Devil's Prisoner of Love by Prefer

To find Aurora, Julian and his team went to great lengths, casting an inescapable net to locate her in the shortest time possible. Searching on the ocean was far more

challenging than on land, where surveillance cameras were everywhere, and tracking a car was relatively simple. At sea, with no signal and nothing but a hand-drawn sketch of a black ship to go on, the task seemed nearly impossible. Yet, it was still better than before-they at least had a clue to follow.

Meanwhile, Aurora, adrift at sea, had no idea what Julian was doing to find her. Still, she could easily imagine how anxious he must be. After all, she had disappeared without warning. He was surely both worried and panicking.

With no signal on the ship, there was no way for her to let him know she was alive and well. For the sake of the baby growing inside her, Aurora tried her best to stay calm. If she were at home, she could have looked up advice on how to care for herself as an expectant mother. But here, with no internet or phone, she could only rely on Mrs. Woolf for guidance.

It was Aurora's first pregnancy, and everything about it felt new and fascinating. Her belly was still flat, yet a tiny life had already begun to grow inside. Each day that life would grow a little bigger, and soon, her stomach would start to swell. Aurora looked forward to the future, wondering what her child would look like.

After Aurora woke up on the ship, Justin had awkwardly moved out of her room, worried that she might need space or assistance during the night. Mrs. Woolf had swapped rooms with him temporarily, which meant Aurora never realized that for three nights, she had unknowingly shared a bed with Justin. To her, Justin felt like a caring older brother.

Life on the ship was dull, and Aurora often found herself wanting something to do. One day, inspiration struck.

"Justin, do we have any drawing supplies on board?" she asked, eager to finish her incomplete designs.

"Drawing supplies? Were you an artist or a designer before?" he asked, curious.

"Neither, really. I just enjoy drawing. It's something to pass the time while I'm stuck on this ship."

"We're just a bunch of rough sailors, but I'll ask around for you," Justin replied. He was willing to meet any of Aurora's requests. Eventually, he managed to procure a set of art supplies that a pirate had bought for his son.

When Justin handed her the supplies, Aurora's face lit up with joy. Seeing the complete set of tools, she felt thrilled to finally have the means to create new designs. It meant she wouldn't have to worry about Gore rushing her for work later.

up a knife,

with

course," Aurora replied, puzzled

me do it for you." He

pencil was an oddly endearing sight. After he

She began warming up by sketching on some scrap paper. Meanwhile, Justin,

they chatted idly, Justin couldn't help but steer the conversation toward the topic that intrigued him most-Aurora's fiancé. "Tell me about your fiancé," he said, pretending casual

soft smile curved Aurora's lips. "We met at sea," she

for her for so many years. But this time, things were different. Julian didn't even know she was alive.

turned to Justin and

"It's nothing special. Just the same as anyone else's." He avoided telling her the truth about his

preoccupation with the joy of becoming a mother, but Aurora didn't notice anything unusual. The crew

Instead, she

she showed Justin a new drawing. "Justin, look at this. It's a wedding ring set I designed. What do

Justin, with no artistic background, thought it was beautiful. The rings were formed by two abstract lines

stunning. Are those dolphins?" he asked, pointing at

Aurora replied. "Back home, I designed ten

fresh.

the idea from the dolphins

I never got to see those adorable dolphins. But I'll always remember what they did for me," Aurora said, her fingers gently

once-in-a-lifetime experience, and she felt

turned into weeks, the ship finally neared land after more than half