Page 43 of Everdoll

I enjoyed hearing positive things about Remi, but this made me roll my eyes.

My robot Remi was no crowd-pleaser. He belonged to no one else, bound only to me. He was cold, gentle, and impossibly beautiful, with jet-black hair and those blue-green eyes. The most precious thing in my life, and I had no intention of sharing him. There wasn’t much left in my life truly belonged to me. In fact, there was nothing left in the beginning.

Losing Remi to someone else would be my biggest nightmare.

My best friend Angelica, the only daughter of famous singer Francis Bernova, sitting next to me, leaned over to look at the phone screen. “Exactly,” she said, her gaze as skeptical as ever. “I should come visit you someday, Mina. I want to meet this boy.”

“Eli!” I whispered, making sure no one else could hear. “You know what he really is. I think it’s risky for the others to see him.”

“Don’t worry, Mina. That bastard’s probably thought of something.”

I opened my mouth to ask if the “bastard” she meant was my adorable Remi, but our teacher walked in just then.

The next day, I wasn’t alone on my way home.

Angelica had come to my house earlier, but Remi wasn’t home at the time. And now, Sigrid and Petar from the class were accompanying us too.

I was tense, constantly trying to make eye contact with Angelica. We needed to make a plan. But she didn’t take me serious. She was acting stranger than usual, I couldn’t communicate with her at all.

When we arrived home, Remi was waiting in the garden. He frowned, his gaze swept across everyone except me, before finally landing on me.

“R-Remi…” I stammered. With others around, even saying this nickname was embarrassing. “Um, hey… These are my classmates. You know Angelica, this girl…”

“Sigrid!” Sigrid chirped, reaching out to shake Remi’s hand. I felt my stomach churn. When Petar did the same, I looked away, unable to bear it, seeking comfort in Angelica’s eyes. My friend gently stroked my hair, cheering me up, and I took a deep breath.

“Mina.”

When Remi’s cold voice which I hadn’t heard in a long time filled my ears, I turned back to him again. Sigrid was still standing there with her hand outstretched, and Petar was looking at them in confusion.

Oh. He didn’t shake hands with them. He did not. He closed the distance between us and grabbed me by the arm.

He was leading me toward the house when Angelica caught my other wrist. “Let her go. Say what you have to say right here.”

Remi’s burning gaze flicked down to my wrist, then up to Angelica.

“I’ll speak to her wherever I want.”

“You piece of…” Angelica hissed, and I could barely register her anger before I was dragged into the house by him. When we entered, Remi slammed the door behind us.

And silence lingered. I tried to free my hand from him, but my guardian robot always held me very tightly. His shoulders relaxed, then he lifted his head up. His cold gaze settled on me.

“Okay… What’s going on, Mina? What did I do this time?”

“What?” I frowned. “You didn’t do anything. It’s just… They wanted to come over. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before.”

Remi closed his eyes. I recognized that look on his face. Whenever he tried to hold himself together, he’d shut his eyes just like this. Within seconds he’d become as serious as a grown man. I adored this feature of him.

“It’s not what I’m talking about. What was that outside? You…” He averted his eyes. “You didn’t even hug me. Just stood there like I’m a stranger. Did I do something wrong? What’s wrong? Tell me, please.”

My mouth dropped slightly. Then I smiled, satisfied. Even though Remi avoided eye contact, I began circling around him. My dear robot looked adorable when he refused to meet my gaze. I grabbed his cheeks, forcing him to face with me.

“You didn’t do anything wrong, Remi.” I wrapped my arms around him, and Remi immediately hugged me back. “They don’t know you’re my robot. I don’t know how to explain our relationship, so I ended up acting weird. I upset you, right? Sorry.”

“No, it’s okay, but…” His arms tightened around my waist, to the point where I could barely breathe, but I didn’t complain. “I told you,” he murmured, “Just tell them we’re dating.”

“This again, Remi? Should I update you?” At my mocking tone, he let go of me right away.

“No. I’m okay.” His eyes, once again, drifted away.