Chapter 1 · Weight Of Betrayal

My mom gave me a fully smart newlywed home as a wedding present.

Calvin Jennings, my fiancé, moved in before I did, saying he wanted to get a feel for the place first.

I went over on the weekend to feed my cat and, while I was there, casually stepped onto the new smart scale.

The scale chimed in with an electronic voice. It said, "New user 'Lily' detected. Weight: 45.0kg. Would you like to add this to your account?"

Calvin just laughed and said it was his cousin Lily Miller messing around. She didn't know any better and stepped on it for fun.

But when I checked the synced records, I saw that this "Lily" had been weighing herself every morning at 7 AM for three months straight, with her weight dropping from 52kg to 45kg.

Me? I never even got up before 7 AM.

Calvin had no idea. I bought that scale to weigh my cat and keep tabs on how much food it was getting from the automatic feeder.

*****

I came over to the newlywed home to see my cat, Sunny.

Sunny was sprawled out in a patch of sunlight streaming through the blinds, fast asleep.

I set down the cat food and walked over to the middle of the living room.

I slipped off my shoes and stepped onto the scale.

The screen lit up, the numbers flashing before finally settling on 121.2 lbs.

My phone buzzed with an automatic connection request from the app.

I tapped "Accept."

After syncing, a tiny message popped up on the screen: [New user Lily detected. Weight: 99.2 lbs. Merge with your account?]

Below that were two profile icons.

One was my own profile picture, and the other was a blank default icon labeled "Lily," showing a weight of 99.2 lbs.

I tapped on Lily's profile.

A full weight chart appeared on the screen.

Her weight was 114.6 lbs three months ago.

After that, her weight just kept dropping, day after day, no rebounds, no breaks.

There was a new data point almost every single day.

The most recent entry was from this morning: 7:03 AM. 99.2 lbs.

I gave Calvin a call. The phone rang for ages before he finally answered.

"Tina, what's up? I'm working on a project right now," Calvin said, his voice perfectly calm.

I asked, "Has anyone else used the scale at home besides you?"

He paused for a moment, then laughed. He said, "Oh, that? My cousin Lily came over a couple of days ago. She's just a young girl who got curious and stepped on it. What's up? Is something wrong with the numbers?"

"Wait, your cousin is Lily?" I asked.

"Yeah, my aunt's kid. You met her at the last family get-together. She's that really quiet, skinny girl," he replied.

I did kind of remember her. She was super quiet, hardly ever spoke.

"Does she come over to our place every day?" I pressed.

Calvin hesitated for a moment.

Then he replied casually, "Of course not. She's only been here once. Maybe the scale's just glitching? Don't stress, I'll take a look at it later."

"Okay," I said.

After I hung up, I couldn't help but stare at that weight chart: three months, every single day, 7 AM, rain or shine, without fail.

I swiped open my phone and tapped on another app: My Home.

This was the master control center for all the smart devices in the house.

Door locks, lights, curtains, AC, fridge, the robot vacuum—everything was right there, easy to check at a glance.

I pulled up the smart lock's unlock history. All the entries were listed out, clear as day.

Today, at 6:55 AM: "Fingerprint unlock successful." User: Calvin.

At 7:30 AM: "Fingerprint unlock successful." User: Lily.

Lily's fingerprint was in the system because Calvin had set it up himself.

Back then, he said, "Let's add my cousin's fingerprint, too, just in case I have to work late, and she needs to come by and feed the cat."

At the time, I thought he was just being considerate.

Now I see, he really thought of everything, didn't he?

I kept scrolling up.

Yesterday, at 7:28 AM: "Fingerprint unlock successful." User: Lily.

The day before, at 7:31 AM: "Fingerprint unlock successful." User: Lily.

This Lily user profile had been showing up for three months.

Every single day, right after I left for work and Calvin headed out, Lily's fingerprint would unlock the door, like clockwork.

She wasn't just some visitor; she was living here like she owned the place.

I didn't let on.

Without showing anything on my face, I quietly refilled Sunny's food and water, then walked out.

When I got home, my mom was in the kitchen cooking dinner.

She poked her head out when she saw me and asked, "Did you go see the new place? Need anything else? I'll get it for you."

"No, Mom, everything's fine," I replied.

Calvin was the guy my mom bragged about to everyone.

He'd worked his way up from a tiny village and made a life in the city, all on his own.

