Rain sluiced from the heavens when a sharp pain lanced through the sole of her foot.

Bending down, Stella pulled a shard of glass from where it was embedded deep in her flesh. Blood swirled away with the rainwater, the pain sending a shiver through her.

Yet that pain was nothing compared to the ache in her heart.

She finally shuffled home, step by agonizing step, only to be greeted the moment she crossed the threshold by Reese’s shrill cry. "I want fish! Sister-in-law buy fish!"

Bradley frowned at Stella’s bloodied foot, his eyes flickering with a concern he instantly suppressed. Kathleen, sharp as ever, caught that fleeting change. Feigning gentleness, she coaxed, "Be good, Reese. Your sister-in-law seems to have hurt herself. We’ll have fish another day, alright?"

"No! No fish, no dinner! Wahhh—!"

Playing the part of someone overwhelmed, Kathleen turned to Bradley with a soft suggestion. "Mr. Bradley, perhaps we could take one from the ornamental pond out back? Freshly caught would be more delicious. Reese would love that."

Bradley gave a nod. "All right then."

Stella’s face drained of all color. "No!" Her voice trembled. "Those are ornamental fish—they’re not for eating! I’ll go to the market. I’ll go right now!"

She turned to dash back into the downpour. Those fish were her family.

Years ago, they had been caught in a fisherman’s net, only to be saved by the Bradley family matriarch, Mrs. Eva, a pious woman known for her mercy and vegetarian ways. The kind-hearted old lady had paid a fortune to buy and release them.

Stella had taken human form to repay that debt. Her friends, unable to let her go alone, had insisted on coming with her. In all the years Bradley had hated and tormented her, they had been her only source of warmth.

How could she let anyone harm them?

But Stella’s violent reaction only ignited Bradley’s anger. "It’s just a fish. Are you really that stingy?" Genuine bafflement hardened his eyes. "So what if you fed it? It’s livestock. Is my Reese not worthy of eating it?"

"No! Bradley, please! I’ll buy one, the most expensive one..." Stella begged, terror washing over her.

"Enough!" Bradley lost his patience and barked at a maid. "Go catch one. Now!"

"Don’t touch them!"

Stella lunged toward the backyard like a madwoman, only to be yanked back violently by Bradley. "Tie her up!" he ordered coldly. "Let her watch."

A bodyguard stepped forward and bound her hands. She struggled desperately, but could only watch helplessly as a maid walked toward the backyard with a net, listening soon after to the faint, frantic splashing from the direction of the pond.

Tears blurred her vision.

A brilliant silver koi was lifted from the net, twisting frantically. "Aaron... don’t eat my Aaron!" Stella sobbed, struggling until her wrists were raw and bloody.

Right before her eyes, the maid slammed the fish hard against the ground. Crimson splattered.

When it reappeared, Aaron had been gutted, his flesh sliced thin, his skeleton and head arranged on a bed of ice. As the maid placed the platter on the dining table, the fish’s mouth still opened and closed helplessly.

A wave of nausea hit Stella, her insides knotting in agony.

Kathleen picked up her fork, speared a slice of pink-white flesh, dipped it in sauce, and put it in her mouth. She chewed a few times, frowned, then took a napkin and spat it out. "There’s something off about this fish," she murmured, dabbing her lips. "Rather unpleasant."

Reese mimicked her, popping a piece into her mouth before immediately spitting it out. "Yucky fish! Bad fish!"

A metallic, fishy sweetness surged up Stella’s throat. "Guh—"

A mouthful of blood erupted from her lips. Her vision went black as she lost consciousness completely.

Bradley was so startled his cutlery clattered to the floor. His heart clenched as if pricked by something sharp. Instinctively, he moved to untie her, to take her to the hospital.

But Kathleen suddenly clutched her stomach, her face pale. "My stomach hurts so much... Was that fish not fresh?"

Bradley froze, his gaze darting between Kathleen and the unconscious Stella.

Kathleen curled up in pain. "Mr. Bradley, take me to the hospital..."

He didn’t hesitate further. Scooping Kathleen up, he rushed out the door. "Get the car! To the hospital!"

The roar of the engine faded into the distance, leaving the house in dead silence.

Stella lay on the floor, forgotten.

On the ice platter, the fish’s mouth continued to open and close, ever so slowly.

No one saw the single tear that slid from its clear, glassy eye.

Time lost all meaning. When Stella finally opened her eyes, the maids had already cleared the dining table—not a single fish bone remained.

