First Blood

First Blood
Scarlett's POV

I stormed into the mansion before I could think about what I was doing. My hands shook with rage as I searched for Kai.

He was still talking to Madison in the living room, his back to me. I didn't care about the cameras. Didn't care about the other contestants watching. All I cared about was making him face me.

"How dare you," I said, my voice cutting through their conversation like a knife.

Kai turned around, surprise flickering across his face. "Scarlett—"

"Don't." I marched right up to him. "Don't say my name like we're strangers. You want to call me a coward? Say it to my face."

Madison stood up, looking between us with wide eyes. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," Kai said quickly. "This doesn't concern you."

"Everything concerns her, apparently." I crossed my arms. "Since you're so busy explaining to her what a terrible person I am."

"I was just being honest."

"Honest?" The word came out like a laugh. "You wouldn't know honest if it hit you in the face."

The other contestants were gathering now, drawn by the raised voices. Ryan, Marcus, David—all watching our private war become public spectacle.

"Maybe we should take this somewhere private," Kai suggested, his jaw tight.

"Why? Afraid they'll see who you really are?" I gestured to our audience. "The perfect musician act might fall apart if everyone knows you're just as manipulative as me."

"I'm nothing like you."

"Right. Because using Madison to get revenge on me is so much nobler than what I'm doing."

Madison gasped. "What? Kai, is that true?"

Kai's face went pale. "No. That's not—it's more complicated than that."

"Is it?" I turned to Madison, feeling cruel and reckless. "Did he tell you he came on this show specifically hoping I'd be cast? That finding me was always part of his plan?"

"Scarlett, stop," Kai warned.

But I was done stopping. Done protecting him. "Did he mention that every song he plays is about our past? That he's still so hung up on what happened five years ago that he can't move forward?"

"That's enough!" Kai's voice boomed through the room.

"No, it's not enough!" I shouted back. "You don't get to paint me as the villain when you're playing games too. At least I'm honest about why I'm here."

"Honest?" Kai stepped closer, his eyes blazing. "You've never been honest a day in your life. You lie to yourself, you lie to everyone around you, and you convince yourself it's for their own good."

"I left to protect you!"

"You left because you're a coward!" The words hit like bullets. "You were too scared to trust that we could figure things out together. Too scared to believe I actually loved you enough to make it work."

The room went silent. Everyone stared at us, watching the wreckage of our relationship play out in real time.

"I did what I thought was right," I said, my voice breaking.

"No. You did what was easy." Kai's voice dropped to something dangerous and quiet. "Walking away is always easier than staying and fighting. And that's exactly what you're doing now."

"What are you talking about?"

"This villain act. This whole 'it's just business' excuse. You're hiding behind it so you don't have to deal with real emotions. Real consequences."

"That's not true."

"Isn't it?" He moved even closer. "You sabotaged my connection with Madison not because it's your job, but because watching me move on terrifies you. Because deep down, you're still that scared girl who ran away instead of facing her feelings."

Each word was a knife twisting deeper. "You don't know anything about me."

"I know everything about you. That's the problem." Kai's eyes bore into mine. "I know you're brilliant and talented and capable of incredible things. But I also know you'll destroy yourself before you let anyone see how vulnerable you really are."

"Stop it."

"Why? Because the truth hurts?" His voice softened, which made it worse. "I loved you, Scarlett. Completely. And you threw that away because you were too afraid to believe you deserved it."

Tears burned my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. Not here. Not in front of everyone.

"I didn't deserve it," I whispered. "I didn't deserve you."

"That's the saddest thing you've ever said." Kai shook his head. "Because you actually believe it."

Madison was crying now. Ryan looked uncomfortable. The cameras captured every moment of our breakdown.

"This is cruel," I said. "You're being cruel."

"I'm being honest. There's a difference." Kai picked up his guitar case from where he'd left it earlier. "But you're right about one thing. I did come here hoping to find you. Hoping to understand why you left. Hoping maybe we could have closure."

