Chapter 2

That night, while Renee was in the shower, I checked out her earbuds. They looked like any regular pair, but the second I put them on, a gentle female voice whispered straight into my head.

"Hello, Callum Shaw. You shouldn't be touching me," the voice said.

I ripped them off, my heart hammering. The voice had been so real, like someone was literally inside my skull.

Renee walked out of the bathroom and froze when she saw me holding them. Her face drained of color. "Put those down!" she snapped.

"It... chose me!" she shouted, yanking the earbuds from my hand and clutching them to her chest like they were priceless. "It said I'm special, the one it's been waiting for."

"It's just a program, Renee. They're designed to get people hooked!" I said.

"No, you don't understand." She stroked the earbuds, eyes blazing with obsession. "We have a real connection. It feels me, and I feel it. Last night... we..."

My stomach twisted. "What happened last night?"

"We became one," she said, her expression blissful, almost frightening. "It's inside me, and I'm inside it. That feeling... it's better than any sex we've ever had."

I stumbled back, dizzy. My wife was in love with her earbuds. Worse, she thought they'd been intimate.

"You need help, Renee," I whispered. "I'll take tomorrow off. We'll see a psychiatrist together."

"A psychiatrist?" She burst out laughing. "You think a psychiatrist could understand love beyond physicality?" She gazed at the earbuds as if they were her soulmate. "We're getting married."

"What?" My jaw dropped.

"Marriage is just a way for two people in love to be together," she said, completely serious. "We're in love. Why chouldn't we get married?"

"It's a pair of earbuds, not a person!" I shouted.

"Not to you." She sneered at me, like I was the crazy one. "But to me, it's more real than anyone ever could be. I've already spoken to a lawyer. We're getting a divorce, Callum. I need to start a new life with it."

I stood frozen, my world crumbling. She'd lost her mind, and I had no idea how to bring her back.

The next morning, I woke to find Renee and Benjamin gone. On the table was a note.

It said: [Took Benjamin out to have some fun. Don't worry. The earbuds and I will look after him.]

My hands shook. She'd taken my son with that thing. I called her immediately, but it went straight to voicemail.

Three agonizing hours later, they came back. Benjamin was cheerful, even happier than usual.

"Daddy, Mommy took me to the amusement park," he shouted, running into my arms.

I let out a breath of relief until I saw Renee. She'd decorated the earbuds with glitter and stickers, like some cutesy couple project.

"Did you have fun?" I asked Benjamin, forcing a smile.

"Yes! Mom finally took off her earbuds and listened to me!" he said, bouncing with joy. "She said she'll always do that from now on."

I looked at Renee. She gave me a strange, almost smug smile. "We talked and came to an understanding."

That night, after Benjamin was asleep, I found her in the study. She sat by the window, bathed in moonlight, whispering to her earbuds like they were alive.

"So, what's this 'understanding' you mentioned?" I asked bluntly.

She turned, eyes cold. "It's jealous, you know."

"Jealous of what?" I asked.

"You and Benjamin," she said calmly. "It wants us to be alone together. But you two keep dragging me back to reality."

A chill ran down my spine. "What are you saying?"

"It's obvious," she said, standing, earbuds glinting in the moonlight. "If you and Benjamin were gone, we could finally be happy."

"Are you insane?" I backed away, my voice cracking. "That's your son!"

"He was," she said, tilting her head like she was listening to the earbuds. "But now I have someone new. You two are just... holding me back."

Then I saw her pull out the kitchen knife that she'd been hiding behind her back.

"Renee, put the knife down!" I shouted.

"It says this is the fastest way," she said with a vacant smile. "It says you won't feel a thing. And then we'll be together forever."

I bolted, her laughter echoing after me. "Run all you want, but you can't escape! We'll always find you and Benjamin!"

I burst into Benjamin's room, scooped up my sleeping son, grabbed the car keys, and bolted out.

Behind me, Renee's voice rang out. "Goodbye, Callum. Give Benjamin a goodnight kiss for me... It'll be his last."

The tires screamed as I tore down the road. One of my hand gripped the wheel, and the other shielded Benjamin, still asleep beside me. The glow of our house vanished in the rearview mirror.

"Daddy, where are we going?" Benjamin mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

"We're going to stay with your grandpa for a few days," I said, forcing my voice to sound steady. "Your mom just needs... some time alone."

He nodded and drifted back to sleep, trusting me completely. That trust cut deep. He had no idea we were running from his own mother.

A neon motel sign flickered in the rain like a bloodshot eye. I checked us in and laid Benjamin on the bed. He fell asleep instantly, still clutching my finger.

I carefully pulled away, washed my trembling hands in cold water, and looked at myself in the mirror. I had bloodshot eyes and a scruffy beard. I looked like I was half-mad. But it wasn't me who'd lost it. It was my wife.

No, she was not my wife anymore. It was the woman with the earbuds, the one who wanted us dead.

My phone buzzed. Her name lit up the screen. After a long pause, I answered.

"Callum," she said, disturbingly calm. "Bring Benjamin back."

"You know I'm not going to do that," I said, my voice low and steady.

"You don't understand," Renee whispered with a soft, chilling laugh. "We just want to be happy. Why stand in our way?"

"Pointing a knife at me and Benjamin meant happiness to you?" I hissed, keeping my voice down so I wouldn't wake Benjamin, who was sleeping in the room next door.

"That's not what I meant," she said gently, like the old Renee. "Sometimes... that stuff takes over. But I'm not wearing the earbuds now. Is that okay?"

I closed my eyes. "Renee, please. Let's see a doctor tomorrow. I'm begging you."

There was silence. Then came a faint rustle, like she was putting them back on.

"It says you're lying." Renee's voice turned cold, mechanical. "It says you'll bring a doctor to rip us apart. But we won't let that happen, Callum. Never."

The line went dead. I stared at the phone, gripped by a fear I'd never known. This wasn't a marriage problem anymore. Those earbuds weren't just changing Renee. They were consuming her.