“Lola missed you,” I tell Raya as we walk into the house. Everything felt different without her. Empty. Lonely. Even the robots could tell. “She’s been wanting to show you the cookie recipe she created for you.”
My wife stares at me wide-eyed, some of the frost in her eyes melting. “You’re finally calling her Lola?”
I nod hesitantly just as the robot in question wheels herself into the living room. “Mrs. Windsor,” she says, her face moving from a neutral emoji into a happy one.
“Lola!” Raya shouts, her arms wrapping around the robot.
I frown as the robot’s face turns into an emoji with heart-eyes, jealousy unfurling in my stomach. “That’s quite enough,” I murmur, glaring at Lola. I’ve been craving one of Raya’s hugs more than she’ll ever know, and here she is, hugging that damn robot.
Raya turns toward me, and I raise a brow when Lola’s face turns into a smug emoji. Raya follows my gaze, but Lola changes her emoji into a neutral one just in time. I stare in complete fucking shock as my own robot taunts me. Unbelievable.
My wife smiles sweetly as she places her hand on my arm, her eyes twinkling with amusement, like she understands what just happened. It’s been so long since I last saw her look at me that way, and I sigh, staring at her. I missed this — that bond where I don’t even have to say a word for her to understand what I’m thinking. “Thank you,” I whisper. “For coming home to me. I hope you know I don’t take it for granted. What I did… it was unforgivable, and it means everything to me that you’re here with me now.”
She reaches for me, and my eyes fall closed when she cups my cheek. I place my hand over hers and take a deep breath, wishing I could just stay here with her and revel in her touch instead of doing the right thing. “Come with me,” I murmur, entwining our fingers.
Raya follows me quietly, her entire body tensing when we walk into my security room — the one I hid from her until Sierra went missing. Her expression hardens, and I shoot her a pleading look when she pulls her hand out of mine.
“You told me you don’t want to be monitored, so let’s get rid of this room altogether. I unplugged everything. I’d planned to empty the room before you got back home, but I wanted you to be involved in the process, so you don’t think I’m just moving it all to a different location behind your back. I wanted you to have the option to destroy it all.”
Raya looks into my eyes, clearly trying to assess my sincerity. “You’d let me destroy what appears to be hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of equipment?”
I smile and reach for her, my heart clenching painfully as I gently push her hair out of her face. “You can do with it whatever you want. Let’s turn this room into whatever you want it to be. Maybe an office just for you? Or a guest room for your parents?”
She raises a brow, disbelief flickering through her eyes. “You mean it?”
I nod. “Nothing is more important to me than you, Raya. I trust Silas Sinclair with our personal security, and though it won’t be easy for me to let go of my own security protocols, I will. For you, I will.”
She seems skeptical, and I bite down on my lip before handing her a flash drive I prepared for her. “Here,” I tell her. “This contains everything you need to access my systems. Take a look at it, and you’ll find that I’ve changed all my security measures, so even if you were to plug this all back in, I don’t personally have access to anything anymore. I’ve conceded all my access to Sinclair Security. I need to know that you’re safe and protected, but I won’t track or control you in any way. Not ever again. I’ll trust you, the way I always should have.”
Raya’s fingers closed around the flash drive, and she nods as she stares at it. “I will check,” she warns me.
“I want you to,” I tell her honestly. “I won’t let you down again, Raya. For so long, I was stuck in this mindset where I felt like it’d be safer to expect the worst, because that way, no one could ever betray me again. It’s hard to explain, and I know it doesn’t necessarily make sense to anyone but me, but it was how I coped with what had happened.” I draw a shaky breath, my stomach twisting.
“The day you left is the day I went back to therapy, little fairy. I asked for Celeste’s support, and she’s been driving me there to ensure I won’t miss an appointment. I never should’ve stopped going, and I won’t give up on it this time. I’ll keep going every week until I’m better.”
She nods, quietly studying me, a hint of disbelief still in her expression, only for her eyes to widen when I slowly kneel in front of her, both of my knees hitting the floor. “I am sorry, Raya. More than you’ll ever know, more than words can convey.” I grab her hand, my eyes settling on her wedding ring. My stomach turns as I look back at her, knowing what I have to do. She’ll hate me for the rest of our lives, but I can’t keep this from her. I bite down on my lip harshly as I slide the thin golden band off her finger, deep regret holding me in its clutches.
“W-what are you doing?” she asks, her entire body going rigid, her voice trembling.
I take her ring off and wrap my fingers around her ring, clenching tightly. “Please forgive me,” I whisper, my voice breaking. I look into her eyes, my breathing shallow, my heart in my throat. “It was just the one thing I figured you’d always have on you.”
Understanding flickers in her eyes, followed by pain. “You put a tracker in my wedding ring?” she asks, taking a step back.
Her eyes fill with tears, her expression conveying her heartache. My eyes fall closed, and I take a shaky breath. “I’m so sorry, Raya. I’ll make it right, I swear.”
“How could you?” Her voice breaks, and I look up. One lone tear runs down her cheek, and my heart twists painfully.
“I’m sorry,” I repeat, over and over again. “I’m so sorry, Raya. I couldn’t… I had to tell you, had to fix this. I promised you I’d do better, that I’d try… please, baby. I’ll do everything in my power to make this right. Please believe me.”
She shakes her head, choking back a sob. “I can’t do this,” she whispers, taking another step back.
