Page 35 of The Stuffing Situation

Maya’s voice cracked. “I didn’t know if you’d come.”

Felix stepped forward, slow and careful, like every inch mattered. “I didn’t know if I could.”

He looked down at the paper, then backed up.

“I prepared something in case you opened the door.”

She swallowed. A laugh caught behind a sob. “Of course you did.”

His lips curved faintly. Then he took a breath and began to read.

“I may have been made with the idea of loving you,” he said, his voice quieter now. “But I choose to stay because I know you.”

Maya’s throat tightened.

“I know how you cry at commercials and hate crunchy lettuce,” he continued, eyes flicking up with the barest smile. “I know you check your stove three times before leaving the house, but you always forget your curling iron. I know you pretend you don’t want romance, but you hold your breath every time a fictional man says something stupid and sincere.”

His voice grew steadier as he spoke, like the words were anchoring him, grounding him to the world he’d chosen.

“And I know I don’t want to be anyone else’s. Not because I was programmed to love you, but because I can’t imagine not loving you. I want to be there for all of you, I want to love every last piece, because to me, you’re the definition of perfect.”

The page trembled in his hand. Maya burst into tears. Not graceful ones. Just full-body, soul-shaking,ugly, beautifulcrying.

“Okay,” she said, choking on the words. “Mine’s not typed. But I need to say this.”

Felix nodded, folding the paper once and slipping it into his coat pocket like it was sacred. He didn’t speak, he just waited.

“I was scared, so scared,” she began. “You were everything I ever wanted and more, and that terrified me. Because if I lose something perfect, I won’t survive it.”

She stepped toward him, and her hands were shaking.

“I couldn’t tell where your love ended and my wish began,” she whispered. He didn’t flinch when she placed a hand over his chest, feeling the steady thrum beneath his ribs.

“But now I know,” she said, voice trembling. “The part that’s real is the part that stayed. Even when I left. Even when I said nothing.”

Her breath caught again.

“You still chose me. And that? That’s more real than anything I’ve ever had.”

She swallowed, her eyes locking on his.

“And I finally get it now, loving you isn’t about needing someone perfect. It’s about choosing someone real. And letting myself be loved back, even when I’m messy. Even when I’m scared. I don’t want to be perfect anymore.”

She exhaled, voice softer but steadier.

“I want this. Us. Me, how I am, not just who I thought I had to be to deserve something like you.”

“You’re not a glitch anymore,” she whispered. “Not just AI, you chose this. You chose you. My perfect Golden Retriever boyfriend”

She smiled through the sting in her eyes.

“And I choose me, too.”

Felix dropped the flowers and pulled her in like he needed to feel she was real. Their lips met in fierce, unflinching truth. The kiss wasn’t magic, it wasn’t a glitch; this was choosing each other.

She didn’t need him to be perfect. Just real. And right now, so was she.

And it changed everything.