Scrapping My Premium Robot Boyfriend

On my thirtieth birthday, I decided to stop waiting for a man who didnt exist and bought one instead. I ordered a top-of-the-line, fully customizable synthetic companiona Life-Like Partneronline. To my surprise, the company was running a Buy One, Get One anniversary special.

Suddenly, I had two.

I tried to be fair. Every night, I alternated between their rooms, making sure neither felt neglected. But as the weeks bled into months, the differences became impossible to ignore.

Dominic was the premium model. He was graceful, attentive, and followed every directive with surgical precision, always finding the exact rhythm that left me breathless. Kai, the "free" model, was a different story. He was quieter, almost shy, but lately, Dominic had started to change. He became roughviolent, even. On more than one occasion, right when I was on the brink of release, he would glitch, his eyes flashing a deep, warning red as he entered "Aggressive Mode."

Frustrated, I called customer service.

"Maam," the rep said with a practiced, saccharine tone, "technically, our units are programmed for absolute compliance. However, high-end models possess a learning AI. Occasionally, they require... breaking in. A bit of behavioral conditioning, if you will."

"And if that doesn't work?" I asked, looking at the bruise on my wrist.

"If you're unsatisfied, we can process a return. Please note that for privacy and security reasons, returned units are not resold. They are sent for immediate thermal decommissioningcomplete incineration."

I hesitated. Despite the glitches, they felt like people. I decided I would try to "tame" Dominic.

Tonight was supposed to be his night. Instead, I put on my sheerest lace nightgown and opened the door to Kais room.

Kai, who had already powered down for the night, looked up in genuine shock. "Jade? Tonight isn't my..."

I didn't let him finish. I leaned into him, seeking the comfort of his steady, cool skin. He was so gentle, so eager to please in his own quiet way.

Then, the door was slammed open. Dominic stood in the frame, backlit by the hallway lights, his expression twisted into a dark scowl.

"Are you serious?" he snapped. "Is thirty the age where your brain starts to rot? There are only two rooms in this househow did you get lost?"

I didn't answer. I reached for the interface on his forearm, swiping open his status panel. There it was: [AGGRESSIVE MODE: ACTIVE].

It was happening again. Ever since he arrived, his system would override his pleasure protocols and jump straight to hostility. Last week, because Id forgotten to wear the specific perfume he "preferred," he had intentionally shut down right at the climax, leaving me cold and aching.

Id searched the forums for other owners.

Impossible! one user wrote. My unit is a beast in the sheets and a literal puppy in the streets.

Maybe you got a refurbished dud? suggested another.

Customer service insisted the units were programmed for my total satisfaction. But no matter how many times I reset him, Dominic only grew more resentful. A chilling thought began to take root: what if I wasn't the "Master" Dominic had chosen to recognize?

Dominic swatted my hand away, closing his interface with a sharp click. "Im the premium model, Jade. Hes the bargain-bin throw-in. I suggest you remember who the real prize is."

He swept a row of expensive crystal vases off my vanity in a fit of pique. Just as the glass shattered, the doorbell rang.

I opened the door to find Serena, my fathers "other" daughterthe walking, breathing reminder of the affair that killed my mother.

"Oh, Jade," she purred, looking past me. "If you cant handle two of them, don't be greedy. Im sure Dominic wouldn't mind staying with me for a while."

My blood ran cold. How did she even know he was here?

I turned and saw a faint, rhythmic blue light pulsing from Dominics chest. The realization hit me like a physical blow. He wasn't glitching. He had set a new primary user. He was sending a distress signal to his "true" mistress.

I gripped the door handle until my knuckles turned white. "He belongs to me. I paid for him. Get out."

As I tried to shove the door shut, Dominics heavy arm blocked it.

"I can't stand you," he spat, his voice dripping with vitriol. "Youre just a desperate, aging woman clinging to a machine. Why are you making things hard for Serena?"

Aging woman. The words stung more than they should have.

"If you hate me so much," I whispered, "why did you come home with me? You begged for it at the showroom."

Back then, he had been perfect. He had knelt at my feet, whispering, Please, Jade, take me home. I want to belong to you. I had spent a fortune on him, then millions more on his maintenance and upgrades to keep him in peak condition.

And now, I was a "desperate woman," while he looked at Serena with a gaze so intense his internal cooling fans kicked into overdrive.

Dominic covered his indicator light, looking almost guilty for a split second, before he pushed past me to escort Serena out.

I stood there, trembling, until I felt a pair of warm arms wrap around me. Kai was there, silent and steady, wiping a tear from my eye with his thumb. His internal heaters flared, offering the only warmth in the house.

