Devil's Prisoner of Love by Prefer

To find Aurora, Julian and his team went to great lengths, casting an inescapableto locate her in the shortest tpossible. 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 inteor 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 twhile 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.

But when Justin saw her pick up a knife, his expression changed abruptly.

"What are you doing with that?" he asked sharply.

"Sharpening pencils, of course," Aurora replied, puzzled by his reaction.

Realizing he'd overreacted, Justin coughed awkwardly and said, "Letdo it for you." He quickly took the knife and pencil from her hands.

Watching this large man carefully and delicately sharpen a pencil was an oddly endearing sight. After he finished one, he handed it back to her with a satisfied look. "There, all done." "Thank you, Justin," Aurora said, smiling. She began warming up by sketching on sscrap paper. Meanwhile, Justin, ever diligent, took it upon himself to sharpen all her colored pencils.

As they chatted idly, Justin couldn't help but steer the conversation toward the topic that intrigued him most- Aurora's fiancé. "Tellabout your fiancé," he said, pretending casual interest. "How did you two meet?" At the mention of Julian, a soft smile curved Aurora's lips. "We met at sea," she began, her voice gentle. Aurora recounted their story in detail, and Justin listened intently. He hadn't expected that such a powerful and wealthy man could be so devoted, waiting for her for so many years. But this time, things were different. Julian didn't even know she was alive. How could anyone wait a lifetfor someone they believed was gone? When Aurora finished her story, she turned to Justin and said, "What about you? Tellyour story." "My story?" Justin hesitated. "It's nothing special. Just the sas anyone else's." He avoided telling her the truth about his life as a pirate.

Perhaps it was the pregnancy, or perhaps it was her own preoccupation with the joy of becoming a mother, but Aurora didn't notice anything unusual. The crew treated her with warmth and kindness, especially Justin, and she never suspected there was more to their intentions.

Everyone had their secrets, and Aurora didn't press further. Instead, she focused on her designs, her collection of sketches growing steadily.

One day, she showed Justin a new drawing. "Justin, look at this. It's a wedding ring set I designed. What do you think?" She held up her latest sketch, and even Justin, with no artistic background, thought it was beautiful. The rings were formed by two abstract lines shaped like dolphins, with a bouquet-like design at the top.

"It's stunning. Are those dolphins?" he asked, pointing at the delicate lines.

"Yes," Aurora replied. "Back home, I designed ten other sets, but I've decided to scrap them all and start fresh. This design feels more meaningful." "Did you get the idea from the dolphins that saved you?" "Exactly. I was unconscious, so I never got to see those adorable dolphins. But I'll always remember what they did for me," Aurora said, her fingers gently tracing the sketch.

She never imagined she'd one day owe her life to dolphins. It was a once-in-a-lifetexperience, and she felt incredibly lucky. Whenever she spotted dolphins swimming near the ship, she would toss food into the water for them.

As days turned into weeks, the ship finally neared land after more than half a month at sea. It was inevitable-they couldn't stay afloat forever. Justin knew that docking meant it was tto confront Aurora with the truth.

"Justin, I heard we're about to reach land. Is that true?" Aurora asked one evening.

"Yes," he replied, his expression heavy.

Aurora, on the other hand, was overjoyed. "Justin, do you have a phone? Once we dock there should be a signal right? It's been twenty days since I fell into the sea. My family must be worried sick. I need to let them know I'm safe." Justin bit his lip and remained silent.

"What's wrong, Justin? Don't you have a phone? That's okay. I can borrow one once we're on land. Julian will cfindthen," Aurora said cheerfully.

"I won't let you go," Justin said suddenly.

Aurora froze, stunned. She thought he was simply reluctant to part ways. "Justin, all good things must cto e ap end. We had such a wonderful twith you these past weeks, and I'll miss you too. But you can always visitin Clothville." "That's not what I mean," Justin said, stepping closer and looking her directly in the eyes. "I mean I won't let you leave my side." Aurora looked at him in confusion. "Justin... What do you mean? Why won't you letleave?"

Justin grasped her hands tightly, his voice firm and earnest. "Because I love you. From the moment I first saw you've been deeply, hopelessly in love with you. You're the one I've chosen for this lifetime. That's why I won't let you go." mmMwWLlilofiflo&1 mmMwWLlilofiflo&1 mmMwWLlilofiflo&1 mmMwWLlilofiflo&1 mmMwWLliIofiflo&1 mmMwWLlilofiflo&1