Leah rubbed her eyes and walked over step by step.

"Daddy, I'm so hungry," she said.

Hudson glanced at the dried bloodstains on Leah's clothes, then at the paint on the coffee table. His face turned pale.

"Your mom didn't even bother to change your dirty clothes? She actually let you sleep in them?" he said, frustrated.

Hudson checked his watch and took Leah's hand, asking, "Where's your mom?"

Leah pointed toward the master bedroom.

"Mommy is still sleeping," she said.

Hudson's frown deepened.

"Hailey, get up. Leah needs to go to school soon, and she hasn't even had breakfast. You're getting more and more irresponsible," Hudson said, frustrated.

He waited for a while but didn't get a response from me. Hudson angrily headed toward the master bedroom.

I felt a bit of excitement.

As soon as Hudson opened the door, he would discover that I was already dead.

Just as Hudson reached the master bedroom door, the phone he left on the dining table rang.

I kept whispering in his ear, "Hudson, just open the door. As soon as you do, you'll see that I'm already dead."

But Hudson paused and went back to the living room to grab his phone.

I saw the caller ID. It was Ayla Baker, Hudson's unattainable dream girl.

"Hudson, Rylee woke up with a fever this morning. I don't know what to do by myself. Can you come help me?" Ayla's anxious voice came through the phone.

Ayla's urgent tone instantly brought a look of panic to Hudson's face.

It was a look that had never appeared on his face, even when Leah had a fever of 104°F.

"Wait for me at home. I'll be there soon," Hudson said hurriedly.

Hudson put on his shoes and was about to leave. He turned around after opening the door and saw Leah standing there, looking confused. He looked toward the master bedroom with annoyance.

"Hailey, stop being unreasonable, will you? Get up and get Leah ready for school. Ayla's child is sick, and I have to go over there," Hudson said, irritated.

"I can't take care of Leah anymore. Hudson, you can't leave her alone. Don't leave her by herself. She'll be scared."

I screamed in Hudson's ear, but he remained unmoved. He quickly shut the door and left.

The room fell silent again.

Leah ran back to the master bedroom. She gently shook my hand.

"Mommy, please wake up. I'm so hungry," she said, pleading.

But my body was already stiff. I could no longer make food for Leah.

Leah saw that I wasn't waking up. She picked up my phone and fiddled with it.

But my phone was already dead.

"Mommy, I can't unlock the phone. Can you help? I want to call Eva to buy me food," she asked.

I still didn't answer her.

Leah put down the phone. She touched my hand.

"Mommy, why is your hand so cold? Are you cold? I will get you some clothes, okay?" she said worriedly.

Leah got up from the floor. She went to the wardrobe and clumsily took out some coats to put on me.

"Mommy, now that you're wearing clothes, you won't be cold. I'm being good, right?" she asked proudly.

Leah pushed my body. I immediately toppled over, sliding down the edge of the bed, still in a sitting position.

Leah was startled. She immediately began to cry.

"Mommy, what's wrong? Why won't you get up? I'm scared," she cried, frightened.

I wanted to hold Leah and comfort her. But I could only pass through her body over and over, helpless.

Leah cried herself out. She lay down next to me and held my hand.

"Mommy, what is death? Grandma said that when people die, they disappear. They can't talk or move. Mommy, are you dead?" she asked, confused.

"I'm dead. I can't be with you anymore. You need to be good and learn to take care of yourself, okay?" I whispered, full of sorrow.

My spirit crouched beside Leah. I carefully tried to touch her.

Suddenly, I heard the door open. Hudson walked in quickly from outside.

"Hailey, you think you're something now, right? Not answering calls or texts. The teacher even called me, asking why you didn't take Leah to school," Hudson said angrily.

Hudson yelled furiously in the direction of the master bedroom. Leah was so frightened that she quickly got up and ran out.

Hudson saw that Leah was still wearing the same clothes from the morning. His anger grew. He grabbed Leah and headed toward the master bedroom.

"Hailey, all I did was visit Rylee. Is that reason enough for you to neglect Leah? How long are you going to keep being unreasonable?" Hudson shouted, furious.

As Hudson was about to push the door open, I was anxious.

"Is he finally going to find out?"