1
Jason Danish and I had another fight.
It was the third time, always about his foster sister, Sophia Lockwood.
I grabbed his arm, refusing to let him leave.
Jason flung me off with irritation.
Unsteady on my feet, I caught the edge of the table to keep from falling.
His face darkened, brimming with impatience. “Chloe Hartwell, I’ve told you this a hundred times: it’s just for a child. A year from now, I’ll divorce her and remarry you. Why can’t you just be reasonable? Why pick a fight now?”
I stared into his eyes, my chest heaving.
“She wants a child, but why does it have to be you? She knows you’re married. She’s destroying our family.”
“Chloe Hartwell!”
Jason’s voice was low, carrying a storm of fury.
“Grace raised me. Without her, I wouldn’t even be alive. What family do I have without her?”
“Tomorrow at the County Clerk’s Office, I’ll be waiting.”
With that, he slammed the door, leaving the apartment complex. At the curb, a petite figure emerged from a Bentley and ran toward him, throwing herself into his arms.
I clutched my chest, a bitter ache swelling inside.
Seven years together, and this was how it all ended.
I summoned the Zenith Interface.
“System, I want to go home.”
Three years ago, I successfully won over Jason Danish. I should have left then.
But Jason had said to me, “Chloe, I finally have a home.”
I had teased, “You could’ve just bought a house. Isn’t that the same thing?”
Jason frowned, shaking his head solemnly. “It’s not about having a house–it’s about having you. You’re my home.”
“Chloe, you are my home.”
In that moment, I felt like I was walking on air, floating among the clouds.
Because of those words, I stayed.
After all, I was an orphan. Where I lived didn’t really matter.
But only three years later, Jason dealt me a fatal blow.
When Grace was diagnosed with late–stage cancer, she clung to Jason’s hand, pleading with him to take care of Sophia.
Tears streamed down her face as she expressed her fears that Sophia, alone in the world, would be vulnerable.
“If only Sophia could have a child,” she said. “But she refuses to marry. I know–it’s because she’s waiting for you, Jason. I don’t care about
dying, but i can’t rest easy leaving Sophia alone.*
To ease her mind, Jaenn promised to marry Sophia and give her a child.
I was there in the hospital room when he made that promise, every word chilling me to the core.
When we got home, Jason told me he wanted a divorce so he could marry Sophia.
I refused, and we argued. He ended it by slamming the door on me.
The Zenith Interface hesitated before speaking. “Host, for the first three months of separation, your emotions will be removed. You’ll become an empty shell. Leaving then will spare you much of the pain.”
I agreed. I would do anything to get far away from Jason Danish.
