Page 109 of Bliss & Her Idols

Impossibly beautiful.

Untouchable.

I know that it’s all an image for the television show.

Yet I can’t believe that this is the same playful Beta who sat with Cricket tangled on his lap, while casually handfeeding me.

The one who happily cusses.

And desperately wants to be loved more than anything.

Jin isn’t moving. He isn’t even looking down at the Omegas and Alphas, who are clapping like he’s no more than a pretty prize.

Except, isn’t that what Jin is?

I hate that his face is mask-like. His eyes are flat.

Dead.

I can’t take it anymore.

“Jin!” I jump up and down, waving at the Beta.

Cricket appears to forget his social anxiety, waving as well. “Hey, we’re here! Down here!”

I hear a laugh and realize that it’s the presenter.

I flush but don’t care.

What I care about most is that Jin’s eyes widen, before he breaks position to peer down at the beach.

Jin’s gaze meets mine, before he gasps.

Then he breaks into a wide grin.

Jin waves back, before he catches himself and seems to remember where he is.

He forces himself back into position, shuttering his expression.

Yet his eyes twinkle with life now.

Hope.

Good.

Happiness surges through me.

Bringing that look back into Jin’s eyes is everything.

I clench my jaw.

No matter what trials I need to go through in this contest, it’s worth it to bring the life into that man’s eyes.

“Now, you’ve seen your reward,” Serenity smirks, “here’s your first task. Match up in packs of twos or threes. You’ve had a chance to mingle and see who you’d like to work with. Here’s the twist. If you win the Idol, then you’ll bond him together.”

The Alphas and Omegas pretend to look shocked and cast each other coy looks but they’ve been assessing each other from the moment that they stepped out here.

This was the one element that I was prepared to stand firm on.

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