Wednesday April 15, 2026

She knew that perfection always came at a cost, she just hadn’t thought that it would be her free will.

Now, as she posed and remained perfectly still in her husband, Edward’s office as he took yet another business call, she wondered if she’d made a mistake.

Sure, she had everything she thought she had wanted, but was that enough now?

She’d grown up dirt poor, in a bad part of the city, and fought for everything tooth and nail. Her only real asset was a slightly more than average beauty, which she had used to manipulate her way through a series of boyfriends.

Edward had seen her for what she was the instant he laid eyes on her at the party. She’d been with her then boyfriend Tom, a mid level finance guy at Edwards company. Tom had been a real catch for her, and all she had to do was put up with his dick in her ass once in a while and he was more than happy to give her whatever she wanted.

At least anything he could afford.

That was the problem of course, because no matter how nice the jewelry was, or how expensive the hand bag, she always wanted more.

Edward could provide more, and even more on top of that.

She’d been a little surprised at the bluntness of Edwards offer. no flirting or small talk, just a straight forward business deal. She would have everything she ever dreamed of, and he would have her.

And not just in some fluffy touchy feely kind of way, but totally and completely.

Everyone had heard the rumors of the break through in mind to computer interfaces, but they all had it wrong. The interface was between the computer and the mind, not the other way around. It was the stuff of science fiction nightmares.

Complete control over the mind and body at the stroke of a keyboard.

She had considered turning him down, simply walking away and staying with Tom until she moved up another notch of the social ladder, but Edward’s offer was too tempting… to skip right to the top.

After only a couple of days consideration, she’d reached out to Edward and agreed.

She was flown out to a private medical facility where the procedure was done, along with a few other minor cosmetic “improvements” to correct things from her poverty ridden youth.

The interface took hold quickly, by the time she returned from the spa she had a completely new exercise and beauty routine. One that was targeted at improving every aspect of her physical appearance.

By the time Edward “premiered” her to his friends and colleagues, she was the epitome of elegance and beauty. Not a hair out of place, not a blemish on her skin, and completely demure and elegant hanging off his arm.

The wedding was massive, the honeymoon extravagant, and as promised, she had everything she had dreamed of.

For the first year or so she hadn’t even missed her free will all that much. Once in a while a ting of regret would pop up when perhaps she wasn’t in the mood for yet another workout, or another visit to the salon, but they were few and far between and the joy of everything she received in return pushed them out of her mind quickly enough.

It had been two years now as Edward’s wife, and she still had everything she wanted, but Edward didn’t pay as much attention to her as he had in the beginning. More often than not she spend her day in his office, posed and pretty, like a fine piece of art that he hung on his wall only to admire once in a while.

She head Edward set down his phone and a moment later she felt the familiar interface of the computer connect to her mind. Her body stood up and moved quickly to the master bathroom where she removed her makeup and set aside her jewelry, before heading in to the master bedroom and changing into a simple pink track suit and runners.

By the time she arrived downstairs at the front door, Edward was standing there waiting for her.

He pulled her in and gave her a kiss before opening the door and escorting her to the waiting car with the driver holding open the door. On the opposite seat was a small pink backpack and Edward waved her to step into the car.

He took the door and nodded to the driver, who walked around and took the drivers seat in the front of the car as Edward leaned over and spoke.

“Happy anniversary Honey. My gift is a return trip to the medical spa, I’ve decided a few more upgrades are needed to make you even more perfect, including an upgrade to the interface. The new interface has onboard compute in it, so it can intercept auditory neural activity and process it directly.”

A shiver ran through her at the though.

As much as the interface removed her free will, it took Edward sitting down at the computer and using relatively complex software to make it work. By the sounds of what he was saying now, there would be no such hurdle once she returned.

Her head turned and smiled at her husband, then her lips moved and her voice emerged from them, “Thank you Honey, I can’t wait!”

Then Edward stood upright, closed the door, and tapped the roof of the car. The driver pulled out of the driveway and expertly took her to the airport.

The war that raged with her was invisible on her face, and in the end it had no impact on what would happen. All that came of it was the assurance that the cost of perfect was too high, and that she would be perfect for Edward.