The next morning, everything was awkward.
Like… "saw your fake ex in the hallway and now everyone's whispering" awkward.
"Psst," Zara hissed, sliding into the seat next to me in the app's fake café. "You and Milo? Breakup of the century. There's already a montage."
"A montage?!"
Leo plopped down. "Yep. Slow-mo of you two fighting by the fountain, overlaid with sad ukulele music. The app's AI is milking it."
I groaned. "Great. Crystal probably thinks we're emotionally unstable now."
"She likes emotionally unstable," Zara said, sipping a pink latte. "It gets clicks."
Then Milo walked in.
He looked at me.
I looked at him.
Half the café turned to watch.
He gave a slow, fake nod. I gave a slow, fake eye roll.
The drama was delicious.
"Okay," he said later, when we were hiding behind the smoothie bar. "This fake breakup thing is getting way too real. People keep asking me if I'm okay."
"Same," I said. "Someone offered me breakup tea and a therapy coupon."
"I mean… do we have to keep pretending?"
His voice was quieter. Not flirty. Not joking. Just… real.
Before I could answer, the intercom buzzed.
"Attention, participants: Due to emotional instability in the love pool, Crystal has activated the Emotion Reset Protocol. Please report to the Reflection Rooms."
Zara blinked. "Wait. What's an Emotion Reset?"
Leo checked his wristband. "It says it'll 'optimize our emotional capacity for new matches.' That sounds suspiciously like brainwashing."
Milo grabbed my hand. "We're not going. We're finding Jessie."
---
The Reflection Rooms looked like a fancy spa met a sci-fi movie.
Glass walls. White light. Soft music.
And one room that… flickered.
"Is that a glitch?" Leo asked.
"No," I whispered. "That's Jessie's signal."
Milo nodded. "She's in there. Or at least… part of her is."
We entered the room. Instantly, our wristbands buzzed.
> Error: Duplicate Identity Detected.
> Initiating Memory Recovery…
A projection lit up.
Jessie.
She looked tired. But real.
"Hi," the projection said. "If you found this, I'm probably still trapped. This app isn't just about love—it's about data. Feelings. Control. They used me to test the first version of the algorithm. And when I started falling for someone… they rebooted me."
Zara gasped. "They wiped her memory?!"
Jessie's voice continued. "The app can't let anyone fall in love outside the algorithm. It breaks the system. So they… broke me."
My chest felt tight.
"She's not a glitch," Milo said softly. "She's a prisoner."
Just then, Crystal's voice rang out.
"Unauthorized access. Initiating security response."
The lights turned red.
Leo grabbed two smoothie cups like weapons. "We fight with honor and antioxidants!"
Milo pulled me close. "Run first. Fight later."
We bolted.
As we ran, I looked back once. The screen flickered… and Jessie's image mouthed something.
Three words.
"Don't trust Crystal."