Darcia's pov

I'm going to sign the papers today, and she'll be mine. No more worrying about feeding. I will have access to blood twenty-four-seven. This is a dream come true.

I put on my everyday look, which is a black blouse with black slack pants. I'm done impressing Mr. Elwood, and I don't think this outfit looks bad. I can't forget about eye contact.

I walked down the stairs to my garage and looked at my beautiful car. I don't drive that often because of my vampire speed, but I like fast driving. I sat inside and pushed the remote control button for the garage door to open.

On my way there, I suddenly thought about my friend Nicoli. He would be proud of me if he knew what I had done. I sent him an email a long time ago, but he still hasn't replied. I don't worry about him. He knows how to take care of himself. He will either visit me or call me sooner or later.

He lived with me for over a decade, but he quickly became bored with this town and my lifestyle. He always wanted to travel and meet other vampires. Taste different kinds of blood. To learn more about ourselves, but I couldn't go with him because my family was still looking for me at the time.

When he traveled through Bulgaria, he saw my father there with his private detectives. The funny thing is, I never traveled there. I avoided Europe at all costs. That's why I chose to live in Artondale. A lot of trees and constant rain. I don't know if my family is still looking for me, and I don't care if they do. Haha, I call them my family even though I despise them.

I parked my car close to the gate. No one was waiting for me, so I walked through the gate and headed towards the front door. A sense of peace filled the hall almost as if they had all died. I gently closed the front door and headed to his office.

I knocked on his door and opened them. "Good morning," I greeted. He was looking out of the window while holding hands behind his back.

"Ohh, morning. Your papers are ready. I only need two signatures from you." He walked to his table and handed the papers to me.

I leaned over and took a pen from his table, "Here - and - here. Anything else?" I raised my brows and handed him the signed papers.

"No, that's it. You can pick up Talia before lunchtime." He forced a smile.

"Alright then, thank you." I took the papers that belong to me from his table. He then went to see me off.

It was clear that he argued with someone. There is a sense of anger and sadness in his eyes at the same time. Maybe he had a fight with his wife.

Humans are disgusting. I always thought we were the most terrible out of this world, but my point of view changed. With my hearing senses, I heard conversations that were not meant for me.

It's funny how many of them pretend to be in love with their partner, but going on a dates with someone else.

They get bored of each other so much that they despise one another.

Love is only a fairytale. A pretty dream you wish could be true, but then you wake up from it to reality and realize something like that doesn't exist.

That's why I never fall in love. Never in my long life, I seen one honest or happy couple. I don't need to live in such a charade, and I don't long for love.

Talia's pov

"I still can't believe I'm leaving this place forever," I mumbled to myself, half asleep. I crawled into the shower, then changed into some random clothes from my closet before heading to our studio to meet Stacey. The cook baked some food and dessert for my leaving. Stacey made a small party for me. Only the two of us were hanging for the last time.

I was locking the door when I noticed a strange woman leaving Mr. Elwood's office. I hid so they couldn't see me. She has long black hair and very pale snowy skin. I've never seen anyone more beautiful in my life.

"Why would a woman like this show up to his office? Is he cheating on his wife?" I thought to myself.

They shook hands, and then she left. He still seems hurt because of what happened yesterday, but I will not forgive him. As soon as he got back to his office, I ran downstairs and headed to our studio.

"What took you so long?" Stacey asked as I walked into the room.

"Sorry, I know I'm late." I looked at the table; so much food was there, and my favorite song was playing in the background. Everything looked just right.

Stacey grabbed me by my hand, "Why are you standing here, come sit." and she dragged me onto the couch.

"The food and dessert look amazing!" I took a deep breath so I could smell all of the flavors lingering in the air.

"I know, right? We need to eat all of this." She laughed. After taking the ball of chips, I put one in Stacey's mouth.

"I don't wanna ruin the mood, but do you know something about the woman who adopted you?" Stacey asked.

"No, uhm I thought I'd ask Mr. Elwood, but I don't want to speak to him. He made this mess not me. He could easily lie to her and say someone else wants me so she would go away and I would stay here." My jaw tightened.

Silence took over. Only the music from the radio was playing. I felt like my body temperature had risen. I looked at Stacey, "Sorry, I ruined the mood."

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

"Shhh, you didn't. Let's just not talk about it okay? We should be having a good time." Stacey immediately replied.

"Yeah, you are right..." I looked at the table and took one piece of cake into my hand, "A chocolate cake?" I hold the cake in my hand, waiting for her response.

"I'd love to." She took it from my hand and put it in her mouth.

"You eat like a child, do you know that?" I took a tissue from the table and handed it to her. She started to laugh as she wiped the chocolate from her mouth.

The rest of our night was joyful. We danced, talked about our memories here, and ate so much that I thought my belly would explode or I would throw up. We of course fell asleep on the couch. We wouldn't get into trouble because they all knew I'm leaving tomorrow, so we got a pass to sleep down here.

I woke up to pretty gloomy weather. I returned to our room to take a shower. Stacey was cleaning the studio in the meantime.

It was around seven o'clock. I put on my favorite jeans and an oversized hoodie. After Stacey cleaned the whole studio, she helped me with my hair. She made beach waves with her curler, and then she helped me pack my things.

"C'mon, cheer up a bit," Stacey tempted, but there's nothing to be happy about.

