I was the world’s last mermaid. At birth, I was granted three wishes by God.

I used the first when my boyfriend, Alex Zane, was dying. I offered up the child in my womb and my fertility in exchange for him to live a long and healthy life, untouched by illness or disaster.

I used the second when the Zane family was going bankrupt. I offered up all my power and wished for their fortune to be restored and for their future to be secured.

When he came to me for the final wish, his childhood sweetheart, Valentina Wilson, was dying in childbirth.

After I turned him down, he threw me into a men’s prison. “A dollar a turn. Do whatever you want with her. She can’t get pregnant anyway.”

That night, I wept until my voice broke.

At dawn, when the light finally crept in, I offered up my life to activate the sacred token and made my final wish.

“I wish for all who betrayed me to watch their world burn. Let them lose everything and die a painful, miserable death!”

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!

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.

Alex, however, did not know that. He fell silent for a long moment. Then suddenly, he grabbed my wrist and pulled me out of the room.

“Lilian, you’re my wife. I can give you status, position, everything. But Valentina has nothing. She doesn’t want anything either. She just wants a little of my love. Six years ago, to repay what you did for me, I made myself leave her and marry you. I will not fail her again. Lily, you already have so much of my love. Can’t you be a little generous with her?”

My tears had long since run dry. I looked at him numbly, unable to say a word.

Perhaps I looked too broken. His tone softened as he tried to appease me.

“I promise you, even if Valentina stays, you’ll still be the only Mrs. Zane. You’re the one I love most.”

He wrapped his arms around me from behind and rested his head on my shoulder.

“Lily, I love you.”

With my back to him, I closed my eyes. It was too late. I was dying. The curse was coming. Nothing he said mattered anymore.

Alex’s tenderness for me did not last long. That very night, he burst into my room like a madman, seized my hair, and dragged me to Valentina.

“Save him! Lilian! I’m ordering you, save him now!”

Valentina’s eyes were full of tears. She struggled to kneel in front of me. “Lily, please. Please save my child!”

“He’s a reincarnated angel! An ordinary human body can’t hold the angelic spirit. You’re a mermaid. Only you can save him by making a wish!”

However, I saw it clearly. There was no reincarnated angel. The baby’s face was covered in red rashes. His breathing was labored. It was an allergic reaction.

“It’s just an allergy…”

Before I could finish, Valentina cut me off. Her voice was thick with sobs.

“Alex, let me speak to Lily alone. Woman to woman. She must understand a mother’s heart.”

The moment Alex stepped out, her expression turned malicious.

“How do you even have the gall to keep living? You’re a loose woman passed around by countless men. What makes you think you deserve to fight me for Alex?”

With that, she lifted the baby high in her arms and threw him down hard.

“No…”

I could not stop her. The infant hit the floor, convulsed a few times violently, then went still.

At the same time, Valentina let out a hysterical scream that filled the room.

“It’s all my fault. You could’ve just taken it all out of me! Why did you have to hurt my baby?”

She scooped the limp bundle into her arms and flew through the door like a lunatic.

“Alex, she killed him! She killed our child!”

Alex kicked the door open. A pair of hands clamped tightly around my throat. I turned my head and met a pair of bloodshot eyes.

“Get lost…”

My lungs burned. I clawed at Alex’s wrists and struggled to shake my head.

I was not afraid of dying, but if I died at this moment, the curse would not take effect.

How would I get my revenge then?

Tears fell onto his fingers. His grip around my neck loosened.

Alex looked at me coldly. After a long moment, a cruel smile spread across his face.

“Lilian, I’m going to make you… wish you were dead.”

Alex did exactly what he said he would. He locked me in the basement. In the darkness, countless hands roamed over my body. The pain grew so intense that my consciousness began to fade.

Yet even that was not enough for him. He stripped me bare and forced me to kneel in the snow. The wind howled as flakes fell thick and fast. Alex stood behind the floor-to-ceiling window with Valentina in his arms. There, he watched my pathetic struggle.

Time passed, second by second. Snow gradually piled up around my legs. After a long while, my body went completely numb. The endless torture had drained almost all of my life away. It was the extreme hatred that still kept me conscious.

A pair of shoes appeared in front of me. Alex let out a scoff.

“Drop the act. Who are you trying to fool? You’re a mermaid. A little cold won’t kill you.”

The merfolk were born with strong bodies. We did not fear the cold.

I thought, “But Alex, I had traded all my power to make the second wish for your family.”

I was as fragile as any human.

My fingers were sheathed in frost. The world in front of me was blurring. When I looked up, I saw dark clouds gathering quietly in the sky.

It was coming.

“Ten… nine… eight… seven…”

As soon as I finished the countdown, I burst into manic laughter.

“Alex, I curse you! You will suffer miserably for the rest of your short life!”