“What are you doing here, Amethyst?” I asked coldly, my voice void of patience.
I hadn’t expected her. She’d never sought me out before, and I had no reason to entertain her now. Did she think I was like Lucas—always at her disposal?
“You look ugly to me,” she mocked, ignoring my question.
My glare hardened. How could everyone see her as sweet and innocent when she was anything but? A liar. A schemer. A wolf in sheep’s clothing. And my husband, blinded by her spell, refused to see it.
“At least I’m carrying his child,” I said smoothly, making sure she felt every bit of the jealousy she tried to hide.
Her expression darkened. She came to push me and hurt me.
“How dare you!” she shrieked, shoving me hard.
I gasped, pain searing my stomach. Seven months pregnant, and she did that on purpose.
Her eyes burned with jealousy and rage.
“You’re just a pawn,” she sneered. “He will never love you—never see you as his equal.”
She slowly unbuttoned her blouse, revealing the marks on her skin. My heart nearly stopped.
Love bites. Territorial marks. Possessiveness.
Lucas had left those marks—he had claimed her in a way he never claimed me.
Amethyst smirked, shoving me again, her touch dripping with venom.
“Do you know how he worships me every night—how he never thinks of you?” Then her hand struck my swollen belly. I gasped, stumbling back. She laughed. “Or this child. He hates that his bloodline starts with you. He wishes I were the one carrying his heir—”
“But you can’t,” I snapped. “No matter what you do, you’ll never give him what I can.”
Her breath hitched, her composure cracking.
With a strangled sob, she lunged, claws bared. I sidestepped, and she crashed to the floor.
“Aghh!” she screeched.
The doors burst open. Lucas stormed in, his eyes locking onto Amethyst, concern immediate.
He didn’t even glance at me.
“Amethyst, what happened?” he asked, rushing to her side.
And that’s when she pointed at me. I barely had time to react before he was on me.
“Selene! You’re making me do this!” he roared.
His hand seized my arm, yanking me forward before striking me across the face. My world spun. My body slammed against the wall. A cry of pain tore from my lips.
“And she told me she wants me out of your life, baby,” Amethyst added, her voice trembling with fake distress.
Lucas’s fury erupted. He dragged me into the bathroom, shoving me toward the tub. Before I could brace myself, he forced my head under the water.
I panicked! I struggled, my lungs burning as I fought for air.
“You wanted power, huh? You wanted to hurt Amethyst?” he growled above me.
He yanked me up. I gasped for breath, only for him to grab my chin—forcing me to meet his gaze.
“Should I kill you now so I’ll never have to deal with your nonsense again?”
I had always convinced myself that he could never truly harm me. That deep down, he would come to his senses—that he’d one day see me. Love me. Accept our marriage.
That he’d realize Amethyst was the monster, not me.
But I was wrong.
Because he didn’t stop.
He left me there, gasping for breath, drowning in the ruins of my own suffering.
-
“I... I don’t want to live in pain anymore,” I whispered, tears mingling with the blood pooling around me.
The ground beneath me darkened with my lifeblood. The ruin had claimed me. From the shadows, black souls rose. I watched—helpless, as they reached for my unborn child.
“No,” I sobbed. My precious baby.
The souls devoured him ruthlessly.
I looked up, praying—praying that my child would not feel the pain.
I heard a voice.
“Selene...”
I gasped. My eyes darted through the darkness. A crimson glow flickered before me, and from its depths, a figure emerged. A towering shadow with horns, his presence felt dangerous to me.
“Your heart aches for vengeance, Selene,” the figure murmured.
A broken sob escaped me. I had no fight left. Nothing left to defend. All I wanted—all I needed—was for Lucas and Amethyst to suffer.
“But I can’t, can I?” My thoughts bled into the silence. “I’m dead.”
The shadow chuckled, its voice laced with echoes of the damned.
“You can,” it whispered. “I offer vengeful souls one last chance.”
My heart clenched with fragile hope. If I stayed here, I’d never be reborn—never be loved again.
The shadow leaned in.
“I will give you twenty days,” it murmured, “to make him regret, to make him suffer. If he mourns, loves, and begs for you within that time, your body will come back to life but only to—” the shadow’s voice darkened—“make him kill you willingly.”
I shuddered. It seemed impossible.
How could a mere soul break a man as heartless as Lucas?
But if I had to return to the one who destroyed me, I would.
For one reason.
“I want my son to be born again through me in my next life.”
The shadow chuckled darkly.
“As long as you make him regret. Love you. And beg for your forgiveness. Within twenty days.”
Then everything went black.
When the light returned, I was standing in front of Lucas’s chamber, where he slept peacefully—unbothered—unaware.
Tomorrow, he would wake to the news of my death.
And my ghost will lurk here to see him suffer.
