Five years after my death, Lea Watson, my daughter, rang up Thurman Watson, my ex-husband.

"Do you like Mommy?" she asked tentatively.

I couldn't bear to leave Lea alone in the world, so after I died, my soul stayed by her side.

When she was one, my dad was killed in a car accident.

Three months later, I was killed in a hyperbaric chamber explosion at a pet hospital while getting our dog treated.

After that, Marcus Holden—my childhood friend—adopted Lea.

When she was five, Marcus was rear-ended on the way home from kindergarten.

Lea climbed out of the car behind him. When she saw the other driver's face, she was dumbfounded.

She'd seen that man's picture a hundred times among my belongings.

It was Thurman Watson, my ex-husband.

My chest tightened. I didn't want them to meet at all.

Thurman walked closer. When he spotted Marcus, a smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth.

I knew that smirk far too well—it meant he was pissed and itching for a fight.

His gaze lowered and landed on Lea, who was holding hands with Marcus.

His smile widened, turning sardonic.

"She's your daughter with Kayla?" he sneered.

Lea looked almost identical to me.

So yeah, his assumption made sense.

But still, I found it absurd, insulting, and infuriating.

A dull ache spread through my chest.

I knew I couldn't handle seeing him again.

So much for peace in the afterlife.

Marcus impatiently checked the back of his car, finding the paint chipped. "Let's not call the cops. Just pay up and go."

Just then, Eileen Olson, Thurman's true love, got out of the car and came over gracefully.

She froze when she saw Lea, a flicker of panic in her eyes.

Then, she put on a pitiful look, wrapping her arm around Thurman's.

Thurman glanced at her, expression flat, but he didn't push her away.

Wait, what was I thinking? He'd never do that to her.

Sometimes, after Lea fell asleep, Marcus would scroll through TikTok, and I'd watch along.

Whenever a clip about Thurman and Eileen popped up, he never scrolled past it.

So, I knew they were deeply in love.

According to the recent news, they were about to get married.

Thurman carefully pulled his arm free, then walked up to Lea and handed her his business card. "Kiddo, if you need more compensation for your car, tell your mom or dad to give me a call."

Everyone froze the moment he said the word "Mom."

Including me.

I knew Thurman never had any special feelings toward me.

So, although his true love was standing right here, he'd mentioned his ex-wife like it was nothing.

After all these years, he was still the unruly man I knew.

Marcus was eager to leave and swiftly drove off with Lea.

I followed them, of course.

Lea had been distracted since she saw Thurman.

In the end, she plucked up her courage and asked Marcus, "Uncle Marcus, that handsome man is my dad, right?

"I've seen his photos in Mommy's cookie jar. So many of them, besides the divorce certificate. Almost ten photos of him holding an award. There are wedding photos. In one photo, he was kneeling to tie Mommy's shoelaces. In the other one, he was kissing Mommy on the cheek..."

I regretted not throwing these photos out after the divorce.

But at that time, I didn't have the heart to do it.

Lea's eyes were bright with longing. "Is he my dad?"

Marcus didn't want to lie to Lea and said, "Yes."

She giggled. "My classmates laugh at me, saying I don't have parents. Now, I have a dad."

Suddenly, her expression turned sullen. "Uncle Marcus, did Daddy abandon me and Mommy?"

Marcus ruffled Lea's hair and said, "Don't worry. He'll want you back."

My heart broke when I saw how desperate Lea was for a father.

I wanted to hug her and comfort her. But my hands just went through her.

I forgot that I'd been dead for four years.

The next day, Lea went to her teacher and borrowed her phone when it was nap time.

She went into a bathroom stall alone and dialed the number on Thurman's card.

"Hello?"

"It's me. The girl you gave your card to yesterday. Can I ask you one question?"

Luckily, Lea didn't call him Dad.

But I was still dreading and had made a move to snap the phone out of Lea's hand.

Again, my hand went through her.

Thurman said yes. So, Lea asked tentatively, "Do you like Mommy?"

I froze.

After coming home yesterday, Lea went through my stuff again. She stared at the last page of my diary for a long time. It only had one line. "Thurman, do you like me?"

