Ever since Asher Vance learned that a mermaid heart could cure all illnesses, he had my heart surgically removed nine times to treat his beloved Blair. The ninth time, I wept and begged him. “Please, no, I’ll die.” But he kicked me aside like I was nothing more than a stray dog, his eyes brimming with undisguised contempt. “Don’t mermaids have infinite healing? You bounced back the last eight times. Who are you putting on a show for now? And if you dare run to Grandpa Edward, you’ll regret it.” With that, he glared at me in warning, then wrapped an arm around Blair and turned, walking away, utterly uncaring if I lived or died. When Grandpa Edward found me, my entire body was slowly beginning to fade, becoming translucent. I looked up weakly at the trembling old man and whispered, my voice faint: “Your ancestors saved me nine times. I promised to protect your family for nine generations. But now, my power, built over nine lifetimes, is completely depleted, and my life is fading fast. Please, let me go.”
“Coralia, you can’t leave us! If something happens to you, what will become of our family? How will we survive?” Grandpa Edward Vance watched my body, swaying unsteadily. He immediately summoned all the family’s private medical team, instructing them to cure me at all costs. But after the last doctor finished examining me, he sighed and shook his head. “I’m sorry, Mr. Vance, but her heart has been removed. There’s nothing more we can do. It’s best to prepare for the worst.” As he spoke, Grandpa Edward looked at me as if struck by a heavy hammer, stunned. Then he fell to his knees, pleading. “Coralia, I know my wretched grandson is a monster, but please, for the sake of our family’s history, forgive him this once. You promised to protect the Vance family for nine generations, and this is only the third!” “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to rein in that ungrateful grandson of mine. As for that conniving woman, I’ll kick her out as soon as possible. I’ll set things right for you.” Listening to him, I slowly raised my arm, which was already beginning to fade. I gave a bitter laugh, Asher’s face flashing in my mind from the first time he spoke such cruel words to me. His eyes had been full of resentment and disgust. “You monster, it’s an honor for your heart to save Blair. Otherwise, I would have tossed you back into the ocean ages ago.” “Someone! Quick, put Coralia back in saltwater!” Seeing my body begin to fade, Grandpa Edward hurriedly ordered them to carry me into the water. I am a mermaid, and saltwater helps me recover. But the moment I entered the water, I felt a searing, tearing pain course through my entire body. The intense agony made me let out a suppressed moan. I knew this was freshwater. Staying in freshwater for too long would surely kill me, but I didn’t intend to call for help. Perhaps it would be better to simply die like this. I was born from the water, and I would die in the water. With that thought, I stopped resisting, letting the freshwater burn my limbs. On the shore, Grandpa Edward saw no reaction from me after a long while, and a pained expression flickered across his pale face. He suddenly felt something was very wrong. He stirred the water with his hand, then cried out in horror: “Who on earth would replace the saltwater with freshwater?! What monster did this?!”
