After leaving the gala before they can be thrown out, Katarina and Heath ride down alone in the elevator. Heath fusses over Katarina’s hand and asks why she slapped Ellis, but Katarina rejects his help and tells him to stop trying to take care of her. When Heath suggests they return to the hotel, Katarina insists on staying outside alone. Katarina also realizes Heath’s near-attack on Lee was not just protective but tied to his own long-held rage and desire for revenge.

Heath gives up and walks away into the rain, bitterly muttering that Katarina always takes all the time she needs. Bella then comes out of the hotel and confronts Katarina. Instead of focusing only on the gala incident, Bella criticizes the larger pattern of drama around Katarina and Heath: their public image, fights, chaos, and distractions. Bella warns that they have only one season left and one final chance at the Olympics, and that their reputation is overshadowing their actual accomplishments.

Katarina pushes back by noting that she and Heath were undefeated all season, but Bella points out that no one is talking about their results. Bella says she is speaking as both a friend and a competitor, because she wants Katarina at her best. The conversation lands with Katarina because Bella’s disappointment feels more painful than harsh criticism. Before returning inside, Bella reassures Katarina that she is her best rival and tells her not to back down.

Instead of going after Heath in Central Park, Katarina takes a taxi back alone to the boutique hotel suite where she and Heath are staying under assumed names. In the dark room, she watches the storm and waits for Heath, assuming he will return soon. As more than an hour passes, Katarina starts imagining worse possibilities, including that Heath may have gone to find Lee.

While waiting, Katarina searches online and finds that Ellis has already posted a Kiss & Cry article about the gala, complete with video and a headline framing her as unstable. Ellis’s account minimizes Heath’s role and recasts Katarina’s slap as a sudden, unprovoked outburst rooted in her family history. Katarina then reads cruel comments and older posts attacking her character, talent, and relationship with Heath, and the abuse deepens her spiral. When the hotel door finally opens, Heath has returned.