i borrowed his computer to print a shipping label and saw a folder of pictures of his ex. i wouldn't have opened it, except the subfolder was labeled 'voice' and contained recordings from their old relationship
when i asked him about it, he admitted he'd created a chatbot patterned after her appearance and personality. he said it helped him process the breakup. then he admitted he still talked to that bot every night, after telling me he was tired
i wasn't angry that he had a complicated past. i was angry that he'd built a room inside our relationship where i wasn't allowed to exist. he kept saying the conversation was harmless because it wasn't a real person
i told him i needed to know whether he wanted a future with me or a permanent recreation of yesterday. he deleted the folder in front of me. i told him deleting files wasn't the same as answering the question