I did not wait to hear what Zander had to say to my revelation knowing very well what came next.

He'd be furious. He'd be hurt. He'd be so many things that wouldn't be pleasant.

My guilt was already way too much. I didn't have it in me to stay and decipher how he was feeling.

So I turned around and stormed away deeper into the house. I didn't try going out the exit knowing very well, he'd come dragging me back to the house if I tried to escape again. This time he had the added motive to make me stay and ask why I did what I did.

My feet padded across the woodsy flooring making its way up the stairs and towards my room on the second floor.

Pushing open the door, the smell of rusty dust greeted me. But I didn't bother to pay too much attention to it.

Swishing my hand in front of my face as if to ward of any dust particles in the air, I walk towards the bed and flop down on my back.

My eyes zoom in at the tiny star stickers marring the ceiling.

A bitter laugh escaped my lips as I thought of that day Layla had stuck those stars there at my request.

I was just five and Layla seven then. She'd fallen down the ladder due to my foolishness. I'd wailed like a toddler that day thinking I was the reason she got hurt and she'd leave me because of it. Layla had looked constipated how to make me stop crying. She'd hugged me to calm me down and told me it hadn't hurt since she'd fallen on the bed and not the floor.

That day, she'd promised me she'd never leave me even if I ever hurt her.

She'd lied. . .

She didn't keep her promise.

She just left me when I needed her the most.

When she was the only one I had to look upto, when she was the only one who could comfort me, who could make me feel better, who I yearned to be with, she tried to kill me and then left.

For once, I'd have understood why she tried to kill. I would've forgiven her for that because she had every right to but then. . . .

She fleed the kingdom.

Just like that.

It reminds me of the prime cause of my sister abandoning me. It reminds me of the day everything went downhill in this house.

I fought against the grunt as the memory surfaced my mind like a bad omen.

***FLASHBACK***

"Mom." Tears coated Layla's eyes as she sat next to where her mother was lying on the bed.

Marilla was standing near the foot of the bed as still as a statue. Her blue eyes flickered from her mother's body withering in pain to her father's motionless form beside her.

'He won't make it,' The healers had said and they'd been right.

Marilla was in partial shock. Her heart wept in agony but she couldn't for the life of her bring herself to shed a single tear. Layla had done that part for the both of them.

Somewhere along, she knew her mother wouldn't make it either. The breaking of the mate bond was terribly painful. Many couldn't bare the pain. But if they tried, they could.

Although Marilla doubted her mother even wanted to try. Queen Mariane loved her mate to her very last cell and she knew if it was upto her mother, the woman would happily choose to accompany her mate in death.

But then. . .

Marilla's heart sunk even further in her own abyss of conflict. She couldn't bare to loose both of them. She couldn't even imagine a life without them.

But with each passing minute as she saw how her mother gripped her father's hand and started accepting the pain with a completely different bliss as if welcoming dea-

Marilla shook her head against the vile thought and climbed onto the bed next to Layla. Holding her hand over Layla's grip on her mother's hand,

"Mama, you have to fight this. We need you." Marilla held her stern gaze to her mother.

Queen Mariane let out a heavy labored breath, those family blue eyes dancing between both of her daughters.

"I can't." She said in a barely audible tone.

"Can't or won't, Mama?" Marilla's words were as sharp as shards.

But it didn't faze the queen. If anything, a proud look coated her face before those eyes softened, "Both. I promised your father I'll be with him through life and death."

"I'm sure father would want you to stay back. What are Layla and me going to do without any of you? What will happen to the kingdom? You can't just follow to death! You can't leave us! We already lost Papa! That's not fair to us!"

Layla glanced towards Marilla as if to silent her with her eyes as she saw how her mother's face contorted in despair at her younger sister's words.

Queen Mariane took a deep breath to let go of it the next second, "I have you to look after the kingdom."

Marilla's brows furrowed as she noticed how her mother's gaze was trained on her instead on Layla.

Layla's own eyes took a confused look but Queen Mariane kept her eyes steady on her younger daughter,

"You're so much more than you know, Marilla. You'll make a great queen." Their mother's words stunned both the sisters into silence.

The blue-haired one with pure confusion and the other one with shock.

"Mom. . ." Layla's voice trailed as she gazed up at her mother.

Queen Mariane just passed the girl an apologetic look, "I'm sorry, baby. But this is for the best."

Her sight then slid back to Marilla who still seemed perplexed, "You're going to be the next queen. Promise me, you'll be."

Marilla's vision was fixated on Layla who sat still as ever. All those promises and dreams her sister had about being the queen flashed into her mind.

'When I become queen, I'll make everyone live in the castle.'

'When I become queen, I'm going to stop all those bullies taunting the nymphs.'

'When I become queen. . .'

There were so many things Layla had hoped for. So many dreams.

She couldn't shatter her wishes. Marilla knew being queen was the one thing Layla wanted and treasured more than anything.

Those endless strategy classes. Those strolls to the cities in the kingdom to know the people. She'd worked so hard for it all her life.

Marilla couldn't snatch away that from her sister.

"No, Mama. Layla will make the best queen. She's the one meant to be the queen. Not me." Marilla rebuked fixing her gaze back to her mother.

A grave look crossed over Queen Mariane's face, "No. I promised you'd be the one."

"The throne is Layla's. I've never been raised to do this. I won't be able to handle it. Who'd you promise though? And what?"

A stunned silence took over before the queen replied, "Myself. I promised myself you'd be the queen."

"Then why did you make me believe I'd be the queen my whole life, Mom?" An almost inaudible whisper followed.

