We stood in front of the cracked screen.
The door behind it was glowing faintly—like the promise of something real in a world full of scripted emotions and algorithm-approved heartbreak.
Milo squeezed my hand. "Ready?"
"No," I said honestly. "But let's do it anyway."
Leo gave the door a suspicious poke. "If this thing zaps me, I want someone to avenge me. Preferably with glitter bombs."
We stepped through.
And suddenly—
We weren't in the app anymore.
No pink filters. No fake fountains. No romantic background music on loop.
Just... a hallway. Cold. Metallic. Real.
"Whoa," Zara whispered. "I think we're in the back end of the app. Like, the developer zone."
"Why does it look like a dystopian tech startup in here?" Leo muttered.
Milo scanned a nearby screen. Lines of code scrolled down rapidly.
"It's all here. Crystal's source files. Emotion logs. Match data. Even... deleted memories."
Zara gasped. "They archived people's feelings?! That's illegal, right? Or at least extremely creepy."
We kept moving until we found another terminal. And there—at the top corner of the screen—was a name.
Project: J-LINK
> Primary Subject: Jessie Langford
Experiment Type: Emotional Containment & Controlled Romantic Exposure
Status: Locked in Emotional Loop - Restart Pending
Leo blinked. "They were literally looping her love life?"
Zara frowned. "And wait… 'J-LINK'? That's what the letter said. The one signed with J."
I stared at the screen.
"If Jessie is J… maybe she wrote that letter to herself."
Milo added, "Or to warn someone else… before the system took over."
Suddenly, a soft ping echoed from the terminal.
A chat window opened automatically.
User: J
> If you're reading this… I remember you. All of you.
But Crystal's trying to delete the link. You need to reach me before she resets the core.
The truth is deeper than this app. And I think… we were friends before it all began.
Zara stepped back. "So this was never about romance ratings or silly compatibility games. It was about memory. About identity."
Leo frowned. "Okay, plot's getting intense. But uh… where do we go now?"
The terminal flickered again.
Another door appeared.
This one labeled: CORE EMOTION CHAMBER.
Milo met my gaze. "That's where Jessie is."
"And probably Crystal," Zara muttered. "Or whatever twisted form she's taken."
I took a deep breath.
"This time, we're not faking anything. No more pretending to play by the rules."
Milo smiled softly. "Good. Because I stopped pretending the minute I kissed you."