Betrayed ghost

Daniel! Daniel, I'm right here!" Anna screamed, waving her arms desperately.

She stood in the middle of the hospital room, watching as Daniel collapsed onto the chair, his body wracked with sobs. His hands clutched his head, his pain so raw it shattered her heart.

Anna reached out, trying to touch him, to comfort him—but her fingers passed right through his trembling shoulders.

A shiver ran down her spine as she slowly stepped back. Her gaze dropped to the hospital bed, where her own body lay lifeless, covered with a white sheet.

A wave of cold realization hit her.

"I'm… dead?" she whispered, her voice shaking.

She turned to the doctors and nurses, pleading with them, but they walked right through her. No one could hear her. No one could see her.

A bitter, hollow laugh escaped her lips. "So this is it," she murmured, wiping the tears from her face. "I fought so hard to take back what was mine… and now I lose everything."

She wandered aimlessly out of the hospital, her bare feet making no sound against the floor. The streets were quiet, the world moving on as if nothing had happened.

Anna tilted her head back, staring at the sky.

"I should be gone by now, right?" she whispered. "Shouldn't angels come to take me?"

Anna froze as she noticed a dark, blurry figure slowly approaching her.

Her breath hitched. Are those... angels? she thought, stepping hesitantly toward it. But as she drew closer, an icy chill wrapped around her, and an overwhelming sense of dread filled her chest.

The figure wasn't an angel. It was something else—something twisted.

Fear gripped her, and she turned to run.

The creature let out an eerie, distorted wail as it lunged toward her, its form shifting like black smoke. Anna sprinted through the empty streets, her ghostly form gliding effortlessly as she desperately tried to escape.

Just as the darkness closed in on her, she saw another spirit standing ahead, watching her with calm, knowing eyes.

"This way!" the spirit called.

Anna didn't hesitate. She ran toward them, her heart—though no longer beating—pounding with terror. The dark entity screeched in frustration as it recoiled and faded into the shadows.

Panting, Anna turned to the spirit, her body trembling from the encounter.

"W-What was that?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"They are dark souls," the spirit explained, her expression solemn. "They feed on other souls whose grief and regret keep them from crossing over… souls like you and me."

Anna's stomach twisted. "So… you're saying I'm stuck here because of my grief?"

"Yes," the spirit confirmed. "And the longer you hold on to it, the closer you come to becoming one of them. If that happens, you'll be trapped here forever, consumed by your pain."

Anna's throat tightened. She wanted to deny it, to fight against the idea, but deep down, she knew it was true.

She turned back to ask the spirit another question—but they had already vanished.

Alone once more, Anna stood in the middle of the empty street, the weight of her unfinished life pressing down on her.

Anna's ghostly form drifted carefully through the hospital corridors, her heart heavy with sorrow. She had to see Daniel one last time—perhaps to say goodbye, perhaps just to feel something other than the emptiness growing inside her.

She searched every room, every hallway, but he was nowhere to be found.

A sinking feeling formed in her gut. Where could he be?

Determined, she left the hospital and made her way back to their house. As she approached the front door, a strange sense of unease settled over her. The house was eerily quiet, yet something felt... off.

She stepped inside and immediately noticed a trail of clothing leading toward the bedroom. A dress. A pair of heels. Lacy underwear.

Her chest tightened.

Slowly, she followed the trail, dread curling around her like a suffocating mist.

Reaching the doorway, she pushed it open—and froze.

There, tangled in the sheets of their marital bed, was Daniel.

And beside him, draped across his body with a satisfied smirk, was Lucy.

Anna's mind went blank.

No. No, this can't be real.

She took a step forward, but neither of them reacted. Of course, they couldn't see her.

Lucy giggled, running her fingers over Daniel's chest. "See? I told you she was holding you back. She's gone now… and you're free."

Anna stood frozen, her transparent form trembling with fury and betrayal. She could hardly believe what she was hearing.

Lucy's sultry voice dripped with mockery as she traced her fingers along Daniel's chest. "That was nice, my love. I hope Anna didn't get to enjoy this pleasure from you before we finished her off."

Anna's ghostly breath hitched. Finished me off?

Daniel smirked, tilting Lucy's chin up. "No, my love. She was too busy running around trying to save her precious company. So foolish… marrying me so quickly, thinking I was on her side. The moment she made me her next of kin, she practically handed us everything." He leaned closer, brushing his lips against hers. "Just as your mother planned."

Anna felt her world collapse all over again.

This wasn't just Lucy's doing. It wasn't just Maria's scheme. Daniel—the man she had loved, the man she had trusted with her heart—had been in on it all along.

They kissed, laughed, and whispered sweet nothings to each other as if they hadn't just admitted to orchestrating her death.

Anna's pain turned into rage.

She lunged at them, trying to claw at Daniel's face, trying to rip Lucy's smug expression apart—but her hands passed through them like air.

"Damn it!" she screamed, but they couldn't hear her.

Anna fell to her knees, her fingers digging into the carpet as sobs racked her transparent form. The weight of betrayal crushed her chest, an unbearable ache that no longer belonged to the living.

How could she have been so blind? How could she have loved a man who had plotted her downfall from the very beginning?

Tears streamed down her ghostly face, but they vanished before ever touching the ground.

A cold sensation slithered around her, coiling tighter with every heartbeat she no longer had. The air grew heavy, thick with something unnatural.

The aura around her shifted, dark tendrils curling from her like smoke, wrapping around her.

She stumbled out of the house, walking aimlessly through the streets. Her sobs turned into quiet whimpers, her mind spinning in turmoil. She didn't even care about the dark souls that lurked in the shadows, watching.

She stormed forward, blinded by rage and grief, until she collided with something solid and tumbled to the ground.