Chapter 1

After the engagement party, Ethan Caldwell brought family and friends back to the apartment to show off the smart home system I had installed.

He held my hand and steered me to the middle of the living room.

"From now on, you have the highest access in this house."

I laughed and said it three times.

"Close the curtains."

The system didn't respond.

The guests laughed uncomfortably. Someone tried to smooth it over for me.

"Her voice print probably hasn't been registered yet, right?"

Ethan's expression shifted. He was about to end the demonstration.

Then the ceiling lit up, and a woman's voice filled every wall.

"Ethan, I'm home."

The curtains slid shut on their own. The thermostat dropped to sixty-six degrees. Warm accent lighting rolled across the whole apartment.

The system replied gently, "Welcome home, Vivian Shaw."

The room went silent.

Vivian Shaw. The woman Ethan had lost three years ago. The one he'd never really let go of.

I stood there in the light with my hands and feet turning cold.

I had watched the crew install every line of this system myself, working late into the night alongside them.

But it remembered that she couldn't stand the heat, remembered she liked this exact lighting, remembered the soft lilt at the end of her voice when she called Ethan's name.

I was the one it didn't recognize.

Ethan yanked the master power cord out of the wall.

"It's just a memorial program. Don't take it to heart," he said, his voice rough.

A second later, the darkened screen lit up again on its own.

Her face. Vivian's face. It appeared on the wall and smiled at me.

"Outsider, Iris Langley. Please leave my home."

…

I clutched the water glass Ethan pressed into my hand. The heat of it burned my palm red.

Ethan came back to himself and moved to block the projection.

I stared at his back.

"Why are you standing in her way?"

He turned, and something flickered across his face.

"Iris. Don't do this right now."

"I'll delete it after everyone leaves."

I let out a small laugh.

"I'm doing this?"

"This is our engagement party. And your system just called me an outsider in front of every guest in the room."

Someone next to us tried to defuse it.

"Come on. Smart systems glitch all the time. And you know, Vivian's gone. It's not really right to rush and erase things a dead person left behind."

I turned to look at whoever had said it. They shut up.

Ethan took my hand, his fingers tightening around mine.

"I know this hurts."

"Give me a little time. Don't make a scene in front of everyone."

I pulled my hand free.

"Which one of us is making a scene right now?"

Ethan didn't answer.

He reached for my hand again.

"Iris. You're my fiancée."

The system responded tenderly, "Mistress designation error detected. Suggested address: Vivi."

The whole room fell silent.

Ethan crossed to the main console and started ripping cables out. He talked as he did it.

"An old recording got triggered by accident. It's not what you think."

I set the glass down.

"Ethan. Don't bother. I'm leaving."

I walked to the entryway. The lock lit up red.

"Iris Langley does not have after-hours exit privileges. Please wait for owner authorization."

I stared at the words and clenched my fingers.

During the installation Ethan had said the paperwork was a hassle and let me register every verification account in my own name. And yet somehow I was the only person in this apartment without permission to leave.

I pressed the door release three times. The red light never went out.

Ethan came over and opened the door with his fingerprint.

The lock clicked. And through the speakers came Vivian's voice again.

"Ethan. Don't leave me."

Ethan's hand froze on the handle.

I didn't rush him.

All he had to do was pull the door open and offer to walk me out, and I would have found a reason to convince myself to stay.

He looked back at the projection wall.

"Tonight's been a mess. Can you just not leave? Please."

I let go of the handle. I didn't argue anymore.

He led me to the guest room.

There was a bottle of pillow spray on the nightstand. There was a name on the label.

Vivian.

I picked it up and dropped it into the trash.

Ethan came in, bent down, and fished it back out.

"They don't sell this scent anymore," he said.

I asked, "Is everything of Vivian's more important than me?"

He paused. Then he came over and put his arms around me.

His voice went low.

"No. The person I'm marrying is you."

I closed my eyes. But the bottle was still in his hand.

Sometime in the middle of the night, the guest room lights came on by themselves.

The system announced softly, "Please practice Vivian's goodnight recording, Iris."