Page 50 of Everdoll

That alone was more than enough to fuel my hatred.

“My condolences.” Angelica began in an unexpressive tone. “I never liked them anyway. I hope they suffer in hell.”

I exhaled. “Undoubtedly, they will.”

Bernova shook her head, then smiled. “Oh, our Mina has already offered her condolences, hasn’t she? If she didn’t, I can let her know.”

She reached for her phone, but I lunged, snatching it from her grip and threw it down.

“Really…” she turned her unmoved face toward me. “How much longer are you planning to deceive her?”

“That’s none of your business.”

“She’s my friend, you Kern shit! I can’t be sure you won’t go crazy like your family and hurt her.”

“I’d never hurt her.”

“You expect me to trust your word? Why would I? Really, maybe I should just tell her. She’ll be a little upset, but I’ll be there for her and take advantage of her vulnerability. That’s what men always do, isn’t it?”

Should I kill her? I forced my white-knuckled fists to open, steadied my breathing, and met her gaze with a lifted chin.

“Go ahead, tell her. But what hurts more? Discovering her stupid robot doesn’t exist, or knowing her best friend sat back and watched her being tricked?”

“You…”

“I wonder, how will you justify keeping this from her for so long?”

“You can’t be serious! You’re the one at fault here, not me!”

“By staying silent, you’re complicit. It’s useless now. Think about what’s actually best for Mina.”

“She wanted me to be free!” she shouted, shaking her head in disbelief. “Free! Boys can’t understand that, no. Someone like you really can’t understand her. You’ll never deserve her.”

What? Keeping my head still, I lifted my lids. My gaze locked onto hers, my eyes narrowing. “I’m not sure.” I replied in the calmest voice I could manage. “If I don’t deserve her, who does? You?”

Bernova stepped back, a flash of fear and disgust passing over her features.

“How can a liar like you deserve her? You’re opposite of her.”

My jaw set. “Nonsense!”

“Yes, nonsense! What you do to Mina is nonsense, and I’m not going to ignore it anymore! I’ll do everything I can to keep her away from you.”

As she walked to the end of the corridor and disappeared, I watched her go with narrowed eyes. The fact that she didn’t have to do anything was making me even angrier. Mina had been coming home late lately, spending less time with me. Her attention was entirely on Bernova, not on me. Not anymore.

Maybe I really should just kill her.

I finally let out the breath I’d been holding. This won’t do. I had my own moral values, which I had unlike my parents. I knew what was right, what was wrong. I knew what I truly wanted, what really mattered.

That old, familiar destruction I hadn’t felt in ages came crashing down on my chest again.

Right… I could control everything. Except a person’s free will.

Mina had chosen damn Bernova. She loved her by her own will.

I might think I achieved everything, but I couldn’t control the thing made a person most human. Will. Well, I didn’t even want to control it. That was the part that had always fascinated me: Consciousness. The one thing science could never quite explain. Everything was going back to that, my beginning and end.

I thought the sparks her presence ignited in my soul would be enough. But no… Something deeper was needed to extinguish the endless fire.