Malina glanced at the door when she heard a firm knock and took a deep breath. She was curled under a blanket, reading a fantasy novel, her brows slightly furrowed at the interruption. She swallowed her irritation and plastered a pleasant smile on her face.

“Come in,” she called out.

The door opened almost immediately, and Gray walked in with two mugs of tea and heavy steps. She gestured for him to take a seat. He handed her a mug, and her fingers lightly brushed against his.

“Thank you. You didn’t have to do that.”

“Of course.” He took a sip and stared at her through the angry steam.

“Is something wrong?” she asked softly.

“Why do you ask?”

She held her mug tightly. “You seem a bit tense, is all.”

He tilted his head slightly, as if to say _Yeah, I am,_ but he didn’t speak right away.

He didn’t know if he wanted to be right.

He finally spoke. “The data has been compromised. A temporary breach.” He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “I need you to be honest with me. Was it you?” His eyes locked with hers.

Malina bit back the urge to admit it. The lying was easy—but never fun.

“I wouldn’t do that. Besides, breaches are common in standard encryption.”

His face didn’t change.

“I didn’t do it,” Malina said.

He glanced at her hands around the mug. Her body language was natural, but she seemed to be drifting away from him.

He shook his head, his tone was harsh.
“Say it again.”

Malina blinked. “I didn’t do it, Gray.”

He pressed his lips together and looked away from her.

“You don’t believe me.” She set the mug down gently. “Why are you even here?”

“Because I want to trust you. And you need to give me a reason to keep doing it.”

She didn’t look his way. Her next words slipped out faster than she could stop them.

“Keith interrogated me just like this once.”

Gray’s head reeled back like Keith’s name had slapped him. His jaw tightened, but all Malina could see was the darkness in his eyes. She almost forgot how much he hated him.

She tried to pull her words back. “I didn’t mean—”

“You didn’t mean what?” he snapped.

“To bring him up,” she said, her voice small.

His voice was low, unstable. “Out of all the people to compare me to, you chose a murderer?”

She stared him down. “You almost killed him.” Her tone sharpened. “You’re no angel.”

He held his hand out, a crease forming between his brows. “And now you’re defending him?” His eyes hurt to look at. “Whose side are you on?”

Malina’s brows knit together. “I’ve always been on your side. I trusted you first. I confided in you—not Keith. And I ended up in jail.”

He leaned forward. “I did it to keep you safe.”

Malina sighed, running her hands over her face to wipe away the distress. “I just can’t go through the pain of being treated like a prisoner again.”

He nodded. The irritation in his scowl started to fade. He almost smiled.

His tone softened, though it was clearly fabricated to sound more grounded than it truly was.
“You promise it wasn’t you? I need to hear you say that.”

Malina moved to the edge of her bed and looked him in the eye. The yellow light from the setting sun peeked into her room, lighting up her curly hair as she pushed it from her face.

“I promise I didn’t compromise the code. I know how important this is to you.” Her voice was soft and sincere, and she pretended to be disappointed in his mistrust. “I’m sorry the launch got delayed. I’ll fix it as soon as possible.”

He ran a hand through his shaggy hair as it tried to fall into his eyes. Then he sat up straighter in the chair, watching her, hoping he hadn’t made the same mistake twice.

Malina could tell he wasn’t fully buying it.

_I need more time,_ she thought. _I need him to trust me, just a little longer._

Suddenly, she stood and walked a few steps toward his spot on the couch. She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, searching his eyes.

“Are you alright?” she murmured.

He glanced up, searching her eyes the same way. He held the hand on his shoulder, and for a few moments they stayed like that. Then Gray stood too, his hand still in hers.

He looked away, like her gaze was too heavy to hold.

“I just can’t tell if this is all real, Malina.” His voice was light, like he was holding back tears. “I want to believe you.”

She placed a hand on his heart as she stepped closer. “It’s real.”

His eyes flicked to her lips, then back to her eyes. He held her close and watched as Malina raised herself on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek—slow enough to be affectionate, but fast enough that she didn’t have time to think about it. He stared at her for a moment and smiled.

“Thank you,” he said—though she didn’t know what for.

He let go of her hand as he walked to the door, telling her he’d see her in the morning. She nodded, her smile bright as the door slid shut.

As soon as it did, her smile faded like mist.

No matter how much she told herself that Gray deserved this, she was sick of it. Sick of pretending. Sick of lying. But her family’s lives depended on it.