The rain washed the blood from the ground and drained what little warmth I had left.
My vision blurred. I closed my eyes and waited for everything to go dark.
Then a pair of warm arms lifted me out of the mud.
“Mara Lennox, how much longer are you going to do this to yourself?”
The low, controlled voice beside my ear was tight with anger.
I forced my eyes open and saw Elias Carter’s striking, austere face.
He was a marine biologist and, aside from other merfolk and Nolan, the only person in the world who knew what I really was.
“Elias.”
My voice was barely audible.
“Don’t talk. I’m taking you to the hospital.”
He wrapped his dry coat around me, lifted me into his arms, and carried me toward the SUV parked by the road.
The heater was already running. Elias sped through the rain as I slumped in the passenger seat, feeling the warm wetness continue to spread beneath me.
“The baby’s gone.”
I said it calmly, without a single tear.
Elias’s grip tightened on the steering wheel.
“Where’s Nolan? How could he leave you out there alone in a storm?”
His voice went cold.
“He went after Brielle. She said she was going to jump off the bridge.”
I gave a humorless laugh.
Elias braked hard as we reached a red light.
He turned to me, a mix of emotions crossing his face.
“Mara, you’ve been living with pain like you’re walking on blades for a man who doesn’t love you. Was any of it worth this?”
“It doesn’t hurt anymore.”
I looked down at my legs.
With the bond that had sustained the lie of “true love” finally broken, the knife-like pain was already beginning to fade.
So the spell had never depended on giving birth to his child.
The real way to break it was to stop loving him completely.
Once we reached the hospital, Elias used his connections to get me a discreet private room.
The procedure went smoothly, and the doctors removed the remaining pregnancy tissue.
I lay in bed afterward, staring blankly at the ceiling.
Elias came in carrying a thick stack of documents.
“How are you feeling?”
He set the papers on the bedside table.
“Better. My legs don’t hurt anymore.”
I pushed myself upright and looked at the documents.
“What’s that?”
“Whitaker Group’s mass-production plan for Tideweave.”
Elias pulled up a chair and sat down, his gaze sharp and cold.
“Brielle is being presented as the lead developer. She’s making her public debut at tomorrow’s product launch.”
I picked up the file and flipped through a few pages.
It was packed with descriptions of Tideweave’s fireproof and waterproof properties, along with projections for its commercial potential.
“They think having the patent means they control everything.”
I closed the file with a dry laugh.
“The real key to Tideweave is merfolk essence. Without me to refine it, all they’ll ever make is worthless fabric.”
A flicker of approval crossed Elias’s face.
“So what are you going to do?”
“Cut off the feedstock supply completely.”
I looked him straight in the eye.
“Elias, I want to work with you and build a new marine biotechnology research institute.”
“I want Nolan to find out exactly what his empire is worth without me. Less than an empty shell.”
Elias gave the faintest smile.
He reached out and took my cool hand in his.
“Then we have a deal, Mara.”