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To repay him, I, a mermaid, gave up the sea and became Shawn Silva’s bride.
Shawn doted on me endlessly. In less than six months, I was pregnant.
But on the night our daughter was born, Shawn ordered me to be locked jin a special aquarium, forcing me to reveal my true mermaid form.
He held our daughter in one hand, and with the other, wrapped his arm around Kellie Meane’s waist.
“Melanie, it was your mermaid clan that caused my sister’s drowning. Now your daughter is in my hand, let’s see her suffer!”
For the next three years, I was imprisoned inside that tank. They sliced open my tail again and again, soaking the wounds in salt water until they festered.
Hearing that mermaid blood was highly nutritious, Shawn used my flesh and blood to make wine for Kellie, forcing me to watch them revel together while I bled.
When our daughter turned three, Kellie learned that mermaid scales had calming properties. Shawn then used tweezers to pluck off our daughter’s scales one by one and tossed her into the tank.
I pressed against the glass, pleading for her life–begging Shawn to save her from drowning.
Shawn only sneered from the entrance, scaling it shut.
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“How could a mermaid’s daughter possibly drown? Don’t be ridiculous!”
I fought to hold her up, to keep her head above water. But in the end, she dissolved into bubbles in my arms.
My heart felt completely numb. Clenching my teeth, I removed the scale from over my heart.
If I tossed the scale into the sea, my brother Andrew would bring me back home.
When Maria Silva rushed in, all she could witness was Sophie’s foam dissipating.
Seeing the mermaid pearl in my hand, she was struck with shock and fear, tears streaming down her cheeks.
“Is Sophie… gone?” she asked.
Mermaids turned into pearls upon their death.
I answered gently, gradually removing the intact scale from my chest and offering it to her.
“The three–year period has ended. I’ve repaid the debt to your family–you and Sir Silva–for saving my life.”
Maria’s lips quivered as she fell to her knees with a loud thud.
“Melanie, what happened to Sophie was an accident! Shawn truly had no idea! Please forgive him this one last time–he’s the only heir of the Silva family. I can’t let the Silva lineage end!”
Maria banged her head against the ground, just as she had done years ago when she begged me to become human and marry Shawn.
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I had agreed back then, but it led to this dire situation.
“I’ll call that ungrateful brat right now and make him apologize to you!”
Maria frantically searched for her phone and dialed Shawn’s number.
As soon as the call connected, Shawn’s excited voice came through.
“Mom, Kellie’s pregnant! You’re going to be a grandmother soon!”
Maria’s fingers trembled with anger as she growled into the phone.
“A child from that woman is no grandchild of mine! I have only one granddaughter, and that’s Sophie! You worthless fool, get back here right now and apologize to Melanie and Sophie!”
Shawn snorted, clearly unimpressed.
“Have you been visiting that creature Melanie again? Mom, I’ve told you before–their kind of mermaids killed my sister! You’re the only one treating that creature like it’s something special.
“It’s just a few scales taken off. Mermaids can regenerate really well- don’t let Melanie deceive you! Anyway, I need to take Kellie to the beach to see the sunset. Just go home already!”
Maria gripped the phone tightly, her anger evident as her chest rose and fell.
Images of Sophie drowning flooded my mind, causing a sharp pain in my chest.
A hybrid mermaid child only develops gills after coming into contact with
seawater.
The Silva’s manor sat right next to the sea, yet in the entire three years,
40.07%
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Shawn never brought Sophie there.
Instead, he took Kellie for walks by the seaside every day.
“Melanie, there’s still hope. If you have another child with Shawn, the Silva family name will continue! Please, Melanie–I promise Shawn will treat you better this time. Remember, the Silva family saved your life, so endure a little longer!”
Maria pleaded, bowing repeatedly, imploring me to have another child.
My hands shook as I put away the pearl and shut my eyes.
“The Silva family no longer has a chance.”
I ripped open my chest to reveal that only one scale remained.
“Mermaids have three scales that protect their hearts. Each pregnancy causes one to be lost. With just one left, having another child would be fatal for me.”
Maria’s face turned white with horror, and she collapsed to her knees, her eyes filled with despair.
“This is the Silva family’s fate…”
Knowing she owed me, she took the scale from my chest and promised to throw it into the sea for me.
I curled up in a corner of the aquarium, my silver–blue tail drifting aimlessly.
For three years, this tiny space had been my entire world and my personal hell.
Suddenly, the lid above was flung open with a loud crash, and I trembled
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instinctively.
“Melanie, stop playing dead. It’s time for your blood draw today,” came Shawn’s cold voice from above.
He paused, scanning the corner, then abruptly grabbed my tail and yanked me out of the tank.
“Where’s Sophie? Where are you hiding her?”
