1 I married into the Clarke family as the bride of their guardian deity, a merman. The only problem? He had issues in the bedroom. After he kicked me out of bed for the hundredth time, I’d had enough. In a fit of anger, I asked the clan elder to dissolve our contract. Just then, a series of comments popped into my vision, like a live-stream chat. 【He just doesn’t want their first time to be during his heat, right…?】 【Did she seriously not notice he hides in the pool the moment she enters the room?】 【But if a merman holds back his heat for too long, he’ll die! If she won’t do it, the female lead is about to make her grand entrance!】 I froze for a second, then my hand drifted towards his magnificent, shimmering tail… “What are you doing?” Adrian Clarke sucked in a sharp breath. His iridescent, slender fish tail tightened reflexively in the water, but his voice was as cold and detached as ever. A pang of guilt hit me. I quickly hid the annulment contract behind my back. “I just came to see if you were sick…” The pop-up comments scrolled frantically. 【Oh, he’s sick alright! He needs you to get in the pool with him to get better!】 【I can’t believe these two are so dense. With a setup this steamy, this is all we get to see?!】 【It’s because she’s always thought he hated her. If she hadn’t been caught planning to go out drinking tonight, he’d be so wrapped around her finger there’d be no room for the female lead.】 “Can you leave?” Adrian sank deeper into the water, only his faintly defined collarbones visible above the surface. “Oh.” He really did despise me. I’d grown numb to hearing those words. But the pop-up comments seemed to read my mind. 【He doesn’t despise you! If you keep staring, he’s going to drag you into that water!】 【A human would drown if they went in the water before mating with a merman. He’d never let that happen to her…】 【Still, a merman’s tail is his most sensitive part. His wife just touched it. He’s probably dying of pleasure right now!】 The cool, smooth sensation still lingered on my fingertips. I looked at the comments, my face flushing scarlet all the way to my ears, and fled the room. That evening, Adrian finally emerged from his chambers, wrapped in a bathrobe. His tail had transformed back into human legs. “There’s a clan ritual tonight. We’ll go together.” As the clan’s guardian, his presence was mandatory every year. Me? I was a different story. Every year, I was forced to stand in a corner as punishment until dawn. “I don’t want to go. Find someone else.” Adrian’s eyes fell. I expected him to revert to his usual self—a cold silence, a mumbled “do as you please,” and a swift exit. But after a long moment, he did something unusual. He stepped closer, his eyes shimmering with a watery vulnerability. “Please… just this once.” A new comment flashed across my vision. 【The most skilled hunters always appear as the prey!】 【Such a shame. His seductive gaze is wasted on a fool. Not only will she reject him, but she’ll tear up the contract right in front of his face…】 【The author is so cruel to him! Good thing he sees her messing around later. After he loses control and the female lead saves him, this side character’s role is pretty much over.】 【Oh, she’ll be back. At the end, when she’s cast out by the family and used as a living sacrifice…】 A chill ran down my spine. My mouth moved faster than my brain. “Fine… but only because you begged me.” I thought he’d be angry, but a flicker of joy ignited in his eyes. Could the pop-up comments be true? Did Adrian actually like me? He felt my intense gaze and awkwardly turned his head away. I found this fascinating. My hand, as if with a mind of its own, drifted to the small of his back. “So… can I see your tail again?” Adrian froze completely. The pop-up comments, which had been scrolling wildly, fell silent for a half-second. 【Did I hear that right?! Not only did she agree to go to the ritual, but she wants to see his tail?!】 【Ahem… you can’t blame her. She skipped every clan lesson about this. She has no idea that’s a merman’s mating proposal…】 Adrian, still in the pool, was breathing heavily, as if he were about to drown. But he was a merman, an ancient deity from the depths of the sea… “You! You have no shame!” I was stunned. Adrian was not at all what I had imagined. 2 I licked my lips awkwardly. “Fine, don’t show me then.” 【She’s calling your bluff! Adrian, don’t be a coward!】 