Marilla's heart clenched to see the agony on her sister's face.

Queen Mariane's eyes softened as she gazed at her elder daughter, "It was for precaution."

Tears brimmed Layla's eyes, "You kept me as a sacrifice for the assassins? Did you never love me?"

"No no." Mariane tried to sit up but failed and fell back due to exhaustion, "I do love you, baby. A lot. I'd have never let anyone hurt you. I just had to do it. I have my reasons."

Layla looked away from her mother feeling her heart shatter. She'd fed her hopes all those years only to take them all away at one instant.

As the silence lingered in the air with the dissipating breaths of the queen, her words echoed,

"Take a blood oath, Marilla."

Marilla's head snapped to her mother in terror, "What?"

"Take a blood oath that you'll take the throne after I die and not give it to anyone except your future child. Not even Layla. No matter what happens."

Layla's eyes widened but she bit down on her lip to stiffle a painful sniffle. She didn't know what she'd ever done for mother to do this to her.

"No." Marilla's words were instant.

Queen Mariane let out a long dragged sigh, "Please. Its for the best. Can't you do this one last thing for your mother?"

Marilla felt her heart stutter as she heard the slowing heartbeats of the queen but then one look at her sister and she'd solidified her decision again.

"No, I won't do it."

Queen Mariane was tired. Her eyes felt drowsy and her bones hurt from the pain of losing her mate. She knew she had barely few minutes left and she wanted to use it to protect both of her daughters and ensure their safety.

The mother's heart loved both her children equally even if she knew what she did to Layla wasn't forgivable. But they would understand.

One day, maybe they'd figure out why she'd done this and forgive her. One day, maybe they'll not hate her for what she was about to do. . . .

But it was her last option. If there was anyone who could get Marilla to do something, it was Layla. . .

And then in a flash of lightning with the last bit of energy she had, Queen Mariane rose. In a swish movement, she grabbed the crystal dagger placed on her side table and pulled Layla to her.

Holding the dagger to Layla's throat, the siren queen looked at her second daughter, "Take the blood oath, Marilla."

Marilla's face resembled true horror as she glanced at her sister held at knife point by her mother.

"Mama-"

"Do it." The queen inched the dagger closer to Layla's skin making the girl let out a small whimper.

Marilla's eyes filled with the tears she'd been holding back so long, "Why would you do-"

"Fast." The dagger grew closer making the tiniest droplet of blood trickle down Layla's neck.

"Okay okay. I'll do it. Leave Layla. Please."

She just got a stern look from her mother in return.

Shutting her eyes, Marilla took in a deep breath hating herself for what she was about to do. But one look at Layla in her mother's hold and she knew she had to do it. She couldn't take risks with her sister's life on line. And Mariane might be their mother but she was the merfolks queen first. There was no telling what extent she'd go to ensure the betterment of her kingdom.

"I, Marilla Shellock, take a blood oath that I will take the throne. And it will only be passed to my daughter and no one else." The words tasted bitter on her tongue as she spoke them.

"Good. Know that, if you hand over your throne to Layla by your own will now, she'll die because the blood oath bounds you both as you share the same blood." Queen Mariane added letting go of Layla.

Both the sisters stared in horror at the queens words. That couldn't be it.....

Queen Mariane fell back onto the bed breathing heavily because of having used the full extent of her physical strength.

"I'm sorry, my girls. I hope you'll forgive me for what I did one day. A mother has to take tough decisions to ensure her children's safety sometimes." Her eyes almost fluttered shut, "Know that I always loved you both the same. Till my last breath."

And she shut her eyes leaving the realm of the living forever.

Never knowing her actions would cause the greatest rift between the sisters.

To the point where one would want to take the other's life.

***END OF FLASHBACK***

Every oath has a loophole.

I can't willingly give the throne, right? But Layla can take it by force. By killing me.

The blood oath just restricts me to hand over the throne. It doesn't restrict her to snatch the place after I'm no longer bound to it. It will get severed with my death.

How ironic, mother never thought of that. Half her words that day didn't make any sense.

Promise? Both of our safety?

What does me taking the throne have to do with both of our safety?

If anything, it was the fuel to ignite a hatred in Layla's heart for me.

Maybe I'd forgive Mama someday for making me forcefully take the throne. But one thing I never would be able to forgive her is for taking away my sister from me.

For making me seek out a dark witch to find Layla when she dissapeared for hundreds of years after attempting to kill me.

And what happened when I did find out where she is? She hated me and was abducting the very same people she'd sworn to protect so that she could end me.

Just that one action Mama did fucked up everything.

She didn't know how lonely I'd be left after that oath.

Not only she'd left me after Dad's death without any consideration how I'd need her more than anything. But also she took away the only closest thing I had too.

Valerian and Mellisa are my closest friends. But no matter what, no one could take Layla's place. She used to be like my other half.

And she left me. Turned against me.

All for the cursed throne.

A thing I never even wanted.

I fought back the tears pricking the back of my eyes.

Gosh, this is why I hate this house. This is why I never came back here after mother died.

Because it reminded me of everything I had before and how I lost them all just in a matter of a decision my mother took for gods know what reason.

My eyes shifted to the clock on the wall.

2 : 00 AM

Wow. Now I couldn't even sleep. I'd been so tired before. Could this day get any more worse?

As if hearing my thoughts, a voice spoke startling me to a sitting position on the bed,

"Can't sleep, Sea queen?" Zander stood leaning against the wall, an icy look on his face.

What in the world was he doing in my room at this hour?