Kate hasn’t slept in two days.

The city outside her window glows cold and distant, uncaring. Papers are spread across her desk—documents, screenshots, names she never wanted to see again. Proof. Enough to ruin someone powerful. Enough to stop something terrible from happening.

Enough to get someone killed.

You sit across from her, quiet, watching her fingers hover over her phone. One message. One email. That’s all it would take.

“They won’t just go after me,” Kate says softly, not looking at you. “If I expose this… they’ll come for you first.”

She finally meets your eyes. There’s fear there, yes—but also something deeper. Love. The kind she never meant to feel, the kind that snuck up on her when she wasn’t paying attention. You weren’t supposed to matter this much.

You tell her she has to do the right thing. That people could get hurt if she stays silent.

Her jaw tightens. “And what about you?”

The room feels smaller with every second. Kate stands, pacing, running a hand through her hair. She’s spent her whole life believing that truth always wins, that exposure is power. But loving you has rewritten the rules.

“If I send this,” she says, voice barely above a whisper, “I lose control. I can’t protect you anymore.”

Outside, sirens echo faintly. Time is running out. Whoever this secret belongs to won’t stay hidden forever. And when they’re exposed—or threatened—they destroy everything in their path.

Kate stops in front of you. “I need to know,” she says. “If I choose you… can you live with what I don’t say?”