Chapter 4

4: 4

4

My hand jerked. I thought I'd misheard.

Then I gave a flat little laugh.

Told the caretaker he was hilarious, cracking jokes this late at night.

But he pressed his ear back against the little seafood's belly, listened carefully, and his tone was absolutely certain.

【In my experience, this fish is pregnant.】

【And……I'd guess she got that way right around when Mr. Henson first bought her.】

In that instant I turned to stone on the spot.

Terrible images came flooding into my head, one after another.

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

What snapped me out of it was the little seafood, who had just groggily come to.

She'd caught that last part, and let out a shrill blast right where she lay.

【You mean I finally have Nathaniel's flesh and blood in my belly?】

【Hand me the phone, now. I have to tell Nathaniel the good news!】

Her eyes locked instantly on the phone on the table.

And with that eerie gait, like a rat that had eaten poison but hadn't quite died, she inched her way toward it, one step at a time.

I was sweating everywhere. I pinned her hand down.

【Sabrina, calm down first.】

【Nathaniel probably isn't that kind of scumbag, so the baby in your belly isn't necessarily his.】

【Out in the ocean, did you have an ex-boyfriend or something?】

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

Sabrina yanked her hand free, wary, the corner of her mouth curving up in triumph.

【What, do you finally believe now that big brother Nathaniel loves me?】

【Since you know we have the fruit of our love, I hope you've got some self-awareness. Get out, fast.】

I sheepishly pulled my hand back, but still, hard as it was to say, I kept pressing.

【Sabrina. I'm not sowing discord, and I'm not jealous, I swear.】

【Just tell me, how exactly did the two of you……um……you know, do it?】

The words were barely out before the room went so quiet I could only hear my own heartbeat.

Sabrina's face flushed red, and she dodged the question.

【None of your business!】

Since I couldn't get an answer out of her, I couldn't exactly pretend nothing had happened and go back to sleep.

So I turned and asked the caretaker,

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

The instant she heard the word vet, Sabrina flew into a panic.

【Don't even think about it! I am not getting spayed!】

She opened her mouth wide, chomped down hard on me, and with the same motion shoved me into the tank.

To save me, the caretaker jumped in right after.

But how could a person in the water ever fight a fish?

Sabrina flung out seaweed and trussed us up tight, then chucked us into the storage room like a couple of packages.

Before shutting the door, she leaned against the frame and sneered,

【I figured even if I chased you off, you'd never give up on Nathaniel.】

【So let's just wait for big brother Nathaniel to come home, and let you see with your own eyes exactly how much he loves me.】

I wanted to shout at her to get back in the water, that it was her only chance to stay alive.

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

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

Seeing the terror on my face, the caretaker dragged himself over with everything he had, and forced out an explanation.

【Once a fish bites you, the fish venom kicks in. You won't be able to talk for at least half a month.】

Soon enough, the caretaker went silent too.

I looked down and only then saw blood seeping out on his backside.

I struggled in the storage room until I was completely drained.

Just as I was about to give up, I heard the door open in the distance, and Nathaniel's smug, sleazy laugh.

【My darling wife, I'm home early!】

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

Hearing Nathaniel's cursed racket, Sabrina was of course the first one to rush out.

Through the crack in the storage room door, I watched her twist that snake-slim waist with all her might and make her way toward him.

She was still wobbling all over the place.

But in her own eyes, she was probably the picture of allure.

In that instant, Nathaniel froze.

The air held still for a few seconds, and then came the one question that burst out of him.

【Huh? Where are your scales?】