Jeanine had a beautiful view from the top floor of her tower. Although the clouds obscured most of the view, it was gratifying to see the glass covered in drops and in the distance, notice how the puddles formed.

People from different factions ran, probably heading home because the rain caught them by surprise, and I couldn't help but feel the need to go out and let the rain soak me, even though I had just recovered from a near-fatal flu. I wanted the damp breeze, the drops, and the fresh air to fill me with life again, to cleanse my troubles and give me energy for what lies ahead.

I'll never trust people who claim to love the rain but run from it when it comes. It's like loving the rose but not accepting the thorns.

Love is complicated, but I'm even more complicated as I jump from rainy weather to love in a matter of seconds while waiting for Jeanine's arrival.

I was bedridden for 4 days, and when I thought I had no choice but to let Eric give me the medicine that the nursing staff provided, Hill arrived and saved me. She chased Eric away on the first day and took care of me, I recovered quickly.

"Leave, Eric. Your mere presence must make her uncomfortable, and if you spend more time with her, you'll make her forgive you, and that won't happen for a long time. Go and think about what you did."

"I still can't believe it, Coulter. It's like having the fortune to eat lobster or caviar and still preferring scrambled eggs."

I only knew he went back to his old and probably dusty room, I found out from reliable sources—meaning Hill—that he bought new clothes because all his clothes were in my room, and Hill didn't let him come in for them.

Several days have passed, and little by little, I was able to get up, train, and resume my daily activities. The downside was the persistent pitying looks I received, I was no longer the future mother, I had miscarried, and my faction is too nosy, to the point that everyone knows.

Now I'm with Jeanine, she asked me out on a date, and I drove to her faction without telling anyone, just had breakfast and went to her with the hope that the date wouldn't be about getting the divergence test.

"Grace, hi." Jeanine's voice rang out, along with her usual blue heels echoing through the room. "It's a relief to see you, we all thought the worst." I wasn't expecting it, and she approached, embracing me with her arms—a short, affectionless hug without much strength. "I'm glad you're alive, now, more than ever, this project is vital. It's just another reason for them to know how dangerous an Factionless can be and how inefficient Abnegation is."

"Yes, I don't remember much, but I'm glad my kidnapping motivates this cause."

"Of course it will, believe me. After your project, my colleagues and I analyzed it, and we realized that you're excellent at planning, everything according to plan." she smiled warmly, walking towards a chair. "Tea?"

"Please." I requested, sitting across from her. "I'm glad I met your expectations. Needless to say, there are still details to iron out, but you'll feel very secure when it happens, although... If you ask me, you'd be safer in Dauntless." I shrugged.

I gladly accepted the tea with a smile as I savored the chamomile with a slight sweet touch on my palate.

"Yes, maybe you're right. But it's imperative to be in Abnegation that day, in case something goes wrong." she shrugged.

I smiled, looking her in the eyes. I wasn't going to be able to get her to talk, to confess that secret she had in her hands, maybe it wasn't the right time yet.

"No problem, if you need reinforcements in your confidentiality plans, you can ask me for more Dauntless, and I'll gladly provide them."I shrugged.

The blonde smiled pleased, marveling at my words, and I still couldn't understand why her behavior.

"Neither Max nor Eric have guessed it, you have a brilliant mind, I like you."she nodded. "After tea, I'd like you to accompany me with my colleagues, the other leaders of Erudite will be pleased to meet you."

I smiled, feigning ignorance, as if her invitation wasn't a sign of danger, as if she were an adorable woman full of kindness and I could trust her with my life with my eyes closed.

Although inside, I'm a bundle of nerves, a sack of worry and uncertainty with a strong desire to cry.

I curse Eric, it would be very helpful if he arrived right now and saved me.

***************************

She showed me her faction with pride, every detail of elite and the best discoveries made by them, all with a smile on their face.

They pretend to be polite and well-mannered; some are organized, but most have a mess on their desks. Jeanine says that intelligence is distinguished by disorder, but it's not a catalog that defines everyone. Within the premise, they appear to be an excellent faction full of knowledge at hand, while deep down I know they are a bunch of piranhas full of greed and ambition.

"I didn't want to bring it up, Grace. But I apologize for what happened with your baby. I know the loss of a future mother is devastating, especially with the issues of human emotions."Jeanine spoke as we walked through the corridors of her faction.

