5
Thinking about it now, her mother was dying, and Jason had been raised by their family. Repaying them seemed… reasonable.
Jason stood frozen for a moment, the baby clothes slipping from his hand to the floor.
“Chloe, you don’t care?”
I smiled and shook my head.
Jason’s eyes reddened, and he took slow steps toward me.
“That’s impossible. You hated her being pregnant, didn’t you? You hated that I married her. How can you not care?”
“I really don’t, Jason.”
My voice was soft, but Jason panicked.
He turned away, hands on his hips, pacing back and forth as he muttered, “That’s impossible. It can’t be.”
Suddenly, he grabbed my shoulders, his voice deeper, almost trembling.
“The real Chloe Hartwell would care. Who are you?”
This lunatic. I struggled, but I couldn’t break free from his grip.
He demanded angrily, “Who are you?”
“I am Chloe Hartwell.”
I spoke each word with deliberate calm.
The Seven Emotions and Six Desires.
The Seven Emotions: joy, anger, sorrow, fear, love, hatred, desire.
The Six Desires: sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, and thought.
When all of those left me, I would disappear from this world.
I could feel my body changing. My sense of taste was already gone, and my other senses were fading, too.
But the pain? That hadn’t lessened
Jason’s grip was tight, and my arm throbbed in pain.
He held me like he was trying to shake my soul out of my body, muttering over and over for the “real Chloe Hartwell” to come back to him.
I pushed him away with all my strength. Jason staggered and fell awkwardly to the floor. “Jason Danish, I am Chloe Hartwell. Chloe Hartwell is me. Stop acting crazy.”
“If you think the clothes I picked are ugly, don’t use them. There’s no need to take it out on me.”
My tone was emotionless as I picked up the fallen baby clothes and tossed them into the trash.
Not wanting to deal with his nonsense anymore, I walked into my bedroom and locked the door.
Outside, Jason’s phone kept ringing.
But he ignored it, choosing instead to knock persistently on my door.
“Chloe, come out. Let’s talk.”
I had no interest in talking.
All I wanted was to lie down quietly and rest.
Jason was relentless, so much so that Sophia called my phone directly.
The moment I picked up, her sharp voice carried through.
“Chloe Hartwell, is my husband with you?”
“Yes.”
She let out a piercing scream, practically hysterical.
“How dare you! Give me back my husband, you homewrecker!”
I closed my eyes briefly, climbed out of bed, opened the door, and handed the phone to the stunned Jason.
“Your wife is calling.”
Jason took the phone and froze, unmoving.‘
Through the speaker, Sophia’s voice rang out.
“Jason, when are you coming back? It’s our wedding night.”
Jason hesitated, glancing at me before replying, “I’m not coming back tonight.”
He searched my face, as if hoping for a reaction–some sign of emotion, anything.
But I was calm.
Jason’s eyes darkened gradually. On the other end of the line, Sophia kept talking, but Jason ended the call coldly.
He seemed to realize something, his eyes bloodshot as he looked at me, his voice hoarse.
“You’re leaving me, aren’t you?”
The day I succeeded in winning Jason’s love, I stayed for one reason–his words.
<
That day, I confessed everything to him.
I told him, if he ever betrayed me, I could leave at any moment.
I had the Zenith Interface, and leaving was as simple as saying the word.
