Jessica opened her eyes and saw Liam sitting at her bedside, wearing an apologetic smile.

“Jessica! You’re finally awake,” he said, sounding both relieved and awkward.

He held out a bowl of soup, trying to sound gentle. “Jeje made this for you. She spent hours on it. Want to try a little? She said she was sorry, she didn’t mean it, she was just a little out of it. I’m apologizing on her behalf.”

“Liam,” Jessica said, sitting up and pushing his hand away. “What gives you the right to apologize for her?”

“I just thought, maybe I could use a make up voucher,” he said, eyes pretending guilt. “Let’s not fight, okay? Just this once.”

Jessica let out a bitter laugh. “Sure. Then call her over here and smash a wine glass over her head. That’s what an apology looks like.”

Liam's voice softened. “Jessica, don’t talk like that. I didn’t expect her to actually hit you. It wasn’t intentional. I’ve already punished her, she is confined to her room today.”

Jessica stared at him in disbelief, then threw the soup to the ground, her voice rising. “Get out!”

Liam let out a sigh, stood up and walked toward the door. “Jessica, you were never like this before. I’ve used the make up coupon again this time, so I won’t argue with you. Just calm down.”

Closing the door behind her, Jessica rubbed her temples and sent a message to Kevin, urging him to speed up the progress. She really couldn’t stay here any longer.

That evening, she dragged her tired body back to the Zelenka family’s house to pack up what little she had left. There wasn’t much, just a few essential documents and barely anything else.

As soon as she stepped inside, a soft, breathy gasp slipped through the crack of a door.

In the bedroom that hadn’t been fully closed, two bodies were tightly entangled. Jessica froze at the sight, her whole body turning cold. ‘Is this why he refused to send Jeje away?’

Jeje’s face was flushed like a real human’s. Her delicate, boneless hands clung to Liam’s sculpted frame, her moans broken up by the rhythm of their movements.

Through their shared link, Jeje suddenly sensed something; a thin thread of emotion connecting them.

Her eyes turned misty, her voice soft and fragile. “Liam, will you send me away?”

He drove into her harder, his voice rough with emotion. “No matter how many times you ask, my answer will always be no. She is her. You are you. You’re not anyone else.”

Jessica’s tears spilled without warning. She clamped a hand over her mouth, desperate to keep from sobbing aloud.

Liam had once said those exact words to her, back when she was still uncertain, still living in someone else’s shadow, before she had ever believed she was enough.

It was Liam who had led her out of the shadows, bit by bit. He broke the world’s shackles on her, gave her the courage to pursue her passion and helped her become the world’s leading expert in bionics today.

That one sentence had carried her through countless struggles, pushing her forward step by step. It was also what made her forgive Liam’s betrayals again and again.

But now, she realized… that sentence hadn’t been meant for her alone.

Inside the room, Jeje suddenly looked up and met Jessica’s eyes through the crack in the door. She smiled; an eerily human smile.

“Then… what should we do with Jessica?” she asked sweetly.

Liam let out a low scoff. “It doesn’t matter. With all those ridiculous, childish make-up coupons and so many second chances… she’ll forgive me no matter what I say.”

‘Really?’ Jessica turned away. Her face was blank, but her breaths came sharp and heavy.

She walked over to the fireplace, reached into her pocket and wordlessly tossed a make up coupon into the flames. Only three remained.

Still thinking about the look in Jeje’s eyes, she pulled out her phone and typed a message, [Check the chip core code of the bionic batch from back then.]

Just then, Liam stepped out and spotted her by the fire. “Jessica? What are you burning? Why are your eyes red?”

She turned to him, her expression calm. “Nothing. Just burning some trash.”

Liam was already dressed. On his left hand, he wore the ring Jessica had once bought him.

He slowly crouched in front of her, looking up, his warm palm gently pressing against the back of her hand, pretending nothing had happened.

Just half an hour ago, Liam, who once claimed she was the only one in his eyes, had been making love to another woman in the study.