I smiled without showing my teeth. Part of her is right, taking those abortive pills made me feel like a disgusting human being. I guess I should feel that way in front of everyone.

"Yes, it's sad. I suppose destiny has something else prepared for me, and being a mother wasn't one of them." I shrugged.

"In fact, you are about to revolutionize this world. Feel proud, and above all, with a second chance, it's quite satisfying to know that you're not influenced by the loss, even when you longed for it in that way." she said.

"Yes, I have more important things to think about."

We got on an elevator, I noticed how she approached the bar and selected the highest floor. We waited for it to close.

We dropped the subject and let that comfortable silence envelop us while I thought about how much I would like to return to my faction.

"Over the decades, Erudite has found records of activities that the founders have carried out and left behind. And Grace, the founders not only left us a functional and didactic faction system, they left us a message. An alternative in case the system collapses." she said with a smile, turning to me. "That's what I'm looking for, the message from the founders that is believed to have been entrusted to Abnegation for government management."

I immediately looked at her, raising my eyebrows with a discreet smile, not just because of the surprise or the fact that she saw me as a complicit in her plans, but also because of the evident trust I have gradually gained in her.

"Like a letter?" I asked, furrowing my brow.

"It's a box, stored away. That message is like an aptitude test, and to open it, it's imperative to complete all the factions."

"How is that possible?" I think I knew the answer, but I still feared saying it. The sparkle in her eyes exuded brightness and her need to transmit her knowledge, something I ignore and she values.

"A Divergent, of course." she shrugged. "That's why, once the attack on Abnegation is over, the search for that message will continue, and the hunt for Divergents will begin again. We will find a way to destroy them at last." she sighed gratefully.

I have many questions, fear gnaws at me so quickly that it leaves me speechless. I could only smile and nod as if I agreed with her when it was quite the opposite.

There's a message from the founders where they will help Jeanine get rid of the Divergents, so am I really a threat?

The elevator doors opened, and the first thing I noticed was the Erudite with a white coat walking around, and above all, people from other factions seated on the side of the white cubicle, they looked like guinea pigs. Jeanine entered, and I only had the option to follow her towards a monitor with cables, a large screen with an image of a brain, a man who by his attire I could say was an Abnegation sat as a subject of experiment as he had several cables on the back of his neck and forehead.

"Phill, I want to introduce you to Grace." Jeanine approached an Erudite, who turned when he heard his name. "I want you to show her the new discovery we made."

He only had to turn around to recognize him, his light brown hair, his blue eyes, his height similar to that of his son, and with slight wrinkles that helped him appear his adult age.

"So, this is my savior." he smiled, approaching me and raising his hand.

God, now I see where Eric gets his smile from. I shook his hand with a cordial greeting, his grip had been firm.

"Pleased to meet you, Phill." I smiled.

"Do you know each other?" Jeanine spoke, placing herself between the two.

"Of course, she saved me that afternoon when the group of Divergents attacked me, she took me to Amity." he explained.

"Excellent." Jeanine nodded with pleasant surprise.

Phill approached even closer, with a step forward and his eyes half-closed with obvious uncertainty, and I couldn't help but hate that action because it only reflected behavior similar to that of his son.

"So, she's your Grace. The one you fought tooth and nail for to be in your project." he chuckled.

"Yes, indeed." she nodded slowly.

"What a coincidence," he muttered.

"Too much. Who would've thought you met your son's partner long before he could even introduce her to you." Jeanine fulfilled her goal, making him uncomfortable, rolling his eyes and feeling disappointed at the mention of his name. It was a simple act, but it bothered me a lot.

"Faction before blood, Jeanine. A very effective and easy-to-follow slogan. Working together doesn't obligate me to anything. And please, stop giving him that title, he doesn't deserve it." he crossed his arms, showing an expressionless face.

I raised my eyebrows, feeling a sense of annoyance, a total agony not being able to lash out as I would like, and even though I'm angry with Eric, I don't see it necessary to hear that from his father, especially when Eric defended me from mine a long time ago.

"What doesn't he deserve?" I asked with narrowed eyes, crossing my arms in the same way he did.

Both Erudites turned to look at me, both knowing what they had provoked in me, but the elder Coulter seemed to be enjoying it.

