Chapter 2

Valentina successfully delivered the child. Alex finally let out a sigh of relief.

“Valentina, thank you for giving me a healthy child!”

A sharp pain pierced my chest.

Six years ago, to save Alex, I sacrificed the child in my womb. After the wish was granted, I struggled through the birth and delivered a half-human, half-merfolk stillborn.

Alex knelt beside my bed the entire night. The next day, he buried the child himself. I had thought that even if he did not love me, he at least loved that child.

It was not until I saw the pure joy on his face at Valentina’s delivery that I finally understood. All along, he was disgusted with our child and me.

Suddenly, a nurse’s scream came from the delivery room. “Oh God! Miss Valentina is hemorrhaging after delivery! We need a blood transfusion now!”

“Draw from Lilian! Her blood matches any type. And it has natural healing properties!”

Without hesitation, Alex yanked me to my feet and dragged me all the way to the nurses’ station. A needle as thick as a finger pierced my vein, and soon a full bag was drawn.

“We’ve taken 800cc. She doesn’t look well. Should we continue?”

Alex’s gaze fell on my bloodless lips. A flicker of hesitation passed through his eyes. Before it could settle, his mother, Mariam Zane, rushed in.

“Keep drawing! That’s my family’s grandson in there!”

Mariam slapped me hard. “If you had just made the wish, my grandson would’ve been born safely from the start! This is all your fault!”

Alex nodded. “Yes, Valentina and the baby come first.”

The nurse nodded and drew two more bags. The blood loss made my head spin. My body swayed, then gave way.

My wrist struck the edge of a chair with a sharp clink.

Mariam turned at the sound. Her eyes lit up instantly. She grabbed my wrist. “Is this the merfolk’s heirloom Bloodstone bracelet? The one that brings protection and good fortune to its wearer? Something this valuable should be my grandson’s first gift!”

The merfolk had flourished for thousands of years, leaving behind countless relics. Mariam had asked me for them more than once. Each time, I refused.

Resenting me ever since, she had openly sided with Valentina and looked for any excuse to drive me out of their house.

I let her take the Bloodstone bracelet. She had no idea that the merfolk’s heirlooms could only be worn by those of merfolk blood.

Anyone else who wore them would be cursed with relentless misfortune and a shortened life.

Valentina was finally wheeled out of the delivery room. She gave me a fragile, apologetic smile. “Lily, even though you refused to save us, I promised Alex that I’ll move out of the Zane residence once the baby is a month old. This child belongs to you and Alex.”

She and Alex had grown up together. Back when the Zane family was still powerful, there had even been talk of marriage between the Zane and Wilson families. However, the moment the Zane family went bankrupt, Valentina left the country overnight under the excuse of furthering her studies. She abandoned Alex without hesitation.

Later, when Alex rebuilt everything from nothing and rose to become one of the most sought-after new elites in the city, the Wilson family fell instead. A failed investment decision bankrupted them. Valentina returned in disgrace and eventually begged on Alex’s doorstep.

At first, Alex showed her no kindness. If anything, he seemed to despise her. He refused to let her get close and humiliated her again and again in public. Everyone in the city knew Mr. Zane hated Valentina Wilson.

However, gradually, something between them changed.

Alex still humiliated Valentina in public and in private. Yet every time she ran off in tears, he would stand there watching her retreating figure, lost in thought.

When she cried, the look in his eyes was no longer disdainful. Little by little, that disdain turned into concern.

I saw everything. Yet I could do nothing. Then, one night after a party, Alex got drunk and ended up sleeping with Valentina. The room reeked of the drinks they had shared and their intimate moments. The air itself felt tainted. When I confronted him, Alex pulled Valentina tightly into his arms. “It was an accident. Valentina is innocent.”

I asked for a divorce, but Alex rejected my request. He called it a mistake; he said it was nothing more. He knelt in front of me and swore it would never happen again.

Blinded by love, I forgave him like a fool. Then, Valentina came to our door with one hand resting on her stomach. She said she was pregnant with Alex’s child. She claimed she did not want to destroy our marriage. She only wanted to give Alex a child as atonement.

“Alex, I’ve loved you for so long. To be able to give you a child, even if I receive nothing in return, I’d still do it willingly.”

Her sobs pulled me out of my memories. She looked down at the swaddled infant in her arms. Suddenly, tears welled up in her eyes. Her voice was thick with sobs as she said, “But I can’t bear to part with my child.”

The hand gripping my wrist tightened. Guilt surfaced in Alex’s eyes. “Valentina, you’re his biological mother. Blood ties can’t be severed.”

“Then, what about Lily?”

I did not respond to their conversation. Instead, I was staring blankly at the swaddled infant in Valentina’s arms. After a long moment, I suddenly burst out laughing.

I might have lost my magic, but the innate gift of the merfolk still remained. Through the spirit eye, I could see clearly that the baby was not related to Alex.

How ridiculous. Alex prided himself on being clever. And yet the child Valentina carried for ten months was not even his.