Mermaid Trap

Despite her resolve, Vivianne’s vision blurred with tears, her eyes becoming a wet mess. She might have been in denial all this time, unwilling to face a truth too overwhelming to accept. Despite all the rest she’d gotten, she still felt a lingering numbness, perhaps because this realization was too heavy to bear.

She had poured her entire soul into this, and now, her beliefs and goals were crumbling in an instant. She wanted to believe it wasn’t her reality, that it was all some misunderstanding. But the moment she asked if Kian didn’t want a child and heard herself say those words, the stark reality hit her.

This was real. It was happening to her.

The weight of it all crashed over her, overwhelming her. The most unbearable part was the look of regret in Matilda’s eyes.

She had asked for the truth, but perhaps, deep down, she had hoped Matilda would deny it, offering her some sweet comfort. Even though she had heard the maids’ conversation and had her suspicions, she still yearned for some unrealistic explanation to shatter the grim reality.

A wave of sobs overtook her, making it hard to breathe. Vivianne felt like she was drowning.

“I-I’m sorry. Hic, sob, I’m f-fine, sob.”

She said she was fine, but she wasn’t. She was far from okay. Trying to appear composed was impossible.

Vivianne cried loudly, hiccuping and sobbing uncontrollably.

“Matilda, p-please, hic, just be h-honest, sob.”

No, she didn’t really want the truth. But she needed to hear it. She needed to know the reality to cope and find a way to handle it.

She was falling apart, her soul crushed, but she had to grasp onto whatever she could, even in this pitiful state.

Matilda enveloped the trembling, sobbing Vivianne in a tight embrace.

“Vivianne.”

She used her full name, not just the nickname “Vivi,” enunciating each syllable clearly as if trying to ground her, to remind her of her identity.

“You must have been very scared by all this, right?”

Matilda gently stroked her hair with one hand and patted her stiff back with the other.

“Matilda, sob, I-I’m so sorry. Really, sob, I’m so, so sorry.”

As Vivianne apologized, Matilda sighed deeply, her own distress showing.

She gritted her teeth and gently wiped the tears from Vivianne’s wet face.

“You have nothing to be sorry for, Vivi. None of this is your fault, so don’t blame yourself.”

Her voice was calm, but her hand, caressing Vivianne’s cheek, trembled slightly.

“I said I was fine, sob, but I just keep crying, hic, and I’m sorry, sob.”

“It’s okay to cry. Take your time and talk when you’re ready.”

Matilda continued to wipe Vivianne’s tear-streaked face, looking into her sorrow-filled blue eyes.

“I’ll be here waiting until you’re ready.”

Vivianne buried her face in Matilda’s embrace and cried her heart out.

Matilda felt her own heart break as her dress soaked through with Vivianne’s tears. She held her close, patting her back gently, like comforting a child.

She waited patiently, soothing Vivianne, letting her take all the time she needed to gather her strength.

* * *

Matilda lay down beside Vivianne on the master’s bed, holding her close as she often did when they shared a bed.

“My goodness, your eyes are so swollen they’ve shrunk! Vivi.”

She looked at Vivianne’s face nestled in her arms and teased her with a playful smile.

“This is too good not to share. Want to see a mirror?”

Matilda grinned, and Vivianne shook her head vigorously.

“Why not? You’re always so pretty. Even with swollen eyes, you look incredibly cute.”

“No. I don’t want to see. I must look horrible.”

“No way. Don’t you trust me? Have I ever lied to you?”

Matilda pulled a small mirror from her apron pocket and showed Vivianne her reflection.

Vivianne saw her puffy, fish-like face, swollen from crying.

“…I look awful. Sob, sniff.”

Vivianne started crying again.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Matilda found her endearing and couldn’t resist teasing her more.

“Why are you crying again?”

“You said I look cute. But I look awful. Hiccup, sniff.”

Because of Kian’s lies, she now felt betrayed even by Matilda’s teasing, making her cry even more.

“You really do look cute.”

“Liar… You’re just teasing me again, hic, aren’t you?”

“Yes. I’m teasing you.”

Matilda gently pinched Vivianne’s wet cheek.

“Nobody else would cry from seeing such a cute face. Right?”

Despite her playful remarks, Matilda had never found fault with Vivianne. No matter what strange things she did or how it affected her, she always called her cute, praised her, and encouraged her.

A source of unconditional support, Matilda was someone Vivianne felt a connection with like no other, even more than with her own kin.

“Your voice is hoarse. I can barely understand you.”

“…Hic, I won’t talk anymore.”

“I’ll wait until you’re ready to talk then.”

Perhaps from all the crying, Vivianne felt completely drained. She lowered her swollen eyes, resting in Matilda’s arms.

After a while, her hiccups subsided.

“I’ve been working as a maid in Larsson for 30 years now. Who knew I’d see a day like this.”

“What do you mean?”

“Thanks to you, I’m skipping work and lying in the master’s bed. Being a rebellious maid feels exhilarating. Life really is full of surprises, isn’t it?”

“What’s the big deal?”

She hadn’t asked Kian’s permission, but seeing her sobbing like this made her feel defiant.

What could he do? She felt like letting things take their course.

Matilda whispered with a mischievous smile.

“Just don’t tell the master. I might get fired.”

“If you get fired, you can leave with me.”

“What?”

Vivianne wrapped her arms around Matilda’s waist, snuggling her face into her chest.

“I can’t live without you, Matilda. Theo too.”

“Why Theo?”

“Because if Theo stays alone, Kian will torment him.”

“The master?”

“Yes. And Theo is strong. He’s Matilda’s son. We should stick together.”

Vivianne’s determined yet muffled claim to Theo’s loyalty was endearing. Matilda straightened her disheveled hair.

“What about the master if you leave?”

“He’ll manage just fine on his own.”

Her lips pouted in a way that made her look like a sulking child, showing how upset she was.

Matilda found her so adorable that she cupped Vivianne’s cheeks with her hands.

“I don’t think so.”

“Yes, he will.”

Vivianne couldn’t imagine the arrogant man failing to live well on his own. Then she recalled the obnoxious words he had said in the carriage.

“Kian said that Theo could live without him, but I couldn’t.”

It wasn’t entirely untrue.

Recklessly staking her soul to come ashore, she needed Kian’s child to become human.

Even now, while criticizing Kian and feeling heartbroken by his coldness, she was relying on Kian’s people.

It was her first decision, but it felt like she could do nothing on her own.

The hasty decision felt like shackles, binding and digging into her.

“Did the master say that?”

“Yes. So that day, Theo came separately, and I rode the carriage back alone…”

Vivianne started to tattle a bit but then suddenly stopped.

“What?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Thinking about it, she didn’t really want to talk about it. Even though Matilda joked and tried to cheer her up, Vivianne still felt drained and lifeless.

No wonder. After unknowingly consuming so much of what she thought was chocolate and passing out, the sense of betrayal must have been immense.

Matilda had tried to engage her in light conversation to lift her spirits, but this was no light matter. Matilda felt a heavy weight in her chest.