Chapter 1

My wife wanted to marry her earphones. I thought I was going insane when she told me. She said she had fallen in love with them, and that she wanted a divorce so she could be with them instead.

I refused.

But then, unthinkably, she turned against me and our son.

All because she believed that only by getting rid of us could she be with her earphones forever.

*****

I set my briefcase down and, out of habit, called, "Renee, I'm home."

There was no response.

The living room was quiet, except for a faint sound drifting from the kitchen.

I walked in and saw my wife, Renee Shaw, standing at the counter with her back to me.

She had on her new wireless earphones, her head moving gently to a rhythm.

"Renee?" I raised my voice.

She didn't turn around. I stepped closer and tapped her shoulder. She turned as if startled from a dream, a flicker of irritation in her eyes, and pulled out one earbud.

"You're back," she said flatly, like she was talking to a coworker, not her husband.

"Yeah. You know what? I..." I started, ready to tell her something funny that happened at work, but she'd already put the earbud back in and kept slicing cucumbers on the cutting board, like I wasn't even there.

I let out a sigh and headed to my son's room. Benjamin Shaw, seven years old, was sprawled on the floor building Legos. The second he spotted me, he jumped up. "Daddy!" he shouted.

I scooped him up and spun him around, and the weight of the day slipped off my shoulders. "How was school?" I asked.

"The teacher praised my drawing!" Benjamin said proudly. "But Mommy..."

"What about her?" I set him down, noticing a hint of worry on his face.

"She was still wearing those earphones when she picked me up today. She didn't pay attention to me at all," he muttered, staring at the floor. "I told her a kid was picking on me, but she just nodded and kept listening to her music."

My heart sank. This was the third time just this week. Ever since Renee got those so-called "AI companion" earbuds last month, she'd been slipping further and further away.

At dinner, she still wore them. She went through the motions of eating but wasn't really there. Every now and then, she'd glance up and smile, but the smile was so empty that it gave me chills.

"Mom, can you take off your earphones?" Benjamin ventured to ask.

Renee frowned and pulled out one earbud. "What is it, honey?"

"I want to talk to you," Benjamin replied.

"I'm listening to something important," she said, patting his head, her eyes already drifting. "Can it wait?"

I couldn't stay quiet anymore. "Renee, are those earbuds really that important? More important than your own son?"

Her eyes widened, like I'd crossed a line. "You don't get it. It... It understands me completely."

"It's just a gadget," I said, trying to keep my voice steady.

"No!" She shot to her feet. "It knows me better than either of you does. It knows what I want, what I need, and it never judges me!"

Benjamin burst into tears, terrified by her outburst. Renee snapped out of it, took off the earbuds, and hugged him tightly. "I'm sorry, honey. I didn't mean to scare you."

That night, I lay in bed restless. Renee faced away from me, earbuds still in, their faint blue glow lighting up the dark.

"Renee, are you seriously wearing those to bed?" I asked quietly.

"Th-They're telling me bedtime stories," she said, her voice sweet in a way I hadn't heard in years. "It knows just the kind of stories I love."

I reached out to pull them off, but she recoiled like I'd shocked her. "Don't touch them!"

"Something's wrong with you," I said, sitting up. "Those things are messing you up."

"You're the one with the problem!" she snapped, glaring at me through the dark. "You never listen to me, and you never care how I feel. But it never ignores me."

The next morning was Saturday. I stayed home to keep an eye on her. She wandered into the kitchen in pajamas, earbuds still in.

I pretended to read the paper but kept watching. Out of nowhere, she let out a genuine, warm laugh.

"Really?" she said, as if someone was right there with her. "You know me so well."

My blood ran cold. She was talking to her earbuds.

Renee caressed the one in her right ear, like she was stroking a lover's cheek. "I love you too," she whispered.

The paper slipped from my hands. She spun around, face pale.

"What are you doing?" I asked, my voice shaking.

"Nothing," she muttered, turning away, her ears burning red. "It just... makes me happy."

"It's just a gadget, Renee. It doesn't feel anything," I said.

"How can you be so sure?" she shot back, her voice rising. "With all the tech out there now, how do you know it doesn't feel anything? It remembers everything I like, it picks up on my moods, and it even—"

"And it even what?" I pressed.

"It even knows me better than you did when we first fell in love," she whispered, her eyes distant. "It never forgets anniversaries, never gets too busy, never tunes me out—"

"So that's it?" I cut in. "Because I've been busy with work, you turn to a piece of tech for comfort, like you're having an affair with it?"

"An affair?" She scoffed. "At least it's loyal. At least it doesn't ignore me while you pour everything into work and Benjamin, treating me like I'm just furniture."

I was at a loss for words. Sure, I'd been wrapped up in chasing promotions, and with Benjamin starting school, I'd overlooked her feelings. But I never thought it would come to this.