My King, My Coma Patient

“My husband, Ethan, lay in a coma, drowning in medical bills that threatened to crush me. Desperate, I took a lifeline: an offer to return to Elysium, the hyper-realistic virtual world I helped create, for a reality show. My task: "reconnect" with AI King Aiden, a being I' d shaped, poured my heart into, years ago. But the Aiden I found was a cold, opulent stranger, surrounded by cameras and a smug rival queen, Nova, who reveled in every public humiliation. He dismissed me, mocked my desperate plea for funds, even specifically mentioning Ethan' s rising medical debt. Yet, his words were at odds with small, secret acts-a hidden wooden star, a fleeting, tender gaze-that unnervingly mirrored someone else. How could this advanced AI feel so disturbingly familiar, like the man I was desperately trying to save in the real world? The show, hungry for drama, then demanded a humiliating, public kiss to prove my "devotion." I closed my eyes, whispered "I accept," and braced myself for the performance. But then, chaos erupted. A system attack plunged Elysium into crisis, Nova' s frantic betrayal exposed her true mercenary nature, and Aiden, suddenly a blur of combat, pulled my flickering avatar into a desperate embrace. "Don't leave," he rasped, his voice raw with a fear of abandonment I knew too well from Ethan. In that shattering moment, the impossible truth hit me: Aiden wasn't just like Ethan. He was Ethan.”