A bucket of foul-smelling water splashed over me, soaking my skin and clothes in cold, salty filth.

The maid’s expression was twisted with disgust and revulsion.

“Freak. Aren’t you supposed to heal? Then why the hell are you still bleeding? Gross.”

The mop smacked against my forehead, hard enough to make me flinch.

“Clean up this mess, or I’m telling Mr. Wilkins!”

I spent the rest of the night hunched over, scrubbing the floors until my arms ached and my fingers bled.

From inside the house, moans of pleasure echoed through the walls—Jill’s voice, high and breathless, calling out for Sam.

A single tear slipped down my cheek.

Sam’s disgusted face kept replaying in my mind, growing sharper with every pass of the mop.

Soon, I told myself. It’ll all be over soon.

Even mermaids—creatures meant to live forever—can still die.

Only three days left.

When I wiped away the last smear of blood from the tiles, the wound on my body finally sealed shut.

Another day at the seaside manor began.

Sam emerged from the bedroom, his neck littered with tiny, fresh red marks. He stopped when he saw the bloodied mop.

“What the hell? Why’s there so much blood?”

I said nothing to defend myself. Just bowed slightly and muttered,

“I’m sorry. I’ll take care of it right away.”

Out in the garden, the maids were clipping flowers. One of them raised her voice deliberately.

“You won’t believe this—she actually asked me how to make someone happy. Can you imagine? That sea witch thinks she can seduce Mr. Wilkins!”

The other snorted. “Please. Like someone like her could ever dream of becoming Mrs. Wilkins. If it weren’t for her, Mr. Wilkins’ parents wouldn’t have disappeared.”

I tried to retreat quietly, but Sam was faster.

With a swift kick, he shoved the cleaning supplies aside and dragged me down to the lab.

He strapped me into the electric chair—the one capable of discharging a hundred thousand volts. The dizziness hit me instantly. My head spun and bile rose in my throat.

Sam sat down, crossed his legs, remote in hand. His eyes were cold.

“Almost forgot... It’s been a whole month since I last interrogated you.”

“Tell me. Where the hell did they take my parents?”

I hadn’t even seen him press the button yet, but my hands instinctively gripped the armrests.

Tightly. So tightly my nails tore into the metal until they bled.

“I don’t know,” I whispered.

Electricity coursed through every nerve in my body. I screamed, muscles spasming uncontrollably, my lower body suddenly soaked with scalding liquid.

Even when the current stopped, my body kept twitching.

Sam stood up, gritting his teeth and stepped closer.

“You’re tough. I gave you that.” He grabbed my jaw with force and spewed another hiss

“Still won’t talk?”

I coughed blood. Every organ felt like it had been roasted alive.

“I’m not telling you.”

I couldn’t. It was a secret—one that held his parents’ lives in the balance.

He didn’t shock me again.

Instead, he motioned for someone outside the lab. Moments later, they returned with a handful of shark pearls—ones I’d hidden under the floorboards, thinking they were safe.

My breath hitched. My eyes locked on them, pupils trembling.

“What… what are you doing?” My voice cracked.

He gave me that twisted little smile he always wore before he did something cruel. “You already know, don’t you?”

Without breaking eye contact, he dropped one of the pearls to the concrete floor and slammed his boot down on it.

The sickening crack echoed through the lab, followed by a scream I didn’t even realize was mine—bloody, guttural, full of agony.

He chuckled, dark and amused. “So, was that your dad’s? Or your mom’s?” He crushed another beneath his heel. “They say mermaids only die for real when you shatter their pearls. Otherwise, you freaks just keep crawling back from the dead.”

“You’re still not gonna talk?” he sneered. “Even after all this?”

My fingers were torn open, nails ripped down to the bone, skin peeled back to nothing but white. Blood dripped from my hands like rain. From my eyes too.

“Sam,” I rasped, voice shaking with hate, “I hate you.”

He didn’t flinch.

Instead, he grabbed me and kissed me. His kiss was so hard and brutal, it felt like he wanted to bite my tongue clean off.

That kiss... made my head spin.

Lately, I’d been growing weaker and sometimes I almost forgot how deeply we once loved each other.

Mermaids have always been drawn to humans. It's in our nature to come ashore, to fall for them, to bind our lives to theirs.

I was three years old the first time I met Sam.

The moment he saw me, he turned to his mom and asked with serious eyes,

“Mom, is she the bride you picked for me?”

