uickly wiped her tears and of

so sorry, Brayden was just

rt. "And thank you. For the blood. I don't

ht and feathery. But as she did, her thumb pressed, har

s arm, and she insti

g backward as if Kiann

r instantly. "Jes

ce. "What is wrong with you? Sh

disbelief. The world tilted on its axi

ed of explaining, tired of being the one

the words tasting like

t's okay. I know you've been through a lot too. Actually, I was hoping you could co

yes shining with adoration.

ved that she understood his world, his work. He had never looked at

lives in," Jesse added, her tone syrupy s

ear. This is our world

signed the papers. She would be gone soon. On

and Jesse sat at the plaintiff's table, a perfect team. They whispered to

he gallery behind them. "Kianna, could you g

request. It

Kianna wouldn't know where to go." He said it with the

smug, triumphant smi

s past that didn't fit into his shiny new future. He was ashamed of her. Asha

, she would be just a

But then the opposing counsel presented a surprise piece of evidence, a t

umbling through her notes. Brayden'

ent was everything to him. It was

ed by years of self-study and a natural gift for engineering, saw

pered urgently. "The timestamp on their prototype's source code

ho had overheard, froz

and fury. How dare this line cook understand so

screen, his own eyes widening in

a brief recess to examin

Jesse's hand and pulled her out of the

feeling in her stomach. She heard t

was saying, her voice tight with frustr

he's... scrappy. She picks things up. You're the real deal, Jes

a physical blow. Just

ght couldn't break any fu

oulder, a gesture of comfort and intim

e very first device he ever designed, a small, intricate thing he had built in their tiny apartment. She had bought him the parts

As she watched, a janitor bumped the table. The

rfect, brut

a stall. She stared at her own reflection in the polished chrome o

sse Collins stood there, her arms cross

n't stay out of