Chapter 1

The night before the wedding, my fiancé Dante took me to see the underwater starry sky.

Instead, we ran into pirates.

They hung me upside down and dunked me into the sea, over and over.

They even forced me to jump into a shark pool.

Just as I was about to completely break down,

the pirate closest to me tore off his mask and doubled over laughing.

It was my own sister, Bianca!

She teased me:

"Sister, the way you beg on your knees is hilarious."

"Perfect. I got it on video. I'll add it to your wedding video."

During the torture, no matter how much it hurt, I never begged.

Only when Dante lunged to save me and was beaten bloody

did I truly get scared.

I knelt on the ground and begged desperately.

But the second before, Dante, who'd been on the verge of death, stood up.

Wiped the blood off his face, a faint smile still on his lips:

"Don't be scared. It's ketchup. Your sister and I made a bet—to see if you'd kneel to save me."

"You should thank Bianca. Without her, I wouldn't know you loved me this much."

Seeing I wasn't happy, he humbled himself and coaxed me into going underwater to see the starry sky.

Then he locked me in a cage.

"Marina, I lost the bet. A bet's a bet. This wedding can only go to Bianca."

"But you've always been strong-willed. I was afraid you'd cause trouble. Be good and watch the underwater stars here. When the wedding's over, I'll come get you."

Watching his back as he left, my heart turned to ash.

The tank had only a third of its air left.

I probably wouldn't last until he came back for me and the baby.

I gripped the iron cage bars.

The deep sea's cold seeped through the diving suit, straight into my heart.

Seeing my silence, his expression softened a bit.

He gestured to me:

"Don't blame me. You said you'd die before kneeling to anyone. I didn't expect you to break your word."

My grip on the iron bars tightened.

Bitter pain rose in my heart.

He forgot.

The one who said he'd never let me kneel was him.

Back then, Dante was the most notorious playboy in the circle.

At a banquet, his stepmother Isabella falsely accused me of stealing a necklace.

She stomped on my back, demanding I kneel and apologize.

I refused, so she had me thrown into an ice pool.

Later, after Dante rescued me, he held me tight.

His whole body trembling:

"Marina, I swear no one will ever make you kneel again!"

In just five years, the playboy became the Don everyone feared.

No one dared look down on me anymore.

No one dared make me kneel.

But now, the one who wanted to see me grovel in the dust was him.

Yet in that moment, I couldn't afford to be sad.

Panicked, I pointed at the tank's pressure gauge.

It showed only a third of the air left.

"Let me out, the tank's almost empty. I'll die!"

Dante didn't even glance at it, dismissive:

"Enough, stop scheming. I prepared the tank myself. There's no problem."

"Relax, the wedding goes to Bianca, but you'll always be the Donna."

I pressed my lips tight, pointed at my belly, and shook my head desperately:

"I have a baby. I can't stay underwater too long."

Dante paused, then frowned:

"Marina, that excuse is pathetic. Did you forget? You can't have children anymore."

Every word was a knife, stabbing straight into my heart.

The pain stole my breath.

When I was thrown into the ice pool, I was already pregnant.

But the water was too cold. The baby didn't survive.

I was left with a cold-womb condition.

The doctor said I'd have a hard time ever getting pregnant again.

That night, Dante held the silver amulet he'd designed for our child.

He smoked all night.

He never mentioned the child again.

But that amulet—he never threw it away.

Locked in a study drawer, untouched for five years.

I knew he was waiting for a miracle.

So when I found out I was pregnant,

I carefully put the ultrasound photo in a waterproof bag.

I planned to tell him when we watched the underwater stars.

Afraid something might happen and the photo would get soaked,

I even secretly sent him a scheduled email.

My whole body trembled slightly. I fumbled for the waterproof bag.

When I looked up, all I saw was his receding back.

I pounded on the iron cage, held the photo high.

He stopped and looked at me from a distance.

He didn't even care what I was holding.

"Stop making a scene. I'll come get you as soon as I can."

His figure disappeared into the darkness.

The seafloor fell into dead silence.

There was no starry sky here at all.

He'd been lying to me from the start.

Cold spread from my heart.

My lower belly tightened again and again.

The tank could last an hour at most.

I wouldn't live until he came back.

I am a mermaid.

Seawater shouldn't kill me.

But the lock ring Dante gave me sealed my gills.

After I got pregnant, the suppression drug stopped working.

The shallows became the deep sea.

The one who saved me became the one who drowned me.