【If you push her away now, you’ll just be back in the pool later, crying and hugging that doll of her…】 It was hard to imagine Adrian crying. And what doll? I was so absorbed in the comments that I didn’t notice Adrian had grabbed my hand. “Not here… I can only transform in the water.” I was too shocked to speak, letting him lead me back into his chambers. This was the first time we’d had any physical contact since our wedding day. As the Clarke family’s guardian deity, Adrian had slumbered at the bottom of the sea. The Clarkes had built their maritime empire over generations, their legends of the mermen growing more fantastical with each telling. But I was a skeptic. I had to see for myself. So, I went diving. I had no idea. Mermen were real. Adrian was sleeping among the lush seaweed, his upper body bare, his long, iridescent tail refracting the light into a rainbow of colors. He looked like a god. No, he was a god. I’ll admit it: I was smitten. I was so captivated that I almost used up all my oxygen. Suddenly, just an inch from my face, Adrian’s eyes snapped open. They were clearer and more brilliant than the ocean itself. “You’re about to die.” That was the first thing he ever said to me. After he brought me to shore, I begged the clan elder to arrange our marriage. I was blinded by lust at the time, never imagining that after the wedding, I wouldn't even get to touch his hand… but now… The tips of Adrian’s ears were blood-red, but he obediently slipped into the water, his long, slender tail materializing. “Come here.” He was too far away. I held out my hand to him. Adrian slowly pressed his face against my palm, his voice tinged with a hint of grievance. “A merman is not a pet…” My heart exploded. He was just like a puppy! His warm, moist breath tickled my palm. I instinctively pulled my hand back, but he seized the moment, pulling me into the water with him. I let out a startled cry, my body plastered against his. “You… are you trying to rebel?!” My tongue was tied in knots. A cunning glint flashed in Adrian’s eyes. He looked like a predator who, after a long, patient hunt, had finally caught his prey. “I told you.” His voice was a low growl. “A merman is not a pet.” My heart pounded. I don’t know if it was the rising water temperature, but my head was growing fuzzy. Suddenly, a shrill ringing pierced the air. I scrambled to turn off my phone, but my wet hand accidentally hit the answer button. “Babe, I’ve got something good for you!” my best friend’s voice chirped. “A six-foot-two college hunk, table’s booked. You’re gonna love him!” I felt an unprecedented wave of pressure from behind me. I quickly hung up. By the time I turned around, Adrian had already wrapped himself in a bathrobe and left without a word. 【He’s so mad. As if he’s not six-foot-two himself, hahaha.】 【Looks like the plot is back on track. A leopard can’t change its spots!】 3 【If she’d just turn back to him, Adrian would be her loyal dog. He’d just lick her hand and give a little woof.】 【Yeah! Can some human model really have as many tricks as our little merman?】 How would I know how many tricks Adrian had… Besides, who said anything about a model! I called my best friend back. “Don’t call me for this stuff anymore. I’ve got a strict one at home now.” There was a long silence on the other end, followed by a burst of hysterical laughter. “June Clarke, are you hallucinating from starvation? Didn’t you say you haven’t had a decent meal since you got married?” Well… she wasn’t wrong. “Things have changed. Gotta go. I’m off to reclaim what’s rightfully mine!” “What the hell are you on about…” I hung up before she could finish and set off. According to the pop-up comments, tonight’s ritual was where Adrian was supposed to meet the female lead for the first time. I had to see for myself what kind of sacred being she was. On the way, the clan elder called. “June Clarke! Where are you messing around now?! You were the one who begged for this contract, and now you’re making excuses to skip the ritual?!” Marrying a merman was a tradition in our clan. But the merman lineage had been broken for centuries, leaving only the slumbering Adrian, so the tradition had faded. After Adrian reawakened, many in the clan coveted this marriage. After all, a woman who had been intimate with a merman, aside from not growing a tail, was said to become like one of them. Not to mention, Adrian was far more handsome than the portraits of his ancestors… He was a hot commodity. “Elder, don’t worry.” I found a place to pull on my diving suit and checked all my equipment. “The ritual is in the same waters as always, right?” The last time I’d been in these waters was when I first met Adrian. The memory made my heart race. I quickened my pace towards the sea. 