THE OCEAN DEPTH ~ ELITE 04

Chapter 10

MEMORY LANE
~

SHE WAS FORCED TO SIT IN DINNER with him. After crying the whole day to not let him in, he was up again to attend the dinner invitation by Dr. Lewandowski.

Anastasia couldn't believe how much of a dense person he was. If she'd been insulted like this, she'd never even looked toward that house.

"By the way, Irvin are from here Bostons? Your accent is kind of hard to figure out." Dr. Lewandowski asked.

Irvin smiled mildly; a shy and timid smile. Followed by a sad chortle.

"I lived most of my life in Petersburg. About my birthplace—I've got no idea." He said.

Annie creased her brows, getting thoughtful.

"No, it's not your St. Petersburg," Irvin said, looking at her. "I'm talking about the Alaskan Petersburg."

"Alaska once used to be part of Russia though." Her father said.

Suddenly the attention centered on her, as her father explained the history of the Soviet Union and the current cold war. She felt uneasy as Irvin's gaze was on them. His eyes were ambiguous, albeit they went straight through the soul. They were arctic; the palest shade of blue. Like always, she felt he had the eyes of the devil. The eyes of Lucifer; as they showed in museums.

Timeless. Tormented. Wrecked.

They didn't align with the innocence of his face.

"Papa, can I go now?" She asked as soon as he finished.

Aleksander glanced down at her plate, which was still untouched and he grimly replied, "No, first finish your food."

"I'm not hungry." She whined.

"Fear kills hunger," Irvin let out, leaning forward to grab the glass from the side. He wasn't even looking at her, but it spooked her. "You have to convince yourself that the lion is not in the room."

"I-I'm not scared of you." She shuddered.

He smiled, "When did I say you are, kid? You're just afraid of the demon that possessed me."

Annie widened her eyes and looked at her parents one by one. Alisba's face was red while trying to hold back her laughter and her father had a subtle smile on his face, as if he didn't take it seriously at all.

"What's your name?" He asked, eventually looking at her.

She glared him sharply.

"Annie."

"Real name?"

"You know it,"

"Like this, people make big mistakes." He said intensely, but then his eyes flickered as he stared into the space—something instantly switched in them. The next moment, he smiled sheepishly, looking back at her family. "Perhaps I heard it, Alastassia, Blastassia, Clastassia."

"It's Anastasia!" She fumed.

He was laughing like an idiot again and she wanted to throw him out of the window.

"Wow!" He cackled, clapping hands, "Princess Anastasia?"

Alishba laughed, "Yeah, she is obsessed with princesses and castles. If you ever see her room, you'll feel like you've entered the courtyard of a castle."

Annie cringed.

"Why?"

"She painted the walls like it, and the center wall has a castle's big picture."