Chapter 12
Sheldon left with a face as dark as storm clouds.
“Mother, Father, are you both alright?”
Our babies quickly surrounded us, their little voices brimming with worry. They pressed close, eyes wide, tails twitching.
I gently touched each of their heads, one by one.
“I’m fine,” I said softly.
Once they were reassured and sent off to play, Reginald turned to me, his eyes red, his expression full of quiet grievance.
I sighed. Finally, I told him everything.
Every secret I had carried, every truth I had buried in the depths of memory–I told him everything.
Reginald no longer felt jealous. He simply held me in silence, wrapping his arms around me.
Then, he murmured, “Celine, you’ve suffered so much. This life, I swear, I will love you well. If anyone dares lay a finger on you, I’ll fight them to the death.”
I wrapped my arms around his waist and smiled before I replied, “Alright then.”
Life with Reginald was relaxed, peaceful, and filled with laughter, warmth, and healing.
However, not everyone lived in the light.
Locked away in the coldest part of the palace, Caroline was living a nightmare.
Every time Sheldon was humiliated at my hands, he would return and take it out on her.
One of Sheldon’s concubines, who happened to be on fairly cordial terms with me, always made a show of telling me the latest news with a malicious joy glittering in her eyes.
Caroline’s life was a daily descent into hell.
Sheldon fed her forbidden drugs to keep her body barely alive and vented his frustration upon her again and again.
Sometimes, he even invited other merfolk to join in.
Under that endless torment, Caroline’s mind began to break.
She would scream and cry until her voice gave out, begging for death, sobbing with regret.
She even said she wanted to beg Reginald to save her, that if only he came for her, she would never reject him again.
When Reginald heard that, his expression soured with disgust.
That night, he crawled into my bed, wearing the most pitiful expression, and pleaded softly for comfort.
“Honey… Please take pity on me…”
Where in the world did he learn that delicate, wounded act?
1/2
Chapter 12
I chuckled.
“Alright, alright. I’ll pity you.”
The result of that pity? Before long, I was pregnant once again.
