Two days later, after making a few calls to her old friends and family members asking for money, Jane was finally ready to register herself for FOT. With a mix of excitement and anticipation, she arrived at the grand FOT branch offices. The building stood tall and magnificent, capturing her attention and awe as she entered. Lost in wonder, Jane was suddenly brought back to reality when a receptionist noticed her and called out.

"Welcome, madam! How may we be of service?" the receptionist greeted her. Janice, the receptionist, had grown accustomed to witnessing the desperation and misguided hopes of women, mostly in their mid-thirties, from prestigious middle-class backgrounds, who came to register for FOT. As Jane approached her, Janice could sense the same level of desperation in her.

"Jane Daniels, I am here for the Marriage AD I saw on TV. It's called Fate in One Tap, if I'm not mistaken. Whew! Losing my breath here!" Jane anxiously blurted out.

"I know, most of you do," Janice replied. "Fourth floor, room number 3. Just knock on the door, and someone will attend to you."

Jane thanked Janice and headed for the elevator, making her way up to the fourth floor. As she walked towards room number 3, she was interrupted by two gloomy men sitting on a bench, accompanied by about 15 other men waiting outside the door. The first man halted her just as she was about to knock.

"Lady! You have to stand in line and wait for your turn!" he provocatively said.

"Line?" Jane questioned, glancing at the men sitting on the benches.

"Well, not an actual line where you stand, but there's a queue here that you have to follow, a line on the benches," the second man explained.

"I didn't know there would be this many people trying this thing out," Jane remarked.

"It's quite standard for boys. What's surprising is finding a beautiful girl like yourself in a place like this. Please do tell! Why would you want to marry a complete stranger? I'm sure many men would kill to date and marry a beauty like you!" the second man tried to flirt, more tolerably than the first.

"Don't waste your time trying to flirt with her! All of us are here because we have failed in standard romantic relationships. Most of the guys here can't even talk to girls. I'm sure she's no different!" the first man offensively argued.

"I'm not trying to flirt with her!" the second man defended himself. "I'm simply puzzled as to why someone as beautiful as her is here, looking for a husband in a place like this," he continued.

"The reason for my being here is none of your business! Losers!" Jane retorted, annoyed by the two men. She was still recovering from her breakup with Michael. Determined to escape their presence, she pushed herself ahead, entering the office before the next person in line could.

Inside the office, she found a man named Eliot. Relieved to finally see another woman, Jane expressed her thoughts, "Oh, thank goodness, finally a lady for a change. Welcome! Welcome to our humble establishment."

"Certainly is humble," Jane replied with a touch of sarcasm. "One might hope to find a huge, fancifully decorated office when entering a billion-dollar company like yours," she continued.

"We do try to balance the controversy between wealth and arrogance with humbleness and proper manners," Eliot responded.

"Alright, enough with the pleasantries. Tell me how this thing works," Jane requested. Her experiences with unfruitful relationships had made her fastidious and straightforward.

"We treat everyone equally , regardless of position, family, race, or..." Eliot began explaining.

"No, the app! The one I saw on TV. How does it work?" Jane interrupted, seeking specific information.

"Well, we'll provide you with a download link for the app. Your phone will unwrap the package and copy the app's content onto its storage in bits. The phone will then run those instructions and display them accordingly. Then..." Eliot condescendingly replied.

"What are you talking about?" Jane asked, confused.

"Answering your question. We have very strict protocols here that we are supposed to follow. They are relevant in this time and age," Eliot continued.

"Protocols? Wait! Are you an AI? I hear they anthropomorphize you nowadays," Jane curiously asked.

"I am not at liberty to answer that question," Eliot replied. Although he wasn't a robot, his dedication and love for FOT transcended his personal desires and dreams.

"Whatever! My question isn't about how it works structurally. I'm asking how it works in finding suitable matches, as you call them. Do these people come here, like us, and apply for the same marriage setups? Then you just pair them up?" Jane inquired.

"We..." Eliot started, but she interrupted.

"But that makes no sense! The other person wouldn't have consented to the marriage, and it's not possible for both of them to click on each other at the same time, is it?" Jane raised a valid concern.

"We have field agents who personally recruit and train the Piers. After a year of special training, they are ready to serve as perfect soulmates, helping our country prosper and ensuring a strengthened future, all thanks to the increasing pro-natalist policies," Eliot answered, assuaging her concerns. Jane felt reassured, knowing she wouldn't be marrying one of the men sitting outside the office. However, another concern arose in her mind.

"So, you take people from the streets, groom them, and then manipulate their minds to marry whoever chooses them, just to provide them with a roof over their heads and three meals a day?" she asserted.

"No, not precisely. They are far from being people on the streets. Most of them are university graduates!" Eliot clarified.

"A person on the streets is a person on the streets, whether a university graduate or not!" Jane argued.

"Put your concerns aside. They are not in any way dangerous. They are smart men and women who, due to unfortunate circumstances, have found themselves unable to pursue their dreams. We help them find better ways to thrive in our community by educating them in homemaking skills, child care, and development. This enables them to fulfill their assigned duties properly," Eliot explained.

"If you say so! Frankly, I just want to find a faithful and loyal man for a change. Your company promises 100% loyalty from your men. It sounds so simple, I wonder why it's so hard to find," Jane expressed her frustration.

"Many people ask the same question. No one has come up with a proper solution to the problem, and thanks to that, our company is flourishing. But that's also the very reason why we introduced FOT, to help people like you—good people who are just looking for a normal, loving, and caring lifelong partner. We connect soulmates who, due to the pain and stress of this world, find it impossible to meet and provide each other with honesty and heartfelt affection," Eliot presented his sales pitch. After careful consideration, Jane made her final decision.

"Alright then, sign me up!" she declared with determination.

"That's a great decision. You won't regret this, I promise you. Complete this form while I install the app on your phone," Eliot said, pleased with her choice.

"Why the app anyway when you can just show us photos of the Piers to choose from?" Jane asked, as she filled out the form.

"The app is more convenient. It will scan your phone to understand you better and find the perfect match for you," Eliot explained.

"Scan my phone? What do you mean?" Jane inquired, feeling slightly concerned.

"It will scan your emails, social media accounts, and all the portals you've used in the past to chat on all the devices you've owned until now. By analyzing your chats with close friends, family, and associates, the phone will determine the class you belong to and find your perfect match using commands and databases based on interviews from thousands of successful marriages. Finally, it will narrow down the options based on your age. Since you are 34, the only available Piers for you will be those aged 32 to 36," Eliot explained the process.

"That's a lot of work just to find out my preferences. Why not just ask me directly? And looking into my chats and basically my life, is that even legal?" Jane expressed her concern.

"It is one hundred percent legal, and facially, you won't find any better-looking guys than our Piers," Eliot assured her.

Jane completed the sign-up process with Eliot and returned home. She eagerly awaited the completion of the app's scanning process on her phone and all her chats with friends and family on social media platforms. After the app finished setting up, it displayed about 50 men aged 32 to 36, all waiting for Jane to click the "Marry me this weekend!" button. Overwhelmed by the options, she failed to make a decision on her own and decided to seek her friend Tiana's assistance. Together, they chose a man named Hughie Stevens. And just like that, Jane Daniels embarked on her perfect life, while a turbulent journey awaited her friend Tiana.