Chapter 1

To cover the astronomical medical bills, I married Finn Waterford as a stand-in bride — the billionaire everyone said had less than three months to live.

On our wedding night, he sat in his wheelchair, coughing up blood, yet he pinned me down on the bed like a madman. His cold fingers dug into my waist, and by the time he was done with me, I was barely alive.

The next day, they quietly shipped him abroad for treatment — and he was never heard from again.

Everyone said I was about to inherit a fortune worth hundreds of billions and planned to keeping a Boy toy.

Then, ten months later, I gave birth in the villa's bathtub — to a creature whose lower half was a ghostly blue fish tail.

I hadn't even figured out what to do with this monster when the villa's front door swung open.

The man who was supposed to be dying on foreign soil walked in, trailing the chill of the deep sea, and stood right in front of me.

Midnight. The villa's heated rooftop pool.

I was soaking wet, my face pale as a ghost, floating in the water with a newborn clutched tightly to my chest.

No — not a newborn.

Beneath the rippling surface, a fish tail covered in deep blue scales shimmered with an eerie glow, coiling gently around my thigh.

Ice-cold. Slick.

This was my own flesh and blood. Ten months in my womb, and this is what came out.

Just a few hours ago, I had been writhing in agony on the bathroom floor, biting down on a towel as I gave birth to him alone. No doctor. No nurse. Because I couldn't let anyone see this monster.

I had assumed Finn was on his way dying. All I had to do was give birth to the Waterford heir, collect the rest of my payment, and use it to save my sister.

But instead, I had given birth to a monster.

My mind was spinning as I tried to figure out how to secretly smuggle this tailed freak out of here when —

CLICK.

Every blinding light around the pool snapped on at once.

I squeezed my eyes shut against the glare and instinctively pressed the baby deeper under the water. My oversized silk nightgown spread out across the surface, barely concealing the blue tail beneath.

"Well, darling. Fancy finding you here — swimming at midnight."

A low, hoarse voice cut through the empty air around the pool, laced with a bone-chilling cold.

My whole body went rigid. My blood ran cold.

Finn.

He was seated in a wheelchair, being pushed by several bodyguards dressed in black. He had lost so much weight he was nearly unrecognizable — his already sharp features now looked even more severe and menacing. The collar of his black shirt hung open, his collarbone pale and completely bloodless.

Wasn't he supposed to be in the ICU overseas?!

"F... Finn. When did you come back?" My teeth were chattering, my body instinctively backing away.

The little monster beneath the water seemed to sense my fear. It squirmed restlessly, its ice-cold tail fin brushing against the sensitive skin of my calf, sending a shudder through me.

Finn's gaze was like two surgical scalpels — fixed on me, unblinking.

My wet silk nightgown clung to every curve of my body. But he wasn't looking at that. His eyes were locked on the bulge I was clutching tightly to my chest.

"Get out of the water," he ordered. His voice was quiet, but it carried a weight that left no room for argument.

"I... I'm not wearing anything underneath, and the water's warm. Let me stay in a little longer." I scrambled for excuses, my heart pounding so hard it felt like it might burst.

Finn suddenly smiled.

It was the kind of smile that made my skin crawl.

He raised his hand and snapped his long, pale fingers.

The bodyguards moved immediately. Ignoring my screams, they jumped into the pool, grabbed me by both arms, and hauled me out of the water by force.

SPLASH.

Water flew everywhere.

I fought desperately to keep the baby wrapped inside my skirt as I was dragged out and dumped at the foot of Finn's wheelchair, soaking wet and gasping.

Finn leaned down. His ice-cold fingers closed around my jaw and forced my head up.

His face was inches from mine. Close enough that I could smell him — something sharp and strange, like deep-sea kelp and blood mixed together.

He drew a slow breath in, his nose nearly grazing my neck.

"Why do you smell so strongly of... the sea?"

His voice dropped to a murmur, but his eyes shifted in an instant — dark and dangerous.

I was trembling so hard I could barely hold on. And that was when the little monster in my arms let out a tiny, weak whimper.

Finn's gaze dropped — straight to the bundle I was desperately pressing against my skirt.