Chapter 28: The Bitter Taste Of Nemesis

Chapter 28: The Bitter Taste Of Nemesis
Jade's POV

“No, no....Eros, don’t!” I screamed, voice trembling so bad it barely came out.

“Jade...what the hell is going on?” Matthew’s voice cracked with panic as he stumbled back, his eyes darting from me to the glowing figure holding a knife.

“Eros, drop it! Put that damn knife down now!” I shouted, stepping between them, heart racing like it was trying to escape my chest.

Eros’s expression didn’t change. His eyes flickered a strange shade of blue-white, and that mechanical hum beneath his skin grew louder. “Threat detected,” he said flatly, his arm still raised.

Matthew’s breathing turned ragged. “Jade, what the fuck is that thing?! Why is it saying that?!”

“Just move! Go!” I yelled at him. “Eros, listen to me, he’s not a threat! I’m fine! Do you hear me?”

There was a pause...a flicker behind Eros’s pupils, like some part of him was… processing.“Command acknowledged,” he said finally, lowering the blade slowly.

I let out a shaky breath, legs threatening to give in. “Thank you,” I whispered, but I didn’t move an inch.

Matthew, shaking, rushed to grab his shirt from the couch. “You’re insane, Jade! You and your...whatever that is..are insane!”

“Matthew, please, just let me explain,” I said quickly, grabbing his arm.

“Explain?” he barked. “You brought a killing machine into your house! Do you even realize what could’ve happened? He almost stabbed me!”

“Eros didn’t mean to...”

“Didn’t mean to?!” he cut me off, his eyes wide and furious. “This is exactly how people die in horror movies, Jade! I should’ve known you were off when you said your ex died and you ‘didn’t remember how.’”

I froze.

My throat went dry. “What did you just say?” I asked quietly.

Matthew sighed, still shaken. “Tell me the truth,” he said. “Do you really have nothing to do with your ex’s death? Because right now, this...this whole robot obsession thing is giving murder-vibes.”

My heart sank. “That’s a low blow, even for you.”

“Then prove me wrong,” he shot back. “We have to report this...report him to the police before that thing destroys anyone else.”

“No,” I snapped. “We’re not calling anyone.”

“Are you kidding me?”

“Do I look like I’m kidding?” I shouted, stepping closer.
“You don’t know what’s happening here, Matthew. He’s not just some robot...they’ll destroy him!”

Matthew’s voice rose to match mine. “Destroy him?! Jade, he’s a danger! What if he hurts someone else? What if you’re next?”

I clenched my fists. “He won’t. I’ll fix it.”

“You can’t fix death!”

“Matthew, stop!” The air turned thick with tension..two storms colliding, each trying to make the other understand.

Then, a voice cut through.“Fuck it.”

We both turned.

Eros stood by the door..expressionless, shoulders rigid.

There was a spark behind his eyes that didn’t look mechanical anymore.“Eros?” I said, voice small.

He lifted his arm.The gunshot shattered the air.“NO!” I screamed, dropping to the floor as Matthew’s body jerked, eyes wide open in frozen disbelief before collapsing beside me.

For a moment, everything stopped. The ringing in my ear drowned out the world.

Then I screamed again. “No, no, fuck no, Eros! What did you do?!”

He blinked. “Threat neutralized.”

“Threat???” I stared at him, tears stinging my eyes. “He wasn’t a threat, Eros! He wasn’t a threat!”

He tilted his head slightly. “You appeared distressed.”

I hit his chest hard, over and over. “I was arguing, not dying! You killed him!”

“I thought he was harming you,” he said, still in that calm tone that made everything worse.

I pushed away from him, shaking uncontrollably. “God, I can’t...”

“Do you require assistance?”

“Stop talking!” I screamed. “Just stop!”

The room spun around me, my breathing sharp and broken. I looked at Matthew’s body...his blood soaking into my rug...and felt bile rise up my throat.“Eros,” I said finally, my voice trembling, “help me move him.”

He nodded once. “Affirmative.”

We lifted the body...his arm limp, his head tilted awkwardly, and dragged it toward the door. My heart felt like it was cracking with every step.“After this,” I muttered, “just stay the fuck away from me.”

Eros said nothing.

We carried Matthew’s body to the car, the night air cold was too silent. Crickets chirped in mockery as if the world didn’t care that someone just died.

Inside the car, I drove, hands shaking on the wheel. Eros sat beside me, quiet.

I exhaled sharply. “Do you enjoy giving me a hard night?”

“I did not intend to,” he said.

“Then why did you kill him?”

“I thought he was a threat.”

I slammed my hand on the steering wheel. “Stop saying that!”

He turned slightly, his voice soft. “Do you need me to leave the car?”

I laughed bitterly. “I need you to disappear.”

He blinked once. “I accept polite requests.”

“Fuck you,” I muttered.

He turned his face toward the window. “Request denied.”

The car fell silent again, except for the gravel crunching beneath our tires. We drove until the city lights vanished and the air smelled of wet soil.

We stopped near a lonely stretch of farmland. The moonlight barely touched the ground.“Here,” I said, opening the trunk.

We dragged Matthew’s body out again. I handed Eros a shovel, and he began to dig...precise, mechanical, efficient.

“Whoever owns this farm,” I muttered, “is gonna hate me for this.”

Eros didn’t reply.
We dug for what felt like forever.

I talked to fill the silence...to stop myself from falling apart.“You know, Eros,” I said quietly, “you can’t just kill people because you think they’re hurting me.”

“I am built to protect you.”

“Yeah, well, you’re doing a shitty job of it,” I snapped.

He paused, shovel mid-air. “Would you like me to improve?”

I sighed, exhausted. “God, you don’t get it.”

He resumed digging.
When the grave was deep enough, we lowered Matthew’s body in.

I covered my mouth to muffle a sob.“Can we just...clear up and go,” I whispered.

“Affirmative,” he said softly.

I sat down beside the car, breathing hard. The night wind brushed my face. For a moment, it felt still...too still.“Eros,” I said, my voice low, “we need to talk about boundaries. About… being human. When people argue, it doesn’t mean one of them will hurt the other.”

He looked at me, confused. “So, you did not need protection?”

“No,” I said quietly. “Sometimes, humans just...feel things. Anger. Fear. But it doesn’t mean kill.”

He nodded slowly, like he was trying to process it.Then...Headlights flashed from across the field.

I froze.

“Fuck. Fuck, can I just be peaceful for once?”

Eros turned. “What is it?”

“Hold on, Eros,” I said, panic creeping in. “When we took Matthew out, did we clean up the back of the car?”

He looked straight ahead. “Back of car… contains red stains.”

I dropped my head against the wheel in despair.The lights grew closer...bright now, white, official.

And then the sound of a siren echoed faintly through the night. I whispered under my breath, “Oh, no…”

The light shone into my window.

The fucking police.