Chapter 2
Adam and I had been married for three years.
He was the classic engineering prodigy.
He was calm, restrained, and rational.
In his eyes, everything could be broken down into data, models, and priorities.
When we first got married, that was one of the things I liked most about him.
I had always been emotionally sensitive and prone to overthinking.
Whenever I grew anxious, he would analyze the problem for me, point by point.
"You're not sad. You lack certainty."
"You're not afraid. You don't have enough information."
"Summer, emotions don't solve problems."
He always sounded so certain.
Over time, I began to doubt myself too.
Maybe I really was too emotional.
Maybe every moment when I felt wronged, afraid, or desperate for a response was nothing more than meaningless interference.
I had been thrilled when the SmartHome Assistant was first installed in our house.
It was the first internal version of the system Adam had personally configured for our home.
He said, "From now on, whenever you need something, tell FamilySense.
"It will assess the priority and alert me."
At the time, I had recently quit my high-pressure job to prepare for pregnancy.
Being home alone sometimes felt empty.
I asked him, "Then if I miss you, can it alert you about that too?"
Adam kept his head lowered as he adjusted the parameters, never looking at me. "If it's only an emotional need, the system will recommend that you regulate yourself first."
I froze.
As if he had noticed my silence, he looked up and explained, "Summer, I'm not ignoring you.
"A lot of communication can wait.
"Things people say at the height of emotion usually have no value."
I nodded.
I did not argue with him then.
I wanted too badly to be a "valuable" wife in his eyes.
The first time the AI blocked me was on the anniversary of my mother's death.
I was home alone when I found the scarf she had knitted for me before she died.
Suddenly, I wanted to hear Adam's voice.
I called him.
The call did not go through.
The smart screen lit up: [Low mood detected. Playing soothing music is recommended.]
I said, "I want to speak to Adam."
The AI replied, [Mr. Grant is currently in a meeting.
[Your communication request has been classified as emotional reassurance. Delay recommended.]
When Adam came home that evening, I asked whether he had seen the record.
He said he had. "But I really was in a meeting that day.
"And you only wanted me to talk to you. It wasn't an emergency."
I lowered my head and murmured my agreement.
The second time, my fever reached 102 degrees.
I was delirious with fever and wanted him to come home and buy me medicine.
The AI detected the hoarseness in my voice, but all it did was tell me where the medicine cabinet was. [The fever reducer is in the second drawer on the left side of the living room.
[Drinking about ten ounces of water is recommended.]
[Mr. Grant is currently driving. Disturbance is not recommended.]
I forced myself out of bed to find the medicine.
My hands shook so badly that I could not pour out a single pill.
By the time Adam came home, I was already asleep.
The next day, he said, "The system handled it well.
"See? You're fine."
At the time, I believed that being fine was all that mattered.
The third time was the day I found out I was pregnant.
I stood in the bathroom for a long time, holding the pregnancy test.
The two red lines were faint.
They looked like a cautious little dream.
I wanted Adam to be the first person I told.
But when I called, the system intercepted the call. [Abnormal speech rate and emotional agitation detected.
[Text input is recommended to avoid misunderstanding.]
I laughed until tears slipped down my face.
In the end, I only sent him one message: [I think I'm pregnant.]
Two hours later, he replied: [We'll talk when I get home tonight.]
He did not come home for dinner that night.
The reason was that Chloe had returned from abroad.
She was Adam's childhood sweetheart and one of HavenTech's earliest product partners.
I had heard that she and Adam had designed FamilySense's original emotion-recognition model together.
She had spent some time abroad receiving treatment.
When she returned, Adam personally went to pick her up at the airport.
I sat at the dining table until the food went completely cold.
A location alert appeared on the smart screen: [Mr. Grant is currently at the airport.
[Accompanying contact: Chloe Rivers.]
That was the first time I realized FamilySense had not labeled Chloe as an ordinary contact.
Instead, she was marked as: [Top-Priority Contact.]
I asked Adam why.
He paused while changing his shoes. "Chloe used to suffer from severe anxiety and panic disorder.
"Her messages can't be ignored."
I asked, "What about me?"
He looked at me as if he could not understand why I would ask. "You're different.
"You're stable."
That was how he saw me: stable.
Apparently, becoming too good at enduring meant the system could strip away the right to break down as well.