Salighayan; A Taboo Love Story

Chapter 14

~ Mike’s PoV

The whole trip home I kept doubting my decision, what if things go wrong and maybe Mother gets to know that she is a fake?, someone I picked up because she had lost her memories and didn’t have any other place to go?.

I’d definitely never hear the end of it from Mother, besides, why is she so stiff in the car as if she was in the digestive system of an animal or something.

Could she have forgotten how it is to be in a car? Well, she had definitely forgotten how it was to be hit by a car and what it could do a human like her.

I still had my doubts that she was human though, she really had to be something, or how else do you explain the sparkle in her eyes those times, but then she didn’t give off any shape shifter smell as I had earlier noted, neither did she smell of vamp, just the sea.

I kept thinking I should tell her a bit about my family and what she was about to face, the person that is my mother especially.

So unfair I kept thinking.

She as well didn’t say anything, all she kept doing was stealing glances at me when she thought I wasn’t watching, little did she know that my peripheral vision was ten times better than that of a human.

Whenever I try to glance at her, she looks away and blushes to herself, ‘what the heck is wrong with her?’ I thought to myself.

The only way this would pay me is if she turns out to be what I feel she is, something else, something with a probable solution to my predicament, something mystical.

“We are here” I said as I parked at the garage of the mansion that resembles a mausoleum so much, thanks to Father and his theatrics.

“Oh, ok” she said shyly, but her eyes were wide as if she was brimming with excitement, I really wonder what could be getting her excited, faintly I heard her heart beating faster than normal.

‘I really hope I won’t regret this decision I’ve made’ I thought to myself as I rolled my eyes and opened the door for her.

I decided to be gentlemanly because as it is, Mother could have her spies watching, so I gently escorted her into the house.

“Hey Mom, Hey Dad, Hey Michelle” I said as I entered the general living room to find them all there, Mother has a strict policy when it comes to family dinners, once there wasn’t one person present and the person could be, then no one would dine till that person was there.

“Two hours Mike, Two hours we’ve waited” Mother said hotly, “And would it have killed you to oick up your phone?” she lashed out.

I knew what would calm her right now could only be to have done what she had requested so I played to that part.

“I’m sorry mother, really, it wasn’t really my fault, I had to invite someone special as well and it was a bit of a hassle to get her ready, so I present to you Maya, Maya this is my family” I said and gave way so they could see her as I said her name.

It had the desired effect on Mother, her face lit up at seeing Maya, even Michelle had her jaws dropping and Father nodded with approval.

What did they see in this lady that I was missing?, I really hadn’t think she could pull off impressing my family, but then here we were, she did it, she impressed them and even more so as she curtsied like a royalty and even I was impressed by that.

“Oh my!” Mother said all flustered, “You should have just pick your phone or called to inform us that this was why you would be late, we would have totally understood and we would have made more arrangements even, I for one would have dressed better” she said even though she was dressed like the wife of a billionaire that she was already.

“Come dearie, you are welcome, I’m Miranda, this is my daughter Michelle and their father Edward” Mother said introducing everyone.

Michelle looked coyly at Maya as she moved to her and shook her hand, Maya was smiling as she shook all their hands as if she had never even done it before, Mother hug her instead of shaking her hand, they all didn’t notice her novice act, well if they did, they probably thought it was because she was shy.

But wait, I thought to myself, can amnesia really be this worse, to the point that she was looking around as if she had never seen some things before in her life, my family probably thought she was just looking around because it was her first time here and I would have thought that too except for the fact that I really saw her and heard how her heart was reacting to everything like it was a new and thrilling experience for her.

“Well, my dear, you must be famished as it is, so are we though so let us all go and dine” Mother said, I noticed Father was with few words this time around, I really wonder what he was thinking.

Michelle on the other hand had quickly warmed up to Maya and they were talking as they went along side by side to the dining room.

I started to discover that as I have feared I might have bitten more than I can chew by trying to use Maya to satisfy my family’s pressuring.

*

~ Princess Mylie’s PoV

Oh my oh my, what an experience I was having, meeting his family in their palace (I believed he really had to be royalty because of how huge and palace-like their house was) his father seemed nice, his sister was even nicer but his mother was way too nice.

Mike’s mother treated me like the royalty that I was even though I’m pretty sure she had no idea, but maybe it was just a thing, royalty recognizing royalty.

But then their servants were few, maybe humans didn’t believe in having many servants, they came in and placed covered trays of food on the long table and tiny whiffs of well cooked food got out to make my mouth water, I was really hungry, in all my rush if an experience I hadn’t even noticed.

I was seated on one side and beside me was Mike’s little sister because Mike had gone across to sit facing me while his mother was beside him.

Edward, the father was seated at the head of the table and he held his wife’s hand and Michelle, then Michelle held mine and Miranda held his son’s.

I was half expecting him to stretch his hand to hold mine as well from across the table, thankfully I didn’t stretch my hands because he didn’t stretch his either till his father cleared his throat and looked pointedly at him.

He reluctantly stretched his hand but I gladly took it, after this, the father said some words and they all answered with ‘Amen' then we dislodged the hand holding.

The servants came at that point and took away the covers of the food, exposing it and the aroma therein, sweet smells filled my nostrils and the experience was in fact exhilarating.

