I Just Want Her Heart... Literally

Mia Merrow, the mermaid I spent a fortune to buy, looks down on me for my ugly appearance. Instead, she turns around and falls for my handsome and gorgeous stepbrother, Charlie Pickler. I bankroll her medical treatments. She says I don't put enough thought into it. I build her the most luxurious environment to live in. She calls me tasteless and undignified. Yet, a simple sticker that Charlie casually tosses to her becomes the most priceless treasure in her eyes. "It's just an ordinary sticker, but to me, it's the most precious treasure in the world!" she gushes. "A money-obsessed man like you could never understand!" They embrace right in front of me, hoping I'll give them my blessing. "Give up, Rick. No matter what you do, you'll never hold a candle to Charlie." "Exactly, Ricky. Mia doesn't love you, so why force her?" Watching the two of them play off each other right in front of me, I can't help but laugh inwardly. Who said anything about wanting Mia's love? As I gently run my fingers over the burn scars across my face, I quietly remind myself that there are only three days left before Mia reaches maturity. They say the heart of an adult mermaid, when ground into medicine, could heal any scar. "My sweet, darling Mia," I mused to myself. "I've given you so much. In three days, it'll be your turn to give something back to me." Chapter 1 "I don't need Mia's love. I just need her heart." I stated my true intention slowly, only to be met with snickers from both Mia Merrow and Charlie Pickler. "Come on, Ricky, stop being so stubborn. Isn't that basically the same thing?" As far as my stepbrother Charlie was concerned, winning over someone's love meant winning over their heart. What he didn't know was that I literally wanted her physical heart. Mia frowned, clearly displeased. "Rick, if you like me, just say so. Why make up these pretentious excuses? Don't think playing hard to get will make me fall for you." Charlie leaned against Mia's chest, his eyes filled with contempt. "Ricky, merfolk care about beauty more than anything. You…" He didn't finish, but I knew exactly what he was getting at. Almost instinctively, I reached up and ran my fingers over the hideous scar across my face—a scar I'd gotten while saving Charlie from a fire. … When we were kids, Charlie set the curtains on fire while playing with matches at home. At the time, the only people at home were six-year-old Charlie and ten-year-old me. After Mom died, Dad—a schoolteacher—used the money she left behind to marry his longtime sweetheart. Charlie was her son. Before leaving the house that day, Dad repeatedly reminded me to take good care of my little brother. "Even if you get hurt, you can't let your little brother get hurt. Got it?" So when I saw the room go up in raging flames, I gave up my chance to escape and, without hesitation, rushed back inside to push little Charlie out. In the end, I ended up trapped in the inferno. That was the first time in my life I truly understood what true despair felt like. Even now, I could still remember the excruciating pain of the flames burning my flesh. If the firefighters hadn't arrived in time, it wouldn't have just been my face that was ruined. I would have lost my life, too. Meanwhile, although Charlie—the cause of the fire—was a little shaken up, he ultimately walked away without a scratch. I couldn't fathom how he could so unapologetically mock me for being ugly when he knew full well who had ruined my face in the first place. "Don't forget. I got this burn saving a certain someone." Charlie's expression stiffened. Of course he knew the truth. He just didn't want to feel indebted to me because of it. "I know, Ricky. It was to save me. But I was a small kid back then. I didn't know any better." Chapter 2 "I feel terrible about it too," Charlie continued. "But I was so little back then. There was nothing I could've done. That's why I've bent over backward taking care of you all these years, and I didn't even fight you for the family fortune. It was all just to make it up to you." As he spoke, he started squeezing out fake tears. Mia, heartbroken at the sight of him crying, wrapped her arms around him before turning to admonish me. "Charlie has worked himself to the bone to take care of you to atone for what happened. He even gave his inheritance to you! Isn't that enough?" I chuckled inwardly. My inheritance had been left to me by Mom. No matter how one looked at it, it had nothing to do with Charlie. And "worked himself to the bone to take care of me"? That was even more ludicrous. In reality, Dad had forced me to take care of Charlie. Even when I