"And now?"

"Now I realize there's no such thing as closure with you." He headed toward the stairs. "Because you'll never admit the real reason you ran."

"I told you the real reason!"

Kai stopped on the bottom step and turned back to face me. "No. You told me a story that makes you sound noble. But we both know the truth."

"What truth?"

"That loving me scared you more than losing me did." His words hung in the air like an accusation. "And five years later, nothing's changed. You haven't changed at all. You're still the coward who runs away when things get hard."

The words landed like a final blow, knocking the air from my lungs.

"At least I'm not pretending to be something I'm not," I shot back, desperate to wound him the way he'd wounded me.

"Neither am I. This is who I am now—someone who's learned that some people aren't worth fighting for."

He walked up the stairs without looking back, leaving me standing in the ruins of our confrontation.

The silence was deafening. Everyone stared at me like I was something broken and dangerous.

Madison wiped her eyes. "I think I need to be alone."

She walked away, followed by the other contestants who clearly wanted to escape the awkwardness. Within minutes, I stood alone in the living room with only the cameras for company.

Jake appeared from wherever he'd been hiding. "That was even better than I imagined. The raw emotion, the painful honesty, the public humiliation. Perfect television."

"Get away from me," I said tiredly.

"Gladly. I've got enough footage to fill an entire episode." He practically skipped away, leaving me alone with my shame.

I sank onto the couch and finally let the tears fall. Kai was right about everything. I was a coward. I did run away when things got hard. And I was still doing it now, hiding behind my villain role instead of facing the truth.

The truth that I still loved him. That I'd never stopped loving him. That watching him walk away just now had hurt almost as much as walking away from him five years ago.

My phone buzzed with a text from Luna: Are you okay? Just saw preview clips. This looks bad.

I didn't respond. What could I say? That I'd just destroyed my own life on national television? That the man I loved had called me a coward in front of everyone? That he was right?

The mansion felt too small suddenly. Too full of people and cameras and memories I couldn't escape.

I needed air. Space. Somewhere to be alone with my thoughts.

But as I stood to leave, I heard something that stopped me cold.

Guitar music drifting from upstairs. Kai's room.

The melody was familiar but different. Sadder. Like he was pouring all his pain into the strings.

I stood frozen, listening to the music that had once been ours becoming his alone.

This was my punishment. Loving him from a distance while he moved on without me.

The music stopped abruptly. Footsteps moved around upstairs. A door opened and closed.

I realized I couldn't stay in this room anymore. Couldn't sit here drowning in my own misery.

I headed to my bedroom, locked the door, and collapsed onto the bed. But sleep wouldn't come. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Kai's face when he called me a coward. Heard his voice saying I hadn't changed at all.

Hours passed. The house grew quiet as everyone went to bed. But I lay awake, staring at the ceiling, replaying every moment of our fight.

Maybe he was right. Maybe I was exactly the same person who'd run away five years ago.

Or maybe I was worse. Because at least back then, I'd been trying to protect him. Now I was just trying to protect myself.

My throat was so dry it hurt. I needed water. Needed to do something besides lie here torturing myself with thoughts.

I crept out of my room and tiptoed down the hallway. The mansion was dark except for security lights. Everyone was asleep. Even the cameras seemed to be resting.

The kitchen was cool and empty. I grabbed a glass from the cabinet and filled it from the sink. The water was cold and helped clear my head a little.

I was turning to leave when I heard a sound behind me.

Footsteps. Quiet. Hesitant.

I spun around and my heart stopped.

Kai stood in the kitchen doorway, his hair messy from lying down, wearing just a t-shirt and sweatpants. He looked as tired as I felt.

We stared at each other in the dim light, both frozen.

For the first time since he'd arrived, we were completely alone. No cameras. No audience. No one to perform for.

Just us and five years of unfinished business hanging in the silence between us.