I didn’t want to be dramatic, but it felt like I was having the worst week of my life. The episode on Sunday night was brutal, and I was still thinking about it as I slumped into my usual seat at lunch on Monday.

I knew Angus had filmed my reaction to Madi leaving the campsite, but I hadn’t expected him to show it. It was pretty hard to watch as I broke down in the middle of the woods. Nobody wants to see themselves that wrecked on film.

The footage had reminded me of some kind of raw live-action documentary. Angus had filmed as he ran through the woods, and the sound of shouting could be heard in the distance.

“Something’s going on,” he said to the camera, pointing the lens in his own direction as he ran. “I can hear some of the contestants shouting. I think there’s been some sort of fight.”

When the camera finally caught up with us, the spotlight shone on Willow’s angry face before she turned and stormed away. Then Angus focused the lens on me as I slammed my fist into the tree.

Thankfully, Angus had decided to take my threat about breaking the camera out of the final edit. He wanted drama and he wanted angst, but apparently he still wanted people to somewhat like me.

He’d left the whole episode up in the air. As the show ended, he walked away from the scene and spoke to the camera once more. “Tune in next time to see the fallout from True Love’s dramatic camping trip,” he said. “And don’t forget to vote. Any one of your favorite contestants could be Cole’s next pick to leave. We don’t know who he was fighting with, but we do know that he has strong connections with all four of the girls and we don’t want him to eliminate your favorite before they get a chance to make up!”

I was really beginning to feel like Angus lived for the drama the contest was causing.

I had hoped that school wouldn’t be too difficult today, but everyone was asking me what had happened. They wanted to know why I looked so distraught, what the fight was all about and who it had been with. I just shrugged off all their questions or told them to ask the girls themselves.

I tried to speak with Madi, but she totally shot me down. I couldn’t blame her. The whole thing had looked terrible. I just didn’t know what to do to fix things.

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 selection ceremony 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?”

I held two half-heart pieces of paper in my hands, and I kept shuffling them one over the other as I stared at the girls. Looking at Laurie, I knew I couldn’t announce her name. If I wanted any chance to be with Madi, I couldn’t pick Laurie even if she was the audience’s choice. Not when she was behind all the horrible names on Madi’s locker and especially not after what happened on Friday night.

“Cole?” Angus prompted.

I could feel sweat beading on my forehead. There was so much pressure to please the audience, but every part of this felt wrong. I knew the True Love competition was supposed to have been a bit of fun, but it had become very real to me. My feelings for Madi were the truest thing I’d ever experienced, and I couldn’t betray those feelings for anything.

My hand scrunched up the little hearts as it squeezed into a fist. “I’m not doing this,” I said. “I’m sorry, girls, but I can’t send any of you home tonight.”

Not so much as a breath sounded in the room and shocked expressions spread across everyone's faces. The girls all looked between one another, while the camera crew were all shooting Angus concerned looks.

“Err, Cole,” Angus said. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?” He still looked stunned by my announcement, and I could hear the uncertainty in his voice.

“Yes, I’m sure,” I replied, still focused on the girls before me. “Girls, all four of you are still in the competition. I will still be selecting one of you as my date for formal, but that decision will be made at the formal this weekend.”

With that, I strode away without looking back.

“Well, wasn’t that a shock, folks?” Angus said, his voice slightly more confident now. “After that, you’ll definitely need to tune in to our broadcast this Saturday night. We’ll be filming live from the Lincoln High formal where all will be revealed, and Cole will make his final decision. I know I’m excited, and I hope you are too!”

Angus wrapped things up for the camera quickly, but he came straight after me as soon as the filming was done.

“What the hell was that, Cole?” he yelled. “You can’t do that!"

I shook my head. “I can, and I just did.”

“This is because of Madi, isn’t it?”

I nodded since there was no point denying it.

Angus looked at me like I was pathetic. “I don’t think Madi will be going to the formal this weekend…"

I scowled at him. “Don’t worry about her. I’ve got a plan. It's all going to work out."

Angus looked at me like I was crazy, but he was left without a choice. The damage had already been done.

“We’ll be talking about this tomorrow,” he said. “And your plan better be brilliant.” Or else, his eyes added.

He didn’t need to convince me though, and I thoroughly agreed with him. I no longer cared about the contest, but my plan needed to be brilliant or there would be no winning Madi back. And that was all I cared about at this point. This was my last chance, and I needed it to work.