Aaron.

A sharp, physical pain stabbed through her heart. Scrambling up, she ignored the sting in her soles and ran for the backyard.

Her friends huddled together in a terrified mass in the corner of the pond, churning the water into a froth.

Eyes burning, Stella scooped them out one by one into a bucket.

She had to get them out of here. Now. Somewhere Bradley could never find them.

*Stella... where’s Aaron?* their silent questions seemed to plead.

She had no answer.

Tears blurred her vision, falling into the water over and over.

She remembered when she’d first married into the family. Bradley had rolled up his sleeves and helped her set up this pond himself.

Carefully placing each fish into the water, he’d smiled and said he was just *loving the owner, loving the pets.*

That winter had been especially bitter. Worried they’d freeze, he’d bought the best aquarium heater himself, jumped into the icy water to install it, and hit his forehead on a decorative rock—raising a huge bump.

He’d clumsily built a snow canopy, getting covered in dust. When he finished, all he’d asked for was a single kiss as his reward.

*What Stella loves, I cherish.*

The words still echoed. The scene was the same, but everything else had changed.

Now, he saw them as meat on a plate—lives he could snuff out on a whim.

Her voice choked. “I’m sorry... I couldn’t protect Aaron. But I swear, I won’t let anyone hurt you ever again.”

Her reflection wavered in the water’s surface. The scale at her temple had darkened another shade.

Carrying the bucket to a hidden spot, she gently stroked their fins.

“Stella, give up on this debt. Come back to our world with us, please?” her friends pleaded.

She shook her head, wiping her tears away.

“Just three more things. The debt will be paid. Wait for me. We’ll be together again.”

That night, she didn’t go home. She stayed with her friends, talking until dawn.

By the time she returned to the villa, Bradley was back—with a perfectly unharmed Kathleen by his side.

“What’s the Wife Rental Contract for today?” she asked from behind him, her voice unnervingly calm.

Bradley froze mid-motion, turning to stare at her in surprise.

There was no hatred on her face. No grief. As if yesterday had never happened.

He frowned, an inexplicable irritation twisting inside him. “You fainted yesterday. I didn’t post a contract.”

Was she actually asking for one? Did she *like* these degrading tasks?

“I’m fine now. I can take a contract.” Stella’s tone remained flat. Detached.

That detachment was the final straw.

“You’re that desperate to please me?” He took a menacing step forward, his voice low with suppressed rage. “Even if you do this, I will never love you again! Do you understand?!”

He hurled the words like daggers, trying to wound her, but Stella stood there, numb as a puppet.

Kathleen, standing beside him, gently looped her arm through his. “I heard that Mr. Charles down in Southport is hiring a maid. High salary.”

Bradley’s expression shifted.

That cripple Charles. His… particular tastes were an open secret in their circles. Maids who entered his house either came out dead or maimed. Few survived.

He opened his mouth to refuse on instinct.

“I’ll go. I can go now.” Stella didn’t hesitate for a second.

Bradley stared at her, disbelief warring with something darker.

Was she *that* desperate?

To please him, she’d throw away her last shred of dignity?

Stella didn’t look at him again. Turning, she walked toward the servants’ quarters and calmly changed into a maid’s uniform.

Watching her slender, retreating back, a strange, clawing panic seized Bradley.

He snatched up his car keys. He’d drive her there himself. At least he could talk to that cripple, tell him to just scare her a little.

But by the time he rushed to the front door, Stella was already gone.

Kathleen wrapped her arms around him from behind, her voice a soothing murmur. “Don’t worry, Bradley. Everyone knows Stella is yours. It’s just a novelty for him. He won’t do anything serious.”

“I’ll have my secretary call Mr. Charles later. Tell him to keep it… light.”

Bradley took a steadying breath, forcing the tension from his shoulders.

Just then, a maid’s startled cry came from the backyard, laced with panic.

“The fish in the pond! They’re all gone! Mr. Bradley will have me beaten if he finds out!”

Another maid whispered a quick addition: “Madam moved them as soon as she woke up. I saw her do it.”

Bradley’s breath hitched. His fist clenched so tight his knuckles turned white.

Moved them overnight?!

For a few worthless fish, she dared to defy him like this?!

Rage, mixed with a sudden, gut-wrenching sense of abandonment, detonated inside him.

He whirled on Kathleen, roaring, “Find them! Now! I want to know where she took those damned fish! Turn Ashford upside down if you have to!”

He was going to find out just how important those miserable creatures really were to her.