Chapter 8%
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It was three in the morning when Jill slipped into the lab, her face twisted with darkness.
Her lips curled into a cold smile.
“I’m going to put you out of misery, Nerissa.”}
If I were still alive, I probably would’ve been terrified–my heart pounding, adrenaline flooding my system. But now??
Now, I couldn’t wait for it to be over. I was tired. So damn tired.
Jill stepped closer, each move deliberate, almost theatrical. She reached under her dress and drew a dagger–thin, sharp, glinting under the harsh lab lights. Her grin widened as she stared at my body, now partially dissolved, floating limply in the tank. She reached in, grabbing me by the arm and yanking me out of the water.”
The moment my skin touched air, the disintegration accelerated.
It was working. I was fading.
“Die, Nerissa!” she hissed, raising the blade.§
The knife had barely come within an inch of me when a hand caught the blade mid–air.
Blood gushed instantly, staining the tank crimson.
Before Jill could even register what happened, she was kicked backwards, landing hard on the floor.
“Sam?!” Her eyes widened in shock. “What are you doing here?!“}
Sam didn’t answer right away. His eyes were locked on me–on my dissolving body. A flash of anguish twisted his face. But when he turned to Jill, it was pure fury.
“Why, Jill?” His voice cracked. “Nerissa never hurt you. Why did you try to kill her?“}
“I was doing it for you!” Jill clutched her abdomen and sobbed like a woman scorned. “You hate her, don’t you? I was just getting rid of her for you! She’s not even human–she’s a monster! I’ve done everything for you and I’m still nothing compared to this disgusting creature?!”
Sam let out a cold laugh. The same kind of laugh he used to give me.}
Detached. Icy.
“For me?” he said bitterly. “You shoved Nerissa into a moldy storage room, treated her worse than an animal when we’ve got an entire estate. You used her blood for your creepy little art projects. And now you’re trying to justify it as ‘helping‘ me?“}
He stepped forward, looming over her.
“Don’t flatter yourself, Jill. That’s not love. That’s cruelty.”
I let out a weak, bitter smile. My wrist–still scarred and raw–ached just from the memory.
So he’d known…
He knew everything.
And now that I’m dead, now he wants to play the hero? What’s gotten into him?}
Jill’s face contorted with rage.}
“Oh, I see,” she spat. “Do you feel sorry for her? Or worse–love her? What happened to you, Sam? When she was hurting, did you do a damn thing to help her? And now you’re blaming it all on me?“}
“You’re only mourning her because she’s gone. She can’t even see you anymore and here you are, putting on a show like you actually cared. Pathetic.”
“Guess what? I’m all you’ve got now. I’m the only one left who loves you. And that should be enough.” Before Sam could respond, the lab doors swung open.
People poured in–researchers, guards and right behind them… Sam’s parents, stone–faced and silent. A pair of silver handcuffs clicked around Jill’s wrists before she could react.
“What?! What the hell?! I didn’t do anything! Why are you arresting me?!“}]
Sam stepped forward and threw a thick stack of documents in her face.
“You’re under arrest,” he said coldly, “for betraying both humanity and the merfolk.“}
He didn’t even look at her as he said it.
Instead, his eyes lifted… and met mine.”
Directly.
He could see me??
For a moment, I panicked and looked away, pretending nothing happened.
But he smiled. Just a little. A sad, broken smile.”
And shook his head like he knew exactly what I was thinking.
Jill was forced to the ground, her cheek scraping against the dirty floor. She didn’t resist.
Instead, her wide eyes scanned the papers Sam had thrown at her–eyes that slowly filled with disbelief… then fury.”
8:59
“So what if I’m the traitor?” she muttered. “Those damn mermaids deserve to die!”
Her voice grew louder. Hysterical.
“They’re not like us. They’re monsters! Their hearts must be evil! Doesn’t everyone know that?!“}
She whirled on Sam, desperation dripping from every word.
“You’re really going to throw me away… for one of them?!“}
Sam took a deep breath.
The weight of his own investigation hit him like a brick to the chest.
All these years, he’d been blind–both in sight and in heart. He’d hurt the one person who truly loved him, who only ever wanted the best for him… and instead, he chose to keep a woman who was cruel, calculated and heartless.”
He stared at Jill, eyes like ice.
“Jill,” he said coldly, “what part of you is speaking right now? Is it your human side–or your mermaid side?”
Jill flinched at his tone, shivering under the weight of his gaze.}
“No… no, how do you know I’m a hybrid?! Who told you?!“}
But Sam didn’t answer.
B
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