was injured, I was expected to cater to his every whim. "What does the inheritance my mother left me have to do with him?" I asked. "Did my mother give birth to him?" Charlie paused mid-sob as a flash of self-consciousness crossed his eyes. It wasn't that he didn't want to fight for a share of the inheritance. He simply had no grounds to claim it. So instead, he'd been pretending that he had generously given it all to me. Mia was a mermaid. She didn't understand the intricacies of human law. All she knew was that her beloved had been terribly wronged. "I never thought you could be this selfish. Even though Charlie isn't your mother's biological son, he's still your little brother. Can't you just show him some grace? He's already suffered so much. Can't you see he's crying?" I looked at Charlie nestled in her arms, and I honestly had no idea how he had supposedly suffered. And even if he had, none of it was my fault. Mia's blue tail slapped furiously against the water again and again, seemingly trying to intimidate me. As I stared at the furious mermaid in front of me, I suddenly remembered how the book I read had stated that a mermaid's mood would directly affect the potency of her heart. There were only three days left. I couldn't let anything go wrong now. Taking a deep breath, I softened my tone and forced out what I hoped was a friendly smile. "Don't be mad." I wasn't as smooth-talking as Charlie, and I wasn't good at comforting people either. So those three words were all I could come up with. Seeing me back down, Mia looked triumphant. "Then let me go. I want to leave with Charlie. That way, I won't be mad anymore." Charlie immediately turned to Mia, deeply moved. "Mia…" The human and mermaid gazed deeply into each other's eyes, completely oblivious to me. To be honest, I couldn't understand how Charlie could fall in love with Mia. To me, she was nothing more than a pet—no different from the average cat or dog. Still, Charlie's presence kept Mia happy, which was ultimately beneficial to me. And so I had no intention of ruining their "sacred" romance. "Your injuries aren't healed yet. If you leave the medicinal bath I specially prepared for you, your skin will start to rot." What I didn't mention was that if her heart was harvested while her body wasn't in pristine condition, its medicinal properties would be severely diminished. Unaware of my true motives, Mia just assumed I didn't want to let her go. "You just don't want to let me leave!" she snapped, turning her head away in annoyance. Charlie naturally assumed that was my intention too. "Ricky, if you really love Mia, just let her be free," he urged, putting on a show. Love? I'd said it a dozen times already—all I wanted was her heart. Why wouldn't anyone believe me? I sighed. "Just give me three more days. Three days from now, I'll deliver Mia right to your doorstep." Chapter 3 Of course, by then, Mia would probably already be just a corpse. But since they were so deeply in love, Charlie probably wouldn't mind. Sure enough, his eyes lit up when he heard that. He thought he could finally steal something I cared about from me. What he didn't know was that Mia, without her heart, would be nothing more than useless garbage to me. I had no use for her anymore, so if he wanted her, he could have her. "Don't think I'm going to fall in love with you in three days!" Mia assumed I'd set a three-day deadline just to win her back. "I don't need you to fall in love with me," I replied. "I just need your heart." I considered myself an honest person, yet no one wanted to believe me. "Ha! Men! Don't they mean the same thing?" Mia scoffed. "Still, considering you're willing to set me free and you've been treating my injuries, I don't mind being a little nicer to you for the next three days." Before I could even react to her offer, Charlie couldn't sit still any longer. He leaned against her shoulder, looking all sad and pitiful. "Mia, you won't actually fall for Ricky, will you? He has everything, but I only have you." Really? At first, I really did have everything. I had my parents' love and a comfortable life. But then he stole all of that from me. The moment he appeared in my life, I lost my room, Dad changed, and my face became permanently scarred. Even though Charlie wasn't Dad's biological son, Dad still valued him more than me, his flesh and blood. Even after I was disfigured while saving Charlie's life, both of them acted as though it was only natural that I did it. I still remembered the aftermath of that fire. I was rushed to the hospital for treatment, but Charlie felt bored at the hospital and demanded Dad take him to an amusement