Chapter 4

One day, three years ago, Ethan brought Serena to our penthouse.

Coincidentally, that day was also the day I died.

I remember the final hours of my life with absolute clarity. Cancer had ravaged my body, turning me into an emaciated, unrecognizable ghost.

The agony was so unbearable that I couldn't even grip my pill bottles.

I knew that if I dragged it out, I would die without a shred of dignity, looking like a monster.

So, on my birthday, I decided to end it all on my own terms.

I ordered a custom cake and some gourmet takeout, arranging everything on the dining table to create the illusion of a warm home.

I put on the white dress I wore the night we officially met, and carefully applied makeup to cover my dark circles and pallid skin.

Then, I called him. I just wanted him to come home, to share one last meal and one last birthday with me.

He rejected the call.

Clutching my agonizing stomach, I called him over and over again. Finally, he picked up.

Before I could even speak, he exploded. "Chloe, are you crazy?! Serena is carsick, and I'm taking her to the clinic right now! Why do you keep calling me?!"

Cold sweat rolled down my forehead. My voice was so weak it was barely a whisper. "Ethan... can you come home and have dinner with me tonight? Today... is my birthday."

"Is it your last birthday ever?! What, are you going to drop dead tomorrow?!" Ethan roared. His words sliced through my soul like a razor.

He warned me through the phone, "Listen to me, Chloe! This is your final warning. Stop playing the victim, I'm not buying it! Don't call me again, or I'm calling my divorce lawyer!"

The dial tone rang in my ear, sounding like a countdown to an execution.

I curled up on the floor, clutching my phone tightly as tears ruined my meticulously applied makeup.

I wanted to tell him I wasn't acting. I really was dying.

And no, I wouldn't drop dead tomorrow.

I was going to drop dead today.

I forced myself to stand, stumbled down to my basement lab, and scanned my fingerprint.

Inside the glass pod stood the android I had spent the last year meticulously building. She had my face, but a gentle, flawless personality I could never hope to achieve.

I initiated the activation sequence. A blue light flashed across her synthetic eyes, and a mechanical voice chimed:

"Bionic Unit Chloe, online."