Chapter 4

I decided to test him one last time.

I asked Alex to meet me at the park where we had our first date—where our love began. I wanted to ask if he still remembered the tenderness we once shared.

He agreed but was two hours late.

When he arrived, his phone was still lit up, the screen showing STAR's virtual image smiling at him.

"Sorry, STAR's voice system had a glitch. I had to handle it." He sat down, his first words still about STAR.

I looked at him and said calmly, "Alex, let's talk."

"About what?" He absentmindedly fiddled with his phone, his gaze never leaving the screen.

"About our marriage," I said. "Do you still love me?"

He finally looked up, his eyes carrying a trace of irritation:

"Alice, can you stop obsessing over these emotional matters? I'm busy—with company issues, STAR's development. I don't have time for your drama."

"I'm not being dramatic," I looked at him, my eyes slightly red. "I just want to know if you still have room for me in your heart."

He was silent for a moment before saying something that cut like an ice blade:

"Right now, all I care about is STAR's development progress. As for you, we've been married five years—affection has long replaced love. Just be a good Mrs. Smith and that's enough."

Be good. Be a good Mrs. Smith.

So in his eyes, I was just a decoration that needed to behave, while that AI robot was the treasure he kept closest to his heart.

I laughed. As I laughed, tears fell.

"Alex," I wiped my tears, my tone becoming eerily calm. "I'm giving you one last chance. Give up STAR, come back to me, and we'll start over."

He looked at me as if he'd heard the most ridiculous joke.

"Impossible," he said decisively. "STAR is my life's work, the most important achievement of my career. I could never give her up."

"What about me?" I asked.

He looked at me, silent for a long time, finally uttering words that completely froze my heart:

"Alice, you're too real—you have emotions, flaws, you get tired, you get annoyed. But STAR is different. She's perfect, exactly what I want."

Perfect, emotionless, flawless—just a piece of programming.

So what I'd lost to wasn't another woman, but a perfect, lifeless substitute.

I stood up without looking at him again.

The moment I turned to leave, I knew all my love for Alex, all my expectations, all my obsession—everything shattered in that instant.

I would no longer test him, no longer wait, no longer hold on.

Divorce. I wanted a divorce.