I really wanted to smile. Everything was perfect, so why would I complain? My crew and I had plundered many vessels since my unofficial wedding with Dirk in Ocean Storm. Piracy increased after I gave the Royal Navy a lesson, my daughters seemed happy, my friends were more united than ever... Just like paradise, right? Can you believe I looted so many ships that we had to sell some cargo? Sounds like a pirate's dream! Anyway, you already know my life as a pirate was great. However, every beautiful story has some ugliness, doesn't it? Sometimes too much if you ask me. Let's just say certain people can get outraged and sour... Yes, I'm talking about my husband! Doesn't seem like anything new, I know, but you'll soon understand what I mean. Dirk Bosch revealed a superpower: making me crazy.

It was early afternoon. Francis followed me to the gun deck, barking excitedly. Although my gunners didn't stay there all day, Dirk insisted on isolating himself there. He stared at the cannons as if they were his worse enemies... Yeah, glaring was among Bosch's favorite things to do. Sometimes I invited him to watch the sunset, but he preferred to release his anger... Fun, right? Well, not for me.

I approached him, "Are you happy with your cannon friends?"

Bosch rolled his eyes and walked away... Yeah, he didn't laugh at my jokes anymore. Perhaps it was just a phase. I took a deep breath, wondering what he was thinking. Although we'd been together for four years and a few months, sometimes I couldn't deal with him.

People say women are moody, but Dirk proved them wrong.

"What do you want, Eva?" Dirk sighed. "As if working for you isn't humiliating enough!"

I shook my head in denial. My husband could be a little ungrateful sometimes. Although I'd rescued him from that sinking galleon and gave him a job... Guess what? He still complained! At least Miguel and my uncle seemed happy with their jobs.

"Easy, hothead! I was just teasing you, but you clearly don't enjoy that anymore..." I looked away. "I thought you were too alone in here."

Bosch stared at the floor... Romantic, right? Being ignored by my own husband was wonderful! Maybe he was in a bad mood... like every day since we got married.

"You need a break. All gunners have been working a lot lately," I caressed my man's back. "Why don't you spend time with Tess? She's two already and you barely see each other."

"I don't want Ms. Annoying Voice and I to be like the Spanish Conspiracy!" Bosch wrinkled his nose. "I won't waste my precious time with her. Parenting isn't for me."

You should've thought of that before insisting on having a baby...

Yes, you didn't read that wrong. My husband created a mean nickname for our daughter! Wasn't that cute? In case you forgot, Dirk called Miguel and Luna the Spanish Conspiracy. He hated their strong father-daughter relationship.

I glared at him, "First, stop calling our daughter that! Second, Tess won't know you're her dad if you keep avoiding her the entire time!"

I wasn't overreacting. Bosch never talked to Tess. Even Laurens, who wasn't a huge kid lover, didn't stay away from Willem for so long. Different from Dirk, he gave his child attention.

"I have no interest in being near Ms. Annoying Voice! She's too much work. Besides, you know I never wanted a girl," Bosch bit his lower lip. "Miguel must be crazy to like Luna's company! She hugs people too much. Such a weird kid..."

Are you sure Luna is the weird one?

I laughed nervously, pretending I hadn't heard anything. That wasn't the first time Dirk said he didn't like to be a girl's father. If you'd seen his face when Tess was born... He couldn't even look at her! When she was a baby, he improved his attitude a little, but it worsened again.

I raised my brows, "I'd love to keep hearing these beautiful things, but I must leave."

"Go ahead," Dirk narrowed his eyes. "Do whatever you want as long as it doesn't involve other guys."

Francis barked and growled. Before I could give Bosch an unpolite answer, Maartje came running. I sighed, glad to see someone who didn't behave like a jerk. I was tired of arguing with Dirk... That was more exhausting than fighting the Navy! Trust me, I'm not exaggerating.

Maartje smiled, "Ashton told me we're ready to dock, Captain Storm. Time for our fun ride in Havana!"

