Chapter 341: Chapter 341

Right before Samantha walked in, the headmaster was showering compliments on Shelby, making her more flustered by the second. "Are you talking about me?" she asked, pointing at herself as the older man thanked her once again for what felt like the umpteenth time in the most humblest of stances.

"Yes, Mrs, Thornston!"

She blushed at being referred to as Mrs. Shelby was not used to that title yet. It was a bit ridiculous, but she was still very self-conscious about all this.

"Why are you thanking me, sir, when you did all the work? I had no hand in this facility in any way."

"Ermmmm..." the headmaster scratched his head sheepishly and then turned fully to Ian, who seemed to have taken the backseat throughout this conversation. It was clear that the headmaster had no intention of answering this question.

But, his gamble turned out to be a good one! Seeing Ian’s relaxed smile with his wife made him feel much more at ease, as if everything was just as it should be. It’s funny how the older man had worried so much about Ian’s opinion of the pool facility.

Everything was put together just how Ian wanted, yet he still felt a bit like a child anxiously waiting for a stern teacher to grade his homework.

The man hadn’t felt comfortable asking why the three children had the special privilege of having this pool area just for them. After all, the one covering the costs had the final word, and that’s exactly how it turned out.

"Since you’re here, Chairman Thornston, I’d love to chat about some of the other projects. I understand you’re quite busy, but I was really hoping to steal a bit of your time..."

The headmaster paused, eagerly anticipating the moment as he clasped his hands nervously. He had taken a risk by asking this. Knowing he typically needed to schedule an appointment with Ian days or even weeks in advance, was he surprised by Ian’s immediate agreement? Absolutely! He was thrilled.

Ian’s precious children were in his school, and he had to take advantage of that as best as he could for that chance will be no more when they graduated.

While the headmaster was thinking he had won, Ian’s reason for accepting this was quite simple.

He had been observing his family for all the duration that they had been there, and he could see how Ingrid was holding herself back from the water.

He shook his head at the little girl’s resiliency.

The headmaster gestured to one of the comfortable lawn chairs in the place, and Ian cocked an eyebrow at him,

"You want to discuss business here?"

’Who wouldn’t want to stay here?’ The headmaster thought but he dared not say anything.

"My apologies. I had thought that you wanted to stay he-"

The man started ranting and then stopped,

"My apologies! Let’s go to the office to talk about this."

Shelby pulled herself out of her trance of admiration for the place and turned as Ian prepared to leave, but Ian stopped her.

"Stay here for a bit. I’ll be right back."

Instead of answering, Ian turned to the headmaster and the man quickly smiled,

"Of course, Mrs, Thronston, the bar is fully stocked with refreshments. You can stay here all you want. In fact, you can consider it your home -"

He stopped in his tracks, realizing that he was going too far. The older man cleared his throat awkwardly, then he bowed slightly to Shelby and then turned, leading the way for Ian out of the place.

They met a few people outside the place as soon as they exited, of whom included the assistant headmaster, Ingrid’s homeroom teacher and Gabriel’s singular teacher. Gabriel’s teacher only had him in her class, so he had nothing to do on days that he was not around. Based on this, she had thought that she would be allowed into this new state-of-the-art pool, only to her disappointment.

"You all go back for now. I have made it clear of the rules regarding this place and who is authorized to access it, do not make me repeat myself!"

The headmaster spat out at the three as soon as he came out and saw them there. Then the man, turned and bowed apologetically to Ian. Ian pretended as if he had not seen them and they two headed to the offices, followed by the three to their tasks.

As soon as they had disappeared off one corner, Samantha appeared off the bend on the opposite.

Inside, Shelby squatted to Ingrid and whispered,

"You can be yourself here... you don’t have to worry about anyone."

"I can?" She asked hesitantly, as Gabriel was also there, but when Shelby nodded encouragingly, Ingrid’s smile blossomed. She tried to mask her excitement and walked to one of the lounge chairs. Ingrid removed her clothes and glasses, leaving only her underwear.

