Chapter 13: Chained Together

Scarlett's POV

"Madison fell?" I grabbed Jake's arm with my free hand. "Is she okay?"

"We don't know yet." Jake's usual smugness was gone. "The ambulance just arrived. But there's a problem—the police want to question everyone, and we can't unlock your handcuffs until the twenty-four hours are up."

"Are you serious?" Kai's voice was deadly quiet. "Someone's hurt and you're worried about your stupid challenge?"

"I'm worried about the contract you both signed." Jake pulled out his phone. "If I release you early, you forfeit everything. No money, no completion of your obligations. You'd owe us penalties."

"I don't care about the money!" I shouted. "Madison could be dying!"

"She's not dying. She's conscious and talking." Jake scrolled through his phone. "But the police need statements from everyone. You'll have to give yours together."

We followed Jake down the hallway, the handcuffs pulling tight between us as we rushed. The living room was chaos—police officers everywhere, contestants crying, camera crews still filming everything.

Ryan sat on the couch with his head in his hands. Marcus paced by the window. David stood frozen, staring at nothing.

"What happened?" Kai demanded.

"Nobody knows." Ryan looked up, his face pale. "Madison went up to her balcony around ten. Next thing we knew, she was screaming and falling."

My stomach churned. "Falling or jumping?"

"Don't know. It happened so fast."

A police officer approached us, eyeing our handcuffs with confusion. "I need to speak with you both separately."

"Can't." Kai lifted our joined wrists. "Reality TV challenge. We're stuck together."

The officer's expression said he'd seen everything now. "Fine. Together then. Follow me."

The questioning took an hour. Where were we when Madison fell? Did we hear anything? See anything? Had Madison seemed upset lately?

We answered as best we could, but the truth was we'd been locked in our room, too focused on our own misery to notice anyone else's.

When the officer finally dismissed us, the sun was starting to rise. We'd been handcuffed for eighteen hours with six more to go.

"I need coffee," I said as we stumbled toward the kitchen.

"Same."

The kitchen was empty. Everyone else was either giving statements or sleeping off the shock. We had the space to ourselves for once.

I reached for the coffee pot with my handcuffed hand, forgetting Kai was attached. The chain pulled tight, throwing me off balance. I stumbled backward, arms flailing.

Kai caught me, his free arm wrapping around my waist as he pulled me against his chest. Our handcuffed hands pressed between our bodies.

Suddenly we were face to face, inches apart, breathing the same air.

"Careful," he whispered, his breath warm against my cheek.

I should have pulled away. Should have stepped back and created distance. But I couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. Couldn't do anything except stare into those brown eyes I'd once known better than my own.

"Scarlett," Kai said softly, and my name on his lips sounded like a prayer.

"Yeah?"

"About that answer. The one I promised to give you."

My heart hammered against my ribs. "What about it?"

"I think—" He stopped, his free hand coming up to cup my face. "I think maybe we're not too broken to fix. Maybe we're just scared."

The words hung between us like a confession. His thumb traced my cheekbone, gentle and familiar.

"I'm terrified," I admitted. "Of hurting you again. Of failing again. Of wanting something I don't deserve."

"You deserve everything," Kai said fiercely. "You always did. You just never believed it."

We were so close now I could see flecks of gold in his brown eyes. Could feel his heartbeat through his chest where we pressed together.

"Kai, I—"

"Don't." His thumb moved to my lips, silencing me. "Don't apologize. Don't explain. Just tell me one thing."

"What?"

"Do you still love me? Not the me from five years ago. The me standing here right now. Do you love who I am today?"

The question stripped away every defense I'd built. Every wall I'd hidden behind. There was no villain role to play. No cameras to perform for. Just truth.

"Yes," I whispered. "God help me, yes."

Something in Kai's expression cracked open. "Then maybe we should stop running from each other."

He leaned closer, his intention clear. He was going to kiss me. And I was going to let him.

Our lips were a breath apart when voices erupted from the hallway.

"—can't believe she fell—"

"—police think it might not have been an accident—"

We sprang apart like we'd been electrocuted, just as Ryan and Marcus entered the kitchen.

"Oh." Ryan stopped short. "Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt."

"You're not interrupting anything," I said quickly, my face burning.

"Right." Ryan's smirk said he didn't believe me. "Because you two weren't about to kiss or anything."

"We were just—" Kai started.

"Save it." Marcus grabbed water from the fridge. "Everyone knows you two are still in love. It's painfully obvious."

"It's not like that," I protested weakly.

"Sure it's not." Ryan poured himself coffee. "That's why you look at each other like you're drowning and the other person is air. Totally normal ex behavior."

