A week passed, and Agnes woke up earlier than usual for an unknown reason. All she knew was that when she regained her consciousness, the image of the merman immediately entered her mind. She was worried about him. Just the thought of him wandering near the shore made her anxious.
It didn't mean that because they weren't related, she would just disregard that creature. In fact, she felt sorry for the merman, especially since he seemed to be alone and unaware of his surroundings. What if the dynamite blast in the sea happened the next day?
She sighed and started preparing herself. After finishing, she briefly checked the time on her phone before deciding to get some fresh air outside, even though it was still dark. She had been living alone for years now, so she wasn't afraid to go out at such an hour.
"You're up early, Miss," said the old man, who was preparing the boat he would use for sailing later.
"Mister, are you one of the people assigned to set off the dynamite that Sir. Morris ordered?" she suddenly asked.
"Oh no. I don't want to be part of illegal blasting in the sea. Besides, it's sad for the other creatures living under the sea, like the mermaids."
She smiled at his answer. She thought she was the only one concerned about creatures like the mermaids, but there were still others who cared, and one of them was right in front of her, talking to her.
"You're also someone who cares about mermaids, Mister?"
"Oh yes, Miss. When I was young, my wife studied the sounds of manatees, which are similar to the sounds of mermaids."
"Really?" she began to feel happy.
This meant that, with the help of the old man, she might be able to understand the merman she had treated the previous week. She could ask him to teach her. She couldn't wait to learn the merman's language.
"Could I ask your wife to teach me, Mister?"
"Of course. Well, I'll go ahead. I need to head home." he said, bidding her farewell.
She smiled widely and nodded. After the old man left, she immediately went to the edge of the shore, where she had seen the merman wandering near the beach twice before. It seemed unaware of the danger it was causing by wandering around.
When she reached the spot, she quickly gathered some weeds that had been carried in by the strong waves and placed them on a large rock in the water. The water was knee-deep, so it was quite cold when her feet touched it.
She waited for a while and hoped the merman would arrive, but he still didn't show up. She needed to leave because she had work to do. Though she didn't want to go, she had to head to the Acosta mansion.
As soon as she arrived, she began preparing breakfast for them, again making something simple. After finishing the cooking, she also started cleaning the mansion so she could finish her tasks for the day. She wanted to leave early, hoping she would see the merman again.
"Love!" she exclaimed in surprise when she saw Erick enter.
Her lips pouted slightly, and her eyebrows met. She had noticed that he and Lady Brianna were seeing each other more often. Sometimes, they met at the restaurant, which was their usual meeting place, in Erick's condo, or even in the mansion.
Wasn't that strange?
She shouldn't feel doubtful, but she couldn't help it, especially since she could feel that Erick was losing interest in her. She thought something was wrong, but she tried to avoid thinking about it because overthinking would only bring more pain.
"You're visiting early?" she teased.
"We have an important appointment to go to with Brianna," he replied, not even looking her in the eye.
"Is that so?" she pouted before she hugged him around the waist.
She didn't expect him to react this way when she tried to show affection. Erick removed her arms from around him, scratched his head, and his face showed irritation. She couldn't help but feel hurt by his actions but decided to smile anyway, even though it wasn't genuine.
"Love, are we okay? I noticed that you're starting to ignore me," she said.
"It's not like that. I'm just dealing with something."
"You could probably balance the business you're setting up with Lady Brianna and our relationship, right?"
"It's easy for you to say that!" he answered sharply, before walking past her.
She was left alone in the living room, feeling nothing but the pain of how her boyfriend was treating her. A question filled her mind, and fear enveloped her chest.
"Does Erick still love me?"
(FASTFORWARD)
Agnes was exhausted when she returned to the Acosta mansion. She had just come from the market because Lady Brianna had asked her to buy some things. At first, she was confused because there were still a lot of goods stored in the kitchen, but since she was her master, she followed the order.
She returned in the afternoon, realizing that today is a festival which is being held at the plaza. There would be no one at the houses since everyone is at the plaza celebrating. She had no intention of joining the festivities because no one had invited her.
She rested for a while after putting the groceries away. She went up to the second floor to inform Lady Brianna that she was back, but her brows furrowed when she heard the moans of a man and a woman enjoying something that sounded like an intimate act.
Tears started to fall when she realized who was making those sounds. She wasn't stupid not to recognize the voice, especially when it came from inside Lady Brianna's room, where Erick was probably still with her.
"You shameless animals!" she yelled in anger and barged in.
She found Lady Brianna lying on the bed with Erick on top of her. Both were naked, and she couldn't hold back her fury as she dragged them off the bed. Liars!
"Ouch, damn you, Agnes!" the lady screamed as Agnes pulled her by the hair and dragged her down.
"You're a homewrecker woman! How dare you steal someone else's boyfriend?!" she yelled as she pulled her non-stop.
"Stop it, Agnes!" Erick shouted as he forcefully shoved her, making her back hit the bookshelf and causing her to wince in pain.
Her back would surely bruise from the impact, but the pain was nothing compared to the betrayal she felt from her boyfriend and master.
What crime had she committed to deserve such a fate? She lost her family, lived alone, had no friends, was forced to stop her studies, was mistreated by her masters, and now, her boyfriend had betrayed her. This is too much! It was too much pain for her to bear.
"How could you do this to me?!" Brianna yelled in anger.
"You're the ones I should be asking that! How could you do this to me?! I've served your family my whole life, even when you hurt me and starved me!" She stopped for a moment to take a deep breath before turning her gaze to Erick, who couldn't look her in the eye.
