An Ocean Away

Prologue

When I was old enough to realize other children had more than one parent I asked my mother why. And she told me that it was because not everyone gets their Happily Ever After.

On my 5th birthday the only thing I wanted as a gift was to know about my father, who he was and how they met and what happened for them not to get their happy ending. It took days of pestering and negotiations for her to finally give in. That's when she told me the story of how Julia and Cas fell in love, got married but were unlucky to have found and lost each other.

At the ripe age of 18, Julia Addams lost her parents in a tragic accident that left her orphaned, alone and unhappy. She decided to move to the capital city of Pensia for a fresh start, to test her luck at finding happiness. Things were looking up almost immediately. She managed to get a job at the Royal Palace of all places and that's where she met Cas. Cas worked in the palace for the Royal Family for many years in assisting with day to day life. She and Cas worked very close for a long time and eventually fell in love.

But his parents would never approve of Julia so they tried very hard to keep their growing love for each other a secret. They tried to fight their feelings as hard and as long as they could but eventually realized that it was futile and they were meant to be together.

They decided that they would run away and get married. Away from his parents disapproval and harsh opinion of her. They made it to a small town just on the coast of the Oscana region where they finally found someone that would marry them without the approval of his parents. And they lived happily ever after.

For a couple months at least.

One day, when they had just started settling into their new routine, in their new home, they had an unexpected visitor at their door. Cas' uncle Victor came to take him back home. He told Julia to stay in the house while he spoke with his uncle. He said he would tell his uncle to go away and never return, to leave them to live their life in contentment. Julia trusted him to handle the entire thing but the next time she looked out the window he was entering the vehicle that Victor had arrived in and Victor was walking back to the front door.

"My darling," He said to Julia when she opened the door to him, "Cas wanted me to inform you that he has chosen to return home and assume his responsibilities that he left behind. He wishes you luck in your future and urges you to find love elsewhere with a more suitable companion."

The whole interactment took less than 30 minutes from the moment Cas' uncle arrived to when they left. Julia was devastated but more than that she was angry. Because later that afternoon she had planned to tell him that she was carrying his child.

Julia never saw him again and she never wanted to see him again. She made it her mission to only focus on her daughter and the wonderful life she would provide for her. She didn't need anyone, least of all Cas, to help her find happiness.

But I knew, from the moment she finished telling her story, that there would always be a piece of myself missing. A piece that could not be filled with common objects, money or people. I knew that one day I would go searching for my father and one day I would get to know the man that had no idea of my existence.