Monica turned to Prince Lake. “Hey, Lake, I would like to talk to Princess Dana. Would you like to talk to Prince River?”
Prince Lake smiled. He had great respect for Prince River and the warrior-filled legacy of his kingdom. The merprince could remember reading history books about merfolk wars as a kid and trained his body to become muscular in order to be an equal to Prince River. “Of course, Monica. Let’s go meet the lucky duo.”
Monica smiled and swam up to Damon. It didn’t take long for Damon to notice a beautiful mermaid approaching her, but she could somewhat recognize the face…
“Damon?” Monica asked.
Damon’s eyes widened. For weeks, she’d gone under the feminine name Dana for years, she never heard any other merperson ever speak that name out loud. That had to be…
“Monica?” Damon gasped.
Monica’s face lit up. “Damon! You’re okay!”
Damon put a finger to her lips. “Quiet, Monica. I don’t want others to hear my old name.”
Monica quickly covered her hands on her mouth. Here she was, meeting her ex-boyfriend and she already was upsetting her. “Oh god... Sorry about that.”
“It’s okay. I’m just curious. How did you get here in the first place?” Damon asked.
“I came across a lamp that had a genie in your apartment and… I guess I don’t have to explain what happened next.” Monica said as she moved her violet fishtail and showed it to Damon.
“Indeed,” Damon said, looking at the tails she and Monica had. “But why did you come back, Monica? You broke up with me and said you were already seeing someone else.”
Monica paused, looking at herself in shame, knowing what led up to them meeting like this. She looked up to Damon with watering eyes. “I’m so sorry about breaking up with you, Damon. I was so stupid to break up with you like that. The man I was seeing dumped me literally yesterday, he gave the exact same excuses that I said to you. Please forgive, Damon. It’s my fault I ruined our love.”
Damon looked at Monica with shock. She didn’t know what to say but she put her hand on Monica’s arm and smiled. “Monica… It’s okay. I know you didn’t mean to hurt me. You meant well and… It just didn’t work out right. I really thought you found someone else who loved you.”
Monica sighed and wiped her eyes. “I really thought I found someone else besides you who could fill my void quickly but he never really loved me and broke my heart, just like what I did to you. God, if only I could’ve turned back to you those weeks ago. We could’ve saved our relationship. We could’ve been married and…” Monica laid her eyes upon Damon’s pregnant belly. “We could’ve had kids…” Monica whimpered.
The expecting mermother looked at Monica and sighed. “Monica… We simply can’t go back to what things used to be. Even with The Genie’s wishes, I just can’t picture us being together again. Besides…” The baby inside Damon’s belly kicked with its tail, prompting Damon to stroke her stomach and calm down her child down. “I’m too attached to my mermaid life to ever leave it for life on land. I have a loving royal husband and a baby on the way. I have a family and a kingdom to rule now. I’m sorry but I don’t want to go back, Monica. I want to stay here. The sea is my home.”
Monica was devastated but Damon was right. What could she possibly offer as a human against what a merman prince could offer to Damon? The life Damon has is too complicated now. The only option she has is to make a wish that would turn things back to normal on land and wipe their memories of the breakup and merfolk… No… Monica would never do that to Damon. The only thing worse than breaking up a relationship is ruining another relationship for her own agenda.
Monica looked up to Damon and solemnly nodded. “You’re right, Damon. It’s too late for me to do anything. I may have ruined our relationship but at least you’re happy now… That’s all that matters to me at this point.” Monica smiled. “I’m glad you’re happy with Prince River. He seems like such a good man.”
Damon warmly smiled back, this was what she wanted to hear. “He is, Monica. He’s so strong yet so sweet and is even buying milk and clothes for the baby.” Damon looked to see Prince River and Prince Lake happily talking to each other. “Oh but that man you’re with seems like a darling as well.”
Monica blushed and grinned. “He is, Damon. He’s so muscular and cocky, yet he always treats me like an angel. His parents are the sweetest and the commoners around his kingdom seem to be in harmony. He and I are still taking it steady, but he seems eager to continue being with me.”
Damon held Monica's hand. “That’s wonderful to hear, Monica. I can tell you have already found a perfect soulmate. I wish you both the best of luck. River and I look forward to working with your kingdom with trading and resources for the sake of the merfolk.”
Monica’s eyes widened. “Oh yeah, I forgot. We both are going to be queens someday. Oh, that’s going to be awesome! I’ve always wanted to become a queen, but I never imagined it could be a reality.”
Damon giggled. “Indeed. I loved watching The Little Mermaid and always wanted to be like Ariel, and here I am… Basically a merprincess. To be honest, it feels so much better to be a mermaid than a human.”
Monica nodded. “Agreed. It feels great to not have to worry about paying rent, worrying about student loans, and getting cramps from walking.”
Damon’s expression became a bit more serious. “You know… When we broke up, I really worried what would become of us. But it seems our breakup seems to have improved our lives more than it hurt us.”
Monica was initially shocked to hear such words come from Damon’s mouth, but she realized that their breakup led to the two finding a genie, discovering merfolk, and now the two are now going to be rulers of kingdoms… All from being a worried human couple on land. “You know what, Damon? That’s so true. Our lives have changed for the better.”
Monica looked away for a moment before speaking to Damon again, whose expression has softened once again. “You know Damon… Even though we can’t be boyfriend and girlfriend anymore.” Monica closed her eyes. “Can we still be friends?”
A warm tearful smile appeared on Damon’s face and she hugged Monica in a soft and gentle embrace. “Yes… Best friends.”
The pair of mermaids eventually left the ball next to their princes with smiles on their faces. After what felt like weeks of agony, Monica felt euphoric after finally getting closure with Damon. Prince Lake noticed his girlfriend’s improved mood and smiled.
The merprince laid his arm on Monica’s shoulder and brought her closer to the side of his chest. Lake's hands eagerly touched Monica's back and pawed her torso. Monica purred and laid her face on her boyfriend’s chest as she stroked his abs. Prince Lake grinned in pride as he flicked his tail to his kingdom.
Tonight was a wonderful night.