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Landbound
Dawn was out late as usual. When he left, he was dressed for the occasion, and Aqua wondered if he would be back before it rained. The weather forecast said it would be stormy at night, but the full moon outside spoke otherwise.
Knock! Knock-knock!The sudden sound at the door startled Aqua. However, the strong scent of death terrified her. The last time she smelled this much blood, Dawn was bleeding out in the cold water.Using crutches that she borrowed from the neighbours, Aqua hobbled over and peeked using the peephole as she was taught. She saw a tuft of black hair and a familiar suit. Although the man’s face was hidden from sight, there was no mistaking it. Her human was back!Unbolting the safety lock, Aqua wanted to greet Dawn. However, the red liquid staining the floor scared her into silence.“I’m home,” Dawn whispered weakly as he tumbled into her arms, sending them flopping onto the carpet.Alarmed by how cold Dawn waRelated chapters
Dear Don No More Secrets
It was only fair for Aqua to learn what Dawn did that endangered his life. Excluding the mermaid who could read the stars and predict the future made little sense. Keeping Aqua in the dark would not make them happy after what happened last night. Hence, Dawn spilt the beans over breakfast about the kind of man he was and what he did before she found him under that bridge in the water.Aqua listened silently, taking in everything Dawn told her. Her expression was frozen, and the former mafia boss had no idea if that was good or bad.“However, it wasn’t until Ricardo shot me on that bridge the night you found me that I realised the truth. My father’s death was staged. He was murdered by that traitor who had been planning for years since my parents got together.”The human world… was truly complex. Aqua didn’t know what to do about everything Dawn told her. She felt helpless even after learning the truth. She had always known Dawn was
Dear Don More Than Family
“You should hold onto my hand in case you get lost in town,” Dawn convinced, stretching his palm towards her as soon as he left the front door.Aqua did as Dawn suggested without questioning how odd it would be for family members to hold each other’s hands at this age. She liked holding hands with Dawn as it helped her figure out his feelings. Her human rarely spoke, so Aqua had to observe his micro-expressions to learn his thoughts. It could get slightly tiring, especially when there were so many details to pay attention to on the mission. Holding hands helped her focus on finding suspicious humans to talk to while not getting so easily distracted that she ended up lost.While Dawn loved efficient and capable subordinates, Aqua’s focus made the businessman sulky. The pseudo-date lacked romance when Aqua failed to pay him any attention. She refused all his advances to kindle a romantic atmosphere, and Dawn could hardly believe this was the same merm
Dear Don Human Courtship
Something was bothering Aqua, and Dawn tried to figure out what it was. Ever since they finished their ice cream, Aqua was huffy. They were in the taxi on their way to the hotel, where Dawn reserved them a room with fake names and a dinner date at a fancy restaurant later in the evening. With some string-pulling, he found out where these guests would be dining.Sneaking over to grasp Aqua’s fingers intertwined with his, Dawn studied her expressions. The mermaid’s expression morphed from a frown to one of surprise, turning to look at him.“What’s wrong?” he mouthed the words, even though the driver was playing rather loud classical music over the radio.Aqua blinked dumbly and stared at their joined hands. Dawn was truly confused and concerned about her, but Aqua did not know what to tell him. How could one possibly be more than family as a human? She might appear human now, but she was still a mermaid masquerading as one. The only courtsh
Dear Don Open Mic Night
The hotel wasn’t as luxurious as Dawn thought it would be. Overall, he would rate the management rather sloppy for the price paid. However, it made sense why these suspicious guests chose it. The security was poor, and everyone turned a blind eye to extra work unless necessary—the perfect place for the shadiest of dealings.“We have some time to rest in the room before dinner,” Dawn explained to Aqua. “I’ll be doing some preparatory work to see where the guests are and figure a way to make contact with one of them for questioning.”Aqua hummed and looked at the clothes Dawn bought for her to change into for the fancy dinner. The dress was very pretty, and it was probably the first time she had worn a gown that showed this much skin. The shoes came with heels, much to her delight, and she couldn’t wait to show off her ability to balance in them.While Aqua showered, delighted with the new bath salts, Dawn borrowed Jericho
Dear Don Awakened Voice
Although the food was appetising, Aqua didn’t eat much. Her stomach kept turning like waves when she thought about what would happen after dinner. She barely touched her shrimp salad until Dawn reached over the table to touch her hand.Without words, he poured his feelings through their connection, and Aqua blushed. The waitress earlier that day said that such a thing wasn’t common between family members. Now that she thought about it, they did many things normal family members wouldn’t usually do. Did it mean that Dawn liked her more than a family member? However, she remembered him promising they would always be together as a family. Human dynamics were confusing!“We don’t want to be late for the show,” he reminded her gently, prompting Aqua to pick up the fork. The giddy mermaid nodded and started munching mechanically.They finished the meal in twenty minutes, and Aqua thought they would leave when Dawn ordered dessert.
Dear Don Free Gift
It wasn’t difficult to snag the master key card for rooms. The room attendants weren’t working, and the master card was left unattended. Jericho would help him to replace the camera footage later. Thankfully, he found the access card easily. Searching and flirting with giddy housekeepers would send Aqua into another pouting session. Even if it were effective, Dawn would only do that if it was the last resort.Prepared for confrontation, Dawn took advantage of the free room and resources, draping the male room attendant’s uniform over his suit but keeping his side arm within reach. The pistol had a silencer, but it would still cause quite a commotion if he fired it carelessly. Bloodstains were difficult to remove, and Dawn wanted to avoid that as much as possible. Thankfully, the room attendant’s uniform was black.As he already knew the rooms those guests booked, Dawn froze the camera recording for the floor while taking the elevator. At the same ti
Dear Don The Rainbow Heart Scale’s Power
It glowed brightly like sunlight through a prism and turned warm on her chest. Aqua watched as Dawn fell into a trance-like state when she spoke to him with uncontrolled emotions. The colourful heart scale was usually hidden beneath the shirt. However, it sparkled briefly when feeding on the mermaid’s feelings. The bubbling sensation from Aqua’s stomach rose to her throat whenever she was ready to awaken her hypnotic voice. It did not take the smart mermaid long to learn how to recognise signs of her powers to control it.“How was it?” Dawn asked, feeling dazed as he came back to reality. The illusion that Aqua painted with her song was so vivid that it could be addicting if she did not go easy on him.After testing her newly found ability for the fifth time, Aqua finally understood how it worked. Her mother left too early to explain fully how her awakened voice worked, so Dawn offered to become her test subject.“I think I know how to co
Dear Don Part-Time Work
For weeks after the evidence Dawn handed to Jim, there was no news from the elusive man. Without a way to contact the FBI information head, Dawn could only rely on Jericho’s weak connections to learn more about what was happening to Ricardo’s turf war.Aqua’s cooking repertoire drastically improved as her command of language improved. Her determination to learn mathematics helped her modify recipe portions. Jericho no longer needed to babysit Aqua whenever Dawn left for work now that she could walk without difficulty. It took Aqua a few months to get accustomed to the human lifestyle, and the sacrifice of her tail at night became undoubtedly useful.“What do you mean?” Dawn watched his tone carefully.He’d returned home to a delicious meal of pasta with fried fish when Aqua broke the news to him. The mermaid used to be so meek before. Now, she was brimming with confidence. Instead of seeking his permission to do things, she was mere
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