Elena’s POV
Nagising ako na nakayakap pa rin sa akin si Dante. The way he held me was different now: hindi na siya yung "forced synchronization" lang. It was a deep, possessive hold na parang ayaw niya akong pakawalan sa totoong mundo. My body felt every muscle he had claimed last night, a lingering ache na nagpapaalala sa akin na I’m finally alive. No more pixels, no more filters. Just this.
"Stay," bulong ni Dante, his voice raspy and deep against my ear. He tightened his grip, pulling me closer to the heat of his chest. "The world can wait for another hour, Elena."
"I wish we could," I murmured, leaning back into him. "Pero alam mong hindi hihinto si Abraham. He’s already moving his files. Kung hindi tayo gagalaw ngayon, we’ll lose the chance to find his personal vault."
Dante let out a low groan, eventually letting me go so I could sit up. He watched me with those unfiltered eyes, watching as I tried to find the pieces of my identity sa gitna ng wreckage. "You're different today," he observed, reaching out to trace the line of my shoulder. "Mas matapang ka na kaysa sa fixer na nakilala ko sa office."
"That’s because the fixer didn't have anything to lose," I said, looking him straight in the eye. "Now, I have everything to lose. I have us."
The plan for today was dangerous. We weren't just hacking a server anymore; we were going to infiltrate Abraham’s private estate sa labas ng siyudad. It was a high-security "Architecture" built to keep secrets in and people out. My job was to disable the digital perimeter, while Dante did what he did best: manual intervention.
"We need to be synchronized, Dante," I said while opening my laptop one more time. My fingers were steady now. "I’ll loop the camera feeds for exactly twelve minutes. That’s your window to get inside the study and find the physical drive. If you're not out by then, the system will reboot and the alarms will trigger."
"Twelve minutes is a lifetime, Elena," Dante smirked, already checking his gear. He looked at me, his gaze softening just for a second. "Huwag kang mag-alala. Your system is perfect, and my soul is fast. We’re going to get that dirt and bury him with it."
Tumayo ako and walked toward him, fixing the collar of his jacket. The tension was back, but it was a productive kind of heat. This was the core connection we built. We were dalawang broken pieces finally forming a complete system.
"Be careful," I whispered.
"Always," he promised, stealing one last kiss that tasted like the raw passion from the night before. "See you on the other side of the firewalls."
As he walked out the door, I sat back down at the workbench. This was the fight for our integrity. Day seventeen was the day we stop running and start dismantling the man who thought he owned our lives.
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