I stand there in the middle of the living room with Susan’s words reaching my ears like a sledgehammer, hammering the truth deep into my soul like a long nail. I’m ruining Parker’s bid for the Senate. I’m ruining his life.

What am I even doing?

I can’t go on like this. I’ve played my mother’s spy for long enough. And, in doing so, I’ve… I’ve fallen for Parker. I need to admit it, even if just to myself. It’s time to quit this charade and, for once in my life, stand up for what’s right. I can’t destroy everything he’s working for, just so my mother realizes her political ambitions.

I need to put an end to this.

“I… I’m sorry, Parker,” I mumble, taking two hesitant steps toward him. He turns toward me, a resigned smile on his face.

“What are you talking about, Amy? This is not your fault,” he tells me, closing the distance between us and caressing my cheek with the back of his hand. “This has nothing to do with you,” he lies, and his lie hurts more than the truth itself. He’s lying because he wants to protect me, to shelter me.

“Of course it does,” I whisper, grabbing his hand with mine. “You heard her… This is a mess. You’ve just lost your campaign manager, and if people ever hear about us… Susan’s right. I need to go.”

“Go where, Amy? What are you talking about? I’m not letting you go anywhere.” Still smiling, almost as if he doesn’t realize how serious the situation is, he brushes a stray lock of hair away from my face and tucks it over my ear.

“You need to fire me,” I blurt out, the words burning their way up my throat. I’m actually doing this. And it’s the right thing. I know it. “You need to fire me, and then you need to go after Susan and get her back.”

“Stop talking nonsense, Amy, you’re --”

“You need to get Susan back,” I continue, talking over him. Now that I’ve started, I need to go all the way. “You have to get your campaign together. You’re so close now… I know it; you know it. You can’t risk everything now.”

Even though what I’m doing now might unleash hell upon my life, I have to do this before it’s too late. I don’t care if my mother comes after me looking for revenge, and I don’t care about some stupid tape anymore. What if my business suffers in the process? I’ll rebuild; I’ll start over.

But I can’t hurt my stepfather.

I can’t hurt the man I love.

“I can risk everything, Amy… In fact, I need to do it,” he whispers, his eyes locking on mine.

“Why?” I ask him, my voice just a whisper.

“Because I’m falling in love with you,” he replies, and I feel as if someone has stolen the floor right from under my feet. His words echo inside my head like a melody and, at the same time, I feel my heart tightening up inside my chest. “I’m falling for you, Amy,” he repeats, his voice steadier now, and pulls me into his embrace. “And that’s why I can’t let you go.”

I say nothing as he wraps his arms around me, my face pressed against his chest. Tears well up in my eyes, and I smile. Right now, there are two opposite emotions inside of me, and I simply don’t know how to deal with that.

On the one hand, all I want to do is surrender to the happiness his words have brought me, but on the other hand, there’s this urge to just run away and hide in some deep and dark hole. Why? Because I came into his life with one purpose—to bring him down—and now he has fallen for me.

“I’m… I’m falling for you too,” I admit, unable to keep it all bottled up inside of me, the truth of it making my heart ache. I’ve fallen for my stepfather. I’ve fallen for the man I was supposed to be spying on.

“I know,” he simply says, running his fingers through my hair. “We’ll work it out, Amy. I know we will,” he continues and, somehow, I find solace in his words. They give me hope. Even if it’s just a fantasy, they make me believe that maybe, just maybe, something good will come out of the mess I’m in.

At the same time, though, I feel fear worming its way into my heart. For the first time in my life I’ve found someone I care about, and if he ever finds out the truth about me and mother… If that happens, I’ll surely lose him. And rightfully so; how can I ask the man I love to stay with me, to forgive me, when I stomped my way into his life as a spy?

I take one deep breath, trying to purge my mind from all these thoughts, and I let my rational mind melt away. I let the sound of my heartbeat lull me into a world where everything’s perfect and, even if just for today, I want to live as if that’s the truth. I want to leave the real world outside and, just for now, be happy.

“We will work it out,” I whisper, pulling back from his embrace and looking into his eyes. I force myself to smile and he smiles back at me, his fingers still running through my hair as he caresses me. I let the seconds pass us by, our eyes locked, and I reach for his lips and kiss him. “But now… Let’s just forget about it,” I ask him, closing the door to all that’s true and real, and stepping inside a fantasy where happiness is just at arm’s reach ...

“We can do that, yeah,” he replies, leaning into me and kissing me back.

His lips touch mine, and the whole world fades around us both.

In his lips, I’m home.