Page 52 of Sworn to My Heart
“I’ve been running through everything we know about Alin in my head and trying to connect it to what I saw. How is this possible? I don’t know how to react to all of this, but I’m waiting for explanations,” he says, and I’m glad he’s not pressing me with questions. Good luck, Alin. Because I really have no idea how to explain something like this.
Slowly, the realization of the nearly two-decade gap in her life sinks in. That’s why her parents kept her locked away. Are they like her too? Questions start flooding my mind, and I’m already losing patience with every passing minute.
“Let’s move to the living room; she’ll be down soon,” I say and head out. They follow me and sit on the sofa in the living room on the first floor.
“Everyone returned safely; we only have three injured. We sent them to a safe house, and the doctor is with them. The police confiscated the entire shipment, and we killed many of their men. The Russians didn’t follow us after Alin got rid of them,”Pedro looks at his phone and updates us with all the details from the field. Alin was definitely needed there, no doubt about it.
“They’re completely off the radar for the foreseeable future; we’ll have some peace. They won’t dare mess with what’s mine anymore,” I confirm, and a devilish glance spreads across my face. Stas’s days were numbered anyway; he provoked me too much. The smallest mistake from him, and I’ll take him down. He had his eyes on Alin; he understands she’s not an ordinary woman. That’s why he called her a treasure and wanted her to work for him. He can keep dreaming.
“The Russians are off our backs, and everyone returned safely. I’m going to update my wife that we’re home safe,” Mariano suddenly says and rises from the sofa, holding his phone.
“Mariano, sit down,” I command, “until we get all the answers here and understand how to deal with this, you’re not telling your wife anything. Wait for Alin,” I explain, calming my tone. This isn’t the time to shoot in all directions; they’re just as shocked as I am. I need to keep it together for them and for Alin.
Alin
I get out of the bath in Luca’s apartment after a long soak, wrapping myself in a robe and tying it with its belt. I quickly dry my hair with a hairdryer and then head downstairs to the living room in the apartment, the place I can now truly call home. Waiting for me there are the three crazy brothers, staring at me expectantly.
From the moment we returned to the apartment, they went into Luca’s office in awkward silence. I didn’t expect to see them waiting for me like this now, but I really do owe them answers.
Anxiety starts to creep in as my eyes meet theirs, knowing how much they are thirsting for explanations I never thought I would have to give. How do you even begin to explain an entire world they never imagined existed?
I glance at them nervously and sit down next to Luca, who seems to read my thoughts. He responds by placing his hand on my thigh, gently massaging it. It’s his personal way of calming me down, and it helps my confidence return to the surface.
I kiss his cheek quickly as a thank you for his gesture and look at the curious men sitting across from me.
“I know you probably don’t understand…” I start quietly, trying to organize the speech I’ve prepared in my head again, but Pedro interrupts me before I can finish. “What the hell was that?”
Mariano immediately smacks the back of his head like a child, and he goes silent.
I laugh at the silly scene and relax a bit, remembering how good it’s been with them lately. I decide that ripping off the band-aid will be easiest for me, so I take a deep breath and blurt out, “I’m a mermaid.” Then I immediately look down at my bare feet in embarrassment, waiting for their reaction.
Silence fills the room, and I lift my head to look at them, preparing myself for any response.
Luca holds his head, trying to contain his laughter but failing. His laughter bursts out. “Now I really understand how ridiculous it sounds when you didn’t see it firsthand,” he says, continuing to laugh.
Mariano and Pedro look at him and join in with chuckles.
“Yeah, funny, good joke,” Mariano responds sarcastically. “Now, could we please take this seriously? How the hell did you do that? What exactly happened there?” He throws questions my way, his brows furrowed in seriousness.
“I am completely serious,” I look at him with a deadpan expression and continue.
“My mother is a mermaid, and my father is a merman. There are entire royal lineages under the sea that you don’t know about, whole pods of mermaids and mermen,” I explain briefly, trying to decipher their expressions.
“Our worlds were never supposed to meet, but I decided to rebel,” I add and sigh.
It seems they are still waiting for me to say “I’m kidding,” but of course, that isn’t coming.
“The only time a mermaid is to set foot on land is when she gives birth and no more. My mother gave birth to me on a beach outside of New York. During the birth, she was vulnerable and exposed, and a rebel group took advantage of the moment toattack her. She’s the leader of our pod, part of a royal lineage, and they wanted to take her place. They attacked her right after I was born. She was badly injured, and my father had to drag her back into the water,” I continue, watching their impatient expressions.
“And where do you fit into this whole fairy tale?” Pedro asks with a disbelieving chuckle, but I cut him off and keep going. “When my father came back to get me, he saw an elderly couple who found me on the beach, searching for the parents of the orphan. My father took the opportunity and asked them to keep me until he could return safely. He appealed to their hearts, and they agreed. It seemed like fate—they were a childless couple and raised me until I was eight years old. The only life I had ever known wasn’t in the sea, but on land. My adoptive parents made sure to tell me everything, they wanted me to grow up knowing my story, my roots, and they were always surprised when I discovered new powers within me and had to learn to stay dry at all costs.
“At eight years old, I opened the door to a big tall man claiming to be my father, wanting to take me back to the sea with him. I wasn’t surprised; my adoptive parents had prepared me for the day it would happen, though so much time had passed we weren’t sure it ever would. I remembered leaving with him and saying a painful goodbye to my adoptive parents. It was a hard farewell, but since then, I’d lived in the sea.
“I snuck back to land many times to see my adoptive family without my parents knowing, but during that time I fell in love with my underwater world too,” I tell them, smiling as the memories come back to me.
“So what are you doing with us now?” Pedro asks impatiently, still not seeming to believe my story. It seems no matter how detailed it is, he won’t be convinced easily.
“Almost a year ago, they wanted to marry me off to a merman from another pod, to combine forces,” I answer, looking at Luca, who seems to start understanding all my lies.
