A Deadly Valentine

To my surprise, after I died, I realized that my spirit had somehow left my body. I was now floating in the air right above my dead corpse.

If it weren't for the puddle of blood pooling from my mouth, I would have just looked as though I was asleep.

I floated in a corner of the bedroom, watching as Tina continued calling out to me to no avail.

"Mommy, when are you waking up? I'm hungry…

"Mommy, are you very tired? I'm a good girl. I won't disturb you. Mommy sleep…

"Mommy, I'm going to make you some yummy food! Mommy likes tomato sandwiches, right?"

However, I was dead. My body was lying unmoving in bed, my eyes tightly shut.

I felt my heart breaking when I heard the things Tina was saying. My precious little baby was only a few years old. What would she do without a mother when she grew up?

It had all been my fault. I never should have hoped that Lucas would save me. If I'd taken Tina and left with her when Lucas first brought up breaking our mate bond, I probably wouldn't have been forced by Kael to drink the poison.

Tina didn't try waking me up anymore. She just held on to my arms and lay down by my side. She carefully made her way into my arms so that it felt as though I was coaxing her to sleep, just like every night.

After what felt like a long time, there was a sound at the door. It was Lucas. He'd just come back.

His face was a little red. It was obvious that he had been drinking. He smelled like rose perfume, and I knew that it was the perfume that Mia regularly wore.

There were also a few lipstick stains on the collar of his shirt. I could feel my heart aching. I had been tortured to death by the Rogue King while he was busy smooching another woman.

When Tina heard the sounds, she immediately got up from my arms and ran into the living room.

"Daddy! You're home!"

Lucas frowned when he saw her. "Tina? Why aren't you asleep? Where's your mother? What the hell has she been doing? Why can't she even take care of a child like you? What's the point of even keeping her around?"

Tina shook her head. She didn't know why Lucas always scolded me and made me take all the blame.

Lucas then picked her up and carried her toward the bedroom.

I suddenly felt a little anxious. I didn't know how he would react when he saw my dead body. Would he feel sad for me? Or would he finally feel relieved that I wouldn't be bothering him anymore?

He only opened the door by a small crack. The moonlight shone through the windows onto the bed where I lay, outlining the silhouette of my figure.

"Ava! What the heck are you playing at now? How dare you go to sleep without caring about your child! How do you even call yourself a mother?"

Without waiting for an answer from me, he then put Tina down and told her to sleep next to me.

"I had known all along that she was a useless Luna and a terrible mother. She doesn't deserve to be one. Go to sleep now, Tina."

My spirit floated before his eyes. I screamed as loudly as I could. "Lucas, I'm already dead! Why won't you take care of Tina? She can't sleep with a corpse! She'll get a shock!"

However, nothing worked. He couldn't hear me at all. Also, I was dead, so there was no way for me to communicate with him through our mind link.

Lucas turned angry again when he saw that I didn't move a single muscle.

"Ava! Did you hear what I just said? I can overlook the fusses you made in the past, but this is our daughter! Can't you care for her better than this?"

I screamed at the top of my lungs again. "I am dead! Lucas, I'm fucking dead! Please, for the love of God, look at my body! Look at me!"

I dearly wanted to push him over to the bed, but my hands went right through his body. I was just a floating spirit, after all. I couldn't touch him at all.

When I didn't respond, Lucas slammed the bedroom door in frustration and stormed into his study.

"Think about what you've done! And stop making me worry all the time!"

Ever since Mia came back, Lucas rarely ever slept in the same room as I did anymore. Also, we'd just argued a while ago, and he had refused to step into the master bedroom ever since. He would rather spend the night in his study instead.

I floated in the air, looking at the empty room save for a frightened Tina and my cold, lifeless body. It felt like a deadly knife had plunged straight into my heart. It was so painful that I just couldn't breathe.

Tina then yawned widely and climbed back into bed. She curled up in my arms again like earlier, looking like a lost and frightened little animal.

The next day, Lucas left his study, brushing his teeth while scrolling on his phone. A wide smile played on his lips.

I frowned a little. He was most probably texting Mia if he was smiling that happily.

After he was done washing up, he sat at the dining table as usual. However, there wouldn't be anyone preparing breakfast for him anymore.

In the past, I would always wake up an hour earlier to prepare breakfast for him. Lucas was a very picky eater, and I always poured my heart into making meals for him because I wanted him to enjoy my food.

When he didn't see me in the kitchen, he got up, displeased, and went to find me. He then suddenly caught sight of Tina walking out of the bedroom.

He hadn't noticed in the dark last night, but now he finally saw Tina's pajamas streaked with what looked like dried blood.

His expression briefly froze. "Tina, what's that on your pajamas?"