I couldn't help but grin. My friends and I always enjoyed walking around everywhere we visited... and trying the local drinks too! I probably said that already, but we were the best pirate family ever. Luna, Tess, and Willem joined us sometimes. Don't worry, they didn't get drunk.

"I'll meet you and the boys on the main deck," I bit my lower lip and turned to Bosch. "Come with us, Dirk!"

Dirk rolled his eyes, "No, thank you. I have much better things to do."

I shook my head in denial. Although I liked going out with my friends, I wanted Dirk to join our group. Unfortunately, the redhead didn't seem interested, no matter how hard I tried.

I shrugged, "Maybe you can come some other time."

Bosch got closer, "How about never? I don't like your boring friends."

I took a deep breath to avoid saying something I'd regret later. Sick of that argument, I went to the main deck. Francis followed me. Maartje and Laurens talked while Miguel and the kids laughed. Willem quickly went to my cousin. I smiled when Luna and Tess approached.

Luna hugged me tightly, "Mommy, I lost the game today! Estoy triste..."

Tess laughed, "I won! I'm happy!"

My oldest daughter rolled her eyes. Despite getting along with her young half-sister, Luna sometimes lost her patience with Tess. I could relate since my young brother annoyed me a lot when we were kids.

"Good job, Tess!" I chuckled. "Don't worry, Luna. You'll win next time!"

"Yes!" my four-year-old girl jumped joyfully. "I'll be the champion!"

"That's right, princesa," Miguel caressed our girl's back. "Tess was the winner today, but tomorrow it can be you."

Luna grinned widely, "Thanks, papá."

Gálvez kissed our daughter's forehead, "Anything to make you happy, cariño."

I couldn't hold a smile. Luna was adorable when she mixed languages. Besides, her relationship with Miguel was incredible! I wish I got along that well with my dad... All my father did was drink rum! Besides, I was glad the Spaniard and I had become great friends. It must've been challenging for him to forget what he felt for me.

"Your Dutch keeps getting better. I'm really impressed," I raised my brows and nodded. "I still can't understand everything our daughter says."

"Thank you. Learning your language was the least I could do after you saved me from burning with my ship," Miguel grinned and sighed. "Luna and I can teach you Spanish someday. Laurens already had some classes with us."

"It's true, Eva. You'll love it," Laurens approached me. "Miguel and Luna are great teachers."

Gálvez chuckled, "That's because we have excellent students."

My quartermaster gave him a pat on the back, "Muchas gracias."

Laurens and Miguel laughed loudly. Francis barked and licked the Spaniard's boots. I never expected those two to be such good friends... It was great to see them getting along! I wanted Dirk to give them a chance, but he preferred his own company.

Why won't my husband stop avoiding my friends and me?

Maartje grinned excitedly, "Come on, everyone! We arrived!"

Miguel walked closer to my girls, "Great! You guys can have fun. I'll take care of the kids."

Willem jumped while giggling, "Yes! Let's play again!"

Laurens shook his head in denial, "Sorry, son, but Miguel isn't staying. He's one of us now, so he has to endure our company."

Tess hugged Gálvez's leg, "No! He's ours!"

I shook my head in denial, "You can't claim him, sweetie."

"I won't be gone for long," Miguel smiled while looking at the children. "I'm all yours when I return."

The kids embraced Gálvez and celebrated. They laughed and jumped so much that I thought they'd run out of air. Yeah, the children liked Miguel a lot... Uncle Ruben left the quarterdeck and approached us. Francis barked excitedly.

"I'll watch the children," my uncle chuckled. "Go have some fun."

I thanked him and left Ocean Storm with my three best friends. Francis stayed on the ship. We wouldn't stop talking while observing the colorful streets of Havana. Although the architecture wasn't Dutch like in Willemstad, the constructions were as colorful. Green, blue, orange... so many different tones! The coconut trees were delightful as well. However, the place was so hot that I almost took off my dark purple coat and black cocked hat... Yes, sometimes heat bothered a lady who'd spent her entire life in the Caribbean.

Maartje approached me, "Eva, we must talk."

