After Rowin treated Genevieve’s eye wound, he warned it would scar. Seeing the four-inch mark across her face devastated Genevieve, and Rowin covered mirrors in the dining room to spare her the sight while she journaled about her twenty-second birthday, her shifting life, complicated feelings for Rowin, and fears she would never truly belong or be enough.

While Rowin and Ellin played cards, Sevin arrived and ogled the scar, crudely commenting before revealing Knox had warned him that Rowin was overtaking him as Favored and ordered all mirrors uncovered. Sevin then taunted that he and Covin had run a betting pool on whether Rowin would sleep with Genevieve, adding Covin had offered Rowin half the winnings if he did. Ellin confirmed the pool existed. Hearing this, Genevieve assumed Rowin profited from their intimacy and stormed out.

Genevieve fled to the hedge maze and, in a second diary entry, declared she hated Rowin. Hours later, Rowin found her shivering by a fountain. He asked to explain, and when pressed, he insisted he had rejected the bribe at the time and had forgotten the bet because he ignored his brothers’ antics. Genevieve acknowledged he was right but remained overwhelmed.

Rowin knelt and spoke gently about the loss of control imposed by the Devils and the Hunt, affirming that he and Genevieve had still made choices together and that she was not alone. Genevieve voiced her despair over the scar, missing her family on her birthday, and surviving only through others’ interventions. She said she wanted to live for herself and find “something real.”

Rowin responded that Genevieve must choose to live for herself, praising her heart, resilience, and determination. When Genevieve noted he once said hearts could not be trusted, Rowin clarified he meant not trusting others’ hearts, not her own. The reassurance moved Genevieve, easing the tension between them.

Rowin reminded her they had won an immunity token and proposed they “get out of here” and pretend the Hunt did not exist for a while. As he led her back toward the house, Genevieve recovered some playfulness and challenged him to a race. She shifted into her Specter state and sprinted ahead, signaling a renewed bond and a brief reprieve from the game.