"To be my son, of course."he shrugged. "He doesn't deserve to be a Coulter, especially if he wasn't the top of his class."

I have an immense urge to punch him. Knowing that precisely what causes his conflict and his need to stand out is originated from his father makes my blood boil.

"He's a leader, even the smartest, and in the search for Divergents, I assure you, there's no one like him. Don't call him a Coulter, I assure you he doesn't care because he's better than that." I shrugged. "So I suggest you start showing me your discovery before this ends badly."

Phill smiled, a smile full of curiosity with amusement. Fascinated by my words, he lowered his arms and with a sigh stepped back.

"Who would've thought, both have something in common. They sought out a woman with a totally similar character." Jeanine spoke. "Of course, Giselle never sat well with me."

Jeanine's comment didn't seem to bother Phill, he even let out a chuckle and turned around, approaching the screen with the brain image sending signals, with a flow of energy connecting them.

"Grace, what you're seeing is Francis's brain, he's an Abnegation, previously belonged to Erudite but didn't meet the faction's standards. Francis has a very interesting brain because he can't fit into any faction. It's believed that from one faction, he can only achieve 25% of the expected standards, making him more susceptible to the serum." Phill began speaking, seeming fascinated with the Abnegation, being his most successful lab rat.

"Very different from a Divergent, because they are capable of achieving 100% of the standards of more than one faction. A Divergent can thrive in any environment and move to another faction and achieve the same."Jeanine continued, approaching Phill.

I nodded, everything they said seemed so easy to understand, as if it were information that, although I hadn't processed it, seemed logical to me.

"Controlling an Abnegation with a minimal amount of serum, freezing the synapses of his brain, and sending orders as a transmitter is easier." Phill spoke, typing on the screen, causing Francis, who had a vacant and fixed gaze, to stand up.

"What I want to show you is the great progress we've had because he, without any training, we managed to induce combat."Jeanine smiled proudly, looking at the zombie soldier.

"What are you talking about? Can he fight?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, want me to show you?" Phill asked playfully.

He didn't even let me respond. I couldn't afford to see what Phill was doing as the Abnegation named Francis turned to look at me and walked towards me, throwing a punch to my cheek followed by a jab with his left hand.

"Give him a fight, Grace," Phill laughed.

After the third jab, I didn't let him advance anymore. I deflected the blow and delivered one from below, hitting him right on the chin. But that didn't stop him. Even though he kept hitting, he remained standing pretending not to feel any pain.

Exhausted, I pushed him back and without waiting another second, I delivered a roundhouse kick followed by a spinning punch directly to his neck. He fell to the ground. I noticed him blinking, ready to get up and continue. We were the center of attention, all the Erudites stopped their activities to see a Dauntless fighting with their biggest experiment.

Francis was created as a soldier without emotions, nothing hurts him, and he keeps advancing. I have to find a way to stop him, and the serum is a transmitter that you can send orders to the brain with, so... They can't send orders to the brain if I manage to put him to sleep for a moment.

I approached the Abnegation, before he could fully get up, I slammed his face into the ground with the sole of my boot. I stepped back, seeing him unconscious with the tile stained with blood. I turned to the main leaders of Erudition.

Jeanine had a satisfied smile while Phill focused on the screen.

"You managed to disconnect him from the simulation." Phill announced, turning around with a smile.

"You're welcome. Now you know what your mistakes are." I spoke bitterly.

"So, is the training we put in Francis too basic, or do you exceed the average strength?" Jeanine asked, tilting her head curiously.

"Am I the first one you brought to fight with those zombie soldiers?" I asked, frowning.

"No, Jina was one of them, we had to stop the simulation."she sighed. "Eric was also one of them, it's a shame. We had to delay the research because of him."

"Why?" I asked.

"He broke its neck." Jeanine replied, letting out a nasal laugh.

Imagining Eric fighting with the soldiers I just fought with was something worth seeing, and it scares me just to imagine how he breaks its neck quickly, without hesitation, with a bad mood in the air. Is it normal that I find it quite a sexy scene?

"We had to wait for another test subject."Phill rolled his eyes.

I nodded, processing the information, noticing how nobody seemed to care about Francis bleeding on the floor because of me.I wanted to leave, go back to Dauntless, and forget that if Erudite continues like this, it will kill everything in its path.

