1.5

According to System, the original Dianna had little to no contact with the man who sat beside me in the car. Their paths may have crossed at events, and once in her family home where her father had a meeting with the man; however, not even once had words been exchanged between them.

So why the fuck had he decided to marry and essentially kidnap me home?

Yes home. He had instructed Silas to drive us both to his fucking home. Leaving the corpse to rot in the hotel room behind us.

The car had been in an underground car park, a short lift ride away from the hotel room. I hadn't even had a chance to look at my surroundings since Eric pressed my head against his chest, so firmly I could barely breathe.

Luckily, he had set me down into the car and tucked me into the seatbelt, instead of maintaining his hold of me.

Now I could examine outside the window. So I chose to ignore the men inside the car and focus on what was outside of it.

It was late afternoon on a winter's day. The phone told me it was December the second and the year was twenty-twenty-six. Over three decades since I died.

Luckily, it was still London; however, the buildings were so tall and futuristic looking, mainly a mixture of concrete, metal, glass, and a lot of greenery.

People rushed around the streets without a care in the world, while the roads were congested with vehicles, yet despite that, there were no fumes. In fact, the air looked so clear and crisp. I really wanted to wind down the window and breathe it in.

The farther we traveled, the more familiar the surroundings began to appear, as well as the dirtier. Less glass and plant life, more concrete and graffiti.

Eventually, the car pulled up outside a three-story, white townhouse, on a more 'well off' street.

"Where are we?" I asked, with a niggling feeling, like I had been here before, but according to System, this Dianna certainly had not.

"Home," he looked up from his mobile phone and finally put it away.

There was only a small paved garden and driveway leading to a garage between the manor and the street, blocked by an old stone and iron fence and elaborately patterned iron gates. The car only stopped on the side of the street, the engine still running.

"Head to the office Silas, I'll head over later," he instructed and climbed out.

As he walked around the car, I couldn't help but take another curious glance at Silas. Not once had I heard the man speak, he was simply in his own little world until needed.

Eric opened the car door and practically dragged me out of the car into his arms again, then slammed the door shut.

Still holding me, he opened the gate and went straight to the front door.

To my surprise, it opened from the inside, a kind-looking middle-aged man held the door open, with a smile on his face.

"Welcome home Master," he bowed his head slightly, then turned to me.

Though he looked kind, there was something wrong about him, about his face. Something unnatural.

"That's because it's not natural, it's man-made," System seemed to tease me internally.

"Banks, this is your new madam, my wife, Dianna," Eric introduced me as we entered the door and he finally put me down.

The cold from the smooth tiled floor seemed to glue my feet still.

"I'm sure you're used to robot staff," he turned to me, gripping my wrist and extending my hand to Banks, "but don't be too alarmed by Banks, I built him myself."

I looked up at him, then at the 'robot' who looked no different than a human.

Banks shook my hand, giving me a gentle squeeze before returning his hand to his waist.

"I am fully integrated with the house Madam, making me able to take care of all your future needs and wants. You only need to call out if you require anything."

His voice was so… human-like.

Still, I think I preferred talking to Gloria over him. Something about him unnerved me…

Maybe I had watched too many sci-fi films at the theatres, but robotic people… none of those films ended well for humans.

"Just what kind of future is this?" I asked System internally.

"Not your worlds," it replied quickly, "this is an entirely different world, Host."

"Stop calling me Host," I snapped, feeling too weirded out.

"Are you alright?" Eric leaned to ask me softly in my ear, his breath tickling it.

Shrinking my neck, I looked up at him, my lips trembling, "my feet are cold." In fact, my entire body felt cold. So fucking cold.

"Make the madam a medicinal tea," Eric instructed Banks, kicked off his own shoes and took off his coat, then picked me back up to walk through the foyer towards the grand staircase.

Unlike before, my head was not buried in his chest, so I observed my surroundings cautiously.

He took me all the way up to the third floor, then into a large bedroom.

All of the furniture was grand and antique, yet there were things like a black box on the nightstand with the time and date written on a screen facing forwards, reminding me of the era I was really in. A one with robots and mobile phones.

"Are you still cold?" He asked, setting me onto the bed and pulling the dark blue throw from the bottom of it to wrap around me.

"Everything is crazy," I blankly stated. This whole world was fucking crazy.

"Or maybe you're crazy?" He arched a brow, then prodded the tip of my nose playfully.