He quickly ordered his men to pull me out of the water, but it was too late. While saltwater was a sacred balm for mermaids, freshwater was a deadly poison to me. Just a short time submerged in it, and my body’s fading had become significantly worse. I probably only had two or three days left. “Hahaha, this is fun, really fun!” A cheerful, bell-like voice drifted from not far away. Blair was skipping happily, her face alight with excitement. Asher stood beside her, stroking her head, his gaze full of doting affection! At last, Grandpa Edward knew who had swapped the water. He leaned on his cane and stormed over, slapping Asher across the face, looking at him with a mix of fury and crushing disappointment. “You ungrateful son! Do you have any idea what you’ve done? Coralia is the protector of our family! If she’s gone, do you know what the Vance family will face? Even you…” But before Grandpa Edward could continue, Asher turned his head, his eyes burning with resentment. “Even I was saved by her? Enough! I don’t know how many times I’ve heard that pathetic lie. If it weren’t for Blair, I’d still be in the dark. Blair saved me, not this ugly monster mermaid.” Towards the end, Asher grabbed Grandpa Edward’s shoulders, roaring: “Grandpa, the Vance family’s success today is thanks to the blessings of our ancestors, not her, Coralia! She’s just a monster! When will you wake up?!” Finished, Asher pulled Blair and walked away. As he left, his eyes flickered towards me, full of disgust. Watching Asher’s retreating figure, Grandpa Edward wanted to say more but ultimately couldn’t. He glanced at me, his body trembling slightly, almost losing his balance. At the same time, a silent decision seemed to form in his heart. That night, Grandpa Edward had Blair tied up and placed her on a hospital bed next to mine. Blair, bound and gagged, struggled violently, but the doctors showed no intention of stopping. I finally understood what Grandpa Edward meant by “setting things right for me.” He intended to return my heart. Lying on the bed, I calmly accepted everything. But before the doctors could do much, the door was kicked open. Asher burst in, his face grim. Before the doctor could speak, Asher slammed him to the ground and cradled the terrified, unconscious Blair in his arms. “Blair, are you okay?” Seeing no wounds on her, Asher finally exhaled in relief. Then, his eyes turned terrifyingly cold as they fixed on me. “Coralia, I really underestimated you. Blair’s kidneys have been acting up; this is a good opportunity. We’ll just take yours. You won’t die, anyway!” He ordered the doctors to begin immediately. Seeing his demeanor, they dared not disobey and quietly complied. I felt the cold blade slice into my body. The excruciating pain made me cry out, then my vision went black, and I passed out. When I awoke, I found myself lying in saltwater. The soothing water gradually made my pain disappear. Then, a large hand suddenly pulled me from the pool. I looked up and saw it was Asher. But at this moment, Asher’s eyes were chillingly fierce. He gripped my neck, glaring at me savagely. “Tell me, what did you do to Blair? Why did she faint?” The intense suffocating sensation made it impossible for me to speak. I calmly looked at him, not struggling at all. This stillness made Asher pause. Then, he noticed my hand, already semi-transparent. His face instantly changed, and he gently lowered me. “Coralia, your hand…” But before he could inquire further, urgent shouts from the family’s private medical team came from outside. “Mr. Vance, Mrs. Vance’s rejection symptoms are getting worse!” Those words made Asher’s face darken again. He grabbed me and threw me into the main hall. He pressed me onto a blood-drawing table and urgently told the doctors: “Since it’s *her* heart, then use *her* blood. Keep drawing! You stop only when Blair’s rejection symptoms disappear!” Following Asher’s command, a doctor rolled up my sleeve and began drawing blood. As they continued, my blood was barely more than a pale trickle. I lay on the table, my clothes drenched in sweat. “Mr. Vance, we can’t draw any more! She’ll be in danger!” The doctor quickly stood up to dissuade him, but Asher merely glanced at me, his impatient voice coming from above my head. “Mermaid blood is regenerative. Who are you trying to fool? I said, keep drawing. Don’t stop until Blair’s rejection symptoms are gone.” Seeing Asher’s resolve, the doctor resumed. As my consciousness gradually blurred, my vision went black, and I fainted. In the last moments before my awareness dissolved, I saw a trace of panic in Asher’s eyes. “How can this be? Isn’t mermaid blood regenerative? Why is she fainting?”