*****************************

Dragging my feet, I entered my room. Lunchtime had passed, so I left a message for the cafeteria to deliver my meal to the comfort of my room. I was exhausted, drained from listening, talking, and letting myself sink into the adrenaline of going alone to Erudite. I came out alive, luckily their attention was directed straight to the Abnegation while they waited for the Divergents that I would deliver to them. Jeanine forgot that she still hadn't tested me to join her project, or maybe she just let it slide.

Eric was right, I did a great job that ignored my test. I saved my skin but condemned an entire faction, and I feel terrible.

Upon entering, I couldn't help but notice the presence of that man who turned the moment I walked in. Eric strode quickly towards me.

"Are you okay?" he asked, looking agitated, he took my cheeks, evaluating my face. "Your cheekbones are purple. Who did this?"

I furrowed my brow, removing his hands. "Am I okay? What are you doing here?"

"Grace, I was about to go to Erudite and blow up the entire faction. You put yourself in stupid danger, and all you can say is that you're okay."

"What else could I do, Eric? I'm still upset with you, I don't want to see you, I'm not going to ask you for favors, and I remind you that I'm no longer pregnant. There's no excuse for you to accompany me." I walked past him towards the kitchen, hearing him sigh.

"Didn't she test you?" he asked.

"Nope."I replied disinterestedly, opening the refrigerator door. "She showed me the faction, I ran into your father again, had a confrontation with him, nothing serious. And then she showed me her zombie soldier. Of course, he attacked me, but nothing out of the ordinary." I shrugged, grabbing the beer I had taken out.

"Did you have a run-in with Phill? What happened?" he asked, approaching the kitchen island.

I took my time to look at him as I enjoyed the first sip of beer. I had to lie, I wouldn't tell him that I defended him to his father.

"It doesn't matter. I knocked out his lab rat." I shrugged. "What are you doing here?"

He rolled his eyes with annoyance.

"Believe it or not, I was worried about you. I came to look for you, hoping you'd be here or to rescue you." His bitterness seeped into every word, showing not only the truth of his words but also the difficulty of expressing his feelings.

"No, I don't believe you. So stop saying you're protecting me. You should go with Jina and protect her, she's so useless it's pathetic. An Abnegation would be more useful than her." My second sip tasted more bitter than the first, though I suspect it was because of my words.

His gaze fell sternly, desperate about the subject, which made me sigh.

"Grace, when are you going to..."

"No!"I interrupted, pointing my finger at him while clenching my jaw. "Don't even say it. I can't forgive you just like that. If you saved me from those Factionless, it was only out of your damn guilt."

"Yes, I felt guilty, but I regret it. Jina is nobody."Eric stood up.

"That's it! Jina is nobody. That's what bothers me. It hurts to know that you kissed her, after you saved her and healed her wounds. I feel betrayed, it burns like you have no idea."I exclaimed, leaving the beer on the island.

"I didn't think, Grace..."

"You never think!" I cut him off. "You've done it before, but it hasn't hurt as much as it does now."

Tired of the subject, he turned around and walked to the window, rubbing his face with both hands, trying to calm his hysteria.

On the other hand, I stopped paying attention as I imagined what Four's kiss had caused in me: the immense guilt weighing on my shoulders, the urge to cry and erase it from my mind. Eric's question made me rethink things; if I could turn back time, I would, and that kiss would never have happened.

What happened with Jina was just a kiss, but what happened with Four is unforgivable, and the biggest difference is that Eric never found out. I walked towards him cautiously, the sound of my steps betraying me and catching the attention of my brave Dauntless, who turned around once again, facing me.

I took the initiative, approaching him and embracing him, realizing that perhaps we were even, even though he didn't know it, and perhaps, just perhaps, he deserved the benefit of the doubt.

"Is that a "do you forgive me"?" he murmured in the midst of the embrace.

My desire to forgive him grew, he had really been making an effort these days. Having Eric Coulter begging for forgiveness was even a victory.

"No." I responded in a whisper. "But I want you to come back." I asked with some fear, as if my request were something impossible.

What I got from him was silence. He hugged me tightly, deepening that unique moment, a moment when I decided to forgive him inwardly, even if Hill would be upset with me.

"Of course." he whispered before sealing this moment with a kiss, and I responded in kind.