Changed

A few days had passed since the incident and upon hearing the news that Uncle Jeff would be home for a while, Renessa quickly took the man out for lunch. Uncle Jeff was quite busy doing charity work in some of the outlying areas as he owned a foundation for abandoned children who needed help.

"I have just arrived. How are you?" Asked the man as he smiled as he looked at Renessa.

"I can't say that my life is great, but it was not bad either. What about you? I thought you wouldn't be home for a while," Renessa said as she pulled the menu from the corner of the table and started to open it.

"I deliberately came home for you. I was very curious about the conversation you and your father had, but you said you would only tell me about it when we met," Uncle Jefri teased.

Renessa laughed softly at his words. She didn't really like phone conversations and she hadn't made much progress so she wanted to wait a little longer.

"Dad said nothing about it. He said he did not need mom's inheritance to survive," Renessa rubbed her face tiredly. 

"What did you say?" Jefri blinked as he looked at the girl in disbelief.

When he was sure that what he heard was the reality, he added, "didn't I told you not to pressure your father too much?" asked Jefri worriedly.

Renessa grimaced before recounting what happened two days ago. She recounted her confrontation with Rudi in vivid detail, leaving Jefri to exhale heavily.

Jefri realized he shouldn't have been reckless and told her about Rudi in too much detail but he also didn't know the shy girl he used to know had completely changed.

That man is the little girl's father, but from Renessa's story, the girl only pretends to be cool-headed but her heart is filled with anger that burns every corner of her heart.

"You shouldn't have behaved like that with Rudi, Nesa. That man is still your father. He didn't really leave you and still sends money for your school fees when you live in the dormitory, right?" Jefri said while shaking his head.

Jefri still couldn't believe what Renessa was telling him. The girl who was always thirsty for her father's love had now turned into a girl whose only goal in life was to make her father die of a stroke.

"But that won't prove anything. Father probably did it because he didn't want the school to send me home. He wanted to keep me there forever. You know how much he cares for Mary and she's not even his biological daughter!" Renessa said passionately, but Jefri could hear a hint of disappointment there.

Renessa may not want to admit it, but Jefri still saw the flash of affection mixed with sadness in Renessa's eyes when she talked about her father.

"We'd better eat first. We won't eat if we keep talking," Jefri tried to break the ice and called a waitress over. Since Jefri was a regular at the restaurant, he casually mentioned his favorite dishes.

After taking down their orders, the waitress left them again.

"By the way, do you know the story behind mom and dad's marriage?" Renessa asked while looking out the window. Since their seats were right next to the window Renessa could enjoy the view of the busy city during the day.

Jefri clenched his fists but there was no visible change on his face as if he wasn't surprised by Renessa's question.

"Why are you suddenly curious about that?" Jefri asked back.

"I've been curious for a long time but, ever since I saw father again I can see the hatred in his eyes whenever I mentioned something related to mother. I also know I was born only four months after mom and dad got married. Am I really his child?" Renessa spoke hesitantly.

She had been thinking about this for a long time and her father's hatred for Renessa made sense if she was not actually her father's biological daughter. Her mother probably had another lover who left her after impregnating her and her father had to take responsibility for something. That's why he hated her and her mother so much.

"You are your father's daughter, there are just some things that happened before your mother's marriage that made your father and mother get married later than usual," Jefri answered simply. He actually knew about this incident from his father but he felt he had no right to talk about it. He would tell Renessa about it when she was older and wiser.

Jefri was quite surprised when he heard about this incident from his father. He was abroad to continue his studies and the incident really hit him hard especially hearing that Claudia ended up marrying the man who raped her. If only he hadn't been studying abroad he might have been able to protect Claudia or perhaps marry the girl and become Renessa's father. But everything had already passed, and Jefri had accepted the fact that Claudia was not meant for him. All he could do was to be Renessa's protector.

"Ohhh..." Renessa looked disappointed with Jefri's answer.

Jefri laughed at Renessa's response.

"Stop making up telenovela scenes in your head," Jefri poked Renessa lightly on the forehead. Renessa laughed softly and looked gratefully at the man in front of her.

If Jefri had not opened her eyes and shown her the harsh reality in front of her, she might have continued to be blind and still begging for her father's affection.

Yes, she actually hasn't given up even after the harsh reality where her father only set aside a very small amount of money for her college. She used to console herself and say that her father did it just to make her independent and her father was sure she would get a full scholarship afterward.

She even brainwashed herself and said that this was just a test her father gave her to see if she was strong enough. When she's done with everything, her dad will show up and hug her. Fortunately, Aunt Lucia and Uncle Jefri found her first and explained some shocking events that slowly opened her eyes to the reality she had been trying to avoid.