"Sukuna, you are kidding, right?" The girl with teary gray eyes looked at the boy with crimson red eyes, hoping for a sign that he was joking. She wanted him to hug her and tell her it was all a mistake, that she was the love of his life and not jus...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"Well, I have made some changes, so don't forget to tell me which chapters are better—these ones or the previous ones."
"Ahh, Mommy, gently," a little girl said softly as her mother, glancing at her angrily, cleaned the blood on her lip and tended to the injuries scattered across her body.
"This is the fifth time you've been in a fight, Tini," her mother said sternly, causing the girl to roll her eyes.
"It wasn't my fault," she responded in a tough voice, though her gray eyes glistened with tears.
"Oh? Then whose fault is it? Why did you hit that boy?" her mother asked, raising her voice slightly, which only made the little girl angrier.
"I hit him because he deserved it! He called you a slut!" the girl screamed, and finally, the tears spilled from her gray eyes. Sofia's heart clenched at the sight, and she pulled her five-year-old daughter into a hug as the girl sobbed, looking down, not wanting to seem weak in front of her mother. Sofia couldn't help but chuckle—Valentine truly hated showing weakness.
Realizing she had been crying, Valentine quickly wiped her tears and looked up at her mother again. "N-no one w-wants to be friends with a slut's daughter, Mommy. Am I bad? Am I unlucky for you, for everyone?" she asked, finally collapsing into her mother's arms and sobbing harder, making Sofia's own eyes well up with tears.
In between her sobs, Valentine continued, her voice breaking, "Y-you know, Mom, Suku said his mom told him to stay away from me... so now I'm alone, with no friends. And some people say Daddy left us because we're sluts."
Tears began to fall from Sofia's eyes too, her heart aching for her little girl, who didn't deserve any of this.
"Today, Teacher Lily told us that good things happen to good people. Am I a bad person? Is that why Papa left us?" Valentine's small voice cracked as she spoke, each word piercing Sofia's heart, breaking it into pieces.
"And you know... James' parents even called me a monster... a killer. Am I a mon-monster, Mommy?" Valentine's breath hitched, her words trembling as she stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. Her hands shook uncontrollably, covered in blood.
She quickly turned on the tap, washing her hands, but the shaking wouldn't stop. "Calm down, V. You're shaking," her inner voice whispered, trying to steady her nerves, but nothing helped. Her past memories flashed again and again, overwhelming her, making her feel sick.
Her gaze fell once more on the girl lying motionless on the ground, surrounded by a pool of her own blood. The girl's pleading cries echoed in Valentine's mind, making her heart clench painfully.
Please, please save her... please... A 10-year-old Valentine had begged as she stared at a man in his 30s. Amusement gleamed in his eyes as he watched her. "Please save my mom," she had pleaded, her voice breaking as she looked at her mother lying lifeless on the ground.
The man smirked, his voice cold as he said, "You know, if you want something, you have to give something in return."
Valentine had clenched her fists, feeling pathetic and disgusted with herself for begging. But for her mother, she would do anything. "Anything. I'll do anything... just please, save her," she whispered, her voice trembling with desperation.
The man smirked and nodded to his guards, who lifted her mother and took her to the best hospital. Valentine finally took a breath, but that relief vanished when the man tossed a loaded gun at her feet. His guards dragged a half-dead man into the room, and his next words froze her in place.
"Take the gun and kill him," the man ordered, his tone casual as if it were an ordinary request.
Valentine's eyes locked onto the man's, and then onto the dead, empty eyes of the half-dead man before her. She felt numb, hollow. She had no choice.
Returning to the present, Valentine's voice cracked as she whispered to herself, "You know what? You're right. I am a monster... a rotten monster who will die alone. You're all right."
She stared at her reflection, still shaking, and stepped out of the bathroom. Her mind raced as she walked, her voice barely audible as she murmured, "Once upon a time, there was a little princess who was scared of the darkness. She begged everyone, 'Please don't push me into the dark,' but no one listened. And so, that little princess died in the darkness and became a monster. So tell me... whose fault is that? TELL ME!"
Her breath came faster, her voice rising with each word. She looked back at Lui, lying dead on the floor—the foolish little mouse who thought he could outsmart her. Wiping an unwanted tear from her cheek, she chuckled bitterly. "I am a monster... a heartless monster. Mom... Kuna... everyone was right."
Her laughter echoed in the empty room, hollow and haunting.
Valentine stared at the bottle of Devil Springs vodka, her favorite, the cap twisting off with trembling hands. The room felt suffocating, too small, too oppressive. Her breath came in shallow, ragged gasps as she stumbled into the dark hallway, each step heavier than the last.
A door appeared before her, almost as if it had materialized out of nowhere. She pushed through it, barely able to keep her eyes open. As it closed behind her, she saw him, standing there. With half-lidded eyes, she managed to slur, "Hehe... surprise, kiddo," hiccuping between words, trying in vain to hide the bottle behind her back.
His expression shifted, concern mixing with frustration. The sound of his voice, sharp and loud, made her flinch. She blinked, and that's when she saw the girl draped over him, smirking.
"Hey! Get out... get out and don't touch him. He's mine!" Valentine yelled, her voice shaky and slurred. The girl sneered at her, but Valentine's hazy mind barely registered it. She smiled faintly and gave her a middle finger, her focus shifting back to Sukuna. His familiar figure—strong and steady—was all she needed to see.
Without warning, she hurled the bottle to the floor, glass shattering on impact. Stumbling forward, Valentine collapsed into Sukuna's arms, her trembling body pressed against his as sobs escaped her lips. Her arms wrapped tightly around his neck as if holding on for dear life.
"Everyone left me again, Suku... I-I'm alone," she choked out, her voice barely audible as she clung to him. Black dots danced in her vision, and her body felt weaker with every passing second. She tried to hold on, her fingers clutching his shirt desperately, but the darkness was closing in.
Through her fading consciousness, she whispered, "Save the princess from the darkness, Suku... she's scared."
And as her body went limp, she felt his arms tighten around her, strong and protective, before everything went black.
And that's how she found her peace in his devil's arms, in his hell.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
