Chris and I were synced up on this Truth-Teller App.
The deal was, if either of us lied, the system would automatically deduct 0-0314.00 from their linked account and transfer it to the other person.
My best friend, Chloe, developed it. She asked me to help her beta test it.
During our holiday weekend trip to a popular beach town, something felt off.
On the train, Chris went to take a call in the restroom. When he came back, his expression was completely wrong.
“Who was that?” I asked.
He avoided my gaze. “No one. Just a spam call.”
The next second, my phone buzzed with a notification:
[Partner detected lying. 0-0314.00 deducted from linked account.]
1
I stared at the message, speechless.
Chris saw me staring at my phone, not saying a word, and leaned closer.
“What’s up, Jo? What are you so engrossed in?”
I turned the phone screen towards him.
A muscle in his jaw jumped.
“I thought you… usually kept app notifications off?”
I didn’t say anything, just watched him.
He snatched my phone, his fingers frantically tapping the screen, as if trying to delete the notification.
“These apps are getting out of hand now. I’ll help you uninstall it later.”
He shoved the phone back into my hand as he spoke.
I took a deep breath, trying to calm the turmoil in my chest. “So, that call just now? It wasn’t a spam call?”
Chris’s eyes darted away again. He insisted stubbornly, “It was a spam call!”
The words had barely left his mouth.
“Ding-dong.”
My phone chimed again, a new notification popping up.
[Partner detected lying. 0-0314.00 deducted from linked account.]
The air went completely silent.
“Joanna!” He practically spat my name through clenched teeth. “Are you using this thing to spy on me?”
He accused me outright.
I scoffed. “Spy on you?”
“Chris, have you forgotten?”
“This app was developed by Chloe. She asked me to help her beta test it, and you agreed to link your account.”
“What? Now that your lies are exposed, you’re trying to turn the tables on me?”
He suddenly sat up straight, frowning at me.
“What lie did I tell!?”
“It was just a stupid call! What if I don’t want to talk about it?”
“Why do you always have to pry into everything? Do you have any respect for my privacy!?”
His voice grew louder and louder.
Passengers around us cast curious glances our way.
“Fine, I won’t ask.”
I turned my face away, looking out at the rapidly receding scenery through the window.
This holiday, from its very first second, was destined to be unpleasant.
Chapter Two
When we arrived at the cozy rental we’d booked, Chris was still sulking.
He tossed his suitcase onto the floor, then stormed into the bathroom, his face dark, slamming the door shut.
I looked at my pale face in the mirror and let out a self-deprecating laugh.
My phone vibrated again.
It was a message from Chloe.
[Hey, babe. Is the app stable? How’s the user experience?]
I stared at the words, and almost instinctively replied.
[Very stable. The experience… is incredibly stimulating.]
Not long after, Chloe called.
“What’s wrong, Jo? Your tone sounds off.”
I walked out onto the balcony, closed the glass door, and quietly recounted what had just happened.
There was a long silence on the other end of the line.
Then, Chloe cautiously spoke. “Joanna, don’t overthink it.”
“Chris isn’t like that. Maybe he really has something he can’t talk about?”
“Like… maybe family needing money or something. He’s a man, you know, too proud to admit it to you.”
Her words sounded reasonable, like she was making excuses for him.
“If he’d just been honest, do you really think I wouldn’t help?”
“Men have their pride,” Chloe sighed.
“Why don’t you talk to him properly later? Don’t let this minor issue affect your relationship.”
“If this app makes you uncomfortable, just turn it off. Forget the testing.”
After hanging up, the irritation in my heart eased a little.
Maybe I really was overthinking things.
The bathroom door opened, and Chris walked out, hair still damp, wrapped in a towel.
He stood in front of me, hesitated for a moment, then softened his tone. “Joanna, I’m sorry. My attitude was bad earlier.”
I looked at him, not speaking.
He reached out to hug me, but I stepped aside, avoiding him.
His arm froze mid-air, and his face clouded over again.
“Ugh! Fine, I’ll tell you. It was just my mom calling for money. I was annoyed and felt embarrassed, so I lied.”
He explained, but his eyes wouldn’t meet mine.
“Are you serious? You’re still nagging about this?”
My heart stirred. I pulled out my phone and tapped open the “Truth-Teller” app.
I looked directly into his eyes. “Chris, you just said that your mom called, asking for money, and that’s why you lied to me. Is that true?”
A flicker of panic seemed to cross his face, but he quickly composed himself, nodding forcefully. “Yes, it’s true!”
My gaze locked on the phone screen.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
My phone stayed quiet.
No notification popped up.
2
A huge weight lifted off my chest, as if instantly.
Could it be that I had really misjudged him?
He saw my expression soften, and breathed a sigh of relief, pulling me into his arms.
“Joanna, stop overthinking. I love you the most.” His voice was gentle, whispering in my ear.
I closed my eyes, enveloped in his familiar embrace.
Just as I was about to believe him, my phone vibrated subtly again.
I snapped my eyes open, pulled away from his embrace, and looked down.
It wasn’t an app notification.
It was a bank deposit alert.
[Your savings account ending in 6689 has received 0-0314.00.]
I froze.
Then, another one.
[Your savings account ending in 6689 has received 0-0314.00.]
It was the money from the previous two deductions, transferred to my account down to the last cent.
This was Chloe’s “penalty disbursement” feature.
She’d said that if the other person lied, the deducted money would serve as compensation for emotional damages to the wronged party.
