‘Sorry, I can’t take credit for that one.’ The costume department had come up with the idea after learning they could secure the costumes for free in return for a decent credit at the end of the show. Darcy had called in a media contact and gotten photos taken of all the girls before the party started to appear online with an article after the episode airs.

‘Want me to go set up for the ceremony?’ Ben asks.

Darcy glances at her watch. It’s still probably a bit early but she wants to be able to talk to Bonnie without Ben around. ‘That’d be great, thanks.’

She waits a few moments as Ben walks away, watching as Bonnie plays with the gold bangles around her wrist.

‘How are you feeling?’ Darcy asks, trying to clear the air between them. She’s also well aware that Bonnie has withdrawn since her last one-on-one time with Ty. ‘It’s getting close to the end.’

‘I’m okay,’ Bonnie says, but the words sound high in her throat and aren’t overly convincing.

‘You should go talk to Ty.’

Bonnie glances over to where Ty and Jodie disappeared into the garden. ‘I don’t want to interrupt. Everyone wants time tonight.’

‘You’ve been quiet since the last one-on-one time you had with him,’ Darcy fishes, purposely not mentioning the phone.

Bonnie shrugs. ‘It was the big babies conversation. The fact that I’d biologically struggle to give him five kids is only a side issue to the fact that I know I don’t want that many.’

Darcy had worried that this had been eating away at Bonnie and wondered if it had been the thing that spurred her to contact her ex in the first place. ‘All relationships have a bit of compromise.’ Darcy knows the truth in that, with her own fiancé living four hours away.

‘Of course,’ Bonnie agrees. ‘But I don’t know what other conversations he’s had. I don’t know if everyone else has said “I’ll give you as many babies as you want!”’

Darcy can see the stress of the competition is eating away at Bonnie. This is common; Darcy has had this conversation with plenty of girls before. ‘You have to have faith in the relationship you’ve formed with Ty. Don’t think about the other girls. I’ve seen there’s a connection between the two of you. You can feel it, can’t you?’ Darcy is being genuine. Something sparked between Bonnie and Ty from the moment they met on the red carpet. But the fact that Darcy knows Ty still has feelings for his ex sits like lead deep in her guts.

‘Yeah.’ Bonnie nods, but she’s still troubled. ‘Being in this house is just really getting to me.’

Darcy’s familiar with this conversation too. It’s like the women start becoming suffocated. ‘Only a couple more days, I promise.’