Chapter 55: THIRD POV [BONUS Chapter].

But even then, in her mother’s eyes, it was beautiful. She reached out and touched the shells with a gentle finger, smiling at Artria.

"You worked so hard on this, didn’t you?" her father said, reaching out to ruffle Artria’s hair.

"Our little artist. This is going to be the finest piece of jewelry in the whole village."

Young Artria beamed, her heart swelling with pride.

"Good girl." Artria’s mother patted her on the head, her hand moving gently over Artria’s soft blue hair.

The touch was warm and kind, and it made the young Artria giggle and smile with content.

At that moment, she felt like the center of her mother’s world. She held her little seashell necklace close to her chest, feeling proud of the work she had done.

She thought that finally, she had done something to make her parents truly happy.

"Mom, Dad, I made one too!"

An excited voice rang through the water, breaking the quiet moment.

It was a high, energetic voice that always seemed to carry a lot of power. A second later, an energetic little merfolk swam into the room with a burst of speed.

It was none other than young Persephone.

Back then, she looked quite vigorous and cheeky for her age. She had a mischievous glint in her eyes and a wide, confident grin that she wore like a badge of honor.

Rather than swimming slowly, she zipped around, full of life and seemingly infinite energy that even the adults found hard to explain.

"Oh my, sweetie, would you come and look at this," Artria’s mother said.

Her eyes widened the second she saw the necklace her other daughter was holding.

The hand that had been patting Artria’s head fell away as she leaned forward, drawn in by what Persephone was holding.

She was so impressed that she immediately called her husband over. "Dear! Come quickly!"

"Coming, dear," their father called out. He swam over once more, with a jolly smile, his large tail moving slowly as he approached.

However, on seeing the necklace Persephone had made, he couldn’t help but gasp. He stopped mid-swim, his eyes nearly popping out of his head.

For the necklace was quite marvelous.

It was made from nothing but common shells found on the sea floor, yet when put together, they no doubt looked fabulous.

Persephone had arranged them by color and size in a way that looked professional, almost like a piece of art from a royal city.

The shells were polished until they shone, and the pattern was perfectly symmetrical. It was a masterpiece compared to the messy string Artria had put together.

"You made this?" Their father blinked in surprise, looking from the necklace to his young daughter.

Young Persephone nodded eagerly, her chest puffed out with pride. She looked like she knew exactly how good it was.

"I made it for mom," she said with a big, bright smile.

"Oh sweetie, you shouldn’t have," her mother smiled, her face lighting up with genuine joy.

She reached out and took the necklace with trembling fingers, putting it on immediately.

She turned this way and that in the water, admiring how the shells caught the light. "It’s perfect. It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever worn."

Meanwhile, young Artria watched from the side. She was still holding her own necklace, the one her mother had just called "good" only moments ago.

But now, no one was looking at her. No one was patting her head. Her parents were busy fussing over Persephone, telling her how talented she was and how lucky they were to have her.

And just like that, the same thing continued to happen over and over and over again. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Whether it was finding the best pearls, swimming the fastest, or learning the village songs, Persephone always did it better. Each time, Artria always found herself overshadowed by her adopted sister.

She was the shadow, and Persephone was the sun. No matter how hard she tried, she was always just the girl standing to the side.

******

Back to the present.

The memory felt like a weight on Artria’s soul. The water in her home felt heavy and hard to move through.

"Why... Just why can’t I beat her at something for once," Artria sniffled. Her voice was tiny and broken.

She stood at the entrance of the sleeping area, keeping herself hidden in the shadows of the doorway.

She watched from the entrance of the nest, her eyes landing on the sea bed. Seeing Jacob and Persephone sound asleep on the sea bed, looking so peaceful, caused her heart to ache even more.

Jacob was on his back, his breathing slow and deep. Persephone was curled up near him, her pink hair floating like a cloud around them both.

They looked like they belonged together. Both looking like a perfect pair.

Seeing them like that made Artria feel like a stranger in her own house. It felt like her sister had walked back into her life and, within just a few days, had taken her place next to the only person she thought she had something special with.

She clenched her fist, feeling a wave of frustration come over her. Her nails bit into her palms.

She wanted nothing more than to swim over there and drag Persephone off the bed.

She wanted to scream, and wake them up, to tell Persephone to get out and never come back.

Artria wanted to be the one Jacob looked at with those "shimmering eyes."

But.

Seeing Jacob sound asleep, finally resting, her frustration couldn’t help but ease a bit.

He looked so tired lately, and seeing him finally getting the peace he deserved made her anger feel small and selfish.

She didn’t want to ruin his rest. She didn’t want to be the reason he woke up to a fight.

She bit her lower lip, reluctant to listen to her thoughts. She knew that if she stayed there, she would eventually do something she regretted.