Page 45 of Everdoll

“I wanted him to grow up with me. That must be why… he’s programmed to do automatically, to match my age,” I said firmly.

“It’s been almost two years. You really haven’t noticed anything strange?”

I shook my head quickly, then forced a smile. “You don’t have to worry about me, Eli. Remi would never hurt me.”

Angelica crossed her arms and fidgeted uneasily. “At the end of the day, he’s still a boy. You should be careful around him.” she added half-jokingly, “Even if he’s a robot.”

I didn’t want to argue with her. I looked around, seeing Remi couldn’t escape Sigrid’s grip, I frowned.

I’ll never let anyone else to get close to him.

I couldn’t even possess Angelica like this, whom I loved more than everything. I was scared to death that my love and all these intense feelings would be a burden to others. The fear of being abandoned if I revealed my true face… But the situation was different with Remi. He had promised me. To stay with me forever.

He belonged to me.

“Remi!”

I shouted, all eyes in the garden snapped toward me. Remi’s gaze was cold, but when he caught my sight, it seemed to soften. I smiled wide.

“Come here. Now.”

When I gave the order, Angelica whistled. Remi immediately broke free from Sigrid’s grip and came back to the bench. I peered at his expression. That’s it, that delighted face. No matter how arrogantly I ordered him around, no matter how far I went, Remi always looked at me with pure admiration. He couldn’t take his eyes off me. He gazed at me like I was the most precious thing in the whole world. Even if he was a robot, being loved so much pleased me a lot. I was always someone who did everything to excess—overreacting, overloving, getting excessively angry… Or people make you think that way. You’re embarrassing them. So it was very comforting to have someone who accepted my excessiveness.

“Why did you leave? Were you mad at Eli?”

He flinched at my words. His cold eyes dropped to the floor for a moment, then he raised his head again, frowning.

“Shouldn’t I?” he whispered. His tone wounded, tinged with anger. I stared, realizing it was the first time I’d heard Remi like this. He seemed to be drowning in conflicting emotions.

Just like me.

Nonsense.

I leaned forward, gently approaching. The blue boy tracked my every move.

“You can.” I whispered. “I want to see what you’re like when you get angry. Show me, Remi, hm?”

His expressionless face grew red, and I could only watch him, my mouth agape in awe. He was too beautiful; the way he blushed at every little thing I said was too cute. I wanted to take him completely into my arms, to take possession of his metal body, his artificial mind, his everything.

I grabbed his thumb and smiled. His eyes fixed on our intertwined hands. At that tender moment, Sigrid stepped forward.

“Remi? Is that your name?”

“No.” I replied quickly. I didn’t want anyone to know anything about my beautiful robot.

“But you keep calling him that, what’s his real name?” Sigrid scowled. “Is this another one of your stupid games? I should’ve known. How does such a cool kid even put up with you?”

I felt Remi’s hands tighten around mine, squeezing me even harder. Before either of us could say anything, Angelica stepped forward.

“Speak properly, Sigrid.”

Sigrid snorted. “Properly? First, Mina needs to behave properly. She’s getting on my nerves. You really think you’re a spy, Mina? This is nonsense, okay? Not everything is games. Stop it already, grow up! You act so weird even in public. I’m embarrassed to be seen with you.”

A lump formed in my throat, my eyes filling with tears at the familiar words. “I… I’m sorry…” Remi clenched my hands even tighter, but I couldn’t look at him. I was terrified, unable to relax.

“You’re the one talking weird.” Even hearing the cold, distant voice of him wasn’t enough to hide my embarrassment. “Why does other people’s happiness bother you?”

Sigrid looked stunned, but she quickly snapped her mouth shut before shooting back.