Not his daughter

"What if… what if I want to go with you?" Nyx asked. She didn't want him to leave even though he said he would be nearby. Skye was not a bad person, she knew that, but he was not exactly honest with her. She didn't know him, and she didn't want to spend her life with someone whom she would always be wary of."I don't want you to leave me."

He stared into her eyes for a while and then picked her up. He walked to the bed and sat down, cradling her in his arms. "Life with me will never be an easy one for you. You do not know this, but it will be harder than your last life. I do not want to see you unhappy. Life with me will bring unhappiness and constant pain to you," He said while she nestled her head on his shoulder. Just as always, they was not a heartbeat in there, but it was as comfortable as it always was when she was younger.

"Do you promise to never leave again?" She asked, and he hummed. "You will be there whenever a call?" He hummed again, and she nodded her head. "I will try to be happy. This is not a guarantee," she said and raised her head to look at him.

"That is fine by me," he replied and kissed her forehead. She shut her eyes, feeling his cold hands on her cheeks and his lips. Although cold, they felt warm. "I have some news for you," He said as she opened her eyes.

"Good or bad news?" She asked, bracing herself for the worse possible news.

"It depends on how you see it. To me, there is no good or bad news. It is all just news," Reaper replied.

"Okay, let me hear it then," Nyx said. She understood that nothing mattered to him, so it only made sense if he did not consider anything as good or bad.

"Martha is no more," he said her body stiffened immediately.

"When?" Was all she could say. She has expected that news to come at any time, but she was still unprepared for it. It still hurts, and somehow, the pain felt so familiar, like something that she had experienced in the past, but she knew nothing like losing a mother had ever happened to her before.

"Just before I came to you," he replied with his nose buried in her neck. He could feel her emotions and knew she was hurt, but he didn't know how to comfort her. He didn't know what to say or do. All that he could do was to just reply to her questions as they come.

Nyx didn't know when tear left her eyes, but she felt them trail down her cheeks. She was not nice when her mother came to her room earlier. They both knew her time was long over due, but they had been trying to live with each other, making sure that they never argued with each other, but now, on her very last minutes, they fought. Now she was no more, and there was nothing she could do to apologise.

She stood from his hands and walked a little distance between them before she stopped. "I want to go and see her. You can come along if you'd like to," she said, and he nodded. She then walked into the closet to find something wear.

A moment later, they were in the room that Martha used while she stayed there. Inside were Mr. Anders, Skye, and a few others whose names Nyx didn't care to remember. All eyes fell on her as she walked in, with her footsteps being the only audible sound in the room. Behind her was Reaper, but just like whenever he was with her in the past, no one could see him.

"Sorry I am late, Father," she said to her father, but the man did not reply to her. He only gave her a glance and then looked back at the woman who will never see daylight again. He held her hands and said a few incoherent words before looking at Nyx.

"You can have the room to yourself," he said and stood up. He walked towards the door and stopped a foot away from it. He turned around and asked, "Did you speak to her before she passed away?"

"Yes, we had an argument. After that, she left saying I should decide what to do next on my own," Nyx replied, and Mr. Anders nodded his head.

"She will be buried in the morning," he said and proceeded to leave the room. Martha must have already known that she would die. That was why she went to find Nyx. He thought as he shut the door. He stopped outside and leaned on the wall just beside it with his eyes closed. He didn't mean to be so distant from the child that he had his blood running through her veins, but he could not help the knowledge that she was not his true daughter. That one died even before she could be called a baby, and now someone else took her place.

Since then, he couldn't let himself get closer to her than he already was to her. Who knew what she would be like in the future because of her, Martha was already suffering so much, and now, she was gone. He pushed himself off the wall, massaged the space between his brows, and sighed. He walked away no longer having any reason to be here.

Immediately he left, two other people who were inside the room came out as well. It seems they have finally been sent out.

Meanwhile, inside the room, Skye stood at the corner just watching her. He didn't know what to say nor could he bring himself to say anything to her. After their fight inside their bedroom, he didn't know if he should be the first to speak or not. Nyx ignored his presence in there, and as soon everyone else was gone, she drew closer to Martha's bed.

She stood there, unable to speak, still feeling bad about arguing with her just moments ago. She could only apologize many times in her mind but nothing came out of her mouth.

"I am sorry," Skye's voice reached her ears. Her head snapped in his direction and found him looking at her. She looked behind her and found it empty. He was gone without even telling her. She sighed and looked back at Skye.