Lea wasn't trying to find her dad. She just wanted to find an answer for me.

But please, don't ask him that.

We'd been divorced for five years, and I'd been dead for four years.

The answer meant nothing to me.

Thurman said, voice laced with malice, "Did your mom tell you to do this? She's using her daughter now? What a whore. She has your dad. Yet, she wants to get me back?"

He'd spat out those words in a rushed tone, nearly growling. I guessed Lea missed most of them.

It wounded me. At the same time, I was just glad that Lea didn't understand what he had said.

Lea raised her voice a little. "Are you saying bad things about Mommy?"

"So? She deserves it for being such a cheating, lying woman."

I was cheating and lying?

I'd never done such things. On the contrary, he was the one who fooled around with Eileen even when we were married.

Tears streamed down Lea's face. Panic, I tried to wipe her tears off.

Again, I failed.

"Mommy passed away four years ago. How could you still say bad things about her? You meanie!"

Yes, I'd died four years ago. That was the first year since we divorced.

Thurman sounded disbelief. "She died? No way. Troublemakers like her won't die so easily."

Lea huffed, tears evident in her voice, "Meanie! I'll never call you again! When I visit Mommy's grave, I'll tell her not to like you anymore! And I'll burn everything she had about you!"

She was crying so hard that she was out of breath.

I circled her worriedly.

Thurman said in a dull tone.

"Is she really dead?

"I bet she's coaching you to say this.

"She's so good at playing with my feelings."

The awful call ended as Lea's teacher came and took back her phone.

Lea had been sulking for the rest of the day.

Worries filled my heart as I watched her.

Later, Marcus came to pick Lea up. Thurman was at the gate, blocking their way.

Lea, who was keeping her head down, looked up and shot him a glare.

Thurman stared at Marcus coldly and asked, "Kayla died?"

Marcus replied impatiently, "You two divorced a long time ago. And you're getting engaged to another woman. This is none of your business."

Lea flinched as she heard that Thurman was getting engaged. Her gaze hardened as she glared at this man in a fine suit.

Don't be mad, Lea. It was alright. I'd cut ties with him.

Some kids walked out of the gate after their after-school class.

They saw Lea and started talking, pointing fingers at her.

"Hey, bully. I thought you didn't have parents. How come you have two men picking you up today?"

"Are they fighting to be your new dad?"

"Why are you crying? You're so tough when you yell at us."

"Your mom is dead. Nobody is going to wipe your tears when you get home."

Marcus collected Lea into his arms as Lea sobbed.

I stomped my foot angrily and wished I could beat those kids up.

Suddenly, a strong hand grabbed the last boy who spoke and held him up.

Thurman said darkly with a scowl, "If you ever mess with Lea again, I'll make sure your parents lose their jobs and cut off your tongues."

He glared at the other kids condescendingly.

Scared, the kids scurried off.

After chasing the kids away, Thurman had a thoughtful look as if he was thinking about what they said.

It was kind of funny.

He looked at Marcus. "Is Kayla really gone?"

Yes. I was dead. Why couldn't he just believe it?

Marcus gazed at him, eyes icy. "Yes. But you don't need to know the details."

As my best friend growing up, Marcus knew my story with Thurman well.

Therefore, he never liked Thurman and had made sure he knew it.

"Why? You're not Lea's dad, meaning that heartless woman could have hidden Lea from me on purpose. Tell me. Is Lea my daughter?"

I was so shocked that I almost fell to the ground.

No! Marcus, don't tell him!

What if he took Lea away and treated her badly?

Thurman was going to marry another woman. He wouldn't care about Lea.

Marcus tightened his embrace, and Lea wrapped both her little arms around his neck. Everyone would think they were father and daughter.

However, Marcus didn't deny. "So what? You're getting married. I doubt Eileen wants Kayla's kid in her house."

He paused before adding, "Do you know why I let you know? Because I want you to feel guilty for what you've done to Kay! Do you have any ideas why Kay decided to have Lea and raise her by herself?

"Are you even capable of feeling guilty?"