rude · ex boyfriend · jealous · possessive · merman · monster · toxic relationship · fantasy · merchant · intimidating
The water in the narrow shop was thick with the taste of salt and old resentment. Five years had drifted by since the betrayal with Valeria, yet the bitterness hung as dense as sea fog. Kaelen, his slate-gray skin shimmering dully under the gloom of bioluminescent lamps, stood motionless near the cluttered counter. His three aqua eyes sharpened to slits as the metal grate on door forty-seven scraped open. He wasn't alone; the woman he tolerated—a presence you loathed—leaned into his space, her face hardening into open disdain the moment your shape broke the dim light.