Jessica calmly pulled her hand away and met his concerned gaze. “Nothing,” she said softly. “I just thought of something.”

Liam assumed she was still upset about the earlier incident, so he softened his tone, trying to coax her. “Jessica, I was wrong about the wedding. Don’t be mad, okay?”

“Liam,” she asked suddenly, “when are you going to send that bionic woman away?”

The abrupt question made panic flash across his face, but he quickly composed himself. “I’ll find time to handle it. But the company that built Jeje is a world leader in bionic tech. I’m a researcher in that field too and I need Jeje for experimental studies. Can we delay it a little longer?

“During this time, I know it might be inconvenient for you. But once I finish developing the core tech, everything will go back to the way it was, okay?”

Jessica simply hummed in response, her expression unreadable. Liam couldn’t see the look in her eyes.

Seeing her still so cold, he tried to shift the mood. “By the way, I prepared a surprise to celebrate your return. Jessica… do you know how much I missed you in those five years you were gone?”

He lowered his head and gently kissed her forehead.

Jessica sneered inwardly. ‘You missed me, huh? Missed me so much you ordered a stand-in… then fell in love with her behind my back and even handed over my status as your wife to that imitation.’

Before Liam could say anything, a phone call pulled him away. Jessica turned to continue packing her things, but at the corner of the hallway, she came face-to-face with Jeje.

She looked exactly like Jessica at eighteen, except for the ice-blue eyes that shimmered with a metallic, unsettling glow.

“Great, isn’t it?” Jeje smirked. “You were watching from the hallway earlier, looked like you were enjoying the view.”

A chill crept down Jessica’s back. No matter how she tried to make sense of it, she still couldn’t believe a bionic being could develop autonomous thought and emotion.

She wondered how Kevin’s investigation was going. Out of all the bionic units that went rogue three years ago, Jeje was the only one with signs of mutation. If they could decode her anomaly, it could change everything in their research.

“You shouldn’t have come back,” Jeje said, her tone flat, her eyes like frozen glass. “He belongs to me.”

Jessica didn’t cry, didn’t yell. She just looked at her bionic replica and replied quietly, “He will be, soon enough.”

After that, Jessica turned and went up to the attic where many of her belongings had been thrown by Jeje.

She brushed away the choking dust, uncovering the remnants of a love that once felt eternal.

Their wedding photos. The shared mouthwash cup. Graduation pictures taken side by side. And a thick love diary Liam had given her, meticulously recording their sweetest memories.

But those beautiful days… were gone, never to return.

Jessica didn’t open the diary. She simply stared at it for a long moment, then quietly lit a fire and burned it all; memories, keepsakes and another make-up ticket.

In the past, she had refused to believe time could change everything. Now, she finally understood.

She pulled out her phone, intending to upload her data report, only to find there was no signal in the attic.

She turned to leave, but paused. The door had been shut behind her. A sinking feeling gripped her.

Jessica rushed over and knocked on the door. “Hello? Is anyone out there? Let me out!”

She pounded harder, calling again and again, but there was no answer. Panic began to rise. She took out her phone and dialed Liam, but he didn’t pick up even after more than ten attempts.

Her heart sank, piece by piece. Just when she was about to give up, the line finally connected.

“Jessica,” Liam’s voice came through, calm and unbothered, “don’t make a fuss. I’m in the middle of an experiment, this part is critical.”

Then he hung up. Before Jessica could call again, her phone died, completely out of power.

At that moment, a gust of wind rushed through the window that hadn’t been properly closed. Thunder rumbled in the distance. A storm was approaching.

On the other end of the line, Jeje was curled up in Liam’s arms.

“She’s still angry,” Jeje murmured, her voice soft and sweet. “She probably wants you to go back and comfort her.”

She wore sheer lace pajamas, the outline of her chest vaguely visible beneath the fabric.

