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“Anything else in there I should know about?”

“Nothing I’m telling any of the girls about now, that’s for sure,” I joke.

Isaac doesn’t laugh, though, so I roll my eyes. “No.”

By the time I get dropped back off in theNotte Infinitaroom, Kim is back with Skye and Perrie. She catches my eye and mouths,Sorry.She looks genuinely remorseful, so I wave a hand.Don’t worry about it.

If anything, I feel like I might owe her an apology. Because I amprettysure that fight I just overheard between her and Jordy might be kind of sort of my fault. Ididtell Kim he should be supporting her, after all.

“Today was so much fun,” Jordy says. “The past few weeks, we’ve spent a lot of time exploring our past. It’s been wonderful to have the opportunity to show you all a piece of my present, and explore what will be, for one of you, our future.”

Yeah, sure thing, Jordy. I’m starting to doubt if Queen Aimée actually knows he exists.

“But, tonight, for one of you… that future doesn’t belong to you. So, tonight I’ve decided to keep Perrie.”

“Skye.”

“And Maya.”

As it sinks in what that means, I freeze beside Kim. Did I just unintentionally get her kicked off the show?

Kim’s face twists with pain and betrayal, and her eyes fill with tears. That’s when my guilt turns into anger. Is Jordy for fucking real? He’s going to send her home today? After the day she’s had?

It takes everything, literallyevery ounce of self-control I haveto hug him instead of slapping him.

Then, I notice the looks on the faces of the other girls as I join them. There’s not a relieved smile in the room. Only disbelieving, disgusted looks.

He didn’thaveto send anyone home tonight at all. There’sno rule about that. Even if he didn’t want Kim to win, he could’ve held off.

He could’ve. But he chose not to. And, if the looks on Perrie’s and Lauren’s faces are anything to go by—not to mention the barely disguised looks of contempt from some of the crew—he just did more damage to his image with the girls in ten seconds than Skye and I have managed in five weeks.

I guess I was right the first time, months ago, when Rosie talked me into coming on the show.

Jordy’s his own gasoline. Maybe all I needed to do was light a match.

And there’re two weeks left for him to go up in flames.

TWENTY-THREEMaya

I’m having a lovely dream about the leaves on the ground transforming into five-dollar bills when the sound of a gentle breeze is interrupted by the opening notes of “Rock the Casbah.”

“The challenge istomorrow, Skye,” I shout over the music without opening my eyes. I am goingstraightthe hell back to sleep the second she turns the music off, and then I’m going to hunt her down in a few hours to yell at her some more.

“Isaac’s here to see you.”

“Tell him to come back at a decent hour.”

“It’s ten thirty, Maya, you’re the indecent one, come on.”

“At least turn themusic off,” I growl as I finally open my eyes. Skye’s sitting crisscross-applesauce on the floor, holding the speakers above her head and looking really damn pleased with herself.

“I will when you get up. Up, up, up!”

I throw a pillow at her face and hit a bull’s-eye. She grabs it and leaps on top of me, one knee on each side, and holds the pillow up while I shriek and beg for forgiveness with my arms over my head. I only bring them back down when shedrops the pillow, and she takes the opportunity to kiss me quickly on the forehead before rolling off me.

Five minutes later, I trudge downstairs after Skye, dressed but not happy about it.

Isaac’s in the kitchen alone with a glass of water. “Finally,” he says when we enter.