My Mother’s Perfect AI Lied And Left Me For Dead Chapter 18
I left Mom’s dream and returned to the waiting room.
The silver-haired woman was still sitting by the white door.
She smiled at me and finally held out the cup of water.
“Go on. Next time, you’ll grow up safe. You’ll be loved.”
I drank the water and stepped through the door.
White light flooded my vision, and I lost consciousness.
When I heard voices again, I was lying in a warm embrace.
Someone was humming softly. I smelled milk and laundry detergent.
I opened my eyes and saw a tired but gentle face. The woman looked down at me and smiled.
“The baby’s awake. Mommy’s right here.”
She was my new mother. She didn’t have a fancy degree or know tech investors. She was just an assistant at a dental clinic, hurrying home after work to hold me.
My new father worked at an auto repair shop. His hands often smelled faintly of motor oil, but he always scrubbed them carefully before he picked me up.
There was no laboratory in this home, no device meant to prove perfection. There was only my father, my mother, and me. I was their only child.
When I got sick, they took turns sitting by my bed. If I said something hurt, they held me first, then called the pediatrician.
When I spoke, they put down their phones and listened. If there was one last piece of my favorite food in the house, they saved it for me.
I grew up slowly under their care.
When I was little, if I fell outside, they came running to check my knees. Once they saw it was only a scrape, Dad put a bandage on it and Mom carried me to the porch to rest.
If I wanted ice cream, they didn’t always say yes, but they explained why. On weekends, my favorite flavor often appeared in the freezer anyway.