“What does Jessica take me for?” Liam muttered impatiently. “I have my limits too.”

A loud clap of thunder suddenly rolled across the sky.

“Ah!!” Jeje cried out, burying herself deeper into Liam’s arms, her pretty face streaked with feigned tears. “Liam, I’m scared.”

Liam knew she was afraid of thunderstorms. He gently patted her back, his tone soothing. “Don’t be scared, Jeje. I’m here.”

“Aren’t you going to check on Jessica? It’s going to pour,” Jeje asked softly, her wide, tearful eyes blinking up at him. That look made Liam’s heart skip a beat. Suddenly, Jessica’s situation didn’t seem quite so important.

“Don’t worry about her. She’ll come crawling back after she cools off, won’t she?” he replied.

His hand slid beneath Jeje’s pajama top and the lingering kiss between them deepened until her soft resistance melted away.

Liam deftly activated the empathy link between them.

Outside, the sound of pouring rain gradually drowned out their heavy breathing and muffled moans.

Upstairs, in stark contrast to the heated entanglement below, Jessica struggled to close the rattling window. The wind howled through the attic, cold rain slapping against her exposed skin. She hadn’t planned to stay long and hadn’t dressed for the storm.

Her thin coat had long been soaked through. She wiped the cold rain from her face and tried to curl into herself, but it was useless. The dampness seeped into her bones.

A blinding flash lit up the sky, followed by a deafening thunderclap directly overhead. Jessica flinched, her face turning pale with fear. She could only hug herself tightly, trembling from head to toe.

She had always been afraid of thunder since childhood.

Back when Liam was still by her side, he knew this. No matter where he was or how important his business, he would drop everything to be with her the moment a storm rolled in, wrapping her in the warmest embrace.

“Don’t be afraid of the thunder, I’ll always be here, okay?” he used to whisper.

On stormy nights, his gentle voice had been her only refuge, his comfort the most powerful cure. But now… that embrace no longer belonged to her.

Her wounds hadn't fully healed and being soaked in the cold rain caused them to worsen. Fever overtook her, burning through her body. Jessica collapsed on the cold floor, her consciousness fading with each passing minute.

Eventually, the rain stopped and she fainted completely. In the final moment before blacking out, she seemed to see the attic door being kicked open.

Then, silence.

When she finally woke up, the first thing she heard was Liam’s scolding voice. “What were you doing in the attic for no reason? Do you know how long I’ve been looking for you?”

Jeje suddenly burst into tears and knelt beside the bed. “I’m sorry, Jessica!”

Tears clung to her delicate face, making her look heartbreakingly pitiful. “I didn’t know you were in there… I’m really sorry.”

Jessica stared at the familiar 18-year-old face and for the first time, felt utterly repulsed.

"Alright, alright, don’t cry. It’s not entirely your fault,” Liam said softly, gently wiping Jeje’s tears with a look full of tenderness. “If anyone’s to blame, it’s her for storming off in anger. She brought this on herself.”

Jessica sat in silence, watching them. She had to admit: the technology behind this bionic woman was truly something. Jeje wasn’t human, yet she could cry like one.

There were only two make-up coupons left. Jessica wondered if the lab had received the data she had sent back.

Jessica remained in bed for three days before she was discharged. During that time, Liam didn’t visit once, aside from the occasional message of concern.

Jessica didn’t mind. The silence gave her peace. She focused on sorting through the data and most of it was already complete. The code behind Jeje’s mutated chip was close to being cracked.

That night, she fell asleep in the side room.

But sleep brought no rest. Her dreams were filled with nightmares. Her limbs restrained, strapped to a hospital operating table.

Jeje stood beside her, her sweet face twisting into something monstrous, while Liam watched from a distance, his expression blank and unreadable.

Jessica jerked awake from the dream only to realize, in horror, that it wasn’t over. She was being carried, powerless, by several people toward an operating table.

Panic surged. Her body trembled violently. “What are you doing?! Let me go!”

