"Anabelle said she's going to meet her Daddy when she gets back to Greece...when do I get to meet my own Daddy?" Jace innocently questioned, looking expectantly at his mother.
Ariel remained silent for a few seconds but it felt like hours to her.
She knew a time would come when she would have to face challenging questions like this from her son but she just didn't know it'd be this early.
But it was expected, he had friends at home and on the cruise ship who had complete families.
Anabelle was the daughter of a young woman who was also on the cruise ship. She had become friends with Jace the moment she saw him, and since then, both kids have become best of friends, and sometimes, Anabelle's mother would play with them too.
Anabelle was always full of stories of how her father was her best friend and how he always did everything with her, so Jace must be wondering why he didn't have a father who did everything with him like Anabelle's father.
She sighed.
How was she supposed to tell him that his father didn't know he existed, and how was she supposed to tell him that even though she told his father about him, his father wouldn't believe her, he would say that Jace was a child of that man in the framed picture they sent him three years ago, he would think that she was trying to use him to extort money from him.
"Baby, I'll-"
"Breakfast is served," Logan arrived with two plates of smoking pasts.
"Yummy!" Jace immediately forgot what he was talking about and faced the food in front of him.
Ariel sighed in relief, sending a thankful look to Logan.
Lohan smiled and paced her food in front of her, "And here's yours, pretty woman," He winked and sat beside her.
""Thank you, Logan," Ariel smiled.
"Thanks, Logan," Jace said as he already dived his food.
Logan smiled as he saw Jace enjoying his food, "You're welcome, buddy,"
"Hey, how do you like it? I made it myself," He leaned sideways to Ariel and whispered to her.
Ariel nodded; she swallowed the food in her mouth and replied, "It's delicious away, Logan; you should consider joining the chefs here; you'd keep them on their toes for sure," She praised.
Logan laughed, "Yeah? Maybe if consider that," He replied, smiling.
After eating, the three of them went up the deck and met Mr. Sloan.
"Good morning, Dad," Ariel greeted.
Mr. Sloan was wearing his captain uniform and holding a cup of steaming coffee in his hands as he stood speaking with one of his crew members.
When he saw Ariel and Jace, he immediately turned away from the person he was talking to and faced his family first.
"Good morning, sunshine. Come here, boy," He spread his arms for Jace, who ran into his like lightning.
"Ohh! My boy is very energetic this morning," Mr. Sloan laughed as he lifted the boy off the deck floor.
"Guess what, Jace?" Mr. Sloan asked excitedly.
"Um, you're going to give me a ship?!" Jace questioned happily.
"Well, I will, but that wasn't it," Mr. Dloan laughed.
"I'm curious, why not tell us," Ariel said.
Mr. Sloan smiled, "Fine, I'll tell. We'll be stopping in Greece in two hours; we get to go home!" He announced.
"Yaayyy! Home! Mummy, we're going home!" Jace bounced up and down in Mr. Sloan's hand.
"Okay, okay, easy, baby, don't push your Grandpa to the floor," Ariel rubbed Jace's back as she smiled.
She was excited too; they'd been on the sea for a month, and she was done with it; she now needed the quietness of her apartment; she'd missed it
But her smile suddenly fell when she remembered that she'd be traveling the moment she got to Greece. She hadn't told Jace or Mr. Sloan, and she didn't know how they'd react especially Jace; she didn't know if he'd be ready to move again after just returning from sea travel.
Mr. Sloan would understand but he would still question her to know if she was sure about her decision. She hadn't told him anything about her past but he knew she never wanted to return to the States. He would let her go when he learned it was for business.
"Good morning, Mr. Sloan," Eva suddenly appeared from behind them; she was wearing a different uniform that morning, a short white skirt and a blue long-sleeved shirt.
She looked to Ariel to greet her, but Ariel removed her eyes from her, looking toward the sea.
"Good Morning, Eva, sleep well?" Mr. Sloan asked.
