Chapter 2

"Alex," I called out to him, my voice slightly hoarse. "Today is our fifth wedding anniversary. I made a reservation at your favorite restaurant and waited all evening."

His footsteps halted. When he turned to look at me, there was a trace of impatience in his eyes, along with a distance I couldn't comprehend.

"I forgot," he said. "The lab's behind schedule. STAR's system needs optimization. I couldn't get away."

STAR. I'd been hearing that name more and more lately. So much that it had eclipsed all the tenderness he once had for me.

I knew what STAR was—a humanoid female AI robot he'd spent three years developing, pouring his company's lifeblood into it.

She was what he called "perfect, flawless, never angry, always understanding."

I watched him turn and enter the study, the door closing softly, cutting off the last trace of warmth between us.

On the dining table sat the anniversary cake I'd carefully prepared. The candles had burned out, the frosting had hardened—just like my heart, completely cold.

Five years of marriage, from passionate love to estranged strangers.

Turns out what defeats love isn't a third party, but an AI robot without a heartbeat, without warmth, that only executes programming.

I sat on the cold sofa, sleepless through the night.

Outside the window, the sky gradually brightened. Sunlight filtered through the curtain gaps, falling on the empty space to my left—where Alex used to be.

Now, only cold emptiness remained.