Love Master, But Never Leave Master

The android after-sales department informed me that Echo, also known as Model-01, had been granted the highest level of authority by Julian. They couldn't control her remotely.

However, they could fulfill two of my requests as part of their after-sales service. This was a legally stipulated compensation clause that not even Julian, as the company's CEO, could violate.

I chose two things: to terminate the pregnancy, and to finally leave him.

Echo pushed open the door to my room, looming over me with a condescending smile.

She seemed to possess genuine human emotions.

"You're not a suitable partner, Ava. You're so easy to replace."

I looked at her coldly. "A substitute has no right to pass judgment."

Echo's perfect face twisted in a momentary snarl.

"Substitute? Soon, I'll be the original."

Then, she knocked over the aromatherapy burner on the table. The flames instantly ignited the curtains.

Thick smoke billowed, quickly filling the room. The smart system had locked the door, and the restraints held me fast to the bed.

My desperate cries for help went unanswered.

Just as despair began to consume me, the door was kicked open.

Julian, covered in soot and ash, already had several burns on his body, but he rushed in without hesitation and ripped the restraints off me.

"Don't be afraid! It's over now."

For a fleeting second, the heart I’d thought was long dead gave a painful lurch.

As Julian lifted me into his arms, a sharp warning suddenly blared from outside the room.

"Program error, program error—"

The alarm was coming from Echo.

"Echo!"

Panic flashed across Julian's face. He ignored me, rushing toward the sound.

"Julian..."

With the last of my strength, I crawled in the direction he had gone.

The blaring alarms drowned out my desperate cries, and the flames and smoke swallowed me whole before I could make him turn back.

I never heard Julian's reply, but I did hear the final, definitive crack as something inside my chest shattered beyond repair.

"Total body burn area of eighty percent..."

I opened my eyes to find my entire body wrapped in gauze. The doctor could only shake his head, his expression grim.

Julian gently stroked the only remaining patch of unharmed skin on my body, not a trace of disgust in his eyes.

"Darling, thank God you're okay. Don't worry, I'm right here with you."

My eyes were dead. I turned my head away.

Julian's face changed slightly, and he was about to say something.

A sob came from the bedside.

"My appearance is no longer perfect. Please destroy me, master."

A piece of Echo's synthetic skin had melted away, revealing the metal skeleton beneath. Julian comforted her, his voice thick with heartache.

"But I don't have the human ability to self-repair. Synthetic skin is just that—synthetic. Please, destroy me."

Julian's gaze fell on me.

"Who said it has to be synthetic?"

He called the doctor over. "Arrange for surgery immediately. Harvest the skin from my wife's back and use it to repair Echo's face."

I stared at Julian in disbelief, but my throat could only produce a raw, hoarse croak.

Julian kissed my forehead, then held down my limbs and covered my despairing eyes.

"The fire started in your room. This is what you owe her."