Over the next few weeks, Aqua learned new recipes that Dawn could pack to work. The businessman was busier than ever and started bringing work home just to eat meals with her. She felt bad for distracting him and begged Jericho to teach her simple and healthy recipes.While Dawn worked hard to accumulate his fund and pay off his debts for the legal and not-so-legal businesses, Aqua’s walking stabilised. She learned how to walk in low-heeled sandals with Jericho’s help and started building her stamina with a newly bought treadmill. Aqua liked to walk on the treadmill during the day while watching documentaries and received approval from Dawn to swim in the indoor pool with Jericho when she expressed her desire to have a more active lifestyle. Needless to say, both men were surprised by just how athletic Aqua was. She had so much energy that even Jericho found it hard to keep up with her when working out together. Aqua had to be faster than the Olympic swimmers. He&rs

If Aqua were to tell her mother that one day she would be a mermaid who could travel the skies, her mother would have tugged her by the ear and nagged for hours about her careless daydreaming. Mermaids couldn’t fly like birds, for they had no wings. Yet, here she was, thousands of feet up into the air above the sea of clouds amongst other humans.“Awake now?” the familiar voice beside her sounded calm, but Aqua could feel the intense surge of undercurrent emotions through their linked hands. Even without it, she knew she would be in trouble.Unable to lie or devise a decent excuse, Aqua could only remain quiet as she mentally prepared herself to receive a scolding. Even if Dawn grew to hate her for not listening to him, the mermaid was determined to follow him. The stars told her that Dawn would be in big trouble without her, and she wanted to help no matter how silly she was.Unable to remain mad at Aqua for long when she had that kicked puppy look

The next few days passed in a flurry. While Aqua learned new cooking recipes from the neighbours, Dawn skulked from alley to alley. Most of his usual informants were missing, probably in hiding after Ricardo’s purge. However, the few who were only loyal to money had yet to come back to him with any new information.Ricardo’s secret contact in the picture that Qian Mo found Ricardo meeting with was nowhere in town. The former mafia boss dug through old documents in some of his father’s archives to see if any mentions of his mother’s side of the family existed.The cartel that Dawn wanted to find was very far out of reach. Even the local police did not have much to offer him. Dawn was grasping at straws, and all his father’s allies could not be found. Those who remained in the Daniels family were either new blood or traitors. Dawn didn’t trust any of them for information. Ricardo wouldn’t trust backstabbers either, despite being one.

It was a long drive back after a long talk that rivalled the travel time. Yet, Dawn wasn’t mad. Aqua might be slightly disappointed that he didn’t bring her any of the food because Jim had the liberty of footing the bill and packing the rest of the leftovers back for his supper. He hardly blamed the man for it. The meal was delicious.Returning the rented vehicle was easy. However, returning home after that was harder. The port town wasn’t like the city where Jericho lived. Barely any shops, besides the occasional bars and drunkards, were open this late. The port was quiet at night, with only the waves crashing into the cemented wall and the cold salt wind blowing in his face. Thankfully, it wasn’t too far of a walk back to the townhouse, even without a vehicle. It might take him an hour or so, but there wasn’t any traffic to hinder Dawn. Ricardo and his men didn’t patrol this area either, so there was nothing to worry about.Dawn had wa

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