Bits of Love, Lines of Code
Chapter 89 - 84 – “Stirrings in the Dark”

Chapter 89: Chapter 84 – “Stirrings in the Dark”

Tokyo – A few days later

The world had become softer around Aoi and Ren — slower, sweeter.

Sunlight filtered through the windows of their countryside home, where fresh wildflowers bloomed just outside. Aoi had started humming more in the mornings, her hands instinctively resting over her still-flat stomach. Ren, though busier than ever managing his AI startup and security upgrades, had kept the lab closed for now — devoting his mornings and evenings entirely to her.

"Morning sickness?" Ren asked gently, bringing her a warm herbal tea.

"Not too bad today," Aoi said, smiling. "Lucia gave me reminders for meals and temperature tracking before you even woke up."

Lucia hovered in the background, her cylindrical form pulsing softly. "I have calibrated daily monitoring based on pregnancy symptoms gathered from a private medical dataset."

Ren chuckled. "A bit much, but appreciated."

Their life felt peaceful — but peace, like glass, was fragile.

Meanwhile...

A black vehicle idled quietly at the back of the hospital.

Inside the building, a nurse gasped as she found the bed empty.

Saki Himura was gone.

The surveillance footage showed nothing but flickering static. Her discharge hadn’t been authorized. And her personal belongings had vanished along with her.

Tokyo – A dim, hidden apartment, not far from Ren’s office

Saki sat by the window, bandages still fresh on her arm. Her leg brace made movement slower, but not impossible.

Her eyes, once soft and innocent, had hardened.

She flipped through photos on her phone: Aoi glowing in the hospital, Ren’s hand protectively on her back, Lucia hovering in the background.

"She thinks she’s won," Saki muttered.

Stacks of printed AI schematics, blurred screenshots of Lucia’s early phases, and old blueprints of Ren’s underground lab covered her desk.

"I’ll take back what’s mine."

Back in the countryside home

Ren stood in the garden, hands stained with soil. He had begun building a small greenhouse beside their house — Aoi had always said she wanted to grow herbs and vegetables with their future child.

He turned as Aoi stepped outside with a slight yawn, draped in a soft sweater. "Smells good out here."

"It’ll smell even better when we plant strawberries," Ren said.

She smiled warmly, leaning against him. "I’ve been thinking about names."

"Already?" he teased.

"I want something that means hope," she whispered. "After everything."

Ren kissed her forehead. "Then hope it will be."

But as twilight fell across the field and the stars began to shimmer above their home, a dark screen lit up in a distant apartment.

Saki zoomed in on a satellite-captured photo of their property. The files Ren had locked in his lab... the AI system... the baby...

One by one, she pinned photos to her wall — strings connecting everything.

"You took everything from me," she whispered. "Now I’ll make you feel what I felt."