All the buried emotions and the past which she thought she had left behind began to resurface and it was so glaring. She felt her eyes sting with tears as she continued to stare at the face that was on her screen.

She stood up from the couch and took gentle steps towards the tv, then she gently caressed the screen. "Why is destiny mocking me? You are so close… yet so far." Her breath itched as she muttered those sad words and her tears streamed down her face.

….

After dropping Rose off at the hotel, Luca and Ray went to hang out at a bar for celebrities. They were at the top floor where there were less people, busy downing some drinks.

While they were at it, Ray who was on his phone suddenly exclaimed, "Damn, bro!"

Luca looked at Ray with curiosity and asked, "What?"

"Where was I when you went for this shoot? You look hot!" Said Ray as he showed Luca the picture.

Luca scrunched his face as he stared at the picture. He would surely remember if he had done such a beautiful makeover before. A smile then formed on his face as he admired the picture. "It's definitely photoshopped. Whoever that did it must be very talented, because it looks so real. Must be the handwork of one of my fans."

"Are you kidding me? This is photoshopped? I can recognize a fake picture no matter how real it looks, but this  looks so damn real." Ray spoke while eyeing Luca suspiciously.

Luca playfully attempted to poke Ray's eyes. "Don't give me that look. I didn't…" he paused as he suddenly remembered something. He then grabbed Ray's phone and looked at the picture again.

That face he had imagined when he was drowning that fateful day suddenly appeared in his head. That eyes, that hair. The coincidence was just too much, but in order to not give himself an unnecessary headache, he decided to just leave it as it was. A mere coincidence.

"Are you finally ready to confess?" Ray teased Luca, but he got ignored.

….

In the kingdom of Atlantica, a meeting was  being held at the throne room. King Augeus and the officials were discussing the coronation of Axle as crown prince and his marriage with Aiva.

They had spoken at length when one of the officials suddenly asked a question. "Excuse me, your majesty, but where is your son? Isn't he supposed to be here as the soon to be crown prince?"

King Augeus hated that very question with so much passion. He almost never knows where his son goes off to. Even Firth and Havelock who were supposed to be his royal guards, were no match for him. He always ended up sneaking off to who knows where and returns at his own timing.

Augeus had his suspicions that Axle might be visiting the surface, and it wasn't only him that suspected that. There had been silent whispers amongst the officials and the people about how the King didn't care to investigate his son's movement. 

They claimed that even if he found out that Axle was visiting the surface, he would not let Axle be punished.

He was being tagged as an unjust and biased king who didn't see his son and they, the people as equals.

Their silent accusations weren't unfounded though. It was true that he was scared to investigate, because he would have to punish Axle and he knew that that would only make their relationship worse.

Ever since that day when Axle had asked about his mother, and the pronunciation of the name on his bracelet, their relationship had become estranged. 

Axle put up a barrier between the two of them. Axle no longer joked around with him or smiled genuinely whenever they were together. Their relationship became more like that of a King and his subject.

Augeus had thought Axle was just hurting and that he would get over it, but he underestimated Axle's stubbornness. 

It went on for years and there was a time when he was tempted to tell Axle the whole truth, but he knew Axle would choose to leave him if he ever found out about the truth.

If it were up to him, he wouldn't have a problem with that as long as Axle was happy, but he wasn't just a father, he was also a king and he would be held accountable. 

He was the one that created the law that forbidden them from going to the surface. How would he face his people to tell them that his son and future heir to the throne did not only go to the surface, but also transformed into a human in order to dwell on dry land?

He already failed tremendously as a husband, he also failed woefully as a father to his boys. He didn't want to also fail as a King.

"His guards went to fetch him. I'm sure he would be here soon." Augeus replied with a forced smile.

Meanwhile, Axle who was being sought after was busy feeding on some sargassum very close to the surface, when suddenly…

"Boo!" A female voice sounded from behind him.

Axle almost got choked by the sargassum due to the shock. He turned around with a frown, but that frown turned into surprise when he saw who it was. "Aiva? What are you doing here? You have never come this close to the surface before."

Aiva laughed at the expression on his face. "To fetch you, of course."

"Fetch me for what?" Axle curiously asked.

"You were supposed to be in the meeting with the officials and the King. They are discussing your coronation, and our…" She paused as she blushed at what she was about to say "..marriage."

Axle found her action amusing, but he knew better than to laugh. 'And why do you think that will interest me?' That was the question that almost slipped from his lips, but he held back only because it was Aiva. She was his best friend and he didn't want to hurt her just because he didn't feel the same as she did for him.

He could only force a smile before he said, "Alright, let's go."

Aiva was about to turn around when she was suddenly obstructed by a dolphin. She let out a gasp from the shock of the obstruction.

"Didn't you leave already?" Axle asked Fiona with a stern expression.

Fiona ignored him as she eyed Aiva from her head to her tail. She had waist length green hair which coiled at the tip. Her metallic grey eyes was gleaming in the waters. Her cherry plum lips and all her facial features were screaming the word 'heavenly'.

"You must be… Aiva. Am I right?" Fiona asked while eyeing her with interest.

Aiva smiled awkwardly at Fiona before nodding her answer.

"I knew it! I'm so honored to finally meet you. Seeing you now, I can attest to the fact that you might actually be the most beautiful mermaid in the ocean, just like Axle had said. He…" Fiona spoke with so much excitement until she was cut off by Axle.

"Shut it!" He spoke with a tinge of warning in his voice.

Aiva blushed for the second time that day. She then looked at him and asked, "You really think I'm the most beautiful mermaid?"

Axle felt flustered by her question. He didn't want to put ideas in her head and at the same time he didn't want to disappoint her, so he…

"Let's be our way before the meeting ends." He said while taking hold of her hand as they swam past Fiona and headed to Atlantica.

But what Axle didn't know was that Aiva saw his actions as him being shy to admit that he was starting to fall for her. 

She had been worried that he would continue to see her as nothing more than his best friend even when they eventually get married, but now his actions had given her hope.

A/N: I apologize for the super short chapter. I promise to compensate with the following chapter. Happy reading 🫶