- 8.
Despite his pleas, he forced us to return to
his house.
I stayed for Lily, who still hadn’t regained
consciousness.
Once I was fully healed, I would take her away
and never look back.
But before I left, I had a gift for Jason.
I covered the house in sticky notes, each one
a memory of our time together.
I wanted him to remember. If he truly loved
me, the guilt would haunt him.
When I finished, I took Lily and left.
I would never return, and I would make sure
he never found us again.
It was finally over.
- 9.
Jason arrived home with Lily and Ariel’s
favorite cake, only to find the house empty.
Panic clawed at his throat.
“Where are my wife and daughter?” he
roared, kicking over a chair.
The housekeeper, just stirring from a drugged
sleep, stammered, “I’m sorry, sir. I… I must
have fallen asleep.”
Jason noticed a small, dark bottle on the
table. He recognized Ariel’s special sleeping
draught. She had drugged the housekeeper to
escape.
A chill ran through him..
No. He wouldn’t let them go.
He raced to the beach, desperately searching
for any sign of them.
く
Finding nothing, he checked security
cameras. He watched in despair as Ariel
carried Lily into the ocean.
Ariel had told him stories of her home deep in
the sea, a place no human could ever find.
Would he ever see them again?
He collapsed onto the sand, sobbing.
He had been so wrong. He should never have
given them to Sarah.
But he truly hadn’t understood his own heart.
He had believed he loved Sarah. After all, she
had orchestrated everything.
He thought back to the first time he saw
Ariel, caged and vulnerable. His heart had
L
pounded in his chest. He had wanted to save
her.
When Sarah proposed her experiment, he told
himself he couldn’t possibly be falling for a
mermaid he barely knew. He was a married
man.
He had suppressed his feelings for years.
Until he saw Ariel violated, their child stillborn.
His heart had shattered. He had been
consumed by regret.
- 10.
Jason poured his resources into searching for
Ariel and Lily, but they were gone without a
trace. He became a shell of his former self,
く
existing rather than living.
He returned to the empty house and found
Ariel’s sticky notes.
On the refrigerator: *“Do you remember
teaching me how to use the refrigerator? You
said cold food was more delicious.“*
Of course, he remembered. Ariel had been so
curious about everything, like a child. He had
enjoyed showing her how things worked.
A tear splashed onto the floor. He hated
himself.
Why had he listened to Sarah?
He walked into their bedroom. More notes
covered every surface.
r
*“You said girls should wear pretty clothes,
so you bought me so many. Then I started
buying you handsome clothes, too.” *
*“You taught me how to use makeup, you
said I looked beautiful. I secretly bought you
skincare products. I wanted you to be
handsome, too.”
“‘*
*“Our wedding photo. I was so happy then.
I’m not happy now.“*
Jason broke down, his body wracked with
sobs.
Sarah burst through the door. “Jason! What’s
going on? Have you forgotten about me?
About our baby?”
Г