Mrs. Wilkins burst into laughter and flicked his forehead.

Our families became close after that. We visited often, celebrated birthdays together, even vacationed as one big unit.

But everything changed when I turned fifteen.

The merfolk were being hunted, driven off by humans who feared and coveted us. We had no choice but to disappear.

But sometimes, I’d still sneak ashore to see Sam.

When people asked who I was, I would be ready to lie and say I was his sister.

But he never let me.

“She’s my girlfriend,” he’d say, eyes serious. “And one day, she’ll be my wife. This is Nerissa.”

That moment had made my heart flutter for real. I was falling for more than I could imagine. 

Later, my people, the merfolk, struck a deal with a group of top-tier humans.

The ones facilitating the negotiations were my parents and Sam’s parents.

But Sam’s parents disappeared.

And I was one of the suspects.

I knew he hated me, but I couldn’t tell him the truth.

Years passed and Sam became a top-tier scientist.

And I, I had to get close to him for the sake of my people.

Many times, I wanted to tell him the truth directly.

But I couldn’t.

Well, it didn’t matter. Soon, I wouldn’t have to endure it anymore.

***

Sam’s fingers set fire to my skin.

But then he stopped suddenly, his eyes fixed on the blood coating his hands.

Only then had I noticed—those old wounds, the ones from tearing out my flesh for healing pearls, had reopened again.

I gave him a numb smile, “I’m dying, Sam.”

It was like the word "die" had triggered something primal in him. He snapped. He tore open a bottle of pills and shoved one into my mouth with shaking hands. His voice was ice. Sharpened. Shaking.

“You don’t get to die unless I say so.”

He unshackled my wrists, dragged me across the lab and shoved my head into a tank of healing serum. I choked as water rushed up my nose.

I choked. Water shot up my nose.

His hands trembled, breath coming in ragged bursts. His eyes—bloodshot, crazed—watched like he was the one suffocating.

I forced myself not to breathe, trying to keep the serum from flooding my lungs.

Everything went cold. My face turned purple. But eventually, the pills kicked in. The bleeding stopped.

He yanked me out of the tank by my hair.

I was barely conscious when he clicked the shackles back around my wrists, chaining me to the headboard like an animal.

And there was Jill.

Leaning into him, all flirtation and fake sweetness, like this was just a twisted honeymoon. Her eyes found mine, brimming with venom: I want you dead, Nerissa.

***

Half-conscious, I felt someone gently stroke my hair. Tears from that person dripped into my mouth, salty and bitter.

“Nerissa... if only none of that had ever happened,” the voice called softly. "Wouldn't we be okay now?”

Was that Sam?

Was… he crying?

I forced my eyes open—but there was no Sam.

Instead, his assistant was there, tugging the rope around my ankles and dragging me into the estate’s courtyard.

Mermaids hated the sun. Especially me—who was barely clinging to life. 

Jill stood there, smiling sweetly when she saw me.

“Aren’t you hungry, Nerissa?”

I could see Sam holding onto her, his body relaxed, almost possessive. When I didn’t answer, he kicked me, his foot landing hard on the exact spot where my wounds were threatening to tear open.

Blood seeped through my clothes, soaking into my stomach.

Sam barely looked at me. With a look of pure irritation, he couldn’t even spare me a glance. Just tossed his jacket from the lounge chair at me.

“Cover that up. Jill can’t stand the sight of blood.”

Jill’s eyes sparkled for a brief moment and she turned, throwing a pile of raw meat and dirt-streaked vegetables in front of me. Her voice dripped with false sweetness.

“Eat up.” 

I don’t know why—I lifted my head and looked at Sam.

Why did I think he actually… pitied me?

Expressionless, I bent down and began gnawing on the dirt-covered cabbage. My fingers clawed at the ground, desperate, ashamed.

Jill’s concerned voice reached my ears.

“Why aren’t you eating the meat? You need meat to stay strong.”

Without thinking, I tore into it. My senses had dulled so much I couldn’t even tell what kind of meat it was.

“Does it good?” Jill giggled. “They say mermaid meat is really nutritious.”

I froze mid-chew, staring up at her.

What… what did she just say?

Jill’s smile stretched wider and the realization my stomach churn. 

 I vomited right there.

“Oh my God—my shoes!” Jill shrieked in disgust, jumping back as bile splashed on her expensive heels.