park. Dad naturally obliged. And just like that, little old me was left alone in the hospital. I didn't have a single family member there to take care of me, even though I'd just narrowly escaped death. It was one of the nurses on duty who couldn't stand watching it anymore and called Dad, forcing him to come back. As a teacher, Dad cared about his reputation above all else. So, he put on a show of being a loving father when the nurse was around, but the moment she left, his expression immediately shifted to one of disgust. "You're still a kid, and yet you'd do anything just to vie for attention. How bad can a little burn really hurt?" His cutting barbs choked the breath right out of me. Dad had clearly doted on me before. And back then, I was too young to understand why he had changed so drastically. I thought he was angry with me because I'd failed to take good care of Charlie. It was only later that I learned the truth. Dad had only married Mom for her money. When Mom was still alive, he could at least maintain the charade. But once she passed away, his true colors emerged. If she hadn't left a will stating that I would inherit her entire estate after her death, my sanctimonious excuse for a father probably would've handed every single penny of it over to Charlie. "No way, Charlie. My heart only belongs to you." Mia's voice pulled me back to reality. At some point, the two of them had already wrapped their arms around each other in an embrace. How loving of them. I checked the time and interrupted their little lovefest. "Mia, it's time for you to take your medication." Mia's lips curled into a smirk. "Rick, you really are obsessed with me. Even now, you still care enough to remind me to take my medicine. When Charlie and I start making love to each other, are you going to show up right on schedule to remind us to use birth control too?" Huh? Humans and fish could have children together? "I don't think that'll happen." Mia smirked, assuming I was just putting up a front. After all, in her eyes, I was willing to do anything for her. Chapter 4 "I don't want to take it. That medicine's too bitter," Mia whined. "You have to!" I shot back instantly. If Mia didn't take the medicine on schedule, it would affect her physical development, which would in turn compromise the medicinal potency of her heart. "If you don't take it, it'll affect your physical growth." Mia thoroughly enjoyed seeing how anxious I looked. It was as if she was thinking, "See? He claimed he didn't want my love, but he's clearly obsessed with me. Look at how he cares about my medication schedule more than I do." "What happens to my body has nothing to do with you," Mia said deliberately. She wanted to see me fret over her. It gave her the satisfying feeling of being adored and doted on. "How could it have nothing to do with me?" It had everything to do with me. It would determine when the ugly scar on my face could finally be healed! Mia, of course, assumed I cared about her physical health because I loved her. She leaned against the edge of the tank, looking delighted. "Fine, I'll take the medicine. But only if you go to the south side of town and buy me some crepes." Crepes? Did fish even eat crepes? While I was still bewildered, Charlie leaned in and planted a kiss on Mia's face, looking deeply moved. "I can't believe you remembered my favorite snacks, Mia!" Charlie chirped while casting a smug look in my direction. "Of course I remember, Charlie. I remember everything when it comes to you." So it was Charlie who liked eating crepes. I had no intention of watching the two of them be all lovey-dovey in front of me anyway, so I decided I might as well take the opportunity to get some fresh air. "Fine," I said, interrupting the two. "But take the medicine first." Seeing that I agreed, Mia reluctantly gulped down the medicine. Once she finished, I turned and left. On my way to buy the crepes, I couldn't help but recall the very first time I saw Mia. At the time, she'd been kept in a tiny tank at an illegal laboratory. She was covered in wounds, and she could barely even turn her body around. Unable to hear the conversations outside the tank, Mia instinctively curled in on herself whenever anyone approached—a trauma response from long-term abuse. "Her condition won't affect the medicinal potency of the heart, will it?" I asked. The seller rubbed his hands together ingratiatingly. "Mr. Hardy, don't let her current state fool you. A little care will fix her right up. She still has a while before reaching maturity anyway. Mermaids are extremely rare these days. It took me a tremendous amount of effort to source a top-quality specimen