Page 44 of The SongBird's Love

There were two kinds of Parts.

First, for those in the Suburbs, Parts were people who had one of their limbs replaced by a bionic replica. If they really lost their limb in an accident, to a disease, or sold it, anyone could become a Part overnight. It wasn’t expensive to get an artificial replacement unless it was a vital organ. Some shops were even entirely dedicated to this business, selling various models and offering to perform the surgery on site. Still, they weren’t selling anything but artificial parts made of metal or plastic. At least in the Suburbs, that was what most people could afford. Eden’s legs were among those that were enhanced for combat purposes, one of the most expensive models, and she should have never been able to afford those in her birth condition.

The other kind of Part, those that no one talked about, was the Parts who received those discarded body parts. It was the case for most people at the Core. If they had a limb missing, an accident, a failing organ, they could get it replaced within a day. Anything could be bought nowadays, even a lung or a hand. People in the Core could probably afford to lose a finger a day if they were wealthy. Replacements could be created within minutes with their genetic data and DNA records from their SINs. Human flesh could be produced by machines like one would print a file.

The reason Parts were so hated was because some people had actually begun selling their limbs willingly. The Core couldn’t produce human flesh out of thin air, so they recycled it.

At first, it had come as a good way to use bodies instead of burning or burying them. Using mass-produced campaigns across the nation, companies had convinced people it was fine to sell their dead, as a good sum would come out of it, and they were reborn in a different way. After some reluctance, the green-washing had worked. So, for a few decades, the dead were sent. Nowadays, people didn’t wait to be dead anymore. Living limbs were sold at a much higher price, and people in the Suburbs were highly conscious of that.

As that business had gone overboard, Parts had appeared. Those people who had sold themselves while still alive. It had caused a massive divergence of opinions in the population. They were considered half-humans, as if they had sold their pride for a shortcut to money. Even those who didn’t become one willingly were treated in the same regard. The line between them and machines was blurred, and instead, they were considered filthy for selling their bodies to the people of the Core. The irony was, in that process, people had focused on hating the sellers instead of the buyers. The people in the Core had adapted to that new type of life, while in the Suburbs, the hatred for those who had sold their body parts, had only grown greater and greater.

People like Eden, who walked around with enhanced Parts, were considered the worst.

However, she never would have thought Dante De Luca was a Part too.

“...Only your eyes?” she asked.

“Only your legs?”

Eden rolled her eyes and went back to her silence. She wasn’t going to let herself be beaten by that little game of half-truths.

CHAPTER SEVEN

The car stopped, and she realized they were at their destination. As expected, they were at a very fancy Italian restaurant. A bit unsure, Eden got out of the car and grabbed her pups, keeping Beer and Bullet by her feet. De Luca didn’t seem to mind at all. In fact, he barely glanced at the pups before walking inside the restaurant.

It was extremely uncomfortable to walk inside a building with so many people glued to them, but Eden quickly understood this was a ritual. Six men stayed outside guarding the entrance, while two walked ahead of them, their weapons visible. Rolf was one step behind De Luca, on his right, while Eden was on his left. Although she didn’t like it, she hadn’t forgotten she would also be acting as a bodyguard. Even just by habit, she had already spotted the exits and gotten a sense of the overall restaurant layout.

It didn’t look like there would be an issue, though; there were no other customers, and Dante and the little group were immediately taken upstairs. It was obvious everyone here knew him and feared him. The servants were bowing low at a ninety-degree angle, some visibly sweating.

“Here.”

To Eden’s surprise, a unique table for two had been prepared in front of a superb view of Chicago. She wanted to roll her eyes, but instead, she glared at De Luca.

“Seriously?”

“I did mention it was a date and us having lunch together,” he said with a cunning smile. “Are you surprised?”

Eden crossed her arms once again. This was way too much, and what he intended was too obvious. The table had been prepared in the most cheesy, romantic way possible. There was a horrible amount of flower petals all over the place, the silverware was way too gaudy, the champagne was in a bucket filled with ice, and there were even candles lit. Candles, in the middle of the day? Eden could not even think of a word to describe this. It was ridiculous and cringeworthy. What kind of weird pervert was he? She grimaced.

“Are you insane?” she asked. “What is this?”

“A lunch table. On the fancier side, I’ll admit it. Aren’t you going to sit down?”

Just as he said that, he pulled out a chair, clearly to have her sit in it. Instead, Eden stepped back, seriously disturbed by what was going on. What was he playing at? He couldn’t possibly think this kind of low strategy would work just because she was a woman? Or did he seriously have a death wish?

“Is something wrong?” he asked with a smile, seeing her still frozen there.

“Yes. How can I be your bodyguard when I want to kill you every time you open that damn mouth?” she hissed. “I’m not eating here.”

De Luca sighed, but he was still waiting for her to sit.

Eden was perplexed. What was going on? This really looked like some fancy, romantic dinner, and she just didn’t know how to react to the crap he was pulling. Moreover, his men were scattered all around them, adding to her torture. She really wanted to say no to all that shit and run away. Beer and Bullet had begun playing with some of the petals on the floor, and she wanted to call them back, but at that moment, Eden was frozen.

“Is there anything you don’t like?” asked Dante.

The worst part was that he was probably having fun torturing her like this. Eden had been visibly pulling away as much as she could from the beginning, and this was just too much. The whole romantic thing was just too shocking of a situation for her. She had no idea how to handle this. Was he doing that thing, killing them with kindness? She would rather have had him take her straight to bed and fuck her rather than go through this kind of humiliation!

“I don’t like this,” she said. “I’m your bodyguard, no? I can have a sandwich and wait.”