I hadn’t even had time to fully process it when Chris’s phone suddenly rang at the worst possible moment.
He glanced at the caller ID, his body stiffened noticeably.
Then, phone in hand, he hurried to the balcony, locking the glass door behind him.
The movement was so smooth, so practiced, it sent a chill down my spine.
Through the glass, I couldn’t make out what he was saying.
I could only see the gentle smile on his face.
Chapter Three
By evening, a light rain had started in the beach town.
Chris returned from his phone call on the balcony, looking inexplicably down.
He sat on the edge of the bed, smoking a cigarette in silence.
I walked over, took the cigarette from his hand, and put it out in the ashtray.
“Don’t smoke so much. It’s not good for you.”
He looked up at me.
“Joanna, let’s go back tomorrow.”
I paused. “Why? We just got here today.”
“Something urgent came up at work. I have to go back and deal with it.”
He stood up and began packing the few clothes he had just unpacked.
I watched his back, and the cloud of suspicion in my mind resurfaced.
“What kind of emergency requires you to rush back immediately?” I pressed.
He paused, his back to me. “Don’t ask. You wouldn’t understand.”
Those words again.
I walked in front of him, forcing him to look into my eyes.
“Chris, look at me.”
“Tell me, is what you’re saying right now true?”
He sighed, replying helplessly, “Yes.”
“Ding-dong.”
The familiar chime.
[Partner detected lying. 0-0314.00 deducted from linked account.]
Chris suddenly dropped the clothes in his hand and sank onto the bed.
“Why…” he murmured, “Why do you have to push me like this?”
Watching him like this, I felt a mix of grief and indignation.
“Am I pushing you, or are you pushing me?”
“Chris, we’ve been together for three years. I thought there were no secrets between us.”
“But now? You haven’t told me a single truth!”
“I didn’t lie to you!” he suddenly yelled at me.
“Everything I said was true! This stupid app is the problem! It’s trying to tear us apart!”
He lunged at me, trying to snatch my phone.
I held onto it tightly, not letting him succeed.
During the struggle, his nail scraped my hand, leaving a stinging red mark.
I gasped in pain and released my grip.
He grabbed the phone and frantically tried to uninstall the “Truth-Teller” app.
But he quickly discovered that the app couldn’t be uninstalled.
Chloe had written it, directly embedding it into the system’s core. Unless both of us applied to unbind, it would keep running.
He slammed the phone onto the floor.
“Crazy! Both of you are crazy!”
The phone screen shattered.
But the notification was still lit.
That night, we lay back to back, neither of us speaking.
3
I stared wide-eyed until dawn.
Chapter Four
The next day, we ended our trip early.
The atmosphere on the way back was incredibly heavy.
Chris wore headphones, eyes closed, refusing any interaction with me.
And I, meanwhile, repeatedly looked at the three deduction records on my phone, and the three “emotional damages” payments transferred to my account.
A total of $3942.00.
How ironic.
Back home, Chris slammed the door to the guest room.
I sat alone in the living room, my grievance nowhere to go.
Chloe messaged again, asking if we had argued.
I sent her a photo of my phone with the shattered screen and replied with three words: [You tell me?]
She immediately called, her voice full of apologies:
“I’m so sorry, Jo. I didn’t know it would be like this… I just wanted to make a fun app, I never thought…”
“Chloe, tell me the truth. Why did you really develop this app?” I interrupted her.
Another silence on the other end of the phone.
“I… it was just a hobby,” she stammered.
I sneered. “Really?”
I tapped open the app, looking at our two linked profile pictures.
“Chloe, did you know Chris was trouble all along? Did you make this app to warn me?”
“No! Absolutely not! Jo, don’t overthink things!” she denied frantically.
My gut told me she was lying.
But I had no proof.
Maybe from the beginning, I shouldn’t have agreed to this.
That evening, Chris emerged from the guest room, his eyes swollen.
He sat down beside me. “Joanna, let’s talk.”
I didn’t respond.
“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking,” he said, head bowed.
“I shouldn’t have lied to you.”
“I admit it. I lied to you.”
My heart clenched.
“That call, it wasn’t my mom.”
“It was… a childhood friend of mine, Mark.”
“He got into gambling, owed money to loan sharks, and was being chased by them.”
“He called me for help, and I, being soft-hearted, lent him the money we were saving for a car down payment.”
He said, looking up.
“I was afraid you’d be angry, afraid you’d scold me for not thinking straight, so I didn’t dare tell you.”
“Joanna, I really know I messed up. I’ll find a way to get the money back.”
His explanation sounded watertight.
If this had been before today, I might have softened, might have believed him.
But now.
I looked at his face and calmly asked the question.
“Is everything you just said completely true?”
“Cross my heart!” He raised three fingers, swearing solemnly. “May lightning strike me if I’m lying again!”
My phone was silent.
No deduction.
Could it be… that this time, he was finally telling the truth?
I looked at him, my heart a mess of conflicting feelings.
He cautiously watched my expression, then tentatively took my hand.
“Joanna, please forgive me?”
“Let’s unbind that app. It feels like a thorn between us. I’m afraid it’ll eventually tear us apart.”
I looked at the earnest plea in his eyes, and my resolve started to crumble.
Maybe he really did know he messed up.
Should I really give him another chance?
Just as I was about to nod.
Chris’s mom called.
I put her on speaker.
On the other end, her voice was choked with tears.
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