A sharp crack echoed in the air.
"Why did you push her?" Liam snarled, his hand still in midair as Jessica clutched her burning cheek.
Her vision blurred, but she managed a cold, twisted smile. "This is the love you talked about, Liam?"
"You pushed her!" he roared, on the edge of losing control. "Do you have any idea how delicate her internal systems are? Her core and chip can’t touch water! How could you be so cruel?!"
"I told you it wasn’t me, but of course you didn’t believe it, did you?" Jessica’s tears finally spilled over, disappearing into the salty sea.
It felt like the entire ocean was made of her tears.
"You’ve been picking on her ever since you came back," Liam accused. "You've made things difficult for her again and again. How can I possibly believe you?
"Let me make this clear, if someone has to leave, it won’t be Jeje!"
He scooped up the soaked and broken Jeje, his expression dark and cold. The cruel look in his eyes made Jessica's body go rigid. "You better pray she's okay. Because if she isn’t, I can't promise what I’ll do."
Later, staring at Jeje’s nearly destroyed mechanical limbs on the data table, Liam grew more and more frantic.
“Liam… don’t save me,” Jeje said softly. “The only way to fix me now is too extreme. I'd need to transfer my consciousness into a real, flesh-and-blood body.”
She paused, her voice growing even gentler. “Jessica was right. I probably never should’ve stayed by your side.”
Jeje's electronic voice generator crackled with static, damaged by the seawater. A faint sizzling sound accompanied every word.
“Liam… thank you… for accepting the love of a bionic being. Everyone else saw me as nothing more than a machine… but you… you treated me like a real person.”
Her voice was strained, every syllable an effort. “Liam, thank you…”
Liam’s eyes reddened with emotion. He immediately contacted headquarters to ask if any replacement bodies from Jeje’s old model batch were still available. But the answer was cruel: as a first-generation bionic unit, her model had long been discontinued.
He stood frozen, panic surging through him. If this went on, Jeje’s consciousness would soon vanish for good.
“Human… with flesh and blood…” he muttered under his breath.
Then, as if struck by inspiration, his eyes slowly widened. “Jeje, I’ll save you, no matter what it takes.”
At the same time, Jessica was preparing to leave. Today marked the final day for the divorce agreement to take effect. She couldn’t stay a second longer.
But just as she hurried out, she ran into Liam, who was about to start his car. “Where are you going? I’ll drive you,” he offered.
“No need,” she replied coldly. She didn’t want to argue, she just wanted to leave in peace.
But before she could take another step, a sweet, cloying scent wafted into the air. Her limbs weakened and a wave of drowsiness washed over her.
With the last of her strength, Jessica quickly sent her location to Kevin.
The final thing she heard before losing consciousness was Liam’s low whisper. “Jessica… I’m sorry.”
When she awoke, she found herself strapped to a table in Liam’s lab. Beside her, Jeje lay in a deep sleep, her system temporarily shut down.
“What are you going to do?” Jessica asked, her voice trembling.
“Since we can’t find a suitable container… why not use your body instead?” Liam stepped out from the shadows, his eyes cold and merciless. “This is the price you pay for hurting Jeje.”
“You want to swap my consciousness with hers?!” Jessica’s tears streamed down her cheeks. “Liam, are you insane?”
But he wasn’t listening. He approached with a syringe in hand, ready to inject the sedative. “I’m sorry, Jessica. You owe her this. You’ll repay it for the rest of your life.”
Just then, his assistant burst through the door. “No! Jeje’s chip, it’s melting!”
“What?!” Liam’s expression changed instantly. “I’m coming!” He dropped everything and rushed out.
A soft clatter echoed from the ceiling vent. “Jessica!” Kevin’s voice called out as he dropped into the room.
He quickly loosened her restraints. “Your husband is out of his mind.”
Jessica exhaled shakily, but her eyes were calm. “It’s okay. I’ve collected the last piece of data.”
Unbeknownst to Liam, she had already tampered with Jeje’s chip.
“Kevin, let’s go.” They climbed up into the ventilation shaft, where a helicopter from headquarters waited for them outside.
Jessica blocked all of Liam’s contact attempts without hesitation. Then, she reached into her bag, pulled out the final reconciliation voucher and tore it to shreds.
As the last piece fluttered away in the wind, she felt a weight lift from her chest. ‘Liam, whatever we had… it ends here. There’s no going back.’
