The Mermaid gently stroked Alina’s head and kissed her. She had helped the little girl to clean up the wounds and applied medicines on them. Alina refused to talk out of fear but the Mermaid felt the girl’s pain. It astounded her that humans were not just cruel to other creatures but would also harm their own kind, especially a child.
She sighed and kept on patting Alina. A book lay right next to her which made the Mermaid curious. She picked it up and glanced through it.
“A mermaid named Alya?” she murmured. “She’s so lucky to have a name…”
After a lot of consolation, Alina had fallen asleep and slept for hours. She had not even eaten her lunch and the Mermaid was afraid that the little girl would starve at this rate. M
Before the Mermaid could even speak, she was being whisked away by a group of guards while David strode off to deal with other matters. Now that a date for Jason has been fixed, he had no other worries.Are they taking me to meet Jason Cho? She wondered.They led her to an elevator but the Mermaid was scared of getting into it.“Please enter,” one of the guards said politely. The Mermaid stared at the tiny room like thing which the guard held open for her. She had never seen such a thing before. Why were they taking her in it?“Madam?” the guard called her. “Please, follow us.”“Ehh…”
Jason was tapping his foot impatiently. He was at the bar, waiting for David. The latter had promised him that a temporary date had been hired for him but there was no sign of this so-called date. If she was not good looking, then he would probably cut David’s salary for six months. Eight if his mood worsened during the night. “One vodka,” he ordered at the bar. A bartender bowed and began to pour his drink. Jason picked up the cup placed in front of him and took a sip when someone cleared their throat behind him. Jason recognized the voice but ignored him. “May I sit?” the familiar deep voice asked. “No,” he said curtly but he knew it was of no use. He felt ‘that’ person sit next to him. “I’ll take a
*One Hour Ago*“Allow me to introduce myself,” the flamingo lady said in her nasal voice. “I am Alexandra Cheng. One of the top five fashion designers in the world. And tonight, I will turn you from a beautiful duckling to a gorgeous swan!”Duckling? But I’m a mermaid, Alya added in her thoughts. Before she could ask what was going on, the flamingo lady snapped her fingers and a couple of assistants came running out of one of the rooms within the suite.“Get her hair and makeup done!” Alexandra barked. “And bring out the coral dress.”One of the assistants with long golden hair gasped. “The coral dress?” she echoed. “I thought that one was being
*In the Present*Jason’s eyes widened in awe at the beauty who had just appeared in front of him. Her hair was slightly curled at the edge, highlighting her innocence. Large coral eyes looked at him with interest, her minimal makeup making her features even sharper.The mermaid dress she wore fit her perfectly, brushing on the floor as she walked. It was backless with silver glitters bordered around the neck. The sadistic trio had magically hid her scars with make up. Her hair softly swayed against the air while her pearly skin glowed under the light. She was not so tall, barely reaching till his shoulders but she seemed to be in her late twenties.Who is she? He wondered. The girl stopped in front of him, feeling very curious.&
Everyone was stunned at the sight of the gorgeous couple who descended the steps. Jason held out his arm for the girl. She stared at it in confusion for a moment.“You’re supposed to hold it,” he gritted.“Why?” she asked curiously.“Just do it!”A few meters away, David was watching the girl in dismay . Susan sent a pretty one but she seemed to be confused on what to do. He shook his head in dismay.Alya hesitated before lightly touching his arm. Jason rolled his eyes and led the way.The Mermaid looked at her surroundings in awe. She had never
“So who’s the investor?” Jason asked David.“His name is Oskar Jung,” David informed him. “He’s currently the Chairman of Sandra Fashion House and has recently returned from Italy to invest in the local firms. Sandra Fashion is a conglomerate and a force to be reckoned with in the global industry. They’re keen to look for a suitable partner but so far, they have been very selective. I’ve heard that Cain Tang is looking to get them as investors for his newly launched fashion line as well.”David handed him an Ipad which had the pictures of the investors. Oskar Jung was in his seventies with an impeccable fashion sense. He was wearing an exclusively designed dark blue suit with diamond cuffs and a hand stitched tie. His wife was next to him, in a formal jumpsuit. Even though s
“I wanna rip that smile off that bitch!” Tatiana growled. She was watching Jason and his date who had just re-entered the hall. That girl was beaming brightly which was attracting a lot of attention. Reporters were trying to get pictures of that girl but Jason was protectively shielding her, beckoning his bodyguards to shoo them away. To strangers, they looked like a genuine couple.Cain was also glaring at them. He had not forgotten the insult he faced and wanted to make the girl pay. But if everything went according to his plan, the girl would also die that night with his dear cousin.His phone beeped, indicating that he received a message. Cain opened it and smirked. His men had already sabotaged the brakes of Jason’s car. He stealthily deleted the message and kept a passive face.
Back at the mansion, Alina was worried about where the mermaid went. She woke up to find the latter had gone missing.Did someone spot her? She wondered. Or is she at the pool again?She quietly snuck out of the main house to check the garden.“Psst!” she hissed. “Are you here, Ms. Mermaid?”Silence.She’s not here either! Alina thought. Where is she?Alina doubted that the mermaid was caught. If she was, then the butler would have confronted Alina. But if she was not at the house, then where did she go?
