Chapter 1

I was watching a show on my husband's laptop in his office when an AI assistant notification suddenly popped up.

"Hey there, handsome boss! Stop working so hard, you need your rest. We've got a big night ahead, you know?"

I stared at the cutesy font and the screen full of pink hearts, utterly stunned.

Clutching the screenshot, I stormed up to him while he was meeting a client. "Are you seeing someone else?"

He paused, then chuckled, pinching my cheek. "Silly. That's just an AI virtual girlfriend our company developed. I'm just personally testing it."

I calmly nodded, then turned and asked someone to investigate.

After getting the IP address behind this virtual girlfriend, I immediately posted it in the company SnapChat group.

"Come clean now, and I might just spare you some public humiliation."

Taking my money, treating me like a fool - you should be prepared for your life to be utterly destroyed!

The bustling company SnapChat group instantly fell silent.

Five minutes later, Alex burst through the door, his forehead beaded with sweat, breath ragged, a desperate look on his face. "Tori, it's really just program testing, you have to believe me!"

Several core senior employees followed him in, all rushing to explain.

"Ms. Sterling, it's just a beta version. There's absolutely no real person operating it."

"The dialogue content is pre-scripted. It doesn't mean what you think it means."

Mr. Henderson, the Technical Director, pulled out the meeting minutes and handed them to me. "These dialogue templates were designed by the team together. The goal is to boost user engagement and loyalty."

"Mr.Thorne was personally testing it for our team's project. If you misunderstand him, we'll all feel terrible."

Their words were earnest, all of them defending Alex.

Alex took my hand, his eyes full of sincerity. "Tori, I'm so sorry I upset you. If you don't like me using this, I'll never touch it again."

He knew his sincerity always swayed me.

Back when he was dirt poor, I saw something in his character and wholeheartedly backed his startup.

To achieve success, he worked overtime for half a month straight, not coming home at night.

I never doubted him, instead keeping our home perfectly organized, waiting for his return.

When he needed funding, I secured investment from my father, agreeing that he'd have full control over the profits for the first five years.

In the end, when the business didn't take off, I didn't blame him.

Instead, I used his "rich experience" as a reason to recommend him for a position at the corporation my father founded.

The day he became CEO, at his celebration banquet, he proposed to me a second time.

He told me his love for me would always be as pure and passionate as when we first fell in love, and he would only ever love me.

Every wedding anniversary after that, he would propose to me again.

To prove he stayed true to his original vows.

His loyalty to me, by all accounts, should have been unwavering.

I wearily pinched the bridge of my nose, waving them off. "I understand. I won't pursue this any further."

They left the office, relieved.

Alex also visibly relaxed and started to walk over to embrace me.

I pushed him away.

I had already seen Alex's chat logs with the AI assistant.

It messaged him every few dozen minutes. While most of the content was weather alerts or schedule reminders, the language was always ambiguous, even suggestive.

There were also custom, faceless emojis, and it was clear they were all from the same person.

Even with all my trust in him, I couldn't help but feel suspicious.

I had to get to the bottom of this.

I still had contacts among the corporation's technical staff. I excused myself to the restroom and sent the IP address to them.

The response came quickly.

The user was inside our corporation building.

Cross-referencing with HR records, I found her name.

Chloe Miller.

A new intern in Operations Department Two.

My heart suddenly clenched. They kept insisting there was no real person behind it, didn't they?

Now I even had her name and profile.

I took the elevator straight downstairs, spotting her the moment I stepped out.

Everyone else was engrossed in their work, but her screen was streaming a reality show full-screen.

Her desk was cluttered with expensive hand creams and snacks, and a personal humidifier just for her.

I walked into the office. She saw me from the corner of her eye, seemingly sensing my presence, and quickly reached out and flipped over a framed photo of them together on her desk.