The assistant didn’t even wait for an order. He grabbed me by the collar and slapped me so hard that the tears on my face splattered to the side. My cheek stung, my ears rang, but I didn’t make a sound.

Sam had always been a neat freak. Germaphobe to the core. Yet now, he crouched down beside Jill with a pristine handkerchief and gently dabbed at her soiled shoes with the kind of patience and tenderness that made my chest tighten. So gentle. So careful.

Back then, after using my body like I was nothing more than a release, he wouldn’t even look at me—let alone help me clean up.

Now, he looked genuinely annoyed.

“Ungrateful bitch,” he snapped. “If she won’t eat it, then let the dogs have it!” 

Jill put on a delicate smile and touched his arm, her voice as soft as whipped cream. “Nerissa’s probably just not hungry, Sam. Don’t be too hard on her.” 

She tilted her head, all sweetness and false concern. “Maybe... she could help me with my painting? Make up for the mess?”

Sam sighed, the irritation in his eyes dimming under her gaze. He gave her a helpless little chuckle. “You really are too kind sometimes.”

He looked over at me then, his expression sharp again like a blade, about to say something else—but his phone rang. His features instantly softened. He leaned in close to Jill, whispering something sweet in her ear before bending down to press a kiss against her pregnant belly.

I didn’t know why, but my chest ached. My nose burned like I was about to cry.

He left and Jill’s mask dropped. The warmth disappeared from her face like it had never been there.

“I don’t like people watching me when I paint,” she said flatly. “Go to the basement.”

I didn’t argue. I turned and walked away.

In the basement, a maid tossed a few plastic buckets at me, her nose wrinkled in contempt like I was garbage. Her voice was deliberately high-pitched, mocking.

“Hey freak, the madam’s short on red paint today. And nothing beats the color of fresh blood. Fill three of these buckets, now.”

She tossed a rusted razor blade at my feet.

“Use that,” she sneered. 

I stared at the blade. “It’s rusty.”

She spat on the ground. “You think you deserve clean tools, monster? You’re not some pampered princess. You’re just a thing. And you don’t die that easy.” 

She folded her arms, clearly ready to watch.

I didn’t say a word. I picked up the blade.

And cut.

Warm, red blood dripped into the first bucket. Then the second. My hands were trembling by the time I reached the third. My whole body was cold. My lips had turned blue.

Only when the third bucket was full did I stop.

I leaned against the damp wall, eyes blank, trying to stay conscious.

Upstairs, I heard the maids gossiping as they walked by carrying stained laundry.

“Madam’s paintings really are something, huh? Shame the materials are so hard to come by.”

“Tell me about it. Took killing several mermaids just to get enough pearl powder. And even then, some of the blood was too impure. A monster is just a monster, different from us humans.”

I could feel every hair on my body rise. My limbs were numb, but I forced myself to stand.

I dragged myself back to the courtyard. And then I heard it—high-pitched, heart-wrenching cries.

I stumbled forward just in time to see Jill—smiling, serene—grinding her heel into the mutilated tail of a dead mermaid. She reached down, pried out a shimmering pearl and crushed it under her heel.

Something inside me cracked.

She turned to me, her face lit by the sun behind her, casting an almost angelic glow that belied the evil lurking in her smile.

“Nerissa,” she said sweetly, “I just realized today that each mermaid pearl is a different color. What a shame, though. I only want the white ones.” Her eyes sparkled with sick delight. “How about you help me out and collect the pearls for me?”

I opened my mouth, but the words froze in my throat—because right then, I saw him.

My little brother.

He was inside a water tank, no older than ten, his tiny hands slapping the glass in desperation. He hadn’t even learned to shift into human form yet.

“Sister! Help me!” he cried, tears rolling down his cheeks, turning into tiny pearls as they fell.

Jill made a pouty face. “Aw, he’s your baby brother? So cute! Oh, I have an idea. Why don’t we start with him? Let’s see what color pearl he has, shall we?”

She waved her hand and two bodyguards dragged him out of the tank like a sack of meat.

“No—please!” I fell to my knees. “Please, I’m begging you, don’t hurt him! Take mine instead! My pearl’s white—I swear!”

Jill twirled the blade in her hand, amused. “But where’s the fun in that? I like surprises. It’s like opening a mystery box!”

She stepped forward, raising the knife toward my brother’s chest.

“Don’t worry, little fishy, Nerissa will have her turn. I’m just going to— AH! What the hell are you doing?!”