His Younger Self’s AI Loved Me More Than He Did Chapter 05

His Younger Self’s AI Loved Me More Than He Did Chapter 05

At Fairview Hospital, a piercing cry rang out. Maya had given birth to a healthy baby boy. Ethan stood outside the delivery room and let out a long, deep breath. He walked to the end of the corridor and dialed my number.

All he got was a message saying the phone was turned off.

“Still throwing a tantrum,” he muttered under his breath and shoved the phone back into his pocket.

That evening, after getting Maya and the baby settled, Ethan drove back to our apartment.

He pushed the door open and saw a familiar figure sitting on the couch. “Zara, I’m finally home. Six months is a long time. Tell me you missed me.”

No lights were on in the living room. In the gloom, the figure turned its head mechanically.

“Welcome home, Ethan Davis.”

A lifeless, robotic female voice echoed through the empty house. Ethan froze on the spot.

He stood at the door, still in his overcoat. The only light in the living room came from the streetlamp outside, casting its glow on the side of the figure’s face on the couch. It was a face identical to Zara’s.

“Zara?” He said it tentatively and walked closer. The figure on the couch didn’t react at all, just stared straight ahead.

A sudden panic gripped Ethan’s chest. He hurriedly flicked on the lights. The harsh white brightness flooded the room.

Then he saw it clearly. It was an AI companion of Zara. “What the hell? Where is Zara?”

Ethan’s brow furrowed deeply. He strode over. The moment he got close, the sensor triggered. The AI repeated in that same flat monotone, “Welcome home, Ethan Davis.”

Ethan felt a rush of absurdity. But then his eyes swept across the living room, and he froze again. Scattered on the floor near the couch were metal fragments and parts.

A severed mechanical arm lay far off. A half-crushed torso was slumped against the coffee table leg. It was the AI companion he’d implanted with his eighteen-year-old memories had been smashed into a pile of scrap.

Ethan was baffled. He crouched down and checked the damage. The casing was covered in deep dents from blunt-force blows. There was no way this came from an accidental fall.

He looked around, searching for any sign of Zara. “Zara! Stop messing around. Come out.”

“I know you’re pissed I’ve been gone for so long, but seriously—leaving an AI here to freak me out the second I walk through the door? Don’t you think that’s a little much?”

No one answered. Late at night, the whole house was dead silent. Ethan hesitated, then walked into the bedroom.

The bed was made perfectly. He yanked open the closet. More than half of Zara’s clothes were gone. Ethan’s frown deepened. “She actually ran away?” he murmured, and there was even a trace of dismissiveness in his voice.

He knew Zara too well. Ever since that night in the alley when he was eighteen and nearly died shielding her from those knives, Zara had made him her entire world. For ten years, she’d loved him with zero boundaries.

No matter how bad their fights got, all he had to do was soften up a bit and buy her a purse or some flowers. She’d tear up and give in, unable to even say a harsh word. This time was probably no different.

Ethan pulled out his phone and tried my number again. “Sorry, the number you have dialed is turned off…”