<div style="text-align: justify;">Mariya had to confess to herself that she had felt forced to improvise. She didn’t really know what to do at the moment. It had not been her plan to see herself very close to being confronted about her intentions. And she wanted to make sure Vitali didn’t think of confronting her just yet. Or never, if possible. But to make sure she wouldn’t be questioned, Mariya knew that she would have to be extremely intelligent. And extremely discreet.<br/><br/>When Vitali asked her if a big hug would make everything all better, Mariya agreed with a broad smile. “A hug always makes everything better”, she replied sincerely. It was hard to deal with that inner conflict. She really liked Vitali and cared about him. But at the same time, she knew she needed inside information on the regime. And he was the closest she could get to someone with access to some important information.<br/><br/>Pushing these thoughts aside, Mariya sighed and inched closer to Vitali. After a second’s hesitation, she wrapped her arms around him. Being this close, he could probably feel that her heart was beating like crazy, and she was trembling just a little. If Vitali happened to have a good memory, he could remember that she had always been like this. Whenever she was nervous or anxious, or in any uncomfortable situation, Mariya would start shaking lightly, just enough for someone who was really close to her to notice.<br/><br/>Blushing a little, Mariya laughed softly and hid her face against Vitali’s neck. “I’m sorry, I don’t know why I’m like this. I… you have had a much better reaction than I expected”. She took a deep breath. “I even thought you would laugh at me when I said this. I’m sorry, Viti, I should have know better than to think you would do that”.</div>