Chapter 4 : Decision

Knock... Knock... Knock...

Anna had only fallen asleep at five in the morning when a knock on the door woke her up.

"Mmm... who is it?" she asked, her voice still hoarse with sleep.

"It's me, Ma'am. I've brought your clothes. And the Master would like you to join him for breakfast," said the maid. Anna realized she still didn't know the woman's name.

"Alright, come in."

The middle-aged woman entered the room and helped Anna to her feet. She escorted her to the bathroom before leaving her to get ready on her own.

While waiting for Anna to finish bathing, the woman tidied the bed and arranged Anna's belongings on the vanity table—her comb, hair clips, accessories, skincare products, and makeup.

"Oh, right. I never learned your name yesterday," Anna said as she stepped out of the bathroom.

She had already changed into fresh clothes and was casually drying her hair with a towel.

"My name is Sri, Ma'am. You can call me Mbak Sri. That's what the Master usually calls me."

Anna smiled.

"Alright, Mbak Sri. Thank you for preparing everything for me."

"You're welcome, Ma'am. You're the Master's wife. Taking care of you is part of my job."

Still smiling, Anna sat down at the vanity and quickly began getting ready.

Skincare, light makeup, earrings, a necklace, brushing her hair—she completed everything with remarkable speed.

Anna had always been quick when it came to things like this. Since childhood, she had been responsible for many tasks, so she disliked spending too much time in front of a mirror.

Mbak Sri watched in amazement.

Before working for Alex, she had served many wealthy young ladies. Most of them expected everything to be done for them. If left on their own, they would spend ages sitting at their vanity simply admiring themselves.

***

"That was fast. I thought you'd come down at least half an hour later," Alex said.

He arrived at the dining room at almost the same time as Anna.

"Why would I waste time when I can finish quickly?"

"Most women spend forever getting ready."

"I was born beautiful. And my skin is naturally good. I don't need heavy makeup," Anna replied with a playful grin.

Alex chuckled at his overly confident wife.

Some things never changed.

The girl sitting across from him was still the same Anna he had known since childhood.

Noticing that breakfast had already been served, Anna asked the servants to leave the dining room.

She wanted to speak with Alex privately.

"Lex, why did you have to disguise yourself as Uncle Chandra to marry me? Why didn’t you tell everyone that Uncle Chandra was dead?" Anna starts the conversation.

"There were several matters my father needed to handle here. If people found out he had died, Robert would have a much harder time defending the company from our business rivals."

Alex paused before continuing.

"Then, if I wanted to marry you, I still had to use my father's identity.”

"Marry me? Why?"

"My father knew that Sanjaya's daughter had feelings for me. He wanted to prevent Sanjaya from trying to switch the bride and replace you with Valencia if I were the one officially arranged to marry you."

Anna blinked in surprise.

"So, my father had to pretend to be some lecherous old man interested in a young girl. That way, you would remain the chosen bride."

He smiled faintly.

"Before he passed away, we had already planned to switch roles on the wedding day. He would become me, and I would become him."

"For us, a marriage in the human world isn't particularly important or legally binding."

"So, the marriage is only valid in your kingdom?"

"Yes, of course."

A trace of pride appeared in Alex's eyes.

"We are descendants of the Sea Dragons, and we're very proud of that."

Anna looked at him seriously.

"You've lived here for so long. Didn't you ever grow attached to this place?"

"Not at all."

Alex shook his head.

"We don't possess our full powers here. The abilities we can use are limited, and we always have to make sure we have access to water."

"What happens if you don't?"

"Nothing serious."

He smiled.

"I'm a sea creature. Water is my world. Whenever I'm far away from it, there's always an emptiness in my heart."

He leaned back in his chair.

"But I won't die simply because I'm separated from water. As you can see, I'm still alive."

Anna quietly reflected on his words.

For a while, the only sounds in the dining room were the soft clinks of forks and spoons against their plates.

After finishing her meal, she looked up at him again.

"Lex..."

"Hm?"

"If I decide not to continue this marriage... and I don't want to stay here to help Robert either..."

She hesitated before asking,

"Would you regret telling me your secret?"

"I trust my father's judgment. Even after knowing you for all those years, he never changed his decision. In his eyes, you were worthy. Our secret will be safe with you."

Alex smiled gently.

"And after getting to know you myself, I think you're a good person too. I trust you. No matter what decision you make, I don't believe you'll ever hurt me."

He paused for a moment.

"Because we're friends."

Hearing the words we're friends from Alex made Anna's chest ache.

At the same time, she knew he was right.

As far as Alex was concerned, they weren't truly married yet.

***

"Lex, may I come in?" Anna asked from outside the door of Alex's study.

"Come in. Give me a moment, though. I just need to finish this document first," Alex replied while continuing to work on his laptop.

Since she didn't have her phone with her, Anna could only lie down on the comfortable sofa and wait.

"It's already 1:00 a.m.," Alex said after finally finishing his work and taking a seat on the sofa opposite her. "I thought you'd be asleep by now."

"Not yet. I've spent the entire day thinking as hard as I could."

Anna sat up and faced him.

"So?" Alex asked. "Have you made your decision?"

"Yes."

She nodded.

"I've made up my mind."

"I honestly thought it would take you at least a week to answer me."

"I'm unemployed right now, Lex. I had plenty of time to think."

Taking a deep breath, she met his gaze.

"Lex, let's get married. I'll go with you to the Sea Dragon Kingdom."

Alex blinked in surprise.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay here?"

"I'm sure."

Anna smiled faintly.

"At first, I planned to make a deal with Uncle Chandra and find a way to make the Sanjaya family suffer. But after you offered me a new life, I decided to let them go and start over instead."

"If you really wanted them to suffer, Robert could easily make that happen for you."

Alex leaned back against the sofa.

"But as for living peacefully... I'm not sure you'll find that in the Sea Dragon Kingdom."

Anna frowned.

"Why not?"

"There are plenty of enemies in the ocean."

His expression turned serious.

"Sea pirates, for example. You may one day have to kill them with your own hands. You could get injured. You could watch people die."

Anna listened quietly.

"I don't mind."

Her voice remained steady.

"I've already made up my mind to try living a new life. Whatever consequences come with that choice, I'll accept them."

And she truly meant it.

Anna had thought everything through carefully. There was nothing tying her to this place anymore.

She had never had many friends because she was always busy.

And her family had never felt like family.

A world filled with magic would undoubtedly be dangerous.

People could kill one another far more easily.

There might even be monsters lurking somewhere beyond her imagination.

But Anna was part of the Sea Folk too.

Maybe, she possessed abilities of her own, just like Alex, even if she hadn't discovered them yet.

She wanted to learn what potential lay within her.

She wanted to uncover the truth about her biological father.

And more than anything...

She wanted the chance to live alongside the man she loved.

Even if she didn't know how Alex felt about her, she was certain he would treat her with respect.

Anna didn't want to live with regrets.

She didn't want to grow old and die alone while wondering what might have been.

If I had chosen to be with the man I loved, would my life have turned out differently?

She never wanted to leave this world carrying that question in her heart.

And if one day she ended up regretting her decision, at least she would have experienced life beside Alex—

the only man she had ever loved.