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As I sat at the lunch table, I couldn’t stop myself from constantly glancing at Madi. She didn’t look my way at all though. I kept waiting for her to lift her beautiful eyes and catch me watching. But her gaze was firmly locked on her tray of food. Not that she was eating. I didn’t see her touch her food at all.

“What happened on Friday night?” Tanner asked as he came to sit beside me. I let out a long and pained breath as I tore my eyes away from Madi and focused on him. “There was a misunderstanding,” I replied, glancing down to the other end of the table where Laurie was seated. I wasn’t sure if I could dislike the girl any more than I already did. But seeing her there flirting with Jake made my blood boil.

“What kind of misunderstanding?” Tanner asked.

“The kind that Madi will probably never forgive me for.” I didn’t really want to repeat the details of what happened in the cafeteria. I’d have to tell Tanner when we were somewhere more private.

Tanner must have understood how I felt because he didn’t press me any further. “She’ll come around,” he said.

But I shook my head. “I don’t even know how to begin to fix things. She won’t talk to me.”

“Maybe give her some time. Sometimes things don’t seem so bad when we’ve had a few days to think them over. I’m sure she’ll realize that whatever happened was just a mistake.”

“And if she doesn’t?”

Tanner grinned at me. “You’re Cole Kingston. You’ve helped us win some impossible games before, and you’ll figure out a way to win her back too.”

I really wished I shared his confidence, but it felt like I was in a game where we were down by fifty points in the fourth quarter and there was absolutely no coming back.

* * *

When the selectionceremony came around that night, I was prepared to beg Madi to stay in the competition with me. I no longer cared that the cameras were watching. I needed that girl in my life like I needed air to breathe.

Just before the show went to air, Angus pulled me aside. “Madi’s not coming tonight,” he said.

“What do you mean?”

“She’s not taking part in the competition anymore. She’s pulled out,” he explained.

“And you’re only telling me now?” I raised my voice, but I couldn’t help it. I was panicking. “How could you let her go?”

“I didn’t let her,” he replied. “I called her tonight to tell her she had to come, but she wouldn’t budge. She won’t listen to reason, so I’m going to announce she’s sick and she’ll need to be one of your eliminations.”

“Right.” I paced away from him, blowing out a frustrated breath. “Who am I supposed to pick then?” I didn’t want to pick any of the girls. There was only one I wanted, and apparently she was no longer an option.

“Eliminate Madi, of course, and Willow,” Angus replied. “She gets the fewest votes.”

“And if I don’t want to?”

“Just stop being difficult, Cole. We’re about to go live in five minutes.”

I swore. I couldn’t accept the decision to eliminate Madi in five years, let alone five minutes. Especially not while I was still trying to get her back.

When I walked out to meet the three remaining girls, my stomach dropped. Seeing them waiting there for me felt so wrong. The only one who looked happy to see me was Laurie. Willow and Teagan were both glaring at me like I was the devil. There was a distinct gap between the pair of them and Laurie, and it was clear they were just as angry as I was after her performance on Friday night.

Right before we started filming, Angus whispered the audience's pick in my ear and I froze. It was Laurie. My eyes widened as I turned to Angus. “I can’t pick her,” I said.

“You have to,” he whispered back. “We had over one hundred thousand people watching last night. Don’t let them down.”

I wanted to argue back, but Skye started counting down.

“Going live in three, two, one…”

As I stared at the camera, I wondered if the many thousands of viewers could see my fear. Could they tell that I was freaking out? That I felt physically ill at the thought of saying anyone’s name aloud other than Madi’s?

“Welcome everyone. We are in the final week of Cole’s search for true love and this is the last selection ceremony before he picks his date for the formal,” Angus said. His fake smile was plastered to his face as he eyed the camera, and his words felt just as disingenuous. How could this really be a search for my true love, if the girl I loved wasn’t even here?

“After the eventful episode last night, we know you’re all desperate to hear the selections for this evening,” Angus continued. “Unfortunately, one of your favorites, Madi, is out sick tonight. But we promise she’ll be better for Saturday night if she gets selected to continue. So, let’s get right to it. Cole, who was the audience choice for tonight?”