"You, Erick! I loved you so much!" Her voice weakened, and she couldn't help but fall to her knees.
"I trusted you. I understood you! How could you do this to me?"
"I'm sorry, Agnes. But I don't love you anymore."
"So that's why you did this to me?!" She stood up fiercely.
"You should've broken up with me right away so I wouldn't have looked like a fool. So I wouldn't have hoped that the man I thought would be with me forever actually loved me!"
"Will you stop being dramatic? We're in reality, not a drama!" Brianna scowled before covering her naked body with a blanket.
"You're terrible! I'm the one you deceived, and you're the ones at fault, but you can't even apologize?!"
"What for? You're just our maid. Besides, nothing will change from your sorry or your drama because he doesn't love you anymore. And to tell you, we're in a relationship now."
"You animals!"
She violently yanked Brianna's hair again. Whether she was her mastee or not, she had the right to punish her for taking Erick from her. She had suspected these two from the start, but she never realized they had been deceiving her all along.
"What are you doing to my daughter?!" Madame Beattrice shouted at her from somewhere.
She gasped for air as she let go of Brianna's hair. The Madame embraced her daughter, and Sir. Morris gave her a sharp glare. It was good that Brianna's parents were here to witness their daughter's wrongdoing.
"Sir. Morris, Madame Beattrice, your daughter is having an affair with my boyfriend. I caught them having sex."
"And?" Sir. Morris raised an eyebrow.
"They lied to me!" she screamed in disbelief due to the reaction of the sir."
"Don't be surprised. My daughter is better than you."
"Sir. M-Morris, you're condoning your daughter's actions?" She couldn't believe it.
"Of course, she's our daughter," Madame Beattrice replied.
"Did you know about this from the beginning?" she asked suddenly.
"Yes. And we approve of Erick for our daughter, so we've allowed it."
She shook her head and didn't hesitate to leave the room. She was out of herself as she walked down the stairs. She almost fell if Erick hadn't caught her. She looked at him and saw that he was wrapped in a blanket, covering his lower body.
"Let go of me, Erick. I'm disgusted by you."
"I'm sorry, Agnes."
"Sorry? How could you do this to me? I loved you so much. For a year, I did everything to make sure you wouldn't look for someone else, but this is what I get? How could you stand to deceive me when all I did was love you?"
"You can't blame me, Agnes. Look at me and look at yourself. Our social statuses are worlds apart. I don't want to say this, but I'm like heaven, and you're like earth. You're just a mere maid, and Brianna is what's right for me because we share the same status, and I can be proud of her."
After saying that, Agnes slapped him so hard that the sound echoed throughout the house. That wasn't enough; he had already deceived her, and now he was belittling her. What a shameless man.
"It's better if we break up now."
She said and left.
(FASTFORWARD)
It was seven in the evening when Agnes returned home, and as she expected, no one was around the houses she passed by. It was better that way so no one would see what she was planning to do, and no one could stop her from ending her life.
What was the point of living anymore? She had no family, no friends, she was being mistreated by her masters, and her boyfriend had deceived her. She had tried to live for him, for her and Erick, thinking they would get married, build a family, and grow old together.
But everything crashed down when she found out about his betrayal. Also, she had already gotten back at Brianna, and now she was sure she would never find another job because of what she had done. So, it would be better to end her suffering once and for all.
"It's better to just die," she whispered.
She had made up her mind when she took off her slippers and slowly dipped her feet into the cold water. She stared blankly ahead as she continued walking toward the deeper part of the sea.
The water had risen above her head, and her feet could no longer touch the sand beneath her. Her warm tears flowed freely before she finally closed her eyes as she sank into the water.
She wanted to come up for air because she was running out of breath, but she held herself back. The reason she was drowning herself was so she could take her last breath and end her life, to end her suffering. She was sure no one would look for her, and her body would just be discarded wherever it washed up.
Her eyelids began to give way, but they quickly furrowed when she saw a familiar handsome face of the merman she had met at the end of the shore. He was swimming toward her rapidly. Her eyes widened when he reached her, and he wrapped his right arm around her waist, his left palm supporting her back as he lifted her from the water.
She never thought he would save her. She thought he had forgotten about her since they hadn't seen each other for a few days. This creature cared about her, while Erick had pushed her to the ground by insulting her and belittling her status in life.
When he laid her down on the shore, where the waves still reached, she couldn't stop herself from sobbing, which made the creature in front of her react. His eyebrows furrowed, and his lips parted slightly, almost like a three-year-old child curious about her.
Her cries grew louder when he briefly closed his mouth before opening it again. She suddenly remembered seeing Erick and Brianna kissing while doing something inappropriate. The pain was still so raw!
"H-huhu?" he asked, which startled her.
He formed words, not just sounds. It was like a baby making its first word, but even then, it was clear to her that he was mimicking how she cried. She couldn't help but smile.
She raised her right hand and gently touched her finger to his cheek before placing her soft palm on his slightly rough skin, which had small scales.
Why is he so handsome and cute, almost like a child?
He smiled because of what she did.
She couldn't understand why she suddenly felt the urge to gaze at his thin and alluring lips. She swallowed hard when something in her mind pushed her to kiss him on the lips. She wanted it too.
She let her palm rest on his cheek, then hooked her other arm around his neck, pulling him closer to her face. For a moment, she saw the curiosity on his face before she closed her eyes to savor the moment.
Her lips met the lips of the merman.