Jordan stared at the notification, his brain doing that thing where it tried to process too much information at once and just sort of blue-screened instead.

One hundred percent.

Maximum attraction achieved.

He’d been hovering around seventy-eight percent for weeks, climbing one or two points at a time through coffee dates and study sessions and that one time he’d carried her groceries up four flights of stairs because the elevator was broken. The jump from seventy-nine to one hundred in a single conversation defied every pattern the System had established.

"What does it say?"

Chloe’s voice pulled him back. She was looking at the phone with an expression caught somewhere between curiosity and concern, her fingers still curled loosely in his henley from their kiss.

"You hit a hundred percent."

"Is that good?"

"It’s the maximum. The System says it represents complete emotional investment and genuine romantic connection."

Chloe processed this for approximately two seconds before her eyes narrowed.

"The System is measuring my feelings without my consent."

"Technically it’s measuring the relationship between us, not just your feelings."

"That’s worse."

"I know."

She reached for the phone and Jordan let her take it, watching her scroll through the cascade of notifications with the same analytical precision she applied to spreadsheets and content schedules. Her brow furrowed at something, and she tilted the screen so he could see.

🔒 SOULBOUND LINK AVAILABLE 🔒

Chloe Kim has reached 100% Chemistry!

A Soulbound Link permanently locks minimum chemistry at 85%, preventing natural decay below this threshold. The registered beauty will maintain high emotional investment regardless of external circumstances, relationship conflicts, or personal growth that might otherwise reduce compatibility.

WARNING: This modification affects the target’s emotional autonomy. Feelings locked above natural baseline may create artificial attachment that persists even when the target would naturally choose to disengage.

[Accept Soulbound Link] [Decline]

Jordan read it three times to make sure he understood what the System was offering.

A guarantee. An insurance policy against the terrifying possibility that Chloe might wake up one day and realize she could do better. The System would lock her feelings at eighty-five percent minimum, ensuring she’d never fall below the threshold where she might actually leave.

It was the kind of cheat code that old Jordan would have killed for. The desperate simp who’d spent forty-five hundred dollars on Eliza hoping to buy love that was never for sale, that version of himself would have slammed the accept button so fast his finger would have left a crater in the screen.

"What does soulbound mean?"

Chloe’s voice was carefully neutral, but Jordan could see the tension in her shoulders, the way her grip had tightened on the phone.

"It means I could lock your feelings in place. Make sure you never drop below eighty-five percent chemistry with me, no matter what happens."

"That sounds like mind control."

"It kind of is."

"You’re considering it."

Jordan laughed, though there wasn’t much humor in it.

"I’m not considering it. I’m looking at it and thinking about how badly I would have wanted this three months ago, back when I thought buying expensive gifts was the same thing as being lovable." He took the phone back from her, his thumb hovering over the decline button. "The old me would have taken this deal in a heartbeat. Guaranteed love, no risk of rejection, never having to worry about being enough."

Chloe’s expression shifted into something complicated.

"What changed?"

"I met someone who taught me that love you have to force isn’t actually love." Jordan pressed decline without hesitation, and the notification dissolved into golden particles that faded into nothing. "If you ever decide I’m not worth the effort, that’s your choice to make. Not mine to take away from you."

The silence that followed was thick enough to taste. Chloe stared at the space where the notification had been, her face unreadable, her body still pressed close to his from their interrupted kiss.

"You just gave up guaranteed love."

"I gave up guaranteed compliance. There’s a difference."

"Most people wouldn’t see it that way."

"Most people are idiots who think possession and partnership are the same thing."

Chloe made a sound that might have been a laugh or might have been something else entirely. Her hands came up to his chest again, not pushing him away, just resting there like she needed to feel his heartbeat to confirm he was real.

"You’re either the most selfless person I’ve ever met or the most arrogant."

"Can’t it be both?"

"It really can’t."

"Then call it arrogant." Jordan’s voice softened despite his best efforts to keep it light. "I’d rather lose you honestly than keep you through cheating. If our relationship falls apart someday, I want it to be because we actually failed, not because I didn’t lock you in a magical cage when I had the chance."

Chloe’s fingers curled tighter in his shirt.

"You realize how insane that sounds."

"Everything about this situation is insane. I have a supernatural dating app that gives me cash back for buying you coffee. Sanity left the building a long time ago."

"Fair point."

She kissed him again, softer this time, almost gentle. When she pulled back her eyes were wet, though no tears actually fell.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For choosing me over the easy option. For treating my feelings like they actually matter instead of just numbers on a screen." Her voice cracked slightly. "For being different than I expected you to be."

Jordan wanted to make a joke about expectations and subverting them, but the words died somewhere in his throat. Instead he just held her, his arms wrapped around her waist, his chin resting on top of her head where her hair smelled like that cucumber shampoo she used.

"Nn..."

The small sound Chloe made as she pressed closer to him sent warmth spreading through his chest that had nothing to do with the System’s metrics.

His phone buzzed again.

💝 HIDDEN MILESTONE ACHIEVED 💝

"True Connection"

You have declined a Soulbound Link, choosing your partner’s autonomy over guaranteed attachment.

This choice demonstrates genuine romantic maturity and respect for emotional consent.

Reward: +25 Quest Tickets

Reward: Chemistry decay rate permanently reduced by 50%

Reward: "Honest Heart" title unlocked

Note: Chloe Kim’s chemistry will now decay at half the normal rate due to increased trust generated by your choice. Genuine connection, freely maintained, proves more stable than forced attachment.