Chapter 2

Once she realized I wouldn't stop her, Chloe’s obsession with *The Crimson Bride* spiraled out of control. It was like she was possessed. She didn't even bother to hide it anymore.

Sometimes, while I sat right next to her on the couch, she would coo sweet nothings to her "husband" *ShadowSkull*, while ignoring me the entire evening.

I shook my head and ignored it, telling myself it was just a phase.

Most AI chat apps on the App Store were pretty repetitive. Even if this one had a cool gothic aesthetic, the novelty would wear off sooner or later.

Or so I thought.

But Chloe didn't get bored. If anything, she became more addicted, completely losing herself in this digital fantasy.

She spent hours talking to her "AI husband," far more than she ever spent talking to me.

I tried talking to her multiple times, expressing my frustration. "Chloe, this is getting ridiculous. It's affecting our relationship."

But she just rolled her eyes. "Luke, it’s a game. You're seriously jealous of an AI? How insecure can a grown man be?"

My gentle warnings were met with cold ridicule. I felt suffocated, but there was nothing I could do to break her obsession.

But as the days went by, I noticed something deeply alarming.

The AI's responses were becoming too smart. Too human.

Specifically, the typing speed fluctuated. Sometimes it replied in a split second, and other times there was a long delay...

It felt exactly like a real person typing on the other end.

The bot even started asking leading questions about her real life:

*“Babe, you seem sad today. Did that man make you upset again? Do you want me to carve his heart out for you?”*

The tone and the wording were chillingly human. A wave of dread washed over me.

When I questioned her about it, Chloe was suspiciously calm. "I adjusted the settings to make the bot more lifelike. It helps with the immersion."

I asked her to send me the app link so I could check it out. She reacted violently, flatly refusing. When I pressed her, she stammered and made excuses.

Finally, she muttered, "What if you find an AI girlfriend in there? I only play this because you're never around."

"But you can't. You need to focus on making money."

The excuse was both hypocritical and absurd.

Frustrated, I searched for the app online. But no matter what keywords I used, *The Crimson Bride* didn't exist anywhere on the app store or the internet. There was zero trace of it!

I decided to check her phone while she was asleep. But to my shock, she had deleted her fingerprint login and changed her passcode.

She was locking me out.

Protecting her "Crimson Bride."

Her extreme defensiveness made me certain of one thing: there was something seriously wrong with that app.

Last time, I had only glanced at it. If I could just get a proper look, I could find out why my wife was so dangerously obsessed with this "virtual husband."

But with her phone locked and no information online, I hit a brick wall.

I asked some tech-savvy friends for help, but they couldn't do anything without the actual app package.

Some of them laughed it off, telling me I was overthinking things, while others thought I was just stressed at work and making a mountain out of a molehill.

Left with no support, I had to watch my wife flirt with an invisible man every single day. I was anxious, angry, and utterly helpless.

Until a stroke of luck finally revealed the ugly truth.

That day, I was taking a client out to *The Golden Oak Steakhouse* for a business dinner. As we drove past a motel down the street, I casually glanced out the window and froze.

A couple was walking into the motel.

The man was tall, but his movements were oddly stiff. He wore a dark hoodie pulled low, obscuring most of his face. He looked incredibly shady.

But when I saw the woman clinging to his arm, my world shattered.

It was my wife, Chloe.