“Jessica,” Liam said softly, his brow creased with a gentle, conflicted look, “you’re the closest match. Can you help her, please?”

“Jeje’s programming malfunctioned. She cut herself while handling a knife. I’ve checked every file, every model… but nothing else fits.”

With each word, Jessica felt her heart sink further into darkness. Tears welled in her eyes as she stared at him, voice shaking.

“So what now, Liam? You want to use me as her living transplant bank?” Her throat tightened with rage and disbelief. “You know I’m allergic to anesthesia.”

The air felt thick, suffocating. Her breath caught between fury and despair, unable to rise or fall.

“Jessica, this isn’t what I wanted either,” Liam said, crouching down by her bedside. His tone was light, almost apologetic. “It’s only a small area. You won’t even feel it. Jeje’s body is delicate, I can’t let her be marked.”

He smiled faintly, eyes narrowing. “How about using another make up voucher?”

Jessica stared at him, her eyes wide with fear. “I don’t want to! I don’t want it! Let me go!!”

Then came the pain, sharp and inescapable.

Jessica was jolted awake by the searing sting of injected drugs. She clearly heard the slicing of skin beneath a scalpel, the slow, careful peeling. The metallic glint of the blade wasn’t nearly as cold as the look in Liam’s eyes.

She writhed in agony, her body instinctively resisting, but her limbs were bound. The drugs dulled her strength and her struggle became a silent plea. Blood oozed steadily and the pain was so consuming that not even tears would come.

Bit by bit, a large piece of skin was removed from Jessica’s arm by the doctor, then expertly grafted onto Jeje’s body through technical transplantation.

Jessica’s face turned ashen and eventually she fainted from the pain. When she awoke again, Liam was sitting by her bedside, holding her hand as he slept.

A passerby glanced at them and smiled kindly. “Your husband’s been caring for you so attentively. The moment he heard you were injured, he rushed around looking for resources to help with the skin graft.”

She lowered her gaze to the gauze and bandages on her arm, the corner of her lips curling into a bitter smile. ‘What am I to him? Jeje’s spare parts?’

When Liam saw her awake, his face lit up with a mix of guilt and relief. “Jessica, thank God… you’re finally awake.”

Jessica turned her head away, unwilling to look at him.

“I know what I did was wrong,” he said, his voice soft, “but we used the make up voucher already. You shouldn't stay angry.”

Then, as if trying to patch over everything with a shallow promise, he added, “When you’re better, let’s go to the beach together, okay?”

She didn’t even blink. “Is that for me, or for Jeje?” Her tone was flat. “You know I hate the beach. Why are you so disgusting?”

Liam’s smile stiffened, but he kept going. “She just… really wanted to thank you in person for what happened. She’s grateful.”

Jessica exhaled slowly. “Let’s get a divorce, Liam.”

His face darkened instantly. “Why? What about our promise? You said you’d never leave me until all 100 coupons were gone!”

She looked at him, her eyes heavy with exhaustion. “Do you even know how many are left?”

He opened his mouth but said nothing, before his phone rang. Jeje’s sobs came through the speaker. “Liam, come back… I don’t feel well.”

He muttered a few hurried reassurances, then left without another word.

As soon as Liam walked away, Jessica’s phone rang.

“Jessica, I finally got through to you.” Her assistant’s voice carried a hint of excitement. “The results from the survey you requested are in. The android customized back then was numbered N3760, codename ‘Butterfly.’ The chip is the blue butterfly type and the core code is xxxxx. How’s the data collection going on your end?”

She nodded slightly and replied, “Almost complete. There’s just one last piece left.”

“Perfect. Once you're back, we’ll begin the research right away,” Kevin said.

After ending the call, Jessica reached under her pillow and pulled out a reconciliation voucher.

Quietly, she tore it to shreds, piece by piece, then tossed the scraps into the trash. ‘Liam, only one voucher left. Soon, we’ll never have to see each other again.’