As it turned out, the ordeal was not as tortuous as Jessica had imagined. Although one caller mocked her by reminding everyone that she had claimed honesty was an important quality she sought in a romantic partner, most of the other callers sympathised with her. So she did hide the fact that Adhha was an ex-lover, but she would always be the symbol of courage and resilience for her fans. She had made the necessary apologies and her fans chose to forgive her.

I am glad this is over, Jessica texted Andreae after she got home. I just hope Chong Jin will say no to the winner’s date on Friday. I can’t bear to see him again.

Jessica was out of luck. The same radio programme invited Chong Jin as their guest the following morning. The beloved STAR specialist was magnanimous and chose to forgive Jessica. He did not want to disappoint the viewers of Arm Wrestle for Love either, so he would still go on the winner’s date.

Why would he want to do that? Jessica screamed over WhatsApp to Andreae. Is he trying to torture me?

He just craves the limelight, Andreae texted in reply. It can be a good thing, Jess. Both you and he have a big fan base. The telecast of the winner’s date will be a treat for them, and more of them will forgive you for your lie. Just bear with it.

Jessica decided that Andreae was right; she would just have to bear with the humiliation. Once she accepted the inevitable, she went shopping for a new bikini. The winner’s date included an hour of flow-boarding at Wave House. She owed it to her fans to look good.

On the night before the winner’s date, the Arm Wrestle for Love producer sent Jessica a terse message to inform her that the shooting the next day had been cancelled.

Can I ask why? Jessica texted back.

Go to the Arm Wrestle for Love website and look for the comment by SheBangsHard.

Jessica was nervous as she fired up her laptop and sought out the website. SheBangsHard was a netizen who claimed that he knew a dirty secret about the STAR specialist. The man was not the saint his clueless fans made him out to be. SheBangsHard knew because both himself and the STAR specialist subscribed to secret website where members swapped video clips of themselves engaging in rough sex. The STAR specialist was a regular contributor. SheBangsHard provided a link to one of his uploads.

Jessica was trembling when she clicked on the link. There it was, one of the video clips Chong Jin had leveraged on to blackmail her, the one where she was savagely pounded from behind!

Jessica sat paralysed on her bed. This could not be happening. All her fans could see this! How was she going to face the backlash?