Our noses underwater were flattened because we use gills in our neck to breathe underwater, and only when we raise our heads above water does it open and we can breathe in air and perceive smells, but all my life I had never perceived such sweet aromas as my now pointed nose smelled.

I got a few repugnant smells too, one from a jar that sloshed with thick red liquid, another from some dead fishes in some of the dishes on the table, I realized a bit later that to them, they weren’t dead fishes, they were food. So I stayed away from those two.

“So where are you from Maya?” Edward asked a few seconds after we started eating and Miranda placed some long stringy food that had rolls of something that smelled so meaty in my plate.

I had copied Michelle in the way she held the cutlery placed before me, it was way different from the cutlery we had underwater, but I still found it easy to use as I watched Michelle from the corner of my eyes.

I glanced at Mike after Edward asked the question but found that he himself was about to choke onhis food when he heard the question.

“Finland” I answered quickly, that should answer that and also stop Mike from choking.

“Oh really? That’s great, where in Finland?” Miranda asked as well.

Now I was at a loss for what to say “Uhm Sweden?” I answered again, those where the only two places I heard about that is not here, wait where was here even called because it seemed the humans have a name for every place unlike the deep where we just use the cardinal points, take for instance, I rule over the Northwestern kingdom of the sea.

Mike cleared his throat after my reply dumbfounded them all, “Uhm her place is a Swedish part of Finland, mixed and they almost regard the place as Sweden already” he said coming to my rescue amd I realized those two places must have been very different then.

“Hmm, I see, and your family? Are there over there?” Edward asked again, nibbling on his food.

“Oh yes, they are all there” I replied praying that the questions should stop, I really wanted to try all the meal on this table save for the dead fish and the red liquid.

I noticed that they all took the red liquid even more than the food they ate and Mike took even more than the rest, filling his cup every few minutes.

“So dearie, tell me what skills do you have?, because my son here has been looking for someone like you for a while but he has failed, I want to know what you have to make him go for you instead” Miranda asked.

At that point I got overly confused, why was he looking for someone like me, and what does that even mean, someone like me?

“I’m a healer, and I’m as well good at organization, I am fiercely protective and I care deeply for my constituents” I said answering the question she asked of skills.

I had only listed one of my abilities (healing) and my duties as a princess, but then they seemed to like what they heard, for some reason unknown to me even the indifferent Mike stared at me quizzically and in a bit of wonder as I said that.

“Wow, that is just great, what he needs exactly in a partner, as for the medical line are you with your doctorate or masters and have you done your residency?” Miranda asked yet again confusing me the more.

I saw Mike smirk a bit as he lifted the cup to his mouth to take yet another swig of the repugnant drink, I was going to shock him, I thought.

“Done masters and residency, really great at surgeries, almost perfect” I said, even if I don’t know which master Miranda was referring to or what residency is, I’m sure they must know what surgery is as well.

Sure enough I got my desired effect, Mike almost choked his drink out and the rest if the family actually clapped like what I said was really great stuff.

I was rocking this so much I just smiled contentedly, really happy with myself and how I had handled this meeting with his parents, once they like me, it’ll be hard for him to shake me off his back.

By this time though the servants had packed away the food and they brought some small dishes with fluffy triangle shaped typed of food.

When I took a bite of it melted in my mouth, I figured I had just found my best human food, I finished it in a jiffy.

“Oh wow, you really like cake uhn? Well me too” Michelle said.

So it was called cake, wow, cake is great I thought to myself really savoring the taste.

“Well, father, mother, we have to go now, it’s the middle of the night already and there is still work to get to by morning, Maya as well needs to rest” Mike said and then he got up and started going out, he hadn’t even touched his cake, I thought sadly.

I felt a bit sad at the thought of leaving as well, I didn’t need rest, I needed more adventure, more exhilarating experience.

“Well it’s fine, I know you young folks these days are always busy with one thing or the other, it’s fine” Miranda said, even she was as sad as I was if not more.

“So dear Maya, just know you are welcome here at any time, and do jot let him overwork you while you’re at work ok?” She said to me.

“Oh yes, thank you ma’am, thank you sir and thank you dear Michelle” I said to them all then curtsied once more before heading out along with Mike.

“We’ll come often now to check on you guys now, won’t we darling?” Miranda said and faced her husband Edward.

“Of course yes, we’ll do that” he answered more in a bid to satisfy her than what he really wanted.

“Ok, we’d love that” I said on behalf of Mike as well, I felt he would have been staring daggers at me now if he hadn’t left for the garage to get the vehicle to the front, I was still scared of that monster, especially because it makes unearthly noises.

Michelle came to hug me hard and whispered “Please take care of him” to my ears, I felt so moved by the love they all have, they didn’t look so functional as a family, Mike being the odd one out, but then there was love amongst them.

I entered the vehicle as Mike came around to open the door, seating a bit more comfortably this time around.

In my mind I went over the nee possibilities that had opened up, I was thought to somehow work for Mike and at the same time that I was probably someone special to him.

But then this is going to be an avenue to get as close as I want to him, because as it stands now that even his family has approved of me then I am ready to chase him till the ends of he world just to make him mine.

Fine I guess you could say I’m in love with Mike already.