When He Liked Others, I’ll Tame Him

Chapter 3

No matter how much I didn't want it to happen, Kaila still showed up at my place, dragging along two whole moving trucks full of her luggage.

The second she stepped through the door, she did something totally out of character. Instead of screaming at me like she usually did, she just stood there, her greedy little dog eyes scanning every corner of the place.

I could tell right away she was hunting for something.

What was it? Checking if I'd hidden any security cameras around the house?

I couldn't even be bothered to care.

This was my place, after all. Of course, I'd installed cameras... there was no way I wouldn't.

Who knew when she would pull some crazy stunt to frame me?

I didn't just put a few cameras in, either. I hid them everywhere, and really well too. Inside potted plants, behind outlet covers, tucked inside stuffed animals. You name it, I'd hidden one there.

That's how I got a front-row seat when she snuck around my house in the dead of night, rummaging for a full ten minutes before finally creeping off down to the basement.

"How could she do this to you? Locking you up in such a tiny tank?" she said as she looked at Ronan. "Don't mermaids deserve basic rights too? You're clearly a thinking, feeling creature who feels pain. She's completely heartless! If I was the one taking care of you, I'd let you swim free in an open lake where you could do whatever you wanted."

That was such classic pick-me girl bullshit.

And Ronan, who'd never so much as cracked a smile for me this whole time? He looked absolutely moved right now, half his body leaning way out of the tank toward her.

What Kaila probably didn't know, though, was that if Ronan stayed in a lake, his scales would blister and fall right off.

Did she really think a three-million-dollar mermaid was easy to take care of?

Ronan had no idea I'd put a camera in the basement too. Back when I moved in, the basement was totally empty, and I only added the camera later to let the medical team check on his condition easily.

I'd never actually pulled up the basement footage before Kaila went down there.

That meant I had no idea Ronan had a whole other side, one that spoke softly and even danced for her.

With his loose chestnut hair falling around his shoulders, he wagged his tail so hard in front of my stepsister it looked like it was gonna snap clean off. Those sparkling peach-blossom eyes of his were glued to her, and he couldn’t look away for a single second.

Her cheeks flushed bright pink, and he nuzzled his face right up to her, all sweet and docile.

Eats my food, lives under my roof, uses everything I pay for, and he puts on that cold, stuck-up act for me? But the second he sees her, he turns into a cuddly little lapdog?

What the hell?

It hit me all of a sudden.

When Ronan was delivered, he was shipped straight to my house. I barely shop online anymore, so I’d never changed my default address. Kaila must have gotten her grubby hands on my stuff.

No wonder it had been over two weeks. I’d spoiled him rotten, given him everything he ever wanted, and he still wouldn’t even let me touch the tip of his ear. He had been ice-cold to me this whole time.

I really started to think I was just that unlikable, even a mermaid couldn’t stand me.

Staring at the loveydovey pair flirting on my monitor, I didn’t hesitate for a second. I pulled up the mermaid shop’s chat and typed out a message.

Me: I don’t think I can keep the mermaid I bought. Can I swap him for another one?

Customer Service: No problem, sweetie! Just a heads-up that mermaid returns are handled by a separate department, so someone will come pick him up in about five days. If you’re in a rush, you can also ship him back to us yourself!

Me: No rush. I’ll wait for you to come get him.

If Ronan couldn’t even be bothered to do right by me and earn his keep, he wasn’t getting another penny from me.