Chapter 4

Maya had one last personal mission before her extraction. A gift for her father. A specific vintage Swiss watch, a model he' d admired for years but could never justify buying. She' d saved for it separately, a small act of rebellion and self-care over the last year.

She found it at a luxury department store downtown, nestled on a velvet cushion in a glass case.

As the sales associate was carefully taking it out, a familiar voice cooed nearby.

"Oh, Ethan, look! That watch! It's just like the one Grandfather used to wear. Exactly like it!"

Olivia. Of course. She was clinging to Ethan's arm, dressed impeccably, her eyes wide with manufactured sentimentality.

Ethan beamed at her. "It is beautiful, isn't it?"

Maya stood, holding the watch the associate had just handed her.

Olivia finally noticed Maya. Her smile tightened almost imperceptibly. "Oh, Maya. You're here too."

Then her eyes fixed on the watch in Maya's hand. "Is that... are you buying that?"

Before Maya could answer, Ethan stepped forward. "Maya, Olivia was just saying how much that watch reminds her of her grandfather. It has so much sentimental value for her." He looked at Maya expectantly. "Maybe you could find something else? They have so many nice things here."

The sales associate looked awkwardly between them.

Maya stared at Ethan, her face a mask. Five years. Five years of this. Of her needs, her desires, being instantly secondary.

"She can have it," Maya said, her voice flat.

Olivia brightened. "Oh, really? That's so generous of you, Maya!"

Ethan smiled, relieved. "See? I knew you'd understand."

"If Ethan pays me for it," Maya continued, still looking at him. "Five times its retail price."

She named a figure. It was, to the dollar, the amount of the bonus Ethan had just received from his startup, a bonus he' d been crowing about all week, talking about upgrading his car.

Ethan's smile vanished. "What? Five times? Are you crazy? That's..." He looked at the price tag still discreetly attached. "That's an insane amount of money!"

Olivia looked less pleased now, a flicker of annoyance in her eyes. "Maya, that's not very fair."

"It's my price," Maya said simply. "Take it or leave it." She held the watch out slightly.

Ethan stared at her, then at Olivia, whose lower lip had started to tremble. The classic Olivia pout.

He looked back at Maya, his jaw tight with resentment. "Fine."

He pulled out his phone, opened his banking app, and made the transfer. Maya watched the confirmation pop up on her own Agency device, which was linked to her secure accounts.

The sales associate quickly, and perhaps gratefully, took the watch from Maya and began to box it for Olivia, who was now all smiles again, thanking Ethan profusely.

Ethan didn't look at Maya. He just stood there, his face pale, the earlier relief replaced by a deep, unsettling confusion. He had paid, but he looked like the one who had been robbed.

Maya simply turned and walked out of the store, leaving them with their expensive, sentimentally charged purchase.

Something in Ethan had visibly fractured. He finally seemed to realize this wasn't just Maya being difficult. This was something else entirely.