Chapter 1

When Alex Zane walked in, I was lying in filth. The last man was just zipping up his jeans and getting ready to leave.

When he noticed Alex, he let out a crude laugh. “Appreciate the treat, Mr. Zane. Mrs. Zane’s worth every penny.”

Without hesitation, Alex grabbed a vase from the side table and smashed it over the man’s head.

The crack echoed through the room. Shards exploded outward. The man groaned in pain as the guards dragged him out.

Alex stepped closer to me and knelt beside me. When his gaze shifted to my ruined and bloody lower body, he let out a snort. “Have you learned your lesson now?”

When I did not respond, he sighed. Then, he reached out and began wiping the grime from my face with his sleeve.

“Lily, just help me this one last time. I know you’re jealous, but Valentina is carrying my child. You can’t give me children. It’s only fair that you don’t stand in the way of someone who can.”

Yet I remembered how he had dropped to his knees beside my hospital bed and wept until he passed out when he found out I had offered up my child to save him. He was young back then. His eyes were bloodshot from guilt. He swore he would never break my heart.

“Even if we never have children, I will love you forever!”

So much for the forever he had promised. I licked away the blood at the corner of my mouth. Under his expectant gaze, I shook my head.

“It’s gone.”

The last wish was gone.

Just moments ago, I traded my life for my final wish.

I tightened my grip on the sacred token in my hand and whispered his name, “Alex… I’m dragging you down with me!”

He did not hear that part as he was answering a call from the hospital. He grabbed me and rushed to the hospital.

“Valentina’s delivering, Lilian! Wish for her and the baby’s safety now!”

Valentina Wilson was Alex’s childhood sweetheart. She claimed the baby in her womb was the reincarnation of an angel and that it needed the blessing of a mermaid to survive the birth.

Alex believed her. He forced me to use the third sacred token to wish for Valentina and her baby’s safety.

However, he did not know that a mermaid was granted only three wishes in her lifetime. Each one demanded an equal sacrifice. I made my first wish to save his life. In exchange, I traded my unborn child. I made my second wish to save his family’s business. In exchange, I traded all of my magic.

The third wish would cost my life.

I told him everything, but he did not believe me.

“It’s exactly as Valentina said. You’re wicked. You only made up this story because you’re jealous that she’s carrying my child.”

To teach me a lesson, he threw me into a men’s prison. By dawn, I was bloodied and broken.

After all that, he was still forcing me to use my wish on Valentina.

Screams of agony kept coming out of the delivery room. Alex’s anger flared instantly. He kicked me hard in the chest. “Valentina’s in there, fighting for her life, and you still have the nerve to be jealous? Lilian, I’m giving you one last chance. Are you going to make the wish or not?”

When I stayed silent, his fury reached its peak. He snorted and made a call. A moment later, the housekeeper arrived with a purple sandalwood box.

The instant I saw what was inside, I felt the blood in my body go cold.

Among the merfolk, aside from the blessing gift we were born with, the most precious thing we possessed was the 108 scales in our tails. They were the source of our physical strength.

What Alex held in his hands was the Scale-Weave Armor I made the year I loved him most. It was forged from every scale on my body and tempered with the blood from my heart, all to keep him safe.

To make that armor, I lay unconscious for three months. When I woke up, my body had lost its natural defenses. I was no different from an ordinary human.

At the moment, Alex toyed with the armor in his hand. Scornful amusement flickered in his eyes.

“Lily, I remember you told me that this armor was made from the scales of your tail, and it’s bound to your soul. If it were destroyed…”

The Scale-Weave Armor was indestructible, immune to human weapons, fire, and water. I had told only Alex the one method to destroy it.

“No, Alex. Please, no.”

Just thinking about what he was about to do made my entire body tremble with fear.

He ignored my pleading. He had someone bring a dagger. Then, he pressed the cold blade against my chest and slashed.

“Arghh!”

The blade sliced open the skin over my heart. As soon as it healed, he cut it open again and again. Over and over. Gradually, cracks began to spread across the Scale-Weave Armor.

The armor had been forged from my tail scales. The only thing that could destroy it was my flesh and blood.

My blood soaked into the armor. As it began to dissolve, an agony that felt as if my soul were being ripped apart tore through me. My physical form was completely shattered. My consciousness was fading. There was only one thought in my mind.

It hurt.

There was so much pain.

“Miss Valentina has delivered! It’s a boy! Congratulations, Mr. Zane!”

My body shuddered. My mind snapped back to clarity.

The curse would take effect three hours later. I had to stay alive. I wanted to watch how their lives were going to be turned into a living nightmare with my own eyes!