In their case, Talia was the one he let go.
The only man aside from her father whom she thought would never abandon her ended up abandoning her, too. Even Yaya Sela was gone now. The charming old woman died from a heart attack when Talia was still in California. If Yaya Sela was still alive, maybe she would not have been so lost like she was today.
And now, Talia was heading towards her mother. Two days ago, she received an email from a man named Rolando, Alegra’s husband. He informed her that it had been almost two years since her Mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Her grandmother suffered the same illness when she was still alive.
“You are the only one that Alegra remembers now, Miss San Valentin. That’s why I really hope you would come visit her whenever your schedule permits you to,” that was Rolando’s last words in his message. He also included their home address.
Talia wanted to be as merciless as her mother. But today, she must have woken up on the wrong side of her bed for her to suddenly decide to see her mother. And Idris was taking her there.
“If you are not yet ready to see whoever it is that you want to see, we can postpone this, Talia.”

TALIA glanced at her bodyguard. What she needed was not a bodyguard right now, but just… someone who could stay with her at least for the day. And she was glad he was with her. She did not want to be alone again. She had been doing that for so many years now. She could not celebrate her birthday again without remembering how she was abandoned on that very day.
Talia realized she could have a comfortable silence with Idris. Just like what happened earlier. After giving him her Mother’s address, she no longer talked. She was too nervous to do so. He just let her be as she sat beside him. It just felt the most natural thing to do. She could not consider him her friend, though. Not when she continued having wet dreams about him, especially not when they would kiss and hold each other whenever their gazes would meet.
But they never did anything more than that.
“Talia, if you are not comfortable about this, we can head home.”
Again, she could not respond. That was when she noticed that Idris stopped the car. He parked it inside the parking area of a certain establishment. She rubbed her hands together. She was breaking out in cold sweat. Talia felt like she was back to being ten years old again. She was suddenly so nervous and so unsure. Her insecurities were getting the best of her. She did not like feeling this way but she could not do anything about it.
But after a while, the coldness disappeared after Idris took her hands.
Idris looked at her like he understood what she was going through. And then he smiled as he softly squeezed her hands. For a while, Talia was able to forget her anxiety.
“To be honest, I’ve known about you a long time ago, Talia. I’ve encountered a lot of Vampires in the past. Unlike what your Uncle was thinking, I don’t actually go around killing them. As long as they don’t do anything stupid to me, I’d stay still. Meeting them has its perks, too, you know. Since they are immortals, they know quite a lot. In fact, you can hear plenty of gossips from them all over the world.” He smiled. “You were among the things I heard from them. It was me who approached your Uncle in Britain when I heard that he was looking for a way to meet the Mages to ward off the Vampires lurking around you and your father. I volunteered to be your bodyguard because I wanted to meet the only mortal that could break the curse among the Vampires, at least, that was what I heard.”
Now, Talia was finally distracted which seemed to be his goal anyway. Her brows furrowed. “What do you mean by Mages? Who are they? And what exactly do you know about me?”
Idris shrugged. “Just the part that you were the Mages’ chosen one. Mages are spell-casters. Hundreds of years ago, the Vampires were punished by the Mages because of their monstrous ways. They used to feed on anyone, to the elderly, to the children, name it. They used to suck the life out of their victims to the point of killing them. When the Mages could no longer stand what was happening at that time, they gathered and casted a spell on the Vampires. From then on, the Vampires could no longer feed on humans. Their fangs would hurt and bleed every time they try. Many of them especially the rogues didn’t survive the effect of the curse since their main blood source are humans. And since the Vampires don’t breed, they are practically extinct now.”
“And what was their horrible history got to do with me?”
Idris looked at her for a long time as if he was contemplating whether to press on or not. After a few seconds, he shook his head and continued, “According to the Mages’ rule, every sixty years, a rare-blooded human would be born. That would be the only woman who could carry a Vampire’s child. Because she was special, she has the ability to see the Vampires and to detect their presence.
She was said to be the only person whom a Vampire could feed from. But the feeding would depend on the human. If she would not allow the Vampires, none of them could feed from her. She has the power to control their urges. The Mages were a bunch of romanticists, you know. Their rule was that she has to willingly offer her own blood to the Vampire or Vampires she wanted. Her blood would make the Vampires stronger. Through her, they wouldn’t have to feed on animals again."