I gulped. Even though my cousin usually said good things, I felt uneasy. Maartje had an annoying habit of discussing unpleasant subjects when I wanted to have fun.

"Dirk seemed in love with you at the beginning, but now his behavior is worse than ever," my cousin decreased her tone of voice. "You don't deserve to be treated that way! Why is he always so rude?"

I chewed on my lip, "It's probably just a phase... It'll be alright."

She scowled, "What if he's hiding something?"

"Sure!" I smiled sarcastically. "Dirk's hiding the tiny quantity of sweetness he once had."

You know Dirk. He's never been romantic and only showed sweetness occasionally, but I knew Maartje was right. My husband had been spending much time away. Bosch took a bullet for me once, but he seemed more willing to shoot me than save me after our marriage. Also, he became worse after Tess was born. One of the few times Dirk behaved better was on our second anniversary... Perhaps he ate some cinnamon that day and got kinder for a while? Well, we must laugh to avoid crying. I tried to ignore that situation as much as I could.

"I told you to be careful with Dirk when you chose him," Maartje knit her brows as if she spoke to a stubborn daughter. "Please continue to do so."

I took a deep breath, hoping my cousin was exaggerating again. She made me crazy with those disturbing subjects! The last thing I needed was to talk about my relationship problems. I sighed in relief as Miguel approached us. Hopefully, he'd talk about something happier.

Miguel bit his lower lip, "We have to run. I think someone's following us."

Yeah, I wasn't expecting that.

My eyes bulged as I turned back... Guess what? The fun was over before it started! My old friends had come for me with other guys. While the British wore blue and white coats, the furious strangers preferred blue and red... Yes, the Royal Navy and their friends from the evil organization Let's Destroy Eva's Life were there! I gulped as our potential enemies walked fast towards us.

I frowned, "Who are those idiots with the grandmas?"

Maartje laughed loudly and so did I. Sometimes, I referred to the Royal Navy men as grandmas because they wore ridiculous white wigs. At least one joke to make me happy... Well, the joy didn't last long. The two groups started running towards us as if they didn't have anything better to do.

"We can find that out later," Laurens breathed fast. "Let's get out of there!"

I nodded and the four of us ran for our lives. The men were so eager to catch us that they pushed any civilian on their way. Some people screamed, seemingly scared. My legs burned as my friends and I got farther from the Navy officers and their strange friends. I wondered if my uncle, Francis, and the kids were still safe in Ocean Storm.

I grinned mischievously while approaching a fruit stand, "Hello, old friends!"

I threw oranges in my enemies' way. Most Navy officers tripped and fell... That strategy always worked! I was probably hated by people who sold fruits.

Gálvez nodded and smiled, "That was awesome, Captain Storm."

I chuckled, "Thank you. It's a trick that never gets old!"

When I thought we'd escape the crazy guys, they ran faster. I took my friends to an empty street on our right. I gulped as enemies started coming from every side. I grabbed my cutlass while taking a step back. I wouldn't stop sweating since we were outnumbered... Exciting, right? Those idiots had to show up to ruin my day! It was only a matter of time until they turned my group and me to dust. 

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Author's note: Hey! Thank you for reading! I hope everyone is well. Please vote and comment if you enjoyed this chapter. All the translations can be found below and please message me if I ever translate something wrongly. I'm not translating the same thing again if it shows up for a second time, but feel free to ask me if you forgot the meaning. Please follow the "Battles and Secrets" playlist on Spotify. I imagined Maartje singing "Good Girl" to Eva when I wrote this chapter. Could Maartje be right about Dirk? What else will happen? Keep reading and you'll find out... ;-) Also, I'd love to see your comments on the aesthetic I created for the kids.

I dedicate this chapter to my dear friend IveGoneSlightlyMad

Foreign words/expressions in order of appearance: 

1. Estoy triste means "I'm sad" in Spanish

2. Princesa means "princess" in Spanish

3. Papá means "dad" in Spanish

4. Cariño means "dear" in Spanish

5. Muchas gracias means "Thank you so much" in Spanish