I glared at him, confused at how he could repeat such a familiar action, despite there being no familiarity between us. It was no different than stabbing the knife deeper into my chest. The more he acted like my Eric, it ironically reminded me he was not my Eric.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked abruptly, pulling the thick, soft throw around my small frame tighter.

"Because you remind me of someone," he mumbled, then turned to open the door.

Banks entered, holding a tray with a teapot, a single teacup and saucer, and a plate of sweet snacks. He walked over, setting the tray onto the nightstand then turned to Eric, "Will there be anything else Master?"

"That's it for now, but prepare a nutritional dinner for the madam later," he instructed, then began pouring the tea into the teacup. It emitted a lavender scent.

Banks simply nodded at him, then me, before leaving the room, closing the door quietly.

"W-what's inside the tea?" I glanced at the teapot curiously, feeling the scent was a bit odd.

Eric blew on it gently, then lifted it towards my pursed lips.

"It's a green tea, one that I blended myself. It will help you relax, that's all."

Curiously, I took a sip.

"System what's inside of it? It taste's a bit funny though oddly familiar."

"Green tea, lavender, and erm… a bit of cannabis."

"You're drugging me?" I edged back from the teacup still in his hands.

He let out a rather exhausted sigh, then took a small drink himself, "See it's fine, drink some more, it will help you sleep better."

"Why do I need to sleep?" I frowned, pulling my knees to my chest.

"Because you need to rest," he rested his knee on the edge of the bed and leaned the cup to my lips, forcing me to drink a little more. Once the teacup was half empty, he set it aside, then raised the duvet, "Get in."

Despite the odd aftertaste, down to the cannabis, the lavender tasted so sweet and contradictory to the bitterness of the green tea. Somehow it had succeeded in winning over my tastebuds.

Still, it was cannabis. Wasn't that illegal?

I got such a scolding from him when he caught me smoking it in high school. No wait. That wasn't him. Maybe for some reason, cannabis was legal here?

Though he also just instructed his guy to kill someone in front of me before… so maybe he didn't care much for legalities?

Just what on Earth had happened to this Eric?

"That man-" He pressed a finger to my lips, shushing me.

Aggreviedly I glared up at him.

"Get into the bed."

Like a parent who had had their last button pressed, I noticed the familiar twitch of his brow that his patience was worn thin.

Abandoning the throw, I climbed under the covers obediently. Sitting upright against the plush pillows behind me.

"Good girl," he passed the cup into my hands, "try and finish it all and have one or two sweet treats before you sleep. I'll return after my last meeting, possibly around ten if I'm lucky."

I glanced at the bedside clock showing the time as four-thirty-two in the afternoon.

Was he really putting me down for a nap like a damn toddler?

"I'm not tired," I protested, practically hugging the teacup in my hands, "where's my phone?"

Eric hesitated, lingering a little too close to comfort at the edge of the bed.

"Do you not have it?" He asked.

"I…" I had thrown it on the floor in a panic earlier. "It's on the floor in the hotel room."

"I'll get it for you, but for now…" He walked around the bed to the nightstand with the clock. Opening the top drawer, he pulled out something that looked to be a rather large mobile phone, "you can play with this, so long you finish your drink."

Eager to take a look, I necked the tea like a shot, then grabbed it from him. There was a bunch of dots on the screen, instead of numbers above the thumbprint.

"You do this," he grabbed my finger and drew on the dots, unlocking it.

Alarmed by the sudden contact, I withheld my breath subconsciously, until he let go of me.

"Can you remember it?" He asked, still half leaning on the bed beside me.

No, I most certainly could not. As long as he touched me, my mind was rendered blank.

"I remembered it for you Host," System interrupted my thoughts.

"Yes," I nodded, then began looking at the pitiful few apps on the screen.

"You can do with it as you please, it's my spare," he instructed, then lingered over me awkwardly, "you'll be safe here with Banks, like I said, I built him myself and the house is a lot more secure than it looks…"

"I get it, you can go to work," I muttered, opening up the app that helped you download more apps.

Lips pressed firmly on my forehead again, too quick for me to dodge.

"Make sure you eat something and get some sleep, I'll have your father send your things later."

When he said the word father, a face appeared in my mind. I remembered. I actually remembered something.

My face lit up with excitement, "okay."

Stunned, he created some distance between us, standing back up.

"Bye then," I gave him a quick flash of a smile and began searching through the apps.

"Bye…" He cleared his throat and left quickly as if my smile had chased him away. I made a mental note to remember his reaction vividly for future use.