Reuniting

In the end, when she finally got her father's number, the man never picked up her phone calls and totally ignored her messages. A month later when she tried to contact him again, she just could not reach the number anymore. Uncle Jeff gave her Rudi's phone number the last time they met, but she was not that brave to experience the same rejection in the past.

"Then I would wait until he came," Renessa said in a final tone.

The last time she saw her father in person was when she was left in the hotel room 11 years ago. His father, who never looked at her or tried to approach her, visited her room that night.

"You want me to love you and be a dutiful daughter to your parents, right?" the man asked coldly.

Renessa was stunned. Her father never initiates a talk with her. It was either he gave her a cold shoulder or he would look at her with sinister eyes. She was surprised that she was speechless. It was happiness and disbelief.

"Is she deaf or just dumb?" the man asked Rosaline who was in the room with Renessa

"I want it. I can be a dutiful daughter," Renessa answered loudly as she nodded vigorously at her father's question. She would do whatever her father wanted her to. She was so happy that her father approached her first and even initiated to talk to her. Usually, the man treats her like air and ignores her existence.

"If you want me to love you, you have to listen to everything I say. If you are naughty and do not listen to my word, I will hate you forever," her father said coldly, making Renessa shudder for a moment. Just thinking that her father would hate her made her want to cry. It was a nightmare.

Renessa looked up to her father and repeated his words, "You will love me if I listen to your words?"

Rudy sighed in frustration then nodded his head.

The innocent Renessa nodded excitedly after that. Her eyes sparkled when she finally understood her father's offer. She always hoped that her father would like her, but her father always avoided her all the time like her whole body was covered with germs.

The happiness bloomed in her heart as she imagined her father hugging her tightly in his arms, kissing her at night as her grandpa did, and even attending a parent's meeting in her school.

She was too desperate for her father's love that she would do anything he wanted. 

Hearing Renessa's approval, Rudi immediately asked Rosalin, who was in Renessa's room to pack some of Renessa's clothes and put them in a small suitcase. Rosalin had a bad feeling, but she tried to shake off the thought. There's no way her employee would hurt his daughter.

Renessa still remembers her bubbling happiness when her father took her somewhere. She didn't care about anything. The most important thing was that her father would love her after this. She often felt jealous when her friends at school began to tell her how their father loved and pampered them. Now, she no longer needed to feel that way because her father would love her like all her friends. She just needed to be a good girl and she was good at it. Her teacher often praised her and said that she was a good girl.

Rudi then took Renessa in his car and took Renessa to a luxury hotel. Renessa couldn't feel anything but happiness when her father grabbed her hand while entering the place. Her father never held her hand before. Grabbing her father's hand for the first time made her father's offer start to become a reality. They stopped in front of a room on the 19th floor as an elderly woman opened the door.

"I thought you wouldn't have time to take care of everything," said the woman when she saw Rudi's face. 

"Get inside and wait for me," said Rudi coldly, letting go of Renessa's hand. Renessa's face turned somber. She still wanted to hold her father's hand. But fearing that her father might hate her for not listening to him, Renessa quickly walked inside the hotel room. Her curious eyes looked around the room.

She wanted to explore the room, but she also did not want to stay too far from her father.

She stood not far from the door. Afraid her father would forget about her. The two adults paid little attention to her presence and were busy discussing something.

"Auntie, here are the files you asked for. There are passports, birth certificates, and transfer certificates inside this bag. I have prepared everything you asked for inside the bag," said Rudi then handed Renessa's small suitcase.

"I didn't expect you to be able to take care of everything in just a week," the woman smiled mockingly and accepted the envelope and suitcase Rudi had given her.

"Send me your account number and also where I have to pay for her tuition. I'll take care of it afterward. You just need to take her to the place I told you," Rudi said. He sighed after feeling a heavy weight finally lifted from his shoulders.

"Thank you, auntie," said Rudi then hugged the woman briefly before turning and walking away.

Renessa was surprised when she realized Rudi walked away without calling or even turning to look at her.

Did her father just forget about her again?

It was fortunate that she didn't go far away from the door.

Renessa then immediately rushed to the door, wanting to follow her father, but the middle-aged woman standing in front of the door deftly blocked her way out.

"Father! I am here. I am coming here with you! Where are you going?!" The little girl screamed as she struggled to free herself from the woman's tight grip. She moved around frantically, tired to get out of the room.

Renessa was desperate. She felt like if she did not go after her father now, the woman would take her far away from her father. The desperation pushed her to her limit and before realizing what she had done, she heard the woman screaming in pain and let her go. Although before she could run outside, the woman quickly pulled Renessa's body into the room.

She threw the little girl harshly before locking the door, pulling out the key, and shoveling it into her pocket. She then walked toward the sofas and sat there while grumbling and assessing her hand, which now had the bite mark on it.

 Renessa sobbed while quickly running toward the door and trying to open the door. It was when she realized that the key was gone that she looked at the woman for a second and started screaming again at the door, calling her father, hoping that the man was coming back after remembering that she was still there. 

The woman didn't try to persuade the little girl and just sat on the sofa near the window. She would look at the girl for a second before looking down at her phone after making sure that the little girl did not do anything besides crying.

After Renessa was finally tired of crying, the woman sighed and approached her, "Little girl, do you want to be your father's favorite child?"

"Miss?" The security guard's voice interrupted Renessa's thoughts, "Miss, I think it would be better for you to contact Mister Rudi and maybe make another appointment. I have asked the butler it seems that Mister Rudi would be back late in the evening," The security guard hesitated, and slightly pitied Renessa's sad expression.

Renessa sighed tiredly. She had a hunch that her father might ask the security guard to kick her out of this place when he found out she was waiting for him. She was not being pessimistic, it was just that the fact that the security did not know about her existence, his first daughter was already evidence. He did not even try to check anything. He was sure that no one in the family had that name. Rudi did not tell anyone about her.

"Then can I see Rosalin?" Renessa finally asked another name.

The security guard was a bit surprised when he heard the familiar name and then looked at her suspiciously. The pity in his eyes was gone instantly.

Renessa wanted to laugh. She was aware of the reason the man reacted that way. She would have the same expression since she sounds like a stalker just now.

"She works here as a maid?" Renessa said, sounding a bit unsure. When she called her last time around a week ago, she was still working there. She wanted to inform her again about her arrival, but then just decided to just give her a surprise.

Now she started to regret her decision a bit. If she had informed her, the kind woman would have waited for her and brought her inside and she did not have to waste her time talking to the security and convince the man that she is the owner of the house.