Ten years ago, when Mila Carlyle was only nine, she was a foster child in the Carlyle family. At that young age, her body hadn't fully developed, and both her legs had light blue, fish-scale-like skin. Because of this, Mia Carlyle always called her a little monster, mocking and despising her. 

Once, when a boy Mia Carlyle liked confessed his feelings to Mila, Mia was furious. In her anger, she threw the dog Mila had raised since childhood into a pot, boiled it alive, and then tricked Mila into eating it by telling her it was dog meat. That was the first time Mila had ever cried, and to Mia Carlyle's shock, her tears were dazzling, glittering ice pearls. 

When the Carlyle parents found out, they used various cruel methods to force Mila to cry more of these priceless ice pearls. They used hot irons straight from the furnace to burn her, whipped her with chains dipped in chili oil day and night, locked her in a dark, windowless room without a drop of water, and eventually even injected her with drugs that caused excruciating internal pain. 

Mia Carlyle, dressed in her exquisite princess dresses, would stand by, laughing gleefully as she helped her parents torture Mila with these horrifying instruments, all while saying that once Mila cried out the ice pearls, they would sell them to buy more beautiful dresses and dolls. 

But Mila never cried again. After exhausting every method they could think of, the Carlyle parents finally lost patience. They sold her to an underground auction in the Eurasian no-man's land, making a hefty profit and squeezing out the last bit of her value. 

At that time, Mila was still young, her body's functions were weak, and she had been drugged by the Carlyles, leaving her powerless to resist. She had even begged them to stop, but their answer was always the same:

— "You’re just a monster with mermaid blood! Monsters don't deserve to be compared to pure-blooded humans. Monsters are born to be trampled on by humans, to be used and enjoyed as tools." 

Mia Carlyle claimed she wasn't human. Did that mean they were? They were even less deserving of the title of "human"! Mila wondered what their reaction would be if they saw her still alive. Hopefully, they wouldn't be too shocked—because the real surprises were yet to come. 

Mila Carlyle swiftly pulled herself out of her reverie, suppressing the surging coldness in her emerald eyes. After logging off and clearing the browser history, she opened the phone’s GPS and found that the plane had already left the Eurasian no-man’s land. She then checked through Paulin Ricardo’s messages and schedule, confirming that the landing location was... Rong City. How coincidental, was Leize Miller also going to Rong City? 

She didn’t particularly want to stay in the same city as him. That would significantly increase the chances of her being caught if she tried to escape. Mila Carlyle frowned, thinking rapidly. Suddenly, a low, husky voice sounded behind her: 

"Why aren’t you sleeping? What are you doing here?" 

Leize Miller! 

Mila’s ears rang, her whole body tensing with danger signals. Damn, this man walked without making a sound? Otherwise, she would’ve heard him. The worst part was that she still had Paulin Ricardo’s phone in her hand. Thinking quickly, Mila suddenly ran to the desk, grabbed the white porcelain bowl filled with cherries, and then ducked under the desk. 

The demon's footsteps approached. 

In the few seconds it took for Leize Miller’s long strides to reach her, Mila slid the phone back out from under the desk. Seeing the phone slide back under the sofa, the small black mole at the corner of her eye lifted slightly in a smirk. Crisis averted! 

A long, slender hand reached in and pulled her out as easily as picking up a kitten. Mila immediately put on a “bratty” demeanor, struggling "fiercely" and trying to hide under the desk again. Leize Miller pressed her thin shoulders down, stopping her from moving. His tone held a trace of disdain, “What kind of bad habit is this, crawling into holes like a man?” 

"..." Realizing what he meant, Mila struggled even harder. He was shameless, not her! 

“Stop moving!” Leize placed her on the desk, hands bracing on either side of her, trapping her with his chest as the wall. His excessively handsome face leaned close to hers. He had clearly just gotten out of bed, wearing a silver-gray bathrobe, the collar loose, revealing a hint of his well-toned chest and slightly tousled black hair. He was sexier than ever. 

Mila instinctively held her breath, a wary look in her eyes. What was he planning? Was he trying to test her because he noticed something off about her earlier? Seeing her stop struggling, Leize’s enchanting dark eyes revealed a trace of satisfaction. He pinched her cheek, his voice full of mischief, “Did you miss me, so you came to the study to find me?” 

"..." Dream on. She missed him like she missed a ghost. But at least he wasn’t suspicious. Mila relaxed for a brief moment, but then suddenly, the world spun as Leize grabbed her slender waist and hoisted her onto his shoulder. 

He did it so effortlessly, as if he were carrying a pillow. Her long black hair dangled down, and Mila didn’t know what he intended, so she immediately struggled to get down. Sensing this, Leize tightened his grip on her thigh, warningly, “Go to sleep with me. If you move again, I’ll open the hatch and throw you out.” 

Oh, he just wanted to sleep. Then throw her back in the cage. Mila realized she had misunderstood ten seconds later—because Leize Miller carried her back to his cabin and directly tossed her onto the big bed! 

The mattress was so springy that Mila rolled over once on the bed. She decided to play it up and rolled once more, aiming to fall off the bed. But a cold hand grabbed her ankle, yanking her back. Leize chuckled, “Never slept in a bed before? So excited?” 

"..." 

Which eye of his saw that she was excited? With one hand holding her ankle, Leize used the remote control to turn off the lights, then pulled off his bathrobe with one hand and lay down. The bed was large, but when he lay down, Mila instantly felt the air grow thin, his powerful male presence filling every breath she took. 

So when he said sleep with me, he meant sleeping with him? Mila tried to roll to the edge of the bed, but Leize’s large hand settled on her slender waist, pulling her into his arms and holding her tight. Her face was pressed against his chest, feeling the rise and fall of his muscles under the bathrobe, his scent invading her senses, making her freeze in place, not knowing how to react.

She had sworn never to get involved with pure-blooded humans. Never! Mila’s emerald eyes flicked to the metal digital clock hanging by the bed. Estimating the distance, she figured she could reach it. If Leize tried anything strange, given his formidable skills, she had about a 50% chance of knocking him out. 

When she boarded the plane, she observed that the emergency parachutes were in the outer cabin; the emergency hatch was about seven meters to the right of the dining area and was easy to open; weapons were stored in a locked box in the back of the flight cabin... Mila’s mind raced, coming up with several escape plans. 

Leize’s large hand started to move on her back. His palm was colder than the sea, causing her to shiver involuntarily. Mila took a deep breath, her arm slowly reaching for the digital clock... Leize’s hand suddenly stopped on her back, gripping tightly before his handsome face buried in her hair, taking a deep breath. 

His sexy, magnetic voice came out lazily, “You’re softer than cotton candy.” 

Mila’s hand froze. Cotton candy? Who’s that?