18. I was never her grandchild

"Which family? Say it again,", Natalia asked the man.

"The Dragomir Family of the Vampire Clan."

Natalia's face turned pale.

"Listen to him first, Baby. Then it's your choice,", Agnes said, comprehending what Natalia must be feeling.

"What is it exactly?", Natalia asked, piercing her eyes into his body with a dark and cold voice.

"It's actually from your Grandmother. Your father died a few years ago, and the Dragomir family is in crucial condition. Your grandmother needs your help. She doesn't have any other grandchildren besides you."

How am I her grandchild? Didn't she abandon me years ago?" Natalia said she kept her head down.

Although Natalia didn't have any good memories of her father and never missed him, hearing the news of her father's death made her eyes teary. She may have cursed them a lot and despised them for abandoning her when she was still a child, but now that she suddenly heard of her father's death, it made her heart ache for some reason.

She put her head down to hide her teary eyes.

"She did, but she had a reason back then: children of mixed races were not accepted in our kingdom. It will be difficult for you to survive there, where people will hate you."

"Did that reason not exist now? Do people in Orleans accept mixed breeds now? Will I be able to live there now?"

The man remained silent for a few seconds before answering.

"I don't know whether you will be or not; I am not asking you to settle down there, but instead just come and meet your grandmother; she has something to say. After listening to that, you can decide whatever you want."

"That means she is just calling me because she wants me to do something for her; she doesn't see me as her grandchild but only someone with the so-called family blood,", Natalia said with a smirk on her face.

"I can't say anything about that; I don't know what exactly happened back then. I came to Dragomir's mansion years after you left the family. I am just here to transfer the message and bring you safely to Orleans if you want to,", the man said with a straight expression on his face, not knowing about the tears Natalia had been hiding all along.

Natalia didn't say a word to reply.

The man stood up from his seat, fixing his suit.

"I am here for a week; you can contact me if you want to return. I already gave my number to your witch, and if I don't receive any news from your side, I will take that as a no and leave from here. I know how it feels to be abandoned, but if I were you, I would take the chance to show my worth to them,", Roerig said while leaving the witch's house.

Agnes ushered him to the door and immediately returned to Natalia, but Natalia was already gone.

"I will talk to her in the morning. I hope this child goes to Orleans. The chances are appearing themselves; first, the prince came here, and now her family needs her back. Oh! Moon Goddess, just give this child the happiness she deserves.", She said this to herself in such a way that Natalia couldn't hear her.

After that, Agnes left there to go to her room to sleep.

After the man left, Natalia ran back to her room. Locking herself in her room, she burst out in tears. Sliding through the closed door, she sat down and cried for too long; her tears wouldn't stop. She cried, remembering her father's fading image in her memories.

Crying quietly, she slept there on the floor.

*****

Natalia found herself in a room; there was no light coming in, but she could see the things around her.

The room felt familiar to her, but she couldn't make herself remember it. Instead of waiting there for someone to come in, she stood up and went toward a door. She tried to open the door, but the door was locked from the outside. She raised her hand to knock on the door.

But before she can knock on the door and call someone to help her out, she suddenly hears two people, a male and a female, talking outside the door, more like quarreling.

What, I have a daughter? Didn't you abort that kid?" came a man's voice.

"When I found out about her, it was already late; I couldn't abort her at that time," said the female's voice.

"What then? Why did you lie to me?", the man asked.

"Children like her won't live for long, so I thought she would die soon. But no, she is five now, and she has drunk the blood of our servants. And she is too grown for me to hide her anymore,", the woman growled at the man.

"What do you want me to do now, huh? I have a wife at home; how can I take her to my home and give her my family name? Even if I take her in...

She knows who the two people were; they were her parents. Tears started flowing through her eyes, and she started to knock on the door and call out to someone, but for some reason, she wasn't able to hear her own voice.

She wanted to open that door and see her parent's faces at least once; she only has vague memories of them, not even a photo as a memorial. She tried to open that door eagerly, but the door remained closed.

She heard someone opening the door from outside, and she saw a huge flash when the door opened.

Natalia shut her eyes and found herself lying on the floor.

"That was just a dream,", she said, rubbing her eyes and feeling her wet eyelashes, which means she was not only crying in her dreams but was really crying.

She got up from there, whipping up her tears, and went to the bathroom to freshen up.

She went toward the mirror in her bathroom and saw her swollen eyes.