Chapter 5
I exhaled slowly. That’s right, I was no longer Helen Bosch.
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The people and things from my past no longer had anything to do with me. I would no longer be disturbed by Nick or that
woman.
Upon arriving in a new place, I decided to go back to school. In the past, I’d rushed into work right after college to support myself and joined Nick in starting his business.
I handled finances, secretarial tasks, procurement and entertaining clients, none of which I truly enjoyed.
As his company grew, he no longer wanted me involved. “Helen, just go have fun. Let your husband take care of earning money for the family,” he said.
When I mentioned wanting to continue my studies, he pouted in mock grievance,
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“There are so many young guys at school. What if you don’t want me anymore?”
Now, I no longer needed to worry about money or compromise for anyone. Nothing could stop me from pursuing what I
wanted.
My brief interactions with the research lab had sparked a strong interest in their field and I decided to pursue a related degree. Since I had no prior experience in this subject, getting into a graduate program wasn’t easy and my life became
increasingly busy. Fortunately, I met a mentor in the library.
When he learned of my connection to bionic robots, he became very interested and suggested collaborating on a research paper. I reached out to the lab and they gladly granted me access to the data, “Miss Rimes, all the data is synced through the app. Your contributions have been critical to the success of this experiment, so of course, you may access it anytime.”
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I opened the app and the first thing I saw
was Nick. It was the bionic robot’s real–time
perspective.
Nick hovered around the bionic robot like a shadow, guarding her as if she were a delicate artifact.
I watched as his phone rang several times. The contact, labeled formally as
“Procurement – Yvonne,” was completely ignored. Instead, he focused all his attention on trying to win over the bionic robot.
He prepared a table full of dishes and looked at her nervously, “Helen, these are all your favorites. Please, let me explain, okay? Don’t ever go to the riverside alone like that again. You really scared me.”
The bionic robot simply nodded, “Okay.”
However, I noticed from the robot’s programming logs that she had no
intention of harming herself. She had
merely imitated a TV drama scene, curious
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about what the riverside was like.
Perhaps due to the experiment’s design, the robot exhibited a curiosity that I had long since lost. I skipped ahead in the timeline.
It turned out the bionic robot had caught Nick and Yvonne acting intimately in his office.
The moment he saw the bionic robot, he pushed Yvonne away and tried to grab the robot’s hand, “Helen, let me explain, it’s not what it looks like.”
The robot threw the lunchbox she was holding at his feet and turned to leave. Whether it was because she moved too quickly or Yvonne held him back, Nick didn’t catch up immediately.
By the time he found her at the riverside, she was sitting on the railing, imitating a TV drama heroine.
He hugged her tightly, his voice tinged with panic, “Helen, don’t scare me. I can’t lose you.”
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Since then, Nick had clung to the robot like a piece of stubborn adhesive tape, caring for her with meticulous attention, as though tending to an infant.
I couldn’t help but feel relieved that I had left decisively. Otherwise, I might not have resisted the urge to peel back Nick’s face and see just how thick his skin was.
When the robot finally sat down, Nick
visibly relaxed, as if convinced he had been forgiven.
