Chapter 4

My hand jerked. I thought I'd misheard.

Then I gave a halfhearted little laugh.

I told the handler he had quite the sense of humor, cracking jokes at this hour of the night.

But he pressed his ear back against the big seafood's belly, listened carefully, and said with total certainty:

【In my experience, this fish is pregnant.】

【And…probably got pregnant right around the time Miss Summers first bought it.】

In that instant I turned to stone.

Countless terrible images came flooding into my head, one after another.

Marcia and a fish? When? How was that even possible?!

No, wait. Who's pregnant? This male merman?!

The handler nodded gravely and explained:

【That's right. Among merfolk, the males are the ones who carry on the line.】

What pulled my thoughts back was the big idiot fish, who'd just woken up.

He'd caught that last part by pure chance, and let out a shrill, ear-splitting shriek.

【You mean I finally have Marcia's flesh and blood inside me?】

【Hurry, give me the phone, I have to tell Marcia the good news!】

His eyes locked onto the phone on the table.

And with that eerie gait, like a rat that had swallowed poison and hadn't quite died yet, he shuffled toward it one step at a time.

Sweat pouring down my face, I clamped my hand over his.

【Big idiot fish, calm down first.】

【Marcia doesn't seem like that kind of two-timing woman, so the baby inside you isn't necessarily hers.】

【Back in the sea, did you have an ex-girlfriend or anything?】

I tried hard to look composed, but inside I was already a total mess.

The big idiot fish just flung my hand off, all guarded, the corner of his mouth curving into a victorious arc:

【What, do you finally believe now that the one Marcia loves is me?】

【Now that you know we've got the fruit of our love, I hope you'll know your place and get lost, fast.】

I drew my hand back, embarrassed, but I still forced myself to keep pressing, awkward as it was:

【Man, I'm honestly not trying to stir up trouble, and I'm not jealous either.】

【Just tell me, how exactly did you two…um…do that?】

The moment the words left my mouth, the room went so quiet I could hear my own heartbeat.

His face flushed bright red, his eyes darting away:

【None of your business!】

I couldn't get an answer out of him, but I could hardly just pretend nothing had happened and go back to sleep.

So I turned and asked the handler:

【How about we get a vet to take a look?】

The second he heard the word "vet," the big idiot fish flew into a panic.

【Not a chance! I am not getting neutered!】

He bit down hard on my arm, then shoved me straight into the fish tank.

The handler jumped in after me to save me.

But how could a man in the water ever match a fish?

Bernard flung out ropes of seaweed and tied us up tight, then dumped us into the storage room like packages being shipped off.

Before he shut the door, he leaned against the frame with a cold smile:

【I figure that even if I chased you off, you still wouldn't give up on Marcia.】

【So let's wait for Marcia to come home, and I'll let you see with your own eyes just how much she can't live without me.】

I wanted to tell him to get back in the water, fast, that it was his only chance to stay alive.

But I opened my mouth and not a sound came out.

God, had I left my vocal cords behind in the water?

Seeing the terror on my face, the handler dragged himself over with the last of his strength and forced out an explanation:

【Once a fish bites you, the fish venom kicks in, and you can't speak for at least half a month.】

Soon enough, the handler went silent too.

I looked down and only then noticed blood seeping out from his backside.

I struggled in the storage room until I was completely worn out.

Just as I was about to give up, I heard a door open in the distance, along with Marcia's sneaky little laugh.

【Sweet, sweet hubby, I'm home early!】

【Where's our chubby little fish? How are those scales coming along?】

Hearing Marcia's cursed racket, Bernard was of course the first to rush out.

Through the crack in the storage room door, I watched him walk toward her all on his own, with everything he had.

He was still lurching and staggering.

But in his eyes, he was probably the very picture of dashing charm.

In that moment, Marcia froze.

The air went solid for a few seconds, and all that came out was one blurted question:

【Huh? Where are your scales?】