Hardworking, ambitious, and never once said no to me.

Everyone said I'd hit the jackpot with him.

Chapter 1

My mom gave me a fully smart newlywed home as a wedding present.

Calvin Jennings, my fiancé, moved in before I did, saying he wanted to get a feel for the place first.

I went over on the weekend to feed my cat and, while I was there, casually stepped onto the new smart scale.

The scale chimed in with an electronic voice. It said, "New user 'Lily' detected. Weight: 45.0kg. Would you like to add this to your account?"

Calvin just laughed and said it was his cousin Lily Miller messing around. She didn't know any better and stepped on it for fun.

But when I checked the synced records, I saw that this "Lily" had been weighing herself every morning at 7 AM for three months straight, with her weight dropping from 52kg to 45kg.

Me? I never even got up before 7 AM.

Calvin had no idea. I bought that scale to weigh my cat and keep tabs on how much food it was getting from the automatic feeder.

*****

I came over to the newlywed home to see my cat, Sunny.

Sunny was sprawled out in a patch of sunlight streaming through the blinds, fast asleep.

I set down the cat food and walked over to the middle of the living room.

I slipped off my shoes and stepped onto the scale.

The screen lit up, the numbers flashing before finally settling on 121.2 lbs.

My phone buzzed with an automatic connection request from the app.

I tapped "Accept."

After syncing, a tiny message popped up on the screen: [New user Lily detected. Weight: 99.2 lbs. Merge with your account?]

Below that were two profile icons.

One was my own profile picture, and the other was a blank default icon labeled "Lily," showing a weight of 99.2 lbs.

I tapped on Lily's profile.

A full weight chart appeared on the screen.

Her weight was 114.6 lbs three months ago.

After that, her weight just kept dropping, day after day, no rebounds, no breaks.

There was a new data point almost every single day.

The most recent entry was from this morning: 7:03 AM. 99.2 lbs.

I gave Calvin a call. The phone rang for ages before he finally answered.

"Tina, what's up? I'm working on a project right now," Calvin said, his voice perfectly calm.

I asked, "Has anyone else used the scale at home besides you?"

"Wait, your cousin is Lily?" I asked.

"Yeah, my aunt's kid. You met her at the last family get-together. She's that really quiet, skinny girl," he replied.

I did kind of remember her. She was super quiet, hardly ever spoke.

"Does she come over to our place every day?" I pressed.

Calvin hesitated for a moment.

Then he replied casually, "Of course not. She's only been here once. Maybe the scale's just glitching? Don't stress, I'll take a look at it later."

"Okay," I said.

After I hung up, I couldn't help but stare at that weight chart: three months, every single day, 7 AM, rain or shine, without fail.

I swiped open my phone and tapped on another app: My Home.

This was the master control center for all the smart devices in the house.

Door locks, lights, curtains, AC, fridge, the robot vacuum—everything was right there, easy to check at a glance.

I pulled up the smart lock's unlock history. All the entries were listed out, clear as day.

Today, at 6:55 AM: "Fingerprint unlock successful." User: Calvin.

At 7:30 AM: "Fingerprint unlock successful." User: Lily.

Lily's fingerprint was in the system because Calvin had set it up himself.

Back then, he said, "Let's add my cousin's fingerprint, too, just in case I have to work late, and she needs to come by and feed the cat."

At the time, I thought he was just being considerate.

Now I see, he really thought of everything, didn't he?

I kept scrolling up.

Yesterday, at 7:28 AM: "Fingerprint unlock successful." User: Lily.

The day before, at 7:31 AM: "Fingerprint unlock successful." User: Lily.

This Lily user profile had been showing up for three months.

Every single day, right after I left for work and Calvin headed out, Lily's fingerprint would unlock the door, like clockwork.

She wasn't just some visitor; she was living here like she owned the place.

I didn't let on.

Without showing anything on my face, I quietly refilled Sunny's food and water, then walked out.

When I got home, my mom was in the kitchen cooking dinner.

She poked her head out when she saw me and asked, "Did you go see the new place? Need anything else? I'll get it for you."

"No, Mom, everything's fine," I replied.

Calvin was the guy my mom bragged about to everyone.

He'd worked his way up from a tiny village and made a life in the city, all on his own.

Hardworking, ambitious, and never once said no to me.

Everyone said I'd hit the jackpot with him.