When I woke up, I found myself lying on the floor. Asher was carefully holding a bowl of porridge, personally spoon-feeding Blair, his movements so gentle, afraid of scalding her. Noticing I was awake, Asher merely glanced at me, his cold voice coming from the side. “Awake? There’s porridge on the table; go eat it. You’re getting off easy.” Smelling the fragrant porridge on the table, I tried to get up but immediately lost my balance and fell to the floor. The loud crash startled Blair, and she fearfully shrank behind Asher. Asher’s face immediately darkened. “So what if we took a little blood? You gave your heart for Blair. A bit of blood and you’re acting like you’re dying? You’ll heal anyway. Who are you putting on a show for?” “Don’t worry, the Vance family is vast and prosperous; we’ll provide for you for the rest of your life.” I ignored his words, my eyes fixed on my feet. They were even more translucent than before. I probably had only one more day before my life would truly end. Seeing my lack of reaction, Asher’s face grew even uglier. He started to rush over to scold me but tripped, falling to the ground with a yelp of pain. “What’s wrong?” He stood up and touched his forehead, discovering a large gash that was bleeding profusely. Before he could speak, a violent coughing fit wracked him for a long moment. I knew. This was the Vance family’s luck running out, a karmic debt coming due. This was just the beginning. The Vance family built their fortune on the ocean, and over the years, they had plundered countless marine lives. Their luck should have run out ages ago. Asher’s previous brush with death was an example. Back then, Asher, young and impulsive, insisted on going out to sea alone but encountered an unprecedented storm and was trapped at sea for half a month. In the end, it was Grandpa Edward who begged me to save Asher’s life. At that time, I was at a critical stage of my transformation, but I still agreed to save him. When I found Asher, he was already unconscious, his boat nearly capsized by the waves. I used my nine lifetimes of accumulated power to fight the storm and ultimately brought Asher back. But because of that, I was never able to complete my transformation, remaining in this half-human, half-fish form. When Asher awoke and learned that I had saved him, he didn’t scorn my mermaid form. Instead, he knelt before me and declared: “No matter if you are human or mermaid, Coralia, I will marry no one but you in this life.” I looked into Asher’s resolute eyes, and an inexplicable emotion arose within me. It was the first time I’d felt such a thing since the day I was born. Later, I learned it was called love.
In the beginning, Asher was wonderful to me. We spent every moment glued together, and I felt that a lifetime like that wouldn’t be bad at all. But when Blair appeared, Asher’s attitude did a complete 180-degree turn. He personally tore the sweater I’d knitted for him to shreds and glared at me fiercely. “Blair was the one who saved me, but you stole all the credit for yourself. How can your heart be so malicious? A monster truly is a monster.” From that day on, Asher ignored me more and more. Blair’s health was fragile, and he somehow heard that a mermaid’s heart could cure all illnesses. That was when Asher started targeting me. For her, he had my heart removed nine times! “I hope this isn’t your doing. Otherwise, don’t blame me for what I do next.” Asher’s thoughts pulled me back to reality. He took Blair’s hand and left the room. As he went, he glanced at me, the warning in his eyes unmistakable. Watching their retreating backs, I looked at my current state. My feet were almost transparent, and even my body was slowly becoming translucent. Asher, I’m like this, and you’re *still* suspicious of me? This sudden ache in my heart was more painful than all the nine times he took my heart. I painfully crawled to the bathroom and filled the tub with freshwater. Gazing at the calm water, I knew what awaited me, but I didn’t hesitate. I plunged in. The intense burning sensation tore at my body, but my mind and soul felt an unprecedented sense of peace. I even saw my mother, who had already ascended, waving to me, a serene smile on her face. As mist rose, my body gradually dissolved into foam. The moment my body completely turned to foam, dark clouds gathered above the Vance family estate. Bolts of lightning surged within them. In a nearby wing, Grandpa Edward’s face instantly turned ashen. As if sensing something dire, his dragon-headed cane clattered to the floor. “It’s here. The Vance family’s reckoning has come.” He rushed out with a group of bodyguards, desperately searching for Asher, who was outside, asking him where I was. Asher initially didn’t want to tell him, but seeing Grandpa Edward’s face, dark as a pot bottom, he finally led them to the room. But by then, the room was empty. Asher’s face fell. Just then, the sound of water from the bathroom caught everyone’s attention. A dreadful feeling surged in their hearts. Pushing open the door, they saw the last trace of my body dissolving into foam. At this sight, Grandpa Edward collapsed to his knees, clutching the bathtub, crying out in anguish. Asher, meanwhile, stood rooted to the spot, muttering: “No… Mermaids can heal, can’t they? How could she die? This can’t be real!” At the same time, Grandpa Edward’s phone began to ring. He answered, and his secretary’s frantic voice came through—a Vance family property had suddenly faced catastrophic financial ruin, losing hundreds of millions.
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