I was a mermaid who had been rescued by the Prince of Neonpolis's Social Elite when I was stranded.

On the day I was engaged to Conrad, his youthful first love had returned to the country.

She had perched on his lap and they had been locked in a kiss so fervent it seemed they couldn't tear themselves apart.

Conrad had remarked, "Even if she looked like you, she didn't compare to you even one percent!"

Later, the media had snapped photos of me in a passionate embrace with a mysterious man inside a car.

At that moment, I was perched on his uncle's lap, utterly lost in the intensity of his kiss.

Outside the car, Conrad was like a picture with live desperation. He pounded relentlessly on the car window in the pouring rain.

As the window slid down just enough, Conrad glimpsed the man's chiseled profile and the red marks I had left on his neck.

Panic gripped Conrad then, his face reflecting the turmoil within.

——

Conrad Tolliver was a prominent figure in the Prince of Neonpolis's Social Elite, his family entrenched in the shipbuilding business.

After three incredible years together, he finally proposed.

He had gone to great lengths, even consulting marine biologists to track the migration patterns of dolphins just to surprise me.

With a sense of mystery, Conrad led me aboard his private yacht.

Gazing at me with tender affection, he said, "Serena, today is our engagement day and I want to give you a memory you'll never forget!"

In the distance, the shimmering sea was alive with a few dolphins leaping out of the water.

I gasped in excitement, "Connie, I see the dolphins!"

Conrad gazed at me tenderly and asked, "Do you want to see the dolphins up close?"

My eyes sparkled with excitement as I playfully scratched his palm, "Can I, really?"

He nodded. "I'll do my best to fulfill every wish of yours, Serena!"

Overwhelmed with emotion, I gave him a heartfelt kiss on the cheek.

As Conrad was about to don his diving gear and take the plunge, his phone rang. He checked the screen and his face went from excited to ghostly pale in an instant.

Without a word, he abruptly left me behind and walked off.

The people on the boat exchanged bewildered glances, trying to make sense of what had just happened.

"Miss Kincaid, are you still going to dive?"

My stubborn streak kicked in. "Yes! Why wouldn't I?"

What was supposed to be a romantic dive for two turned into a lonely plunge.

As I swam through the sea, savoring my solitude, I suddenly found myself ensnared in a fisherman's net, my tail hopelessly tangled.

Panic surged through me as I struggled desperately to break free, but my efforts were in vain. My strength was slowly ebbing away.

By the time I managed to free myself from the net and return to shore, my legs were covered in blood.

The crew quickly called for an ambulance.

Just before being wheeled into the emergency room, my phone buzzed with a text from his youthful first love.

"He only sees you as my stand-in."

"How can a fake like you compete with me?"

Conrad had an ideal muse he could never forget.

Three years ago, Maya Jones, Conrad's youthful first love, was diagnosed with a terminal illness. The doctors giving her only a short time to live.

Leaving her boyfriend behind, she traveled to a foreign country, intending to await her end in solitude.

Conrad was shattered by the sudden breakup. That prompted him to plunge into a deep depression.

At that time, I met Conrad in a quaint seaside town. I had been injured and stranded, my tail shimmering with golden hues under the scorching sun. In the end, I dragged my injured, exhausted body toward the fishing village.

Conrad found me and rescued me, bringing in a doctor to heal my wounds. He said my eyes held little stars and that my smile shimmered like light reflecting off snow-covered trees in winter.

We met, fell in love and shared a beautiful, romantic time together.

Yet, he often gazed at me with a wistful look, as if searching for someone else within me.

Returning to the day of our engagement, Conrad pulled me into his arms, his excitement palpable as he vowed never to let me down.

I teased him, saying, "If you ever do, I'll hide where you'll never find me!"

Conrad playfully tapped my upturned nose, his voice full of affection, "If I let you down, then my punishment will be to never find you."

When I was washed up on the beach, my injuries were severe and I was barely clinging to life.

The crew quickly called for an ambulance, rushing me to the hospital for emergency care.

Just before being wheeled into the operating room, I received a text from Conrad's youthful first love, oozing with taunts and provocation.

While I was in crisis, Conrad had been with his first love. Their reunion had ignited a blazing passion.

The realization hit me like a bolt of lightning. From start to finish, I had been nothing more than a replacement for his ideal muse. Now that his ideal muse had returned, all his past promises seemed to have been forgotten.

The doctor told me that my leg injuries were severe and might result in permanent damage. It felt like a lightning bolt had struck me.

I locked myself in the bathroom, staring at my injured tail, tears streaming down my face. If my wounds weren't treated promptly, I might lose the chance to return to the sea forever.

Conrad's voice was sharp and irritated when he called. "Serena, are you serious? You've called me dozens of times. Why are you even doing this?"

Tears stung my eyes as I pleaded, "Connie, I'm injured. You can't just—"

He cut me off abruptly, his tone icy. "If you're hurt, just take a cab to the hospital."

"I'm busy. Goodbye!"

Before I could say another word, he hung up on me, leaving me in stunned silence.

In excruciating pain, I dragged my injured tail through the streets to find him, only to see him passionately kissing another woman.

Conrad was drunk, his eyes shimmering with a hurt expression, like a forlorn kitten left out in the cold. His kisses were rough and relentless, carrying a hint of punishment. My heart sank deeply.

Maya shoved him away. "You're engaged to Serena. Why are you even here, looking for me?"

Conrad's eyes sparkled with a wild mix of relief and joy. "I've been searching for you for years and the no contact with you nearly drove me insane!"

"I kept her around as a pet because she reminded me of you," he admitted casually.