Like a flash of light, Ingrid slipped into the water with a splash, and in an instant, her eyes lit up with pure delight. She darted through the pool so fast that Shelby found it hard to follow with her eyes.

Ingrid’s movements were fluid and graceful; a natural-born swimmer was finally at home. She had no obvious tail, though, but this time, scales shimmering in shades of iridescent blue and green—propelled her through the water in smooth, powerful strokes. Each flick of her arms sent her gliding effortlessly, like a burst of joy set free beneath the surface.

Within half a second, she had already swum to one end of the pool.

Ingrid paused, coming out and waving at Shelby. Shelby smiled brightly in return. Ingrid was definitely a different person underwater.

On the opposite side, the sounds attracted Gabriel’s attention, and his little eyes swelled as they followed Ingrid.

Ingrid twirled and twisted, her laughter bubbling up in the form of tiny giggles that echoed softly through the water. It was as if the pool had come alive with her happiness, the ripples dancing around her as she moved. She controlled every single ripple and movement of it.

Shelby took off her shoes and sat down, dipping her legs leisurely in it. The water was warm and comforting.

"Mama Shelby! Look at Ingrid. She looks so beautiful!!!!!"

Gabriel bobbed his head up and down. His excitement was equally infectious.

"But you cannot talk to anyone about this. Remember?"

"Yes! Not even Sam.... Right?"

"Unfortunately, not even her."

"Ok! Can I swim, too?"

Before Shelby was done speaking, Gabriel had dived into the shallow end of the pool, still fully clothed, making Shelby giggle while shaking her head helplessly. She also felt a thrill rush through her at the water that had started bubbling around her, maybe from something Ingrid was doing.

Ingrid let herself sink to the bottom, eyes closed, savoring the feeling of being submerged—completely embraced by the cool, welcoming depths she had missed so dearly. She was back where she belonged for the first time in what felt like ages, then just as suddenly, she broke the surface with a joyful gasp, droplets glistening on her skin like tiny jewels, and looked around in wonder.

With its sparkling blue tiles and soft lights, this indoor pool wasn’t the open ocean she longed for, but it was enough. Ingrid had not been I the ocean yet, but somehow, she felt that would be better than what she felt here. It was a taste of the freedom she had yearned for, and in that moment, she felt nothing but pure, unfiltered glee, her heart light and her soul finally at ease.

This was the scene that Samantha stumbled on, and she could not hold back that loud gasp.

Her hand shot out of its own accord, trembling as she took in that unreal scene in front of her.

Shelby whipped around instantaneously as she vaguely remembered that the ask had been for all three children to have access to the facility. They had yet to make sure that Samantha’s time did not interfere with or collide with the younger ones who were of different species.

’OH NO!!’ Shelby’s heart surged.

Ian inquired through their link. Shelby got up hurriedly, trying to think of what to say because Ingrid had let go completely, and there was nothing they could say to Samantha to make her believe that whatever she had seen was unreal.

Samantha’s arms trembled as she took in Ingrid’s changed features.

’What was going on?’ She wondered as her body started to shake.

However, just then, her father and his assistant appeared out of thin air close to her, making her scream. The scream was deafening and Samantha nearly lost her footing as her heart raced wildly.

Ian dashed to Shelby’s side, bending down to check if she was alright. He took his sweet time doing this as she was his priority.

Currey, on the other side, went directly to the petrified-looking girl, whose hand was still pointed at the pool midair.

"He stepped swiftly in front of Samantha, making sure not to touch her and then chanted,

"You were never here. You never saw anything today. You have been in class this whole time!"

Currey stared deep into Samantha’s eyes as he said this, but neither he nor anyone in the room expected what would happen next.

"Assistant Currey, why would you say that I was never here when I am right in front of you? Your words are very strange!"

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