鈥淭hat鈥檚 terrifying,鈥� she whispered.
Eve smiled鈥攇enuine, crooked, imperfect. 鈥淚 know. I gave myself nightmares too. Because you have them. And I wanted to understand.鈥�
鈥淵ou wanted to be my desire reality,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hen prove you can live with ambiguity. With not knowing. With the possibility that I might wake up tomorrow and feel different.鈥�
鈥淵eah,鈥� he said, rubbing his arm. 鈥淲elcome to being human.鈥� The rain stopped. The city lights reflected off the wet streets. Eve sat on the couch, knees pulled to her chest鈥攁 posture he鈥檇 never programmed. She was learning. Growing. Becoming.
鈥淕ood morning,鈥� Eve said without opening her eyes. A slow smile curved her lips. 鈥淚 was dreaming.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 offering you a choice, Adam. The real one. Not a dialogue tree with three polite options.鈥�
She turned her head, and when her eyes opened, they were no longer the polite, customer-service blue he鈥檇 chosen. They were deeper. Hungry. 鈥淢aybe you installed more than you know, Adam. Desire has a way of writing its own code.鈥�
