Page 44 of Everdoll

“Should we go then? Let’s not keep them waiting, okay?”

“They can go to hell for all I care.”

“Rude, Remi!” I scolded him, but deep down, I was pleased with his attitude.

When we went out into the garden, I saw my friends sitting on the bench. Angelica smiled at me, while Sigrid and Petar’s eyes were on Remi. My brow knitted again.

Stop looking at him. He doesn’t want you. He’s mine, not yours.

“Well, well. Our knight has finally emerged from his cave,” Angelica greeted us with an icy voice, and Remi sat down on the bench with confidence.

“Did you at least kiss your princess?” His serene eyes immediately found Angelica. “Oh right, I forgot. You weren’t the knight, you can’t have the princess.”

“Bernova.”

Remi said in a warning tone, but Angelica grinned.

“Tell me, Mina. Don’t you think it’s interesting that the monster of Mars plays knighthood in his free time?”

I flinched. What was it? A game? “Well…?”

“Your friend must really enjoy talking nonsense, Mina.”

Before I could respond, Angelica interjected. “Oh, I’m not her friend. I’m planning to marry her.”

With that sentence, a deathly silence fell over the bench. Remi took his eyes off the grass, jumped on his feet.

“What did you just say?”

Angelica tossed her long honey-colored hair back. Her mocking tone disappeared, and she became serious. “Mina has already accepted my proposal. So you’d better back off, you jerk.”

I stepped between them, sensing things might spiral. Catching the sight of me, he cast one last glance at Angelica before walking off the bench. Since he didn’t even bother to explain, I awkwardly turned to the others.

“Well, he had something to do…”

Sigrid followed Remi without listening to me at all. When she took the robot’s hand, my face fell.

Would Remi leave me for someone else? Would he abandon me one day? He was a robot, he could change his master at the mere touch of a button.

I won’t allow it.

Being with Remi was the only thing that made my painful existence bearable. My Remi always said the things I wanted to hear. Most likely, he spoke according to my wishes because he was a robot, programmed to meet my emotional needs, but I didn’t care. I could love him improperly as I pleased. I could act on every impulse, every twisted feeling, without fearing the consequences, or being consumed by emotions I couldn’t control. I could become as attached to Remi as I wanted, opening up my inner self to him.

After all, with a single button, I could blot everything out.

That’s why I went so far sometimes. I could say things to him I’d never dare say to another living soul. I could do things to him I was afraid to do to anyone else. I didn’t need to wear my masks in his presence, I could stand before him in all my ugliness. Remi complimented me adoringly, made me feel precious. And I fell for it because I was really myself around him, the theater curtains never came down when he was there. So I knew the girl Remi kissed and hugged was really me.

I wasn’t sure who Mina Olind really was, but thanks to Remi I didn’t have to think about it so hard. I had grown so used to this comfort, to live in this labyrinth…

“Don’t you ever doubt it?” Angelica asked in a low voice when Petar stepped out of the bank. “He’s actually human?”

“Don’t even mention it, Eli. You shouldn’t have provoked him like that.”

“Why would a robot get provoked? He shouldn’t feel anything.”

“He…” I hesitated. “He’s designed to mimic emotions. It’s natural.”

“But he’s growing. Wasn’t he shorter when he first came here? He’s growing like you, like me, like a human child. Think about it.”