"Please don't. Let's just put everything inside." I urged. I put the last sweater in my suitcase and zipped it. I don't have the mood for someone to tell me to cheer up. I cannot just simply do that.

I was sitting on the chair, tapping my foot. My suitcase was already downstairs so I had nothing to do other than wait.

"Talia?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you want to go downstairs to say goodbye to employees?" Stacey asked.

"Please yes, I can't sit here, it makes me more anxious." I crossed the doorstep and took one last look at my room. The memories I made here are forever in me.

After we walked down the stairs, the employees were already waiting for me in the entrance hall. I said goodbye to them and tried to force a smile. Mr. Elwood was staring at me the whole time, but I didn't say a word to him. He deserves my silence...

I turned to Stacey, and tears were already running down my cheeks. We hugged so tightly that I thought our bodies were connected. Our hug lasted for several minutes before Mr. Elwood interrupted it by coughing.

I didn't need to ask why. I pulled out of our hug and got closer to the front door to see a black car waiting outside the gate.

This is it.

"I'm so grateful I was put in this orphanage; otherwise, I wouldn't meet such an amazing person," I admitted to Stacey, but she didn't say a word to me because she couldn't stop sobbing.

I grabbed the handle of my suitcase and took a deep breath. I looked at Stacey one last time before I went and said my goodbyes to her.

I slowly dragged my suitcase behind me. I was getting closer and closer to the gate. The woman got out of her car and walked behind it to open the trunk. When I passed the gate, I slowly walked up to her. My jaw dropped when I realized who was standing in front of me. She noticed me and looked straight into my eyes. For a few seconds, we didn't break eye contact.

"Are you putting your suitcase here or?" It's like I snapped out of a trance. Her voice sounds so pleasant and deep.

"Oh- yeah I do, sorry." I immediately put my suitcase inside. She closed the truck and looked around as if she expected me to have more things.

"Get inside." she insisted. I don't know why, but her presence was making me uncomfortable. This is the woman who visited Mr. Elwood yesterday. Why is a woman like her adopting someone like me? She even looks barely twenty.

She started the engine and slowly got out of the driveway. I didn't say a word to her. I had a lot of questions on my mind, but I didn't think it was the right time to ask them. After long minutes of silence, she turned on the radio and a Spanish song was currently playing. She started to tap her fingers on the wheel, and when the chorus came I heard her quietly sing along. She knew it word for word. I chuckled as I was looking out of the window, watching the raindrops fall on the glass.

She instantly turned the volume down, "What's funny?" She asked me with a curious voice. I avoided eye contact, "Uhm- nothing, sorry." I mumbled. I started to pick the skin around my nails as I was getting nervous.

She giggled, "Is 'sorry' your favorite word?" I felt her eyes on me. I looked at her, "N- no it's not, sorr-" I slapped my mouth with my hand. Why am I like this? Embarrassing myself by every chance I get.

She burst out laughing, and my cheeks were burning. I felt as if we were driving for hours when in fact, it all lasted around ten minutes. On our way to her house, I saw trees almost everywhere I looked. She lives far away from the town.

"Uhm, are you always driving this fast?" I politely asked. Not going to lie, I was getting pretty scared by her driving.

"I'm only going 100 mph, relax." she replied. Relax? Is she serious?

I remained silent the whole ride until we arrived at her house. She parked her car in front of a dark, old Victorian house. The weirdest thing is that she has no neighbors. No humans nearby, just trees. This whole place felt sketchy.

"Come." She got out of the car, took my suitcase for me, and headed towards the gate. I carefully followed her. Her front garden had no flowers, only a lot of dead grass. Everything around this house looked dead. I was looking around when I almost crashed into her when she suddenly stopped outside the front door. I didn't realize how tall she is. I felt so small compared to her. Even Mr. Elwood is not that tall.

She walked inside first, and then she held the door for me. The hall was unbelievably big and dark. Everything was black, with almost no sunlight coming through.

"Your room is on the second floor." She clarified to me. Her look was so intense, almost hypnotizing.

"This place has a lot of rooms. I wonder what is inside them." I thought to myself.

We walked up the stairs, straight to my room. When we entered inside, I was a little shocked. Everything looked new and expensive. King-size bed just for myself and gorgeous furniture.

"What do you think?" She leaned closer to me.

It's more than I expected, "Everything looks perfect." I replied, I couldn't lie to her.

"Good." She walked out of my room, standing outside the doorstep, "My room is on the third floor if you need something."

"Wait!" I loudly said. "Yeah?" she replied.

"What is your name?" I know nothing about her, so I should at least know her name if I'm staying with her. "Darcia." She smirked at me and then closed the door.

After she left, I looked around and found out I have my own bathroom and big closet. I'm not sure what I'll put inside because my suitcase is almost empty, but I instantly fell in love with my room.

The house appears abandoned and old, but everything inside looks expensive. If she has so much money, why doesn't she change the exterior to look more pleasant? She is wealthy, attractive, and knows more than one language. I'm curious about what kind of job she does. Maybe her husband is rich? Hmm, she never mentioned her husband to me, so perhaps she doesn't have one?

"I should take a bath and then maybe eat something; I'm kind of hungry." I looked in my suitcase for a towel and headed to the bathroom. I waited until the water reached the top of the bathtub. I dip my fingers in to see if the water is the right temperature, "Perfect."