Cordelia is the sole remaining heir of the Marguerite family, a lineage carrying the ancient blood of mermaids. Yet following the deaths of her grandfather and mother, her noble house spirals into rapid ruin. Tormented by her cruel father and greedy relatives, Cordelia is dealt a final, devastating blow when she contracts her family’s cursed hereditary illness—prompting even her fiancé’s household to heartlessly cast her aside.

At best, she has only one year left to live.

Refusing to let her story end in misery, Cordelia sets out on a desperate final journey to rewrite her fate—only to cross paths with Noah Tudor, a breathtakingly handsome yet intolerably arrogant creditor. When he corners her out of nowhere and demands she pay off her father’s massive debts, Cordelia risks everything and proposes a daring deal to buy herself a one-year grace period.

“Since you don’t have the money, are you trying to seduce me right now?”

“W-what?! No, I’m not!”

“Well then, I suppose I’ll have to buy what you’re offering. When a lady is this desperate to sell herself, what kind of gentleman would I be to refuse?”

“Keep acting just like this. You’re so adorable it actually makes me want to let you off the hook.”

Caught in a high-stakes game of debt, desire, and a ticking clock, Cordelia’s final year is about to become far more complicated—and intoxicating—than she ever bargained for.