Chapter 1 Glass Tank’s Shattered Weep

"They say mermaids emit a peculiar fragrance when overcome by passion."

"After all these years together, I've never witnessed it. Today, I'm rather curious."

My boyfriend, Leo Evan, who never touched me during our five years together, took me on the very night we reunited.

He transformed my legs back into a fishtail, peeled back my scales, and manipulated them with his fingers.

His slender fingers entered my canal, probing and teasing.

My body convulsed uncontrollably.

Just as I was about to climax, an ambiguous fragrance began to fill the room, and Leo abruptly stopped.

He wiped his fingers with a handkerchief; hatred filled his eyes.

"Making love to a creature like you makes me feel disgust."

My heart was broken.

In that instant, I finally chose to let go.

…

After five years of torment at the research institute, the first thing I did upon escaping was prepare for a sea burial.

"Miss, it's settled then. I'll take you out to the open sea in two weeks. Pay the deposit today and pay the rest in half a month."

I nodded. My tail was too badly injured to swim back to my homeland, so I had to rely on human vessels for the time being.

I emptied the plastic bag containing every last bill I had saved into the fisherman's hands, barely scraping together the deposit.

Too much time on land had pushed my body to its breaking point. I had at most a month left.

Before they dragged me into the lab, Leo held my hand and promised a wedding in the deep sea, a ceremony that would be witnessed by the ocean itself.

Now, that wedding is just a fantasy. Returning to the cold, dim depths for eternal sleep is, in a way, an end to my story.

The cost to rent the boat was exorbitant, and I had no idea what the normal price should be.

To cover the remaining balance, I had no choice but to apply for the "mermaid" position at Siren's Tear Club.

The job seemed utterly degrading—even the waitstaff looked at me with contempt—but the pay was good and I was paid daily.

After the manager demonstrated a few moves underwater, she handed me a swimsuit and tail and instructed me to start working that day.

The mermaid performances here differed from those in aquariums, primarily serving VIP guests in cramped tanks that made me feel confined.

Dim, suggestive lights flickered within the small tank. I awkwardly displayed my figure, flicking my tail.

Before I could begin the routine, that familiar voice reached my ears.

I froze; even my tail stiffened in place.

I lifted my gaze and saw Leo seated in the center of the circular private booth. His brows were slightly furrowed, and a thin layer of gloom settled between them.

I quickly averted my gaze and noticed a woman sitting in his arms—my friend, Silver Hill.

They were discussing wedding details.

"We'll do it your way—a seaside ceremony with fireworks and roses."

"If you don't like this necklace, I'll have the designer create another one. Everything will be as you wish."

Hearing those same words, my eyes stung. Five years ago, I should have married him and become his bride. I was so close.

Leo was the first person I ever met. He'd fallen into the sea, and I pulled him ashore.

It was love at first sight. I believed I could be like the mermaid in the fairy tale and walk step by step with him to the altar. But the night before the wedding, I pushed Leo's mother down the stairs.

I'll never forget the look of utter disbelief in his eyes.

He cried and begged me to tell him if there was some reason.

I remained expressionless. "No reason. She called me a monster and threatened to kill me. So I pushed her down the stairs."

In that moment, his eyes held only coldness. He looked at me as if I were a beast.

That very day, he delivered me to the research institute.

While I was enduring unbearable torment there, I couldn't help but think of him. Could we have had a happy ending if not for that accident?

But I knew I couldn't be so selfish.

The night before I planned to reveal my mermaid identity to Leo's parents, I was shedding my scales when Leo's mother unexpectedly stumbled upon me.

Terrified, she fled in a panic, screaming, "I'll never let a monster like you into my home!"

"How would people see Leo if he married you?"

"His falling for you was a mistake. Get out."

She pointed at me and screamed her accusations in the stairwell. I tried to explain, but she became increasingly agitated, misstepping and falling. She was dead.

Only then did I realize that marrying a mermaid would ruin Leo's future. To stop him from trying to keep me, I turned the accident into murder.

Back then, I chose to make Leo hate me and leave.

So what's the point of trying to make amends now?

I wiggled my tail, trying to leave the tank. Suddenly, my name echoed from outside.

"Ann?"

I froze, too terrified to face Leo.

Just as I tried to escape through the top opening, the glass tank shattered. Shards sliced deep gashes into my body.

Exposed, I floated naked in the air.

"Who'd have thought you'd end up here as a whore!"

The word "whore" seemed to amuse the rich boys, and laughter instantly filled the room.

They swarmed around me like visitors at a zoo.

"You know what? She actually pulls off playing a mermaid pretty convincingly."

My breath came in short gasps, suffocating me. The scene before me brought back nightmarish memories of my days in the research facility.

Another group of people with gleaming scalpels had stared at me.

I hung my head, unable to meet anyone's gaze, especially Leo's.

Yet, I could feel his icy stare roaming over me as if he intended to dissect me.

I wanted to leave, but the fake fishtail strapped to my legs made walking impossible.

"Since you're out here selling yourself, why not let us have some fun?"

With that, the man began to undo his belt.

A foul, fishy stench wafted into my nostrils.

I raised my hands in panic, shielding my eyes.

After loving Leo for so long, I'd never done this with anyone. How could I let someone else touch me now?

"You're already a whore, stop pretending. Open your mouth."

As soon as he spoke, the fishy stench hit me again, and I scrambled backward.

But the man kept pressing closer until I had nowhere to retreat. He planted a foot on the counter, clamped my jaw, and tried to force himself on me.

I clenched my teeth and twisted my head away with all my strength.

Just as evasion became impossible, a voice filled with rage erupted.

"Get the hell out of here!"

The next second, he yanked me out of the room.

Under the dim lights in the corridor, Leo seized my wrist and pinned me against the wall. His lip was already bleeding from where he’d bitten it; his teeth were gritted.

"Ann Collins, why did you have to show up in front of me again?"

My eyes were closed. I was so thin that my collarbone slammed directly into the wall; the pain left me speechless.

"Your mother would never rest in peace if she saw you saving me."

My words instantly stripped him of reason. He threw me to the floor. "I didn't save you."

"Human society must be tough to survive in. Taking this job means you're desperate for money, right? I'll give you a chance to earn some. Just do what I ask, and I'll give you more money than you could ever spend."

Without waiting for my response, he pulled out a stack of bills and slammed them on the floor.

Green paper scattered everywhere.

To satisfy his desire for revenge, I agreed.

I returned to the Evans family estate and the room I'd occupied five years ago. Following his instructions, I transformed my legs back into a tail.

When he saw the scars on my tail, he paused, startled. Then he sneered, "They say mermaids emit a peculiar fragrance when overcome by passion."

"After all these years together, I've never witnessed it. Today, I'm rather curious."

I froze.

"How...how did you become like this?"

A shadow flickered in my eyes. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't reconcile the gentle Leo of my memories with the brute standing before me.

"You have no right to refuse."

I clutched the bedsheet tightly as tears welled up in my eyes.

His voice was icy as his right hand slid beneath me and traced my long-dulled scales before slowly parting them.