They left with their drinks, but the moment was shattered. Kai and I stood on opposite sides of the kitchen, as far apart as the handcuffs allowed.

"That almost happened," I said into the silence.

"Yeah."

"Should we talk about it?"

"I don't know." Kai ran his free hand through his hair. "Should we?"

Before I could answer, Jake burst into the kitchen with his phone out, his shark smile back in full force.

"Excellent work!" He turned the phone toward us. "The cameras in here caught everything. The catch, the almost-kiss, the confession. Pure gold."

My blood ran cold. "There are cameras in here?"

"There are cameras everywhere, Scarlett. You signed away your privacy, remember?" He scrolled through his phone. "This footage is incredible. The way you two look at each other, the tenderness, the chemistry. America is going to lose their minds."

"Delete it," Kai demanded.

"Absolutely not. This is the climax the season's been building toward." Jake pocketed his phone. "And here's the best part—Madison's going to see it."

"Madison's in the hospital!" I said.

"Madison's being released in an hour. Minor injuries, thank God. Nothing a few bandages and pain pills can't fix." Jake's eyes gleamed. "And when she gets back, we're showing her this footage as part of her recovery segment. I want to see her face when she realizes you two are still in love."

"You're a monster," I said quietly.

"I'm a producer. Same thing." He headed for the door. "Oh, and your handcuffs come off in five hours. Try not to kiss before then—I want the first kiss on camera during a more dramatic moment."

After he left, Kai and I stood in heavy silence.

"I'm sorry," I said finally.

"For what?"

"For all of this. If I hadn't taken this job, you wouldn't be trapped in this nightmare with me."

"If you hadn't taken this job, I might never have found you again." Kai looked at me with an expression I couldn't read. "I'm not sure if that would have been better or worse."

"Worse," I said without thinking. "Definitely worse."

"Yeah," he agreed softly. "Worse."

The next few hours passed in a strange limbo. We moved through the mansion like ghosts, too exhausted to talk, too wired to sleep. Other contestants gave us sympathetic looks or knowing smirks, but no one approached us.

Finally, mercifully, the twenty-four hours ended. Jake arrived with the key and unlocked the handcuffs with ceremony, cameras recording every moment.

"Congratulations on completing the challenge." He handed us each an envelope. "Your reward—immunity for the next elimination round. Not that it matters since you're not really contestants anyway."

My wrist felt strange without the metal wrapped around it. Light and free and oddly empty.

Kai rubbed his wrist, not looking at me. "Can I go now?"

"Sure. But Scarlett, I need you for a special segment. Madison's on her way back, and I want you here when she watches the kitchen footage."

"No," I said flatly.

"Yes. Contract, remember?" Jake grabbed my arm. "Come on. This is going to be beautiful television."

He dragged me toward the living room where a large screen had been set up. Madison arrived moments later, limping slightly but otherwise okay. Her arm was in a sling, and she had a bandage on her forehead.

"Madison! You're back!" I tried to go to her, but Jake held me in place.

"Sit down, Scarlett. Madison, you too. We need to show you something."

"Can't this wait?" Madison looked exhausted. "I just want to rest."

"This can't wait." Jake pressed play.

The screen lit up with footage from the kitchen. Me stumbling. Kai catching me. The way we looked at each other. His hand on my face. My whispered confession: "God help me, yes."

The almost-kiss that didn't happen but might as well have.

Madison's face crumpled as she watched. When the footage ended, she turned to look at me with eyes full of hurt and understanding.

"You love him," she said simply.

"Madison, I—"

"It's okay." She smiled sadly. "I told you I wasn't in love with him. But I thought maybe I could be. Now I know why I couldn't."

"Why?"

"Because he's not really available. He never was." She stood up carefully. "His heart belongs to you. It always has."

She limped out of the room, leaving me alone with the cameras and the weight of her words.

Jake clapped his hands together. "Perfect! This is exactly the drama we needed. Now, for our next segment—"

"No." I stood up, surprising myself. "I'm done. No more segments. No more manipulation. I quit."

"You can't quit. Contract—"

"Sue me." I walked toward the door. "I don't care about the money anymore. I don't care about any of this. I'm done being your puppet."

I expected him to threaten me. To pull out lawyers and penalty clauses. Instead, he smiled.

"You can't quit yet, Scarlett. Not when things are about to get really interesting."

"What are you talking about?"

Jake pulled out his phone and showed me a text message. My heart stopped.

It was from Kai's manager. The same manager who'd told me to leave five years ago.

The message read: Tell Kai I'm on my way to the mansion. We need to talk about his relationship with Scarlett. Time to make the same choice he should have made five years ago—her or his career. He can't have both.