I flip over my board to show my answer.

‘Lila has written that, oh, okay, she thinks her significant other would pay off his parents' mortgage. I wasn’t expecting that. Let’s see what Freddie has…’

It feels as if it takes him forever to turn his board around. It’s as if the music stops, everyone goes quiet, even the ocean stops lapping at the shore. You could hear a pin drop.

‘It’s a match!’ Zoey screams, shortly followed by Matteo, who yells the same in Italian.

I feel as if my smile is going to rip my face right open, I’m so pleased with myself. Sure, it’s a small, petty victory, which doesn’t exactly level the playing field, but unless I’m willing to sleep with one of Daniel’s friends for revenge (no effing way) then this is the best I can do.

Round one: Lila. Well, Lila and Freddie.

After we are set free from our separate boxes, I finally see Freddie’s face and he looks just as pleased as I do. He picks me up off the ground and twirls me around. When he finally stops, I get to claim my reward. Daniel and Eva’s miserable faces.

‘They’re looking over at us,’ Freddie whispers to me. ‘Grab my ass or something.’

‘You grab my arse,’ I reply, feeling a little too shy to do it.

‘Okay,’ he says as he grabs me.

I squeak with delight, mostly for the benefit of our audience. I can see a look of fury on Daniel’s face and I take so much pleasure from it. Let’s see how he likes it.

‘This means that, at the top of our leader board, we have Freddie and Lila,’ Zoey announces to a roar of cheers. ‘Join us tomorrow, when our remaining couples will compete again, for a chance to win the surprise prize, which I can now reveal is… 5,000 Euros.’

I freeze on the spot, slowly cocking my head like a dog who has just heard a whistle. Excuse me, what?

Freddie looks puzzled too.

‘Did she just say…?’

‘She did,’ he replies. ‘Come on, let’s get a drink to celebrate.’

22

It’s a perfect night for a stroll. On the one side, you’ve got the island all lit up and alive, on the other, just the black moonlit sea, and starry sky. I love looking out, into the nothingness, focusing on the sound of the tide. It’s like being pulled from the real world and dropped straight into relaxation.

As chilled-out as I feel right now, I’m also excited.

‘I can’t believe there’s a 5,000 Euro prize,’ I squeak. ‘And we’re winning.’

‘We did cheat,’ he reminds me.

‘We did,’ I reply. ‘But that was before we knew it was for money. We just thought we were messing with my ex.’

‘That’s also true,’ he replies.

‘Imagine what a person could do with 5,000 Euro,’ I say, twirling around on the sand. Then I remember that Freddie is probably a millionaire. Freddie winning 5,000 Euro is probably the equivalent of me finding a twenty-pound note in a handbag I haven’t used for a while. ‘Well, I could certainly do a lot with it. I could pay off what’s left of my wedding, for a start, just cancel the whole mistake out. I could put some towards buying the house off Daniel, if that’s even possible… I suppose I’ll need to find somewhere of my own…’