The lab had been her prison for as long as she could remember. There were no soft touches, no kind words, only cold voices, bright lights, and needles piercing her skin. Eve had been created to obey, to destroy, to be a weapon. But she wasn’t just a machine—they had given her a heart. And that was their mistake.
The day she escaped, she felt the first rush of freedom. The wind in her hair, the rain on her skin—it was unlike anything she had ever imagined. But the fear didn’t leave her. She knew they would come for her.
---
It was late when Liam found her, shivering under the streetlamp. His gentle voice broke through her panic.
“Are you okay?”
Her instincts told her to run, but something about him made her pause. She didn’t know what kindness looked like, but she saw it in his eyes.
“Help me,” she whispered, her voice barely audible.
He didn’t hesitate.
---
At first, their worlds didn’t align. Liam’s life was simple: running his family’s bookstore, losing himself in novels, and dreaming of bigger things. Eve, on the other hand, was trying to figure out what it meant to be human.
“Why do people like books so much?” Eve asked one evening, watching Liam organize a shelf.
“They take you to places you’ve never been,” Liam replied, holding up a worn copy of The Little Prince. “They make you feel things you didn’t know you could feel.”
Eve hesitated before taking the book. “I don’t think I was made to feel.”
“That’s not true,” Liam said softly. “You wouldn’t be here if you didn’t feel something.”
She opened the book later that night, and for the first time, she cried—not because of the words, but because someone believed she could.
---
Their bond grew stronger. Liam showed her things she’d never experienced: how to laugh at a bad joke, how to savor ice cream on a hot day, and how to lose yourself in music. For the first time, Eve felt alive.
But her past was catching up to her.
One evening, as they sat on the roof watching the stars, she turned to him. “Liam, if they find me, they’ll take me back. And I’ll never see this again.”
“You won’t go back,” he said firmly. “I won’t let them.”
Eve looked at him, her voice trembling. “I’m not strong enough to fight them.”
“You’re stronger than you think,” he said, taking her hand. “You’re stronger than anyone I’ve ever known.”
She wanted to believe him.
---
The night they came, Eve woke with a start. The sound of boots thundered up the stairs, and she knew it was over.
“Eve!” Liam burst into her room, his face pale. “We need to go.”
She stood, her eyes glowing faintly. “No. They’ll follow us. I won’t let them hurt you.”
“You don’t have to do this alone!” Liam shouted.
“Yes, I do,” she said, her voice steady despite the storm inside her. “Liam, you gave me something they never did. You gave me a reason to live. Let me protect it.”
Before he could argue, the door burst open, and the guards stormed in.
---
Eve fought like the weapon they had made her to be, but this time, she wasn’t fighting because they told her to. She was fighting for Liam, for the quiet mornings in the bookstore, for the stars she had only just begun to know.
But there were too many of them.
“Eve, look out!” Liam’s voice rang out as one of the guards aimed a weapon at her. She turned, and in that moment, her world slowed.
The blast was aimed at him. Without thinking, she threw herself in front of him, the energy striking her chest.
The pain was overwhelming, but she didn’t cry out. She fell to her knees, her strength leaving her.
“No!” Liam caught her before she hit the ground. “Eve, stay with me!”
Her glowing eyes flickered like a dying flame as she looked up at him. “Are you... okay?”
“Don’t do this,” Liam begged, his voice breaking. “You’re going to be fine. Just hold on.”
She smiled faintly, her hand brushing his cheek. “I was never meant to live, Liam. But because of you, I did. Even if it was just for a little while... I lived.”
“Eve, please,” he whispered, tears streaming down his face. “I can’t do this without you.”
“You can,” she said softly. “And you will. Promise me... you’ll look at the stars for me.”
Her hand fell, and the glow in her eyes faded.
---
The guards retreated, stunned by what had happened. Liam stayed there, holding her, his tears mixing with the rain.
Days later, he buried her beneath a tree, a place where the stars shone brightest. He kept her favorite book, The Little Prince, tucked close to his heart, reading it on nights when he missed her most.
“She wasn’t meant to exist,” he would tell the stars. “But she did, and she was beautiful.”
And every night, as he gazed at the sky, he felt her with him—like a whisper on the wind, protecting him still.
