Chapter 2

A huge weight lifted off my chest, as if instantly.

Could it be that I had really misjudged him?

He saw my expression soften, and breathed a sigh of relief, pulling me into his arms.

"Joanna, stop overthinking. I love you the most." His voice was gentle, whispering in my ear.

I closed my eyes, enveloped in his familiar embrace.

Just as I was about to believe him, my phone vibrated subtly again.

I snapped my eyes open, pulled away from his embrace, and looked down.

It wasn't an app notification.

It was a bank deposit alert.

[Your savings account ending in 6689 has received $1314.00.]

I froze.

Then, another one.

[Your savings account ending in 6689 has received $1314.00.]

It was the money from the previous two deductions, transferred to my account down to the last cent.

This was Chloe's "penalty disbursement" feature.

She'd said that if the other person lied, the deducted money would serve as compensation for emotional damages to the wronged party.

I hadn't even had time to fully process it when Chris's phone suddenly rang at the worst possible moment.

He glanced at the caller ID, his body stiffened noticeably.

Then, phone in hand, he hurried to the balcony, locking the glass door behind him.

The movement was so smooth, so practiced, it sent a chill down my spine.

Through the glass, I couldn't make out what he was saying.

I could only see the gentle smile on his face.

Chapter Three

By evening, a light rain had started in the beach town.

Chris returned from his phone call on the balcony, looking inexplicably down.

He sat on the edge of the bed, smoking a cigarette in silence.

I walked over, took the cigarette from his hand, and put it out in the ashtray.

"Don't smoke so much. It's not good for you."

He looked up at me.

"Joanna, let's go back tomorrow."

I paused. "Why? We just got here today."

"Something urgent came up at work. I have to go back and deal with it."

He stood up and began packing the few clothes he had just unpacked.

I watched his back, and the cloud of suspicion in my mind resurfaced.

"What kind of emergency requires you to rush back immediately?" I pressed.

He paused, his back to me. "Don't ask. You wouldn't understand."

Those words again.

I walked in front of him, forcing him to look into my eyes.

"Chris, look at me."

"Tell me, is what you're saying right now true?"

He sighed, replying helplessly, "Yes."

"Ding-dong."

The familiar chime.

[Partner detected lying. $1314.00 deducted from linked account.]

Chris suddenly dropped the clothes in his hand and sank onto the bed.

"Why…" he murmured, "Why do you have to push me like this?"

Watching him like this, I felt a mix of grief and indignation.

"Am I pushing you, or are you pushing me?"

"Chris, we've been together for three years. I thought there were no secrets between us."

"But now? You haven't told me a single truth!"

"I didn't lie to you!" he suddenly yelled at me.

"Everything I said was true! This stupid app is the problem! It's trying to tear us apart!"

He lunged at me, trying to snatch my phone.

I held onto it tightly, not letting him succeed.

During the struggle, his nail scraped my hand, leaving a stinging red mark.

I gasped in pain and released my grip.

He grabbed the phone and frantically tried to uninstall the "Truth-Teller" app.

But he quickly discovered that the app couldn't be uninstalled.

Chloe had written it, directly embedding it into the system's core. Unless both of us applied to unbind, it would keep running.

He slammed the phone onto the floor.

"Crazy! Both of you are crazy!"

The phone screen shattered.

But the notification was still lit.

That night, we lay back to back, neither of us speaking.