When Katarina arrives in Vancouver for the Olympic Games, the experience she has imagined her whole life feels unreal instead of triumphant. She and Heath participate in the opening ceremony, pose for official photos, and perform happiness in public, but Katarina privately feels detached from her own dream. The emotional and physical distance between her and Heath has grown so wide that, despite sharing the image of a loving engaged couple, they have not slept together in months.

On the ice, however, none of that private strain shows. Katarina and Heath skate a strong, passionate Tango Romantica in the compulsory dance and move into first place. A mistake from Yelena Volkova drops the Russians to third behind the Canadians, while Bella and Garrett sit in fourth after small errors. Katarina knows the public rivalry with the Lins helps the media narrative, but she does not truly see them as the pair most likely to take the gold.

Even so, Katarina has one brief, genuine moment of connection and accomplishment at the opening ceremony, when she and Bella quietly squeeze hands out of the cameras' view. That small exchange cuts through the performance and lets Katarina briefly feel like a real Olympian. The chapter contrasts that sincerity with the increasingly artificial version of love and confidence that Katarina and Heath keep presenting to the world.

During the day off before the original dance, Heath and Katarina are booked on a morning show by their publicist. Their coach, Lena Muller, does not accompany them, and regular host Kirk Lockwood is replaced at the last minute by a young, nervous substitute, Inez Acton. Katarina notices hostile spectators outside the studio and immediately feels the pressure of being watched and judged even during media appearances.

The interview quickly turns from skating to the romance narrative built around Katarina and Heath. Inez shows engagement and childhood photos, asks about their wedding plans, and then pushes further by asking whether they will take time off after the Games to start a family. Heath begins to answer lightly, but the question hits Katarina as intrusive and reductive at the worst possible moment. The chapter ends with Katarina finally breaking the performance and snapping back on live television: “What the hell kind of question is that?”