"I laughed," she whispered. "Without permission."

He'd chosen to keep her for thirty days, just to see.

At the end of the lane, she turned back.

"It's a termination offense," she said. "Dreaming of escape. If the House Monitors found out, they'd reset me." She touched her silver cuff. "Wipe everything. I'd forget the dream. I'd forget walking. I'd forget wanting ."

Elias tried to treat her like a roommate. "Please" and "thank you." He asked about her hobbies. She blinked, confused. "I don't have hobbies, sir. I have duties." He made them both dinner. She stood watching him cook, her hands twitching, as if every instinct told her to take the spatula away. When he handed her a plate, she dropped to her knees. He nearly choked.

"No, your real name. The one before the cuff."

He ate alone that night, listening to the soft sounds of her chewing from the floor by the radiator.