【Is she really going?】 【This was supposed to be the first meeting between the male and female leads. How is this supposed to work with three people?】 My husband is about to fall in love with someone else? Who gave him permission?! I hopped on my jet ski and sped off. A large ship was anchored in the target area. “Elder, am I late?” Before the elder could speak, a middle-aged woman pointed a finger at me. “Your presence here pollutes the sacred waters! The clan’s shipping routes have had unprecedented problems this year. You must have angered the Merman God, bringing this heavenly punishment upon our family!” The elder frowned. “That’s enough!” So, not sleeping with Adrian brings heavenly punishment? I pulled on my mask, about to jump into the water, when someone stopped me. “Only one human is allowed in the ritual waters. Someone has already gone down in your place. You can wait on the ship.” My hand froze. After a moment, a wide smile spread across my face. “I am Adrian’s wife. Why should I wait here?” Splash! To everyone’s astonishment, I dove headfirst into the water. The calm surface of the sea instantly churned into a massive whirlpool, pulling me deep into its depths… 4 The whirlpool looked fierce, but it didn’t harm me in the slightest. After some time, I saw Adrian in the distance. A slender figure floated nearby. As I got closer, I realized there was a thick, shimmering barrier between them. The woman’s oxygen was running low, but she showed no intention of leaving. “I can help you, just look at me…” the woman signed frantically towards Adrian. Adrian’s brow was furrowed in extreme displeasure. “Not needed.” I could hear his voice, cold and distant. The woman must have heard it too. I swam closer. Just as I was about to touch the barrier, the woman grabbed my arm. “How did you get down here?!” she signed. “It’s dangerous. I’m enough. You should go back.” The next second, as my fingertips brushed against the barrier, I felt a powerful suction pull me straight through. Adrian’s condition was even worse than yesterday. Faint scales had begun to appear on his neck, opening and closing with each breath. “What are you doing here?” he grumbled, not looking at me, but the tips of his ears were bright red. “If I didn’t come, someone else would have snatched you away.” I opened my mouth and found I could speak freely, just like Adrian. The woman outside, watching this, turned red with frustration. Or maybe it was from lack of oxygen. “Aren’t you going to save her? She’s about to die,” I said. Adrian glanced at me from the corner of his eye, then slumped against my arm, completely limp. “I don’t know her.” He leaned against me, unmoving, until the woman finally gave up and floated to the surface. 【What’s happening?! Wasn’t the female lead supposed to save him? Why did she just leave?】 【Is the first steamy scene going to be underwater?】 【Is our little merman going to do it with her until she suffocates?】 Reading the comments, my heart hammered against my ribs. Just as I was mentally preparing myself, Adrian suddenly pulled away. “I’ve delayed you today. Let’s go.” I was surrounded by water, completely bewildered. What did he mean, he’d delayed me? I was all ready to go, and now he wanted me to leave? “Are you in a hurry to go see that girl?” Adrian’s back stiffened. Suddenly, the surrounding water began to churn violently. 5 I was swept into even deeper waters… It was pitch black all around, like being trapped in chaos. Suddenly, a faint, eerie light appeared before me. Of course. A merman belongs in the deep sea. In this moment, Adrian radiated a dangerous divinity. “Adrian?” I called out tentatively. The only response was the powerful flick of his tail fin. He wrapped me in a tight embrace. “Adrian, what’s wrong with you?” I wasn’t a sea creature. In a place like this, it was impossible not to feel a sense of panic. I pushed against him with all my might. Adrian’s dangerous, predatory pupils instantly became moist and chaotic. “I was wrong… don’t push me away.” 【The main couple is officially dead. Is he apologizing for accidentally letting the female lead go down the drain today?】 【Serves you right for leaving her in a huff. You almost lost your wife!】 【I don’t care anymore! I am the First Emperor of Qin, and I demand to see their underwater play!】 My heart softened. I let myself fall back into his arms. “I’m human. I’ll die here…” It was as if Adrian had blocked out all sound. He extended the sharp fin on his elbow and sliced a large gash in my wetsuit.
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