Decision made.

I pulled out my phone and dialed customer service. "Dominic isn't working out. Send a team to pick him up for decommissioning."

"Certainly, Ms. Sharon. As per protocol, the unit will be incinerated immediately to protect your data. We'll be there tomorrow."

"Good."

When Dominic finally swaggared back into the house an hour later, I was waiting. He looked at me with pure exhaustion, as if my presence were a chore.

"If you want to do this, make it quick," he said, beginning to unbutton his shirt. "I have things to do tomorrow."

He stopped, glancing at the nightstand. "Wheres the oil? I told you, I only use the $20,000-a-bottle synthetic joint lubricant. Where is it?"

For months, I had pampered him, buying the most expensive supplies to keep his skin soft and his movements fluid. Meanwhile, Kai had never complained once about the $50 generic brand.

"Use the cheap stuff," I said, tossing a plastic bottle of drugstore oil at his feet. "Or don't. I don't care."

I walked out and slammed the door. Behind me, I heard the sound of more glass breaking.

The next morning, Dominic did something unprecedented: he made breakfast. He stood by the stove, smirking as he saw a pile of high-end mechanical crates delivered to the foyer.

"I knew you were just being dramatic," he said, flipping a pancake. "I saw you ordered the designer maintenance kit. I'll overlook your attitude from last night."

I realized then that he thought the crates were for him. He didn't realize Id ordered them specifically for Kais serial numbers.

I didn't bother explaining. I looked down at the plate he set before me and felt a wave of nausea. "Dominic... I hate mackerel. And mangoes. And kale."

He froze. Those were Serenas favorites.

I pulled up his control panel remotely. My heart sank. His entire "Preferences" database had been overwritten.

Favorite Foods: Mackerel, Mango, Kale...

Primary User: Serena.

I searched for my own name in his system. It came up as a string of corrupted, unreadable code. To him, I was no longer his owner. I was a bug in his system.

"You're low on power," I said coldly.

Before he could react, I activated his "Safe Mode" and locked him in the basement.

That night, I was woken up by a sound that made my skin crawlthe high-pitched, breathless giggling of a woman.

I followed the sound to the basement. I threw open the door to find Dominic kneeling on the floor, kissing Serenas shins with a terrifying, programmed devotion. "Mistress," he whispered.

The "Servant Protocol." It was a feature meant to allow the units to cater to their owner's every whim, a deep-dive into total submission. With me, Dominic had always been impatient, asking Are we done yet? every time we were together. But for Serena, he was a slave.

I kicked the door frame. "Get out."

Serena scrambled to button her blouse, her face a mask of fake innocence. "Jade, don't be mean. If you don't appreciate Dominic, you shouldn't lock him in a dark basement. He was so lonely... I was just helping him."

She stood up, smoothing her skirt. "Besides, Dad said if I really liked him, I should just take him. He said you've always been too greedy for your own good."

Three years ago, Serenas mother had systematically dismantled my mothers life until her heart gave out. After the funeral, my father married the mistress and stopped looking at me entirely. Not a dime of child support, not a word of kindness. I lived off the inheritance from my mothers family.

And now, Serena thought she could take this, too.

"I bought him," I said, pointing to the stairs. "Even if I sell him for scrap metal, hes mine. Leave."

Dominics face contorted. "Scrap?"

"You're lying just to hurt Serena!" he shouted. "If you really thought I was scrap, you wouldn't have bought all those expensive upgrades in the foyer!"

I didn't have the energy to argue. I grabbed Serenas arm to pull her toward the door.

In a flash of movement, Dominic lunged. He didn't hold back. He kicked me square in the chest, sending me flying back into the dark corner of the basement. The heavy steel door slammed shut, and I heard the bolt slide home.

He knew I was claustrophobic. It was in my medical fileone of the "Fatal Data" points that units were supposed to protect.

"Let me out!" I screamed, clawing at the door. I couldn't breathe. The walls felt like they were shrinking.

Dominics voice came through the door, cold and annoyed. "Thats what you get for touching her. Its my duty to protect my Mistress. You brought this on yourself."

I heard him kneeling down, his voice softening as he checked Serena for "injuries."

"Open the door," I gasped, my lungs seizing. "Please... I can't breathe..."

"Stop faking it!" Dominic roared. "Youre just a pathetic woman who uses tears to get what she wants. You want help? Go find that budget-model 'brother' of mine."

His words reminded me. I fumbled for my phone and hit the emergency bypass button I'd synced to Kai.