like this for you." I looked at Mia inside the tank, so small and pitiful. She clearly fell short of my requirements, but I still couldn't help feeling a little sympathy for her. "Alright. I'll take her." After paying a hefty price for her, I brought her home and spent a fortune having a climate-controlled indoor tank built specifically for her. Having never experienced such a vast body of water, she swam around excitedly, exploring every inch of it. "Rick Hardy!" Mia grabbed my hand and swore, "I promise I'll repay you for saving my life!" In the beginning, she really was wonderful to me. She'd carefully prepare gifts for me, like the pearl necklace she'd strung together using her own tears. "Rick, I know this necklace isn't worth much, but I spent a long time making it. You can't hate it, okay?" She looked at me pitifully, as if she were terrified I wouldn't like her gift. "Rick, the weather forecast says it's going to rain today. Make sure you wear something warm!" "Rick, I went online and learned some massage techniques just for you. Come try it!" I didn't dare respond too warmly to Mia, who looked at me as if I were her whole world. In fact, I felt deeply guilty. She was so good to me, yet all I wanted from her was her mermaid heart. Chapter 5 So, for a while, I actively tried to avoid Mia. Whenever I looked at that innocent face of hers, I felt like a monster. That was when Charlie "accidentally" stumbled into Mia's space. Compared to my scarred face, disfigured by severe burns, Charlie's handsome features made him even more alluring. So I suppose it made sense that Mia fell for him at first sight. After that, Mia spent her days staring blankly at the door while also growing increasingly dismissive of me. On the rare occasions we spent time together, all she wanted to do was ask about Charlie. "Was that guy from the other day your brother? Why hasn't he come back lately? What's his name? What does he like to eat? What's his favorite color?" Before this incident, I hadn't seen Charlie in a long time. Once I became an adult, I kicked his family of three out of my mother's house. Then, after Dad died, I cut off all contact with him and his mother. When I looked back on the security footage, I saw that Charlie had run right into Mia while he came back to the house to grab some priceless artwork. He was so scared out of his mind that he ran away, while she fell in love with him instantly. How ironic. "You want to see him?" I asked. Mia blushed and nodded. I remembered what my attending physician had told me—keeping a mermaid in a good mood would be beneficial to the growth of her heart. So, I agreed. I allowed Charlie to come over on certain days and keep Mia company. But Mia quickly grew dissatisfied with seeing him just once or even three times a week. She wanted nothing more than to spend every single day with him, and she began to resent me for it. "What right do you have to keep Charlie from me? How dare you restrict my freedom? Who do you think you are? "You're so selfish, Rick Hardy! Trapping me by your side isn't love—it's imprisonment!" … "Rick is so selfish. You're his brother, and he won't even help you find a job." The sound of Mia's voice in the present overlapped with the one from my memories. "Don't say that about Ricky. He's just too busy. That's why he hasn't helped." "With how he spends all his time hovering around me, it really doesn't look like he's that busy. You're just too kind, Charlie." I had no intention of interrupting their little moment together, but the crepes in my hand were getting cold, and I didn't want to give Mia another excuse to make a scene. I pushed the door open and walked in. The moment Mia saw me return, her expression instantly hardened. "Get Charlie a job at your company." It wasn't a request. It was an order, delivered as though she were entitled to it. She knew I wouldn't refuse her. "Sure." Hearing my answer, Charlie finally pulled away from Mia. He took the crepes from my hand and shot me a smug, taunting look. "See that, big brother? You'll always lose to me." I had no idea what he was so proud of. Was dating a fish really something to brag about? "Lose to you at what?" The smile on his face stiffened. "Even now, you're still playing dumb? You must hate me for stealing Mia away from you." Anything that could be stolen was never that important to begin with. Dad was one example, and Mia was another. The people and things I truly cared about, Charlie would never be able to take from me. "I only want her heart. You can have the rest of her." Neither human nor fish seemed capable of understanding me. No wonder they made such a good couple.