Sasha barely remembered climbing into bed. She lay in the dark, staring at the ceiling, Ethan's words replaying over and over.
Don't make me choose.
Choose what? Her? His career? The show? She'd spent too many years letting other people decide her fate. Her agent, her critics, her so-called managers—everyone except her. And here she was again, trapped in someone else's narrative.
Not this time.
By sunrise, her anger had hardened into something sharper. Resolve.
When the contestants gathered for breakfast, Sasha was all smiles, laughter bubbling from her lips like nothing had happened. The others eyed her warily, no doubt sensing a shift.
Chelsea sneered. "What's with you? Finally enjoying playing the villain?"
Sasha's smile widened. "Oh, sweetheart. The villain role was so last week."
The cameras ate it up. But Sasha's real performance began later, when the producers announced the next "date challenge." It was supposed to pair her with Ethan again, milking their tension for ratings.
She raised her hand before anyone else could react. "Actually," she said sweetly, "I'd like to swap partners."
A ripple of surprise ran through the room. Even the producer holding the cue cards faltered. "That's… not how it works, Sasha."
"Then maybe the audience deserves a shake-up," she replied smoothly. "Don't you want to see if anyone else can handle me?"
The other contestants laughed, but beneath the levity, Sasha felt a spark of triumph. For the first time, she wasn't waiting to be told what her arc would be. She was forcing them to adapt.
And the best part? She wasn't planning to stop there.
That night, while the rest of the house drank by the fire pit, Sasha slipped away with her phone. A risky move—the producers had rules against unsanctioned contact with the outside world. But she'd stolen five minutes of Wi-Fi in a production office days ago, just enough to set something up.
Now, in the quiet of her room, she opened her secret inbox.
A message blinked back at her:
From: AnonFanAccSubject: RE: Inside Scoop
We're ready when you are. Send us what you know, and we'll make sure the world sees the truth.
Sasha's pulse quickened. For the first time in years, she felt the stirrings of power.
If the producers thought they were writing her elimination arc, they were about to find out what happened when the script got flipped.