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He points between me and Skye with a dangerous smile. “Just tell me one thing. When did this start?”

I shrug offhandedly. “Oh, weeks ago.”

“Weeks ago,” he repeats, with a small laugh. Then, in a flash, he darkens. “Weeks ago.Weeks ago!Ha. Wow.Fuckme for a fool. Nice to know you were cheating on me the whole time, Maya!”

“Cheating?” I shoot back in disbelief. “Cheating?Jordy, we were hanging outon reality TV.There was nothing monogamous about that shit! I’m sorry if you had this little fantasy idea where you got to date six adoring women while they all counted the seconds until they got the pleasure of breathing your air for a few hours once a week, but you should’ve known what this was.”

“What? A chance to slut around with everyone you can convince to give you the time of day?”

“‘Slut around’? Tell me you did not just say ‘slut around,’ Jordy.”

“You know what I think?” Jordy asks. “I think you weresoupset when we broke up because you knew I’d seen you for what you are. You are jealous, you are needy, you are manipulative, and, now, I guess, you’re a cheater.”

“Hey!” Skye snaps, advancing on him. “One, Maya is none of those things, and two, the only cheater in this room is you.”

Jordy looks back and forth between us, then at the girls standing behind us, and the various staff pretending not to overhear all of this. Then he shifts into a sneer. “Maya, you and I both know what kind of person you are,” he says. “I just have to take comfort in knowing everyone else will realize sooner or later, too.”

“Ditto,” I say.

“And Skye,” he says, ignoring my comment. “I can see she’s warped your view of reality. That’s what she does. Justknow that I don’t hold this against you, and if you ever want to reach out and apologize, I’ll be glad to hear from you.”

Skye bursts out laughing. “Oh, thank you, Jords. I’ll be sure to never take you up on that.”

Jordy takes a deep breath, then turns to me. “Everyone’s going to hate you,” he says. “You know that, right? Or do you have no idea what being in the spotlight is like?”

I just shrug.

He nods slowly and gives me a poisonous smile. “Well, at least when that happens, you won’t be able to blame me for once. There’s no possible way you can twistthisinto anything but your own fault, Maya. Have fun with the consequences of your actions.”

Skye takes my hand before the anger can surge up too far. I squeeze it instead, and it releases some of the fury.

Sure, I’d decided to start letting go of my feelings for Jordy. But it doesn’t mean I can switch off my emotions like a lightbulb. A dimmer switch, at most.

But I am okay, I think. And I will continue to be okay.

We both will be.

Me and Skye, that is.

As I look around the room, the producers and other staff suddenly become very interested in whatever it was they were doing before. Except for Isaac and Gwendolyn. He’s staring after Jordy with an expression that looks an awful lot like disgust. She kind of looks entertained by the whole thing. Bet she wishes she could’ve filmed that showdown.

The girls close in on us in a circle.

“Are you okay?” Lauren asks.

“Yeah,” Skye says, and I nod.

“You two are mental,” Kim says.

“Right,” Francesca joins in. “Who the heck does that? Respect for you, though. Fuck Jordy.”

“Oh yeah,” Kim adds hurriedly. “Like, you’ve lost it, but in the best way possible.”

“I can’t believe we didn’t notice,” Lauren says.

“I can’t believe you didn’t notice, either,” Perrie says. “I knew the whole time.”

“Yes, you’re very observant,” I say, rolling my eyes with a grin.