CHAPTER 113: CHAPTER 112 - THE EXPOSED TRUTH INTERVIEWS

The villa was quieter than usual that morning.

No breakfast chatter. No flirtatious jabs or side-glances. Just the rhythmic ticking of the wall clock and the occasional rustle of pages as Avery flipped through her now-exposed notebook, reading her own words like they belonged to someone else.

The fallout from the Transparency Challenge hadn’t shattered them—but it had shaken the foundation. Each of them had read things they weren’t supposed to. Feelings meant to be private. Thoughts half-formed but raw. Vulnerable.

Now, they were expected to sit and talk about those feelings. Alone. Under lights. For the world.

Interview Room 1 – Alicia

The room was as sterile as ever. A single chair. White backdrop. A glass of water on the side table. Two cameras this time, instead of one.

A producer’s voice came through the speaker.

"We’ll begin with question one. Do you feel like Emma’s return has threatened your role in the group?"

Alicia blinked slowly. Her mouth twitched.

"I wrote that I was scared of becoming invisible again. That she’d come back and take the light with her. And I meant it. But not because of her. Because I didn’t believe I could shine next to someone that bright."

She paused, breathing slowly.

"But I’ve learned I don’t need to compete. I need to believe there’s enough space for all of us."

The red light of the camera held steady.

"And do you still believe that now?"

"More than ever," Alicia said, a flicker of emotion breaking across her face. "We’ve built something more than a game here. And I want to keep building it—even if the rules don’t want us to."

Interview Room 2 – Emma

"Emma, what do you regret most about your absence?"

Emma fiddled with her bracelet before answering.

"That I didn’t fight harder to stay. That I let myself believe I wasn’t essential."

The interviewer followed up. "Do you think the group is stronger without you?"

She shook her head. "No. But I think they’re strong because they kept me in their hearts even when I wasn’t here. And now I want to earn back my place. Not with a spotlight. With trust."

The screen behind the camera displayed her private message to Alicia—the one where she confessed her fears. Emma looked at it without blinking.

"I’m not ashamed of that message. That fear was real. But it didn’t win. I came back. I chose them. And they chose me."

Interview Room 3 – Yuna

"Your notes suggested that you felt possessive. Controlling. Do you think that’s accurate?"

Yuna’s smile was tight. Measured.

"I care deeply. And when I care, I grip hard. Maybe too hard. But control wasn’t the point. Safety was. We were being picked off, broken down. I wasn’t trying to dominate. I was trying to hold us together."

She leaned forward.

"Now? I’m learning to let go. Just a little. Because I know they’re strong enough to hold on, too."

The screen flashed her quote from earlier in the season—"They’re mine, all of them."

She smiled at it. "Yeah, I said that. And I still mean it. Just... with a little more love, and a little less fear."

Interview Room 4 – Avery

"You made detailed notes ranking emotional loyalty. Did you really mean for anyone to read that?"

Avery chuckled, nerves flickering in her voice. "No. That was for me. A way to understand the chaos. But... I also know now that I sometimes try to reduce people to formulas when I get scared. Because math makes more sense than people."

"And now?"

She shrugged. "Now I’m choosing the chaos. Because the chaos is real."

The camera panned slightly to capture the edge of her notebook, now covered in scribbled revisions—hearts, initials, underlines. It wasn’t just strategy anymore. It was emotion. Felt. Raw.

Interview Room 5 – Darius

"Your strategy notes mention ’leading from behind.’ Can you explain that?"

Darius sat up straighter.

"It means not forcing the spotlight. Letting them shine. Holding the line when they need it. Being the anchor when the current gets rough."

"Do you still see yourself as the center of this group?"

"I never did. The heart, maybe. But not the center. That’s a shared space."

The screen displayed a private confessional clip—Darius talking about each girl, one by one, describing what made them extraordinary.

He smiled. "If caring about them makes me weak, then I don’t want to be strong."

Control Room – Later That Night

Lauren sat reviewing the footage, frame by frame.

She hated it.

Not because they were lying. But because they weren’t.

Because they were winning.

Cleo leaned into her headset. "We have another problem."

Lauren turned. "What now?"

"Panelist_07 sent another encrypted message. It’s spreading. One of the junior editors leaked the transcripts. Social media is siding with the cast."

Lauren stood, eyes narrowing.

"Then it’s time to remind them who built this platform."

She pressed a button on her console.

A new prompt lit up on-screen:

"Surprise Elimination Vote: Live Tomorrow Night."

The screen began processing names, calculating sentiment data, trending clips, comment logs.

Villa – Bedroom

Back in the villa, the cast was slowly returning to each other. The tension of the day had melted into something closer to gratitude.

Emma was curled on her bed, head resting in Alicia’s lap as they read comments aloud from a tablet.

"’These girls are too good for this show.’ I like that one," Alicia said.

Yuna was sprawled across the foot of the bed, absentmindedly braiding Avery’s hair.

Darius stood near the window, phone in hand, watching the slow glow of moonlight wash over the ocean.

"They’re going to retaliate," he said.

"Let them," Yuna said, not looking up. "We’ve faced worse."

Avery nodded. "Let’s just make sure whatever happens tomorrow... they see who we are."

"Unfiltered," Alicia added.

"Together," Emma whispered.

Darius turned, eyes soft. "Always."

The morning air was heavy.

Not with heat or humidity, but with something quieter—anticipation. The villa, usually teeming with subtle flirtation and casual banter, felt like a courtroom awaiting a verdict.

The cast had received the news at sunrise.

Tonight: One contestant will be eliminated. By live audience vote.

No challenge. No immunity. No rehearsal. Just raw sentiment, beamed in from a panel and viewers who had spent the last twenty-four hours combing through every message, confession, and vulnerable truth.

Darius stood in the kitchen, slowly grinding coffee beans. Each motion deliberate. Measured. Behind him, Yuna leaned against the counter, arms crossed.

"You think it’s me?" she asked.

"No," Darius replied.

"But you think it could be."

He didn’t answer.

Alicia entered next, clutching a folded piece of paper. "They sent a list."

"Of what?" Yuna asked.

"Live reaction metrics. Based on last night. They want us to guess who’s trending low."

"And if we guess wrong, what? We get more paranoid?" Avery said from the hallway, already dressed, hair pulled into a taut bun.

Emma appeared last, quiet. She didn’t speak. She didn’t need to.

The tension spoke for her.