*Three Years Later*Jason was pacing back and forth outside the operation theater. His heart was anxious but thankfully, it was not in pain like the other times. However, it was extremely cold thanks to what was going on inside.“Relax uncle!”He looked around to see a spunky eleven year old girl with long, curly hair and the same blue eyes as him. Alina had a growth spurt over the past three years. She was now almost reaching his shoulder.“Aunt Alya will be fine!” she told him. “If you get too anxious, she’ll only panic.”“I can’t help it!” he scowled. “And kids shouldn’t be here! Why aren’t you at school?”
The sun was shining brightly in the sky. Its lights fell on the series of tombstones in the graveyard. Colorful flowers were blooming all around the family which was standing next to a pair of graves with a shared tombstone. Despite the nice weather, the family was solemn as they paid their respects. The tombstone had a writing on it:“Here lies Sheila and Charles Wang. Loving parents and good people. Date 19XX to 20XX”Max dabbed his eyes, lamenting the loss of his granddaughter and her husband. Cain and Jason told him that they died in a car crash and also revealed that Alina is Sheila’s daughter who was being taken care of by her uncle and his fiance. Jason and Cain stood on his sides with their lovers. Alina was kneeling in front of her parents’ graves, silently crying.“I miss you
Alina woke up in the hospital. She was heavily sedated; Jenna’s beating had caused her arm to be fractured.“Alya...sis…” she mumbled.“I’m here.”The girl’s eyes flung open and she was delighted to see that Alya was there with her.“You’re here…” she whispered, reaching out for Alya. Alya smiled and took her hand.“I am. You should rest.”“How long have I been here?”“Almost two weeks,” Alya said. “You were badly hurt by Jenna.”“But...Aunt Jenna
Jason and Cain sped towards the factory. Cain was on the phone with his men, giving them instructions.“My men just informed me that Heath Seo was spotted outside that factory we’re heading to,” Cain told him. “How did you know he’d be there?”“I just do,” Jason muttered. Cain was suspicious but he did not ask anything else. He had filled in Jason about what happened at the Tang mansion that morning and even though Jason was tense, he was also worried about Maxwell.“Looks like grandfather took this well,” he muttered.“Well, he never really liked my mother in the first place so he wasn’t too sad seeing her leave,” Cain remarked. They were now about to leave the main city but the factory was st
Jason pulled up in front of a restaurant when he suddenly felt the familiar sensation in his heart.“Agh!” he winced when his chest became cold. He was gasping for breath and closed his eyes to lay his head on the steering wheel.“What the hell?” he muttered. “Why is that sensation happening again?”He touched his heart and it was colder than the earlier attacks. Jason was sure that it was a warning sign and that Alya was in immense danger. Flashes of her running through the rain were popping in his head.“Why is she outside?” he whispered. He was so engrossed in his pain that he did not notice a familiar Maybach pulling up behind his car. There was a knock on his window and to his surprise, it was Cain.
*Few Hours Ago*Monty arrived at the place where Jenna called him. It was a narrow alley located within an industrial area where several factories were meshed together. The buildings were in a series of rows, put side by side. A small dockyard was situated at the end of the place where a few ships were anchored.The workers had gone home for the day because the sun was setting. The gloomy clouds hovered in the sky, indicating that it was going to rain that night. Monty looked around for Jenna and finally spotted her standing a few meters away. He slowly walked towards her.“You called for me?” he asked.Jenna was wearing a pair of large sunglasses and she took them off to examine him.“Did you fi
Malorie quietly followed Cain to the patio and waited for him to talk. He was quiet for a while before turning to face her.“You should have told me about this,” he began. “That my mom was threatening you. We could have worked something out.”“I wanted to find our child first,” she replied in a small tone. “If I had told you, she might have gotten alerted and killed Billy. I couldn’t take the risk.”Cain stared at her for a while before sighing. “We’re both idiots,” he muttered. “We talk about being on our own but in the end, we let my parents manipulate us…”Malorie was staring at her fingers, unable to understand what to do. So many things had happened and it was going too fast.
Dahlia was hosting her regular afternoon tea with the socialites at her home. As a tradition, she hosted these gatherings every week with the elite class women so that she could increase her network and influence. Despite the setback with the wedding, she was now more determined to match Cain up with someone even more influential than Jenna.“Mrs. Wang, I hear that your daughter Catherine is coming back to town!” Dahlia was saying. They were sitting in the living room, sipping tea and having cakes. Butler Austin put the trays of food in front of them and stood aside.“She is,” Mrs. Wang replied. “For a business deal.”“I hear that she is now a very renowned interior decorator,” Dahlia remarked. “Maybe we should have her over for dinner sometime next week? I&rsquo
Malroie was watching the news, filled with dread. Over the past week, there was nothing other than James Park’s sudden death which had caused the business world to go into a frenzy. The stocks of his company fell and it was acquired by the notorious research firm owner, Heath Seo. Jenna took over the business and the Tang’s were in great debt. If there was no additional investment, the Tang’s were going to be ruined.The reporters were crowding outside Cain’s office. They hounded him as soon as he was out.“Mr. Cain, what’s your next strategy to pull this business together?” the reporters demande.d “Can you save the company?”“Is it true that your wedding to Jenna Park has been called off?”“Can you