good day for walking because the weather was good, and the sun was hiding behind the clouds.
Ten minutes later, she arrived at the house and knocked on the door.
A woman in her 40's opened the door of a single-detached house made of bricks. She smiled at the woman standing in the doorway.
"Irene, it's you! How are you? How's your mom and your siblings? Come in!" she said, opening the door wide for the visitor to enter.
"Thank you, Aunt Zell," Irene said as they settled on the couch. "My mom and my siblings are fine. We will be living in the ancestral house again two weeks from now," she replied.
"Wow! Nice to hear that! I can see your mother again. I miss her already. What can I do for you?" Zell asked.
"I'm here to look for carpenters, the second floor of the house and also the ground floor needs major repairs. But my priority right now is the second floor. I want the roofs to be replaced immediately and the holes in the walls need to be fixed as well the ceiling. There's a lot of section that needed repair in that house," Irene elaborated.
"Nice! My husband and her carpenter friends are currently looking for a job since they just finished constructing a house today. They can be hired anytime soon," Zell replied cheerfully.
"That's good! Where is Uncle right now? I want to bring him to the house for inspection. I want to know the amount of construction materials that is needed for the repairs and renovation of the whole area," Irene stated.
"He's not here right now. I think they're still at the site as of this moment since it's their last day of work. I will just inform him tonight about your purpose in coming here. Rest assured that they're ready to work anytime, since they have no pending work as of this moment," Zell replied.
"Great!" Irene gushes. "Ah, Aunt, by the way... do you know any farm workers around here that are willing to work on my farm projects?" she asked.
"Why?"
"I plan to cultivate the 5-hectare land around the ancestral house. Plant crops or vegetables and sold it to the market. If you know of farmers that are looking for work around this area, please inform me right away," Irene said.
"Awesome! You just come in time. Do you know about the Green Farm?" Zell said.
Irene nodded her head. "Yes, what about it?"
"They were already closed since last month..."
"W-why?"
"The owner sold the land and migrated to another country. The workers lose their jobs. If you can absorb them all, that would be much better. One of my cousins works there. They are hardworking people. You won't have any regrets hiring them," Zell said animatedly.
Irene smiled. "That would be nice! I'm looking forward to talking to any of the workers so that I can get their opinions on what plants and crops to plant in the land that can yield quick harvest and profits without waiting for so long."
"That's not a problem. I will inform my cousin about your request. The three of us will visit your house tomorrow morning to discuss your plans about the cultivation of the land and the renovation of the house," Zell stated.
"Okay, I'll wait in the house. See you tomorrow, Aunt!" Irene said, rising to her feet.
"See you tomorrow," Zell said.
The two women walked to the door and bid goodbye to each other.
Irene begin walking back towards the house.
She reached the house a few minutes later and went straight to the kitchen to drink water.
She drank two glasses of water and left the kitchen, climbed the stairs, and went to her room on the second floor.
When she reached her room...
She got the biggest shocker in her life, she saw Brent sitting on the bed, smiling at her.
"Hello, sweetie!" Brent said.
Holy!
Irene's face went pale. Dang! It's no other than the mysterious guy in her dreams.
Her eyes went saucer-like. Her knees went jelly, her heart beats rapidly in her rib cage. She's not dreaming all this right now because she's wide awake!
Panicking, she retreated to the door, grabbed the doorknob, and opened it, then she ordered him, "Leave my room now!" she screamed in a loud voice.
Brent sighed. "I just arrived here and you want me to leave? You are a bad girl! That's not the way how to treat your future husband!" he whined.
Irene shut her eyes for a moment. "Fine! If you want to stay in my room then you can have it by yourself! I'm leaving the house and don't follow me!" she said, exiting the door.
She ran into the hallways about to reach the staircase but felt a hard arm encircling her waist and when she looked behind her, it was Brent embracing her from behind. "Let go of me!" she wriggled, trying to escape from his embrace.
"Behave, sweetie. Stop fighting me! You can't run away from me. I can always locate you wherever you will go," Brent whispered in her ears.
"Please, leave me alone!" Irene pleaded into his eyes.
"No! You and I are soulmates. You and I belong to each other. Till death do us part. No one can separate us, only death. Remember that!" Brent said in a firm voice.
Tears shimmered in Irene's eyes as strength left her body. She crumbled into the vampire's arms and found herself being carried back into the room.
Brent settled her gently on the bed and lay down beside her.
"W-what did you do to me?" Irene asked, raw fear leaped from her eyes because she has no strength left in her body.
"Don't worry, sweetie. I just take away your strength so that you stop resisting me. No need to feel afraid in my presence. I won't hurt you physically. I'm not sadistic, I'm a gentle lover," he reassured her, his voice soothing and gentle.
Irene bit her lip, she fixed her eyes on the ceiling, avoiding his penetrating gaze.
"If you promise me that you will behave, I will undo what I have done to you," Brent said.
"How long will I stay like this?" she asked.
Brent sighed, looking at her face. "Until I leave. But if you can promise me that you will behave and not leave the room, then I'll restore your strength right away," he said. "All that I'm asking from you is to behave so that we can have a decent conversation without you always running away from me. Can you do that?"
Irene shut her eyes for a moment. Since he already entered her reality, she might as well behave for now until she can find a solution to banish him away from her life for good.
Irene opened her eyes and looked at him. "Yes, I will behave," she finally said.
Brent smiled. "Good girl!" he said and waved his hand all over her body.
Irene felt her strength returning to her body. Her eyes darted to the door.
Brent noticed where she was looking at. "Don't ever try escaping again!" he warned her.
Irene looked at him and moved away from him as possible, pressing her back on the wall. She grabbed the blanket, covering her body with it.
Brent chuckled. "Silly woman! Do you think you can protect your body with that useless blanket?" he said, teasing her while looking into her expressive eyes.
"Why me?" Irene asked.
"I can only be awakened by the blood of the woman who will become my soulmate. The ring has chosen you - that's why I'm here beside you now," Brent replied softly.
"But I don't like you! I don't like vampires!" she said vehemently.
"Sorry, sweetie, I liked you the first time I saw you. I will never let you go!" he declared in a resolute voice.
Irene sighed heavily. "A-are you going to come into my room just like this? Anytime?" she asked.
"Yes, only if you are alone. If there are other people around you, I won't do it," Brent answered.
"When are you going to leave?" she asked, her voice mild, trying not to antagonize him.
"I'll leave after two hours," he responded by tugging playfully at her hair. "What? You want me out of your life already?"
"Yes!" Irene replied without hesitation.
Brent sighed, he looked at her with sadness in his eyes. "What am I going to do to make you like me?"
"There's nothing you can do that will make me like you," Irene answered honestly.
"You like my golden nuggets - but don't like me, why? What a shameless woman you are!" he said, chuckling, looking deeply into her eyes.