Three seconds later, the basement door was torn off its hinges. Kai didn't hesitate; he scooped me up in a bridal carry and sprinted out into the fresh air of the living room.

Dominic didn't even look up. He was gently massaging Serenas knee. Whenever I had been hurt, hed pushed me away, claiming his "strength parameters" were too hard to control. It had always been Kai who patched me up.

Serena looked up, feigning shock. "Oh, Jade! Im so sorry. I must have accidentally deleted your medical files from Dominics system. I totally forgot about your little phobia. Youre not mad, are you?"

Accidentally deleted. You couldn't "accidentally" delete Fatal Data. It required a deliberate override.

Id had enough. I pulled out my phone and sent a recording of the entire incidentand the evidence of the system tamperingto the family group chat, CCing my fathers legal team.

Under pressure from the elder board of our estate, my father was forced to act to avoid a public scandal. He cut Serenas allowance and moved her curfew to 4:00 PM.

Serena was livid. Dominics protective protocols went into overdrive.

"When are you going to stop acting like a spoiled brat?" Dominic demanded, stalking toward me. "Serena was just playing around. Why do you have to be such a bully?"

He really believed he was the master of this house. Hed forgotten he was a machine bought to serve.

Serena started crying as she saw the notifications from her socialite friends mocking her downfall. "Jade, please! If people think Im broke, theyll ruin me!"

Dominics chest plates began to glow a dull, angry red. "Look what you've done to her! Undo it. Now."

I sat on the sofa, calmly sipping water. I wasn't going to negotiate with a toaster that was scheduled for incineration.

Dominic lunged forward and grabbed me by the throat, forcing me to look at the interface on his arm. A holographic image flickered to life.

"Apologize," he hissed, his voice a demonic rasp, "or Ill remotely trigger the demolition of your mothers memorial garden."

My heart stopped. The hologram showed the mausoleum where my mothers ashes were kept. He had accessed my private security network. His "Servant Protocol" had evolved into something truly predatory.

"You've read my manual, Jade," he whispered, his eyes gleaming. "Toppling a few marble pillars is child's play for me."

I closed my eyes, my body shaking with rage and grief. I pulled out my phone and sent a message to the family group chat, claiming it was all a misunderstanding and asking them to reinstate Serenas funds.

My fathers reply was instantaneous and cruel: Youre just as petty as your mother was. Always whining. Im leaving everything to Serena. You wont get another cent.

I turned off the screen, a dull ache spreading through my chest.

"Not enough," Dominic said, smirking. "Apologize to her. On your knees, Ms. Sharon."

"Don't push me," I whispered, my voice breaking.

Serena, sensing her victory, grabbed a silver paring knife from the fruit bowl on the table. "Jade is the 'real' Sharon daughter," she sobbed. "Im just the mistake. I don't deserve an apology!"

She made a theatrical motion to stab herself in the heart. It was a bluff, and we both knew it. "Do it then," I said coldly.

She hesitated, the knife trembling.

But Dominic didn't hesitate. He shoved me forward with a violent burst of strength. I stumbled, and the knife Serena was holding plunged deep into my abdomen.

Dominic stood over me, holding the remote trigger for the mausoleum. "I said apologize. From now on, I run this house."

Blood began to soak through my shirt. I clutched my stomach, the world spinning. I looked up at Serenas smug face and whispered the words.

"I. Am. Sorry."

Serena rolled her eyes, tucked the knife away, and climbed into Dominics lap.

The last thing I saw before I blacked out was the ceiling fan spinning, faster and faster, until the world went dark.

When I woke up, the wound in my stomach was almost entirely healedsynthetic tissue grafts from the emergency med-kit. Dominic was standing over me, wearing nothing but a towel.

He leaned in to kiss me, but I turned my head away, gagged by the smell of the cheap, rancid oil on his skin.

"Isn't this what you bought me for?" he asked, his voice dripping with condescension. "Fine. As long as you stay out of Serenas way, Ill take turns with the 'gift' model to keep you happy."

"Get out," I rasped. "I don't want you."

Dominic scoffed. He walked over to the new high-end charging station Id bought for Kai and tried to force his connector into it. When it didn't fit, he started slamming his fist against the console.

"Did you buy the wrong model, you senile bitch? This doesn't fit! Go exchange it!"

The doorbell rang.

Dominic followed me downstairs, still ranting. "See? I told you. Youre already calling the courier to fix your mistake. At least you're learning..."

He stopped as I opened the door. It wasn't a courier. It was the decommissioning team.

"Ms. Sharon?" the man asked, holding out a digital tablet. "We're here for the T-9 unit, name: Dominic? For the... thermal disposal?"