When Linda returned to her room after the contest results had been announced, Jak was already waiting for her at the door, as usual.
Normally, seeing him there would make her feel a little happier.
The attendants waiting outside the contestants' rooms had always given her a small sense of comfort.
But this time, it didn't.
Even after the contest ended, Linda had stayed for a while in a secluded area of the arena. She had hoped she might see Gaffer.
As she made her way back toward her room, her eyes kept searching the corridors, wondering if she might catch sight of him somewhere.
But she didn't see him.
And she wasn't happy about it.
The thought of their last encounter returned to her mind again. The memory from that Friday kept replaying itself.
Gaffer had leaned in as if he was about to kiss her, and she had immediately moved away.
The moment kept coming back to her thoughts again and again, almost like it was attacking her mind.
"Her majesty?"