Eva nodded. "Yes, sir,"
"Hi, Eva, you look great today," Logan complimented.
Eva smiled kindly at him, "Thank you, Logan. I'll be off to serve thebpassebgwrs their breakfast," She bowed to Mr. Sloan before she turned to walk away.
Before Mr. Sloan could say something, Jace beat him to it, "Break a leg, Eva!" He waves at her.
Everyone burst out laughing, even Ariel couldn't hold back her smile.
"Thanks, Jace," Eva waves at the boy before she walks away from them.
"Look at you, copying your Grandpa's words," Mr. Sloan started to tickle him, and Jace burst out laughing and wriggling in Mr. Sloan's arms.
Ariel watched them with a kind smile. His boy knew that Mr. Sloan always replied to Eva with those words, so he decided to help his Grandpa say them that morning.
Her son was smart, smarter than his age, he wasn't supposed to be asking of his father at that age, given he already had Mr. Sloan as a male figure in his life, she thought that would cover up that father gap, but she was wrong, Jace was still sensible enough to realize he didn't have a father.
"He loves his grandpa," Logan said quietly beside Ariel.
Ariel nodded, not taking her eyes away from the duo, "He does."
"You know, I can be his father to make the boy really happy, what do you say?" Logan asked.
Ariel playfully glared at him, "Trust me, the boy won't want you as a dad, he already takes you as a friend, and you'll be traumatizing him," She chuckled and patted his shoulder before walking out on him
"Ouch," Logan placed a hand on his chest and walked after Ariel.
***
"Daddy!" A little girl ran toward the tall man who was standing in front of a black car.
He looked so intimidating that people stood far away to observe the cold and handsome man in his black suit.
The little girl ran and hugged the man's leg, smiling up at him.
"How are you, Candy?" Aiden asked as he opened the car for the little girl.
"I'm fine, Daddy," Candy replied, entering the back of the car.
Aiden smiled at the girl and shut the door.
"Hi, Aiden, I didn't come with my car, so I think as a family, we should ride together," Moon appeared behind him and smiled.
Aiden scoffed, "Take a cab, Moon, or you can just stay in your house and do your skincare or whatever," Aiden said and walked to the front door.
Moon's face fell, she went and stood in front of the door, blocking Aiden from entering the car.
"Aiden, you have to stop this, I'm your wife-"
"You're not my wife," He corrected immediately.
Moon scoffed, "Well, I'll be soon, Aiden, you know it, stop fighting it; Grandma wants you to honor the family by marrying me; you got me pregnant; you have to do the right thing," She informed with a stern face.
"Well then, Grandma can go ahead and marry you, Moon. You still don't get it. We're supposed to be siblings, and you think it's right to hold this kind of conversation with me; you should have just seen Dr. Debra and saved us this suffering," Aiden scornfully gusted at Moon and stepped away from her.
"Gregory, " Aiden quietly called to who was standing Gregory away from him.
"Yes, boss," Gregory answered, already knowing what he was called for.
He stepped forward and went over to Moon. "Please leave the door, Ms. Moon," He said the moment he reached Moon.
Moon glared at his face, looking over at his shoulder to look at Aiden who was calmly watching the scene.
"Aiden, you can't be serious, do you really want him to hijack me out of the way?" She questioned in disbelief, a bit dependent. She knew Aiden meant it; it wasn't the first time it was happening.
"Move, Ms. Moon, my boss is running late for the meeting," Gregory warned, his face turning more serious as the seconds went by.
"You...you'll be sorry for treating me like this soon. You'll be sorry," She glared and stormed off.
Aiden sighed and walked back to his car. He wondered when all this would end, but he knew it wouldn't end; as long as there was Candy, Moon would always be trouble to him.
He wished things had happened differently, if only that witch didn't break his heart, he wouldn't be facing all this now.
He had to find a way to keep Moon away forever.