The entire Stellar Federation knew it: Marshal Orion Thorne was notoriously brutal in bed—tireless, inventive, and utterly uninhibited. As his designated Psychic Stabilizer, I had replaced my organic limbs with mechanical prosthetics, transforming myself into the most “durable” woman by his side. One day, after my fourth mechanical arm had been twisted clean off, I went to the cybernetics lab for repairs. There, I saw Orion, his touch tender, gently kissing a fragile, un-augmented Human. His adjutant, startled, jokingly asked him, “Can’t you control your rampaging psychic energy? Why are you so rough with Seraphina Vance, yet so gentle with her?” Orion’s eyes were cold, dismissive. “I have to release it somehow. Lily is too delicate; I’m afraid of hurting her.” My heart shattered. Tears streamed down my face, hot and stinging. I pulled out my comm-unit and dialed a professor at the Federation’s Cybernetic Institute. “I agree to the body decomposition and consciousness upload to the Cloud. Come for me in three days.” 1 “Ms. Vance, have you chosen your new mechanical arm?” The gentle voice of the cybernetics salesperson broke through my daze, snapping me back to the present. I painfully pulled my gaze away from the sight of them, my voice hoarse and raw. “Just a standard model.” Before, to ensure Orion’s utmost pleasure, I always chose the most advanced, top-tier components for my replacements, then had them covered with a layer of premium bio-synthetic skin, indistinguishable from real flesh. But now, I had no intention of catering to him anymore. From the core-chamber behind me, Lily Carmichael’s saccharine voice floated out. “Orion, darling, you really shouldn’t! Such an expensive core, and you just bought it like that!” She giggled. “I only said it looked pretty; it’s not like I’d ever use it.” A core was what powered a mechanical prosthetic. I had struggled for a long time, trying to work up the courage to ask Orion about getting a better core for myself, just to lighten the burden of repair costs. But Orion, his back to me as he dressed, casually tossed a cheap, obsolete core my way. “You don’t need anything expensive. You’re always replacing your prosthetics anyway.” At the time, I thought his logic made sense. After all, one good core could buy thousands of prosthetic parts. But today, I knew the truth: it wasn’t that I didn’t need a good one. It was that I wasn’t worthy of one. My chest ached, a swollen, throbbing pain. I paid the bill, a dazed emptiness consuming me, and stumbled out the door. Repairs here were exorbitantly expensive; I always installed them myself once I got home. Late that night, Orion returned. He hung up his coat, then strode over and pulled me into his arms. “Seraphina,” he murmured, his voice a low rumble, “look what I brought you.” A dull gray core was pressed into my palm. Orion waited for me to jump up in surprise, to lean in and kiss his cheek. But I merely managed a stiff, strained smile, then gently refused. “I don’t need such a fine core.” This core, I knew, was nothing more than a complimentary gift that came with Lily’s purchase. Earlier, while scrolling through my datapad, I’d seen Lily’s shared life photos. That astronomical “pigeon blood” crimson core had been polished down, its essence removed, leaving only the useless parts, which she wore as a necklace around her neck. Orion’s brows instantly furrowed. He scrutinized me, his gaze sharp. “What are you trying to pull?” he demanded. “Didn’t you say before you wanted a good core? Now that I’ve given it to you, you’re giving me attitude?” Orion Thorne was the Federation’s Marshal. Even the supreme ruler of the Imperial Senate had to defer to him; no one dared defy him. What’s more, his psychic energy was notoriously unstable, liable to erupt at any moment. What I was doing was pure suicide. He grabbed my wrist, his lips twisting into a cold sneer. “I think I’ve given you too much leeway lately.” His voice dropped, laced with menace. “Strip. Now. And kneel.” 2 This was his usual method of humiliating me. Before, I always worried about angering him, afraid he would cast me aside. No matter how degrading his commands, I would obey. But this time, I acted out of character. I met his dark, brooding eyes, and softly, calmly, said, “Let’s end this, Marshal.” I never called him Marshal. Only Orion. I used that intimate address, hoping to pull us closer, to cling to that pathetic flicker of hope in my heart. Orion never corrected me, tacitly allowing my transgression. I was naive enough to believe I was special. The truth, however, proved how deluded I had been. The woman he truly cherished, the one he held in the palm of his hand, was Lily Carmichael. A storm brewed in Orion’s obsidian eyes. He gripped my throat, his voice low and