"Good…" Director Zhanglou was thoroughly satisfied with his son"s answer. He had enough will all the controversy that his son was dragged into and he was ready to drag him into the path that was meant for him on the capital. Ziggy had wasted much time for nothing, it was time for a comeback. He"ll make sure Ziggy will be fixed into another great dignified heir, much greater than the Lagdameo heir and soon, after all their plans succeeds, the Montreal"s will rose to top, above CGC and L Empire.Satisfyingly, Zhanglou turned to open the door and called for the Montreal"s butler who was waiting outside Ziggy"s private room, "Ellie, pack your youngest sire"s personal belongings and bring them—"
"Bring them to Richmond ranch," Ziggy continued his father instructions that gave the latter a sudden shock. Ziggy let go of a cold gaze toward him, as if all the warmth he had in him had gone in an instant, even the tears that was meant to fall from his eyes froze somewhere, held caught into his recent façade.
"Ziggorioh! We had agreed!" Zhanglou"s eyes dug onto his son again asking for thorough explanation but he saw nothing in Ziggy"s grey eyes.
"We had agreed that I should chose my family," Ziggy spoke calmly but his voice was cracking with unshed manly tears. He swallowed all the raging pain in his heart and uttered further, "The Montreal"s were not my family father…"
Ziggy then dragged his eyes away from his father"s scrutiny and fixed it into the window at the other side of his bed. It was sunny and bright outside, but his feelings had gone totally cold.
Then Ziggy continued, "You sent me away as young as four, stripped me away from my mother"s care and sent me to Rivendell because that was good for business. To have a young brilliant son was good for business. You had always made business a priority before me and never even bothered to spend a little time to care for me. Did you have any memory of you holding me in your arms father? When I was then a baby, did you once hold me? I wonder, I hope you did. Because it would totally be brutally offensive to know that just like how you had been for the last couple of years, you opted to had me cared for by the butlers and servants you paid…."
Ziggy paused as if contemplating while Zhanglou was stuck on where he was at, not able to make a word. He came here counting all Ziggy"s wrongdoing and slapped it on his face, but never did he expect that this argument would turn upside down and ended up Ziggy counting all his misgivings as a parent.
"…It was Dr. miles who raised me as his own, it was the diamond prince who took responsibility and accompany me at all times and it was the Dugmoch"s little miss" who had given me the care I had longed from you and mother…"
"They are my family…"
"...Funny…" Ziggy bitterly laughed at the thought, "Mother and you don"t even know what"s my favorite food and had never once remembered my birthday. It only occurred to me now, the Montreal"s had never once been a family and had never been."
Ziggy"s words paused each of Zhanglou"s veins. He looked at his son with thorough unbelief but even before his heart could feel his son"s emotions, his pride took him over.
"Ellie, announced to everyone that Ziggorioh is no longer a Montreal from now," Zhanglou declared shaking with fury, "Whatever his business no longer concerns us and that everyone should know, he is not the Montreal"s youngest sire anymore"
Zhanglou left immediately after that, leaving Ziggy utterly broken hearted with the truth that, his own father, choose to forsake him because he was no longer giving him pride.
However, even when he was certain with the choice he chooses, he still shed some tears because despite of everything, Ziggy was had always loved the Montreal"s and he had always longed for the love they denied him.
Now, he was nothing rather than the boy who made and ambitious research. He don"t have any rights to his last name as well as to his own family.
***
Xhemin was waiting for the voyage to comeback but since she was pregnant, Maru and the elders of Somer village insisted she should await the news in Pearl Haven. She was getting impatient about it, but she knew she could do nothing but wait so she went home and opted to continue her readings of the books she got from the Devil"s lure. Few hours of doings so, she heard a faint call from outside and she immediately went to check.
"Professor? You already came back?" She called for him with excitement and gladness when he saw the old man seemingly running from afar toward her. However, few meters from where she stood, the old man"s face came clear in her view and that evaporated the gladness she felt. The Professor"s face was in a deep mess and Xhemin knew something was wrong.
"Little child!" The Professor came and hugged her immediately, pressing her tightly as if trying to comfort her. "I"m so sorry little child,"
"Professor, what is it?" Xhemin under the professor"s embrace. She knew that what the professor had with him was news from the mainland and his expression frightened Xhemin even before he told her the news, "Please professor tell me. You are frightening me out,"
The professor looked at her worriedly, cupped her face in his two old hands right after with nothing but pity for Xhemin, "I come right away to give you news from the mainland but please be strong for your child. You must be strong regardless,"
Xhemin"s knees shook with his warning, but she took courage and insisted "What is it? Go ahead and tell me,"
Professor Owens settled some bitter lump in his throat before he uttered the bad news "The Diamond Prince died last night,"
Hearing the news, Xhemin"s world fell away and all the life in her faded, gone in an instant.