The revelation hit me hard: I was merely a distraction for him, not even a genuine substitute.

Those dreamy, longing looks he gave me? They were just his attempts to find echoes of his ideal muse in me.

His youthful first love was draped across his lap, their mouths connected in an intense, unbreakable kiss.

Conrad declared, "Even if she looks like you, she doesn't come close to you in any way."

Maya clung to his neck, her voice a teasing whisper. "Connie, I won't be your mistress!"

He pulled her close, his arms wrapped around her slim waist as he whispered back, "I'll have Aiden, my assistant, inform the media—the wedding is canceled!"

I felt like I was plunged into an icy void, my shoulders trembling uncontrollably.

Conrad's love had been grand and fiery. He proudly announced our relationship, introducing me to his brothers and friends with fanfare.

On the day he proposed, the city was ablaze with fireworks, lighting up the sky in a breathtaking display.

I had been blissfully naive, believing that he truly loved me. Looking back, it all seemed absurdly laughable.

Conrad stormed into view, his commanding presence cutting through the chaos.

His eyes widened as he took in my pale, trembling face and the bloodied, injured tail.

"Serena, you're actually...!"

I hadn't bothered to hide the truth. "They said being with humans invited divine retribution."

"I actually deluded myself into thinking I could spend the rest of my life with you."

Conrad instinctively stepped back, pulling his youthful first love protectively behind him, clearly terrified that I might harm his beloved.

The look in his eyes was colder than anything I had ever seen before. "I've heard that a mermaid's pearl can bring someone back to life."

"Is that true?"

Conrad and Maya had been childhood friends, cherishing a mutual affection for each other for many years.

In their youthful, innocent days, the girl fell for the bright, sunny boy.

They walked hand in hand through high school and college, sharing countless memories.

Then, during graduation season, Maya suddenly collapsed, causing chaos among the students taking photos.

The doctor delivered devastating news: a tumor had grown in her brain and she didn't have much time left.

The news hit Conrad like a thunderbolt. He promised Maya that no matter the cost, he would find a way to save her, no matter what. However, Maya vanished without a word, retreating to a distant land to await her fate in silence.

Conrad's search for her was relentless. He scoured every corner of Solborough, leaving no stone unturned. Yet, she seemed to have disappeared without a trace, as if she had evaporated into thin air.

For a long time, he was a shadow of himself, drifting through life like a ghost.

I first met him on a day when he was dressed in a sleek black suit, standing tall and elegant, with broad shoulders and a commanding presence.

Conrad gazed at me with an intense, far-off look in his eyes.

His words were steeped in deep sorrow. "You resemble someone I once knew, but she is no longer here."

I stayed by his side through those darkest days, watching him slowly emerge from the shadows of his heartache.

Eventually, Conrad stopped the search altogether.

On countless nights, he held me close, his voice tender as he repeated his love for me again and again.

Slowly, he began to move on from the girl he had once cherished and our new relationship took root.

Yet, when she reappeared, the heart that had lain dormant for years flared back to life with a fierce intensity.

If it could be so easily replaced, it was never truly the ideal muse.

My mermaid mother had always warned me: loving a human was a path paved with definite heartbreak.

I stubbornly refused to believe the warnings and had to crash into the wall before I would turn back.

I moved to a small coastal town, trading mermaid tears for a large supply of medicine.

The severity of my injuries led to a dangerous infection spreading across my body.

Conrad tracked me down and surrounded me with a group armed with lethal weapons.

With a desperate edge in his voice, he said, "Maya's condition has deteriorated again. The doctors are powerless. You're the only one who can save her."

My heart plummeted into despair. "Conrad, without the merfolk's pearl, I'm going to die!"

Conrad didn't seem to hear me. He was frenzied, almost maniacal. "Serena, Maya doesn't have time! Please, just give me the merfolk's pearl!"

His family was in the shipbuilding business, equipped with the most advanced fishing tools and sonar detectors.

My injuries were severe, leaving me powerless to resist.

If he couldn't get the merfolk's pearl, he would undoubtedly target my people. The consequences would be catastrophic.

It seemed like today was a point of no return.

Conrad's touch was unexpectedly gentle as he caressed my face, but then his grip tightened brutally around my trembling shoulders.

His eyes were chillingly indifferent, almost predatory. "Serena, just hand it over to me. Don't push me to use force."

I stared back into his icy gaze, desperation in my voice. "Conrad, if you truly want it, I'll give you the merfolk's pearl. But know this—I've never loved you."

He was unaware that without the merfolk's pearl, my survival was impossible.

Conrad's words were deliberate and harsh, each syllable slicing through the air:

"Serena, I have never loved you!"

He brought a small army with him, each person armed with advanced fishing weapons, each one deadly.

Perhaps he never intended for me to leave here alive.

In his stunned gaze, I made the final, grim decision. I sliced open my abdomen and, with trembling hands, offered him the bloodied merfolk's pearl.

The pain was so intense it drew beads of sweat on my forehead, but I remained silent, determined not to give him the satisfaction of hearing me cry out.

"Conrad, this is what you wanted. We're even now," I said, my voice barely above a whisper.

Panic flashed across Conrad's face as he saw the gravity of my condition. With a desperate urgency, he lifted my nearly lifeless body into his arms.

"Serena, just hang on," he said, his voice shaking with fear. "I'm getting you to the hospital right away!"

I fought against his hold with all my strength and my body collapsed heavily onto the ground.

"So, you want to trade my life for Maya's and now you're pretending to be so deeply concerned?"

"I'm about to die—are you satisfied now?"