menacing. “I’ll give you one more chance, Seraphina Vance.” His grip tightened. “What did you just say?” This was the prelude to his rage. I could already feel the agitated hum of his psychic energy, potent enough to crush me in the next second. But I offered a faint, sardonic smile. “Marshal, wouldn’t Ms. Carmichael mind you playing so… rough with me?” The mere mention of Lily’s name caused Orion’s expression to change instantly. His piercing gaze seemed to bore through my heart. “Don’t test my limits,” he snarled. Lily Carmichael was his limit. I was merely a tool for his release. I laughed at myself, a bitter, self-deprecating sound, but the tears, unbidden, streamed down my face. “I wouldn’t dare, Marshal.” Seeing my tears, Orion instinctively loosened his grip. He rubbed his throbbing temples, his brows furrowed. “Lily knows you’re my Stabilizer; she won’t mind. And when we’re married, you can still live here.” He never considered my wishes, dictating my entire existence. I had utterly had enough of this life. Fortunately, in three days, I would be free of it all. Orion seemed to think I had conceded. He reached out and ruffled my long hair. “Good girl. Go take a shower. Tonight, I’ll take you to see the Starglow Blossoms.” They were a critically endangered species across the entire galaxy, a symbol of unwavering love. Five years ago, Orion had brought one back for me. I treated it as a token of his affection, tending to it meticulously for a long time. When the flower withered, I was heartbroken for what felt like an eternity. Looking back now, I realized there was never any love there to begin with, which is why it never truly flourished. “I…” I wanted to say I didn’t want to go, but Orion’s sharp gaze pinned the words in my throat. Never mind. I couldn’t provoke him. If Orion suspected anything, a single command from him could make the Cybernetic Institute refuse my consciousness upload. Like a zombie, I followed him onto his private sky-jet. The landscape outside, from bustling metropolises to desolate wastelands, blurred past. My hands clenched tighter and tighter, afraid Orion was tricking me, leading me to my death. “Don’t be nervous. We’ll be there soon.” Orion’s voice was deep, sensual, carrying a hint of casual indifference. My choked breath slowly returned to a normal rhythm. He was right. If he wanted to kill me, he could do it in public, and no one would dare question him. In the distance, faint blue lights appeared, growing in number as we drew closer. I hadn’t expected so many. My eyes widened, a flicker of anticipation, however faint, stirring in my heart. Just then, Orion’s comm-unit chimed. Lily Carmichael’s helpless voice drifted out. “Orion, darling, I can’t sleep. I feel so awful.” She whined, “Come tell me a bedtime story.” 3 My heart plummeted, crushing all hope. All my expectations dissolved into nothingness. Orion had actually given her unrestricted access to his comms. No matter if he was in a top-secret meeting or on a critical mission, Lily Carmichael’s messages would play directly. My communications, however, were always on ‘do not disturb.’ My heart felt gripped again, each beat a thunderous ache. Even though I had decided to let go and leave, I couldn’t stop the anguish, pitying my past self. Orion slammed on the brakes after hearing the message, abruptly changing course. The Starglow Blossoms receded into the distance. As we passed a dark, barren planet, Orion opened the sky-jet’s hatch, his voice chillingly detached. “Get out.” I thought I misheard, turning my head stiffly to stare at him. This was a dangerous zone; space pirates were known to frequent these parts. But Orion, impatient, simply urged me again. “Lily always has trouble sleeping. I need to get her a companion droid.” The private sky-jet only had two seats. He wanted to buy Lily a droid, so I had to get off. I was abandoned on the desolate planet, my heart as dead and still as the world around me. Orion left without a backward glance, even accelerating to full thrust. My fingers trembled as I fumbled blindly with my comm-unit, trying to find a flight that could pick me up from here. I didn’t breathe a sigh of relief until my comm-unit finally registered a response. I clasped my hands together, silently praying I would be safe until the flight arrived. “WHOOSH!” The deafening roar of a starship ripped through the silence of the void. I looked towards the vessel approaching in the distance, my face turning ashen. Space pirates! Ignoring everything else, I frantically initiated a video call to Orion. A regular message wouldn’t get through to him. The video connected, and I choked out a desperate plea for help. “Save me! There are space pirates here!” Orion’s voice, thick with suppressed rage, hammered against my heartstrings, shattering them further. “Seraphina Vance! I just got Lily to sleep! Is it really necessary to invent such a ridiculous lie just because I left you on another planet for a bit?! If you wake Lily, I swear I won’t let you get away with it!” He cruelly cut the video feed, convinced I was lying. The space pirates had intercepted the comms signal and located me. I was dragged onto their ship like a dead dog. “Isn’t this Orion Thorne’s Psychic Stabilizer?” A space pirate sneered, lifting my chin with the toe of his boot. “Stabilizer? She’s just a plaything for his release, isn’t she!” “You’re right! Probably already broken by Orion, too!” “Orion Thorne’s woman… just thinking about it gets me excited, hahahaha!” The inhumane torment lasted through the night and continued into the next day. My torso convulsed, my mechanical arms and legs completely ruined. I lay on the deck, my eyes empty, filled with utter despair. Around noon, the pirate captain’s comm-unit buzzed. Lily Carmichael’s delicate voice drifted from it: “Is she dead yet?” 4 I struggled to open my blood-crusted eyes, glaring at Lily Carmichael’s projection on the comm-unit, my heart seething with hatred. The pirate captain, confused, asked her, “No, she’s not dead. But wouldn’t it be better if she was?” Lily sneered, her voice turning venomous and chilling. “Sometimes, being alive can be far more painful than being dead. In a bit, just dump her back. Make sure it’s a big, noticeable commotion. I want to see what face she’ll have left to cling to Orion.” I had already decided to leave! Why were they doing this to me?! My throat was shattered, I could only scream and wail internally. My still-intact left eye, a mechanical one, stared blankly ahead, and I heard the faint whirring of gears grinding. A robotic voice chimed: [Recording complete.] No one knew that my left eye was a prosthetic. When I decomposed my body tomorrow night and uploaded my consciousness to the Cloud, Orion would receive this perfect gift. Lily Carmichael was so deeply entangled with these space pirates; if Orion continued to favor and protect her, it would be an act of treason and colluding with enemies! Even as Marshal, he would face the wrath of the entire Federation, eventually being annihilated by their combined forces. The space pirates, following Lily’s instructions, dumped me onto the busiest street of the Federation’s capital planet. In an instant, I became the focus of every passerby’s horrified attention. “Oh my God, so much blood!” “All her limbs are broken, and her right eye is gone. How horrifying!” Everyone exclaimed in shock. Suddenly, someone shrieked, “Look at her lower half!” A new wave of horrified whispers washed over me. I trembled with fear, desperate to hide, but with only my torso intact, I couldn’t move an inch. Someone recognized me, and many unpleasant words hung unspoken in the air, only making the situation more agonizing. Orion, upon receiving the news, arrived with astonishing speed. The surrounding crowds didn’t even need his troops to forcefully disperse them; they scattered like startled birds. This man, accustomed to battle and bloodshed, now trembled before my broken, mutilated body. His eyes reddened, veins throbbing at his temples. “Seraphina…” I remained utterly unresponsive, completely still. Orion, despite his severe germophobia, personally bent down and lifted me into his arms. “I’m so sorry. I never imagined it would be like this. I sent people to look for you, but they only found your comm-unit.” No matter what he said, I remained silent. He thought I was angry with him, blaming him. For the first time, he didn’t scold me for being unreasonable. It was only when he brought me to the Starfall Hospital that they discovered my larynx had been crushed; I simply couldn’t speak. He furiously ordered a relentless hunt for the space pirates. Then, in a rare display of tenderness, he spoke to me. “Don’t be afraid. I’ll stay with you always. I’ll get you the most expensive mechanical prosthetics, the finest core.” I finally reacted, my eye twitching. What’s the use of that? I thought. I won’t need a body anymore soon anyway. Suddenly, a knock echoed on the ward door. It was Orion’s adjutant. With Orion’s permission, he pushed the door open and whispered to him, “Marshal, Ms. Carmichael is here.” Orion abruptly stood up, striding quickly out of the ward. But it was too late; he collided head-on with Lily Carmichael. “Lily, why are you here? It’s all bloodstained in here.” Lily’s eyes were red and swollen from crying. “I came to apologize to Seraphina, boo-hoo.” She sobbed. “It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have asked you to tell me a bedtime story just because I couldn’t sleep.”
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