I Bet My Soul on My Mother’s Love Chapter 05

I Bet My Soul on My Mother’s Love Chapter 05

The moment the clock struck midnight, I felt my soul pull free of my body.

Suddenly, I felt entirely weightless.

The Grim Reaper appeared before me, looking down at my floating form with a heavy, sorrowful sigh.

“Little girl, it’s time to collect on our deal.”

“Your soul belongs to me now. Per our contract, you will fade into nothing.”

He touched my forehead. My soul still carried the ghost of every wound I had suffered.

“You silly, foolish child. I’ll give you one week to walk the earth and say your goodbyes.”

“I’ve seen your life. You never committed a single sin, yet your existence was nothing but misery.”

He stared at my soul, which was still covered in the spiritual phantom marks of my earthly injuries, and

asked hesitantly, “Tell me, kid… was it really worth it?”

“Without that deal, your mother and sister would have died. That was the fate written for them.”

“You changed their fate, and paid for it with your soul.”

I nodded softly.

“Before my sister was born, Mom was wonderful to me.”

“You gave me a choice, Grim Reaper. I couldn’t just stand by and watch my mother and baby sister die.”

The Grim Reaper fell into a long, brooding silence, staring at me.

“Your spirit is free and weightless now. Go on, take a good look at this world while you still can.”

“Even if I pity you, the laws of the universe cannot be broken.”

“Human love is a fragile thing. Family, romance, promises-they all come with conditions.”

My soul drifted effortlessly through the cold, unfamiliar rooms of the house.

I had been dragged away to that military reform academy when I was only twelve. I had long since forgotten

what a home was supposed to look like.

Lily’s bedroom used to be mine.

The storage room used to house my miniature piano.

The living room walls used to be covered in my school certificates and honor roll ribbons.

Now, the entire house had been scrubbed clean of my existence.

My old room used to be packed with stuffed animals. But I never liked rabbits; I loved lions.

I used to put my hands on my hips, proudly lifting my chin as I babbled away to my mother.

“Mom, I don’t want a stuffed bunny. Rabbits are weak and just act cute!”

“I want a big, fierce lion! The lions in cartoons always protect everyone.”

“Chloe is going to protect Mommy, too!”

The plush lion from my childhood had been carelessly tossed into the darkest corner of the storage room.

Just like me-thrown away the second my protection was no longer needed.

Mom had a new daughter to fuss over, and Lily had her own pristine toys.

The little lion and I were exactly the same. Just discarded things that nobody wanted anymore.

My piano sat abandoned in the corner.

It was covered in a thick layer of grey dust, its keys incapable of ever producing a beautiful melody again.

The family portraits hanging in the living room didn’t include my face.

To Mom, I suppose I had stopped being her child a long time ago.

The fairy tales always said that love was the most beautiful, powerful force in the world.

But those stories never warned me that love could expire.

Mom must have truly believed I was a wicked child, which was why she stopped loving me.

My soul trembled as I sobbed silently in mid-air.

The Grim Reaper just kept sighing beside me.

Living people always say that the underworld, demons, and death are the most terrifying things in existence.

But I knew better. The real hell was right here on earth.

And the Grim Reaper was far kinder than the people who had given me life.

His face darkened as he looked around the room.

For a creature of death, he looked almost human in his anger.

“Don’t you worry, little girl. I am going to get you some justice.”

“I’m going to send a vision of our original wager straight into your mother’s dreams tonight